Sweet Websites

I love this design of posted note. It has been my favorite now for months. I spent hours on it and I learned a lot in the process, but I haven't reached guru status yet.

Check out these two sites:

http://deeplyshallow.com/

http://www.designshack.co.uk

Look at them! They are soo cool and if you peruse Design Shack then you will leave feeling miserable because your site isn't as cool as some of these.

What I don't understand is HOW!! HOW ARE THEY DOING THIS!!! Their understanding of CSS is unbelievable! I am going to go home and bite my pillow!

Aiden as a Mavericks ManiAAC!!!

This is what Aiden will look like when he becomes a ManiAAC....

Special props to Biggy for making these! If you need any photo editing done, Biggy is the man - email him if you have any projects you want him to work on. Also, there is one more edited photo like this of Aiden in my Flickr photos - go check them all out. Lots of Mavericks pictures there as well.

This Apple doesn't fall far from the Eddo

Look at him with that tongue sticking out! That is MY signature look and he has been using it from Day 1.

He is such a cute kid and finally I have a baby to blog about and to post pictures of on my site. It seems that all these parents have cute pictures to post of their kids and they effortlessly wrote about all the cute things they said and cripes! it was annoying because I was so envious. Now I envy no more. I have a cute little nephew that looks a lot like me to write about. Now bring on the "He's adorable!" comments immediately!!!!

Fire Dumpster

Not just any dumpster, but FIREDUMPSTER!!! It had grown tired of being picked on, everyone dumping on it all the time, discarding their refuse on him - now he is back for revenge....

Loud noises at about 10:30 last night made me look outside my door. This teen was out their on his celly and he was like, "Dude, someone set your dumpster on fire!" and so I went out and looked at it and then I took some pics. The cool part was seeing how incredibly hot and red the metal got when it was burning. And wow, that trash was really, really burning!

Firemen showed up, fully clothed with those masks on that make me think of Jar Jar Binks. Messa wanted to wear one! Just kidding.

So they pulled the hose out really quickly and I didn't even see it at first and then bam they were dousing the fire and it was going out and suddenly I was tired. All that fire-fighting.

Questions

These have been puzzling me...

What is the estimated number of people that have died since the beginning of time?

If God punished Eve and all of the women on the planet with painful child birth, what would child birth have been like for women? Would women have had babies at all?

Did Adam and Eve have sexual relations before the fall? Did they even have genitalia?

When Jonah was inside the whale's belly do you think there were other living things in there with him like giant squid and living fish?

How many babies has the world aborted?

How many of those babies could have possibly found a cure for AIDS? How many could have been the next Mozart, Beethoven, or Da Vinci?

At what point will we look back and say wow, we killed a lot of children? 1 Billion? 2 Billion?

Will we ever look back at abortion and think/realize we made a mistake the same way we looked at slavery and realized that we made a mistake?

Will the world ever reach a point where the majority of people are in same-sex relationships and only a handful of people are procreating? How long will it take for America to become the next Sodom and Gomorrah?

Work In Progress

"You seem to have matured since I saw you last..."

This comment was made to me recently and I had to agree, however, my maturation has not come slowly like water carving stone, but rather from the hard blow of the hammer combined with the sharp edge of the chisel.

Thwack!

A piece of my heart was chipped away. A gaping hole gushed. In time the wound healed, but my heart has never beat the same and I don't think it ever will.

Ping!

The hammer fell again, this time a lesson learned the hard way. The deformity it left was so crippling that I wondered if I ever would recover.

Crack!

A humbling blow fell upon me. An exposing of sorts that left me feeling ashamed.

Smash.

A removing of something that wasn't necessary despite my dependence upon it.

When I look inside myself, what I see are flaws, but to the artist they are "designs". Each indentation, each gaping hole, each ugly recess has purpose and meaning. What I see often times is so ugly, but to the artist, I am a work in progress and I am right where he wants me to be.

The Procrastinator!!!

If I were a super villian I would be THE PROCRASTINATOR!!! I would have a huge P on my chest and of course a flowing cape. I would need the cape not to help me fly, but to hide my face in shame because I had dropped the ball so many times.

Jetting into small cities people would scream! LOOK OUT! There is THE PROCRASTINATOR! Families would pull their children inside and lock the doors. Marshal law would be enforced and the cities would be covered in military vehicles to keep me from destroying the town with my laziness.

Of course I would have an accent, it wouldn't be Austrian, but most likely Australian. I'd say things like, G'Day Mate, can you throw another shrimp on the bahbie while I sit here and do nothing?

I finally got a ticket paid yesterday and I have to take defensive driving. I fear that my alter-ego will rear it's ugly head when it comes time to actually take the defensive driving course. This is my FIRST speeding ticket in Texas, but I have had 2 previous tickets years ago for running red lights. I had the opportunity to take defensive driving for both of those and I never did, I ended up paying the whole ticket on both counts. LAAAZZZZZEEEEEEEE!!!!

I also have a Columbia House DVD thing that keeps sending me DVD's I don't want and I have procrastinated about discontinuing that service. Ugh. I am going to do that right now... maybe... let me read a few emails first.

Change - I need your help!

I posted Tracy Chapman's song "Change" on this website not to long ago. I think I had to delete it because it was being linked-to and downloaded by Chinese people and we all know how big China is and how many people there are and so that is a lot of downloads.

But Hot-linking and bandwidth stealing is not the point of this post...

The point is that this weekend I am teaching at the McFadden Boys Ranch about Change. Change your clothes, change your way of thinking, change your attitude, change your perspective. I have movie clips to emphasize certain points and I plan to do an interview skit where I do different types of interviews wearing different types of clothes. I need visual aides to help move the message along and to get my point across.

I've been doing some changing of my own lately. I feel it more than ever - I'm different. We have a slogan we use at TI, "Change faster than change". The great thing about life is that it is all about making adjustments and changes and if any of you have some amazing stories or analogies that I can use at the boys home about change and success and success in the workplace and how changing something made a big difference, that would be VERY helpful to me.

Two chest bumps and a peace sign!

Balloons in a Cube

I am leaving my current cubicle and building at TI in Plano and I will work at the corporate headquarters in my new position. I love my team and I am going to miss them. Today I came in and my cube was walled up and filled with balloons. This is me rubbing one on my head to try to generate static electricity like I did when I was a kid.

I love it when people take the time to do something small or big to show that they care. I'm all warm and fuzzy inside right now.

Shake it Off

The Mavericks lost to the Miami Heat tonight. I am still sort of shocked, I thought we would at least make it to game 7.

I could fill pages up with speculation and reasons why we didn't win, but I won't. We had an amazing season. We beat the Spurs and the Suns and we are the Western Conference Champions. Only 2 teams make it to the Finals and we were one of them.

Now it is time to start preparing for next season and me, it is time to get some of my life back. The play-offs started 53 days ago or something like that and for the last 53 days I have been burning both ends of the candle. I have totally given up so many things in my life that I love for the opportunity to be a part of something that may only happen once in my lifetime. My friend Biggy said it best tonight when we were waiting to see the players after the game and I said I had to go to work the next day and he said, "This may never happen again, but you will always have work." How true that is. I decided to remember that little nugget whenever something important is happening in my life. Thanks Big.

Tonight I am staying up really late working on a final project for my old team at T.I. Monday I start my new position full time so it is like 2 big things are ending in my life right when something new and exciting is starting up and I couldn't have timed it any better.

I've missed you guys. I miss reading about Katie's crazy old-lady friends, I miss talking with Ben about Micker Mackers, Bug-Bug and Benjino, I miss Edgy Mama's zany informational posts and Saurkraut's political rants. I miss Steve and listening to his music, and Amberbamberboo, and Dubious, and Fred and so many more. Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch and for the encouragement over the last few months. This has been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life.

Hugs, Kisses, and for the dudes - manly handshakes.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day dad. I know you won't read this because you are 71 and when you were my age the television had only been around for a few years. You now know how to use a computer, but you prefer to use it only to destroy a game of Solitaire - which you are quite proud of. You build things with your hands, you create, and fix things that amaze me, and I am proud of you.

To all of the Father's out there - Happy Father's Day. You have a big job, probably even bigger than the mother's. Mom's are great at showing the kids how to do things around the house. What to wear to the prom, how to scrub a toilet. While Mom's are taking care of everything in the house, Dad's should be handling the outside. The outside means more than just lawn care and changing the oil. Nope. Dad's should be teacher their daughters about the way men should be treating them. They need to love their daughters and to be a daddy so that when a man comes along they will respect themselves and they won't be insecure and allow that man to take advantage of them.

Dad's should be teaching their son's about the birds and bees. About how to treat a lady and how to be a man.

Dad's should teach their son's and their daughter's about working hard. How to succeed.

It's a rough world and I think Dad's role is more important than mom's, however, I think most of the time mom's pick up the slack.

My Dad is a great dad and I hope he has a very Happy Father's Day.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

This movie wasn't released to all major markets, but I don't know why. Perhaps it is the length (so long I still haven't finished it), or maybe it is because it is laden with profanity (which is used mostly in a comical way and not a derogatory way, or maybe it has a really bad anti-climactic ending which I haven't seen yet, but will soon find out when I have enough time to finish the final 20 minutes.

What I do know is that this movie is extremely entertaining. At no time did I pause the movie so I could see if something better was on the tube (Which I do regularly) nor did I fast forward through any slow scenes (which I normally do while loudly saying "BOOOORRRRINNNNGG").

It is not an inspirationalbasedonatruestorylessonlearned type of movie like Glory Road, but it has Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. in it and how can you not love these guys? Did you see Tombstone? I'm yoour Huckleberry... Did you see Soap Dish?

So that is my movie review of the month.

The Mavs lost to the Heat last night which was VERY depressing, but we danced our butts off and I had my best performance as a ManiAAC - mostly because we have done the routine about a gagillion times in outside appearances.

After the game I had to watch Biggy's kids for a bit because he is a bad dad and he just assumed that the ManiAAC family would babysite his kids for him. His youngest kid Michael is so cute and brown that he could totally pass for my kid. I should have just taken him with me and said, "Michael, your dad traded you for my game six ticket." Which might not have been true, but could possibly be true if I posed the trade to Biggy. I am also upset with Biggy because he has been getting more visitors to me because his site name sounds somewhat naughty. Apparently biggy bounce can be misconstrued becuase he isn't even posting very much and he is getting a lot of visits. I am livid about this.

So tonight I have no plans other than to climb into my bed and and wrap myself up in my white sheets until I look like a really large dooby and then I am going to sleep until game 6 on Sunday - which is still in MIAMI - ugh. I hate this 3 games in a row in Miami - it is just so lame.

Customer Service Hell

I recently got insurance and so I am trying to set up a series of things and I am tired of listening to automated menus. My job requires me to listen to automated menus and even though I have the number sequence memorized, I still have to wait and listen to the same lady every time I call...

Now today, I needed to find out how to pay my ticket. I called the number on the ticket and sat for 45 minutes on hold 2 days ago only to have the system hang up on me. Today I called back and made it through the prompts in only about 5 minutes (shocker) and when the lady came on the phone I said, "I need some assistance with paying this ticket." and she said, "Did you listen to the automated menu?" I said yes. (exasperated) It was the way that she said it that rubbed me the wrong way, like I was some sort of idiot and that by listening to all the prompts and pressing 5 and then 7 and then 9 and then 8 I would have all my answers including the answer to the meaning of life and where babies come from.

She continued, "Well, the menu tells you everything you need to know."

I remained calm, but now I know why half of our population is medicated. It takes Wellbutrin or Prozac or some form of prescription drug to be able to cope with all the A-HOLES that you have to put up with on any given day.

I then responded, "Well, I sat through the prompts the other day for 45 minutes only to get hung up on and now I am calling back today and I just don't understand why you can't help me?" I said it nicely when I really wanted to call her a few names.

She then sort of laughed and said, "I can help I was just teasing". Her tone changed much quicker than my mood did, but I choked down my rage and got the information that I needed by being sugary nice.

The trick these days is finding the right balance of firmness and sweetness when it comes to dealing with difficult people. I have to admit that lately I am wound a little tighter than normal, but just because I am wound tight doesn't not mean that I should tolerate every single inconsideration that is delivered to me. No. My frame of mind during this very busy time has taught me a lot about myself and even more about other people and I am no longer going to just take crap. If my service is bad, I am getting a discount or something free. If you cut me off, you won't get the finger, but I will give you the horn of correction, and if you aren't nice to me I am going to ask, "Why aren't you being nice?" and if you don't start being nice then I am going to get angry - and like the incredible hulk - you won't like me when I am angry.

ME BUM! It has an extra hole!

So this morning I got up to get ready for my first corporate presentation. The difference between a regular presentation and a corporate one is that in a corporate one you present to people that you don't know in an auditorium with online people listening and it is recorded so that it can be replayed at a later date. Soooo... I wanted to wear my nice gray slacks and when I pulled them out of the closet I saw that they had a 2 inch tear in the posterior region. AAACK! I remembered doing that when I got out of the truck too quickly and pants were sagging a bit much. Well, my momma raised me with a few skills and one of them skills was knowing how to use a needle and thread to sew up me breaches.

Now all I needed was a good shirt, but when you are presenting sometimes it feels nice to have a brand new shirt, so I went this morning and picked up a new shirt and new shoes so that I would feel good about myself, but... I didn't buy an undershirt and I had the biggest sweat rings when I was done with my presentation. Grody. Fortunately, I picked a shirt with a cool contemporary pattern and it camoflauged the sweat to some degree. Why was I sweating? Because I was hot, not because I was nervous. I don't really get all that nervous doing presentations. I like powerpoint and I love being in front of people and so presenting is wear I am in my element. Man, I sound arrogant...

So after a long hard day of presenting and meetings, I went to work out and I did aerobics and after that I wanted sushi and I ordered 3 rolls and they weren't very good and they were 23 dollars!!!

Now I am watching SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE - and I love it. I love to dance and in a meeting at work today, another big all staff meeting they called me to the front of the room and made me do a couple of 8 counts of one of my ManiAAC routines. I feigned shyness, but then I broke it down for them.

Soooo.... now the sushi made me not hungry, but not full and I think I want some Cold Stone... Coffee ice cream swirled with brownies, pecans and chocolate syrup... magically delicious.

Yes, 8 Months Pregnant Katherine Hygenist Lady, I realize that I have a gaping hole in my tooth...

But dental work is expensive and it hurts - two very good reasons to procrastinate. But I do appreciate you allowing me to rest my head on your expansive belly while you clean my teeth...

I haven't had insurance in the last year. GASP! I know. How irresponsible of me. That is why I have stopped doing so many extreme sports like Alligator wrestling and one-legged log dancing - and you thought it was because I was lazy. Wrong. Last year I changed my benefits so I could make more money. I needed more money so I could buy a truck and if I gave up my benefits my pay would increase substantially. I planned on picking up some inexpensive coverage... someday... but that day never came. I was just ultra careful whenever I went outside and I prayed to God that he would keep me healthy until I got insurance coverage again. Thankfully, with my new position I have it.

So last Monday my insurance went into effect and I wasted no time in getting my teeth cleaned. I LOVE having my teeth cleaned. I like the way it feels when they take that little pointy scraper thing and scraped between my teeth. I always wish that they would show it to me because it feels like they are scraping off gobs of plaque and other gunk that has cemented itself to my teeth over the last 14 months. Thankfully I have no cavities! And overall my mouth is in great shape. I do need to get this one crown put on, but it is $372 semolies and I don't have that many duckets at the moment and even if I did I would spend them on something so much better - like 20o 4-pack of chic-fil-a chicken mini's!!! Once I had all those minis I would put them in a huge pile and then stuff my face into their soft buttery fried goodness. I would then sound like Cookie Monster as I proceeded to say over and over- MINI's GOOD!!! AAARRGGHMMMFFCCHCCHHOOOMP!!!

I would save 7.95 of my 372 duckets so that I could purchase a gallon diet lemonade from chic-fil-a as well because you have to have lemonade with your mini's and this particular lemonade is so tart and delicious that I think the lemons are procured from trees in heaven and then loving squeezed by the hands of angel children. As a final touch God dips his finger into it to sweeten it WITHOUT adding calories making it the most divine beverage on the planet!!!

So who cares about the fact that my tooth that was filled and prepared for a crown was never crowned. I can use that gaping hole in my tooth to store bits and pieces of food that can be consumed in crisis - especially since now that I have insurance back I can start alligator wrasslin' again - which sure works up an appetite!

Yee Haw!

American Idol's Elliot Yamin...

Performed the National Anthem last night. According to one of the ManiAAC's there was a delay in his performance because he was singing accapella and he needed someone to hum in his ear so he could hit the right key. Apparently they hummed one key too high because Elliot was started out much higher than anyone other than Celine Dion or Mariah Carey would want to start out. He ended up doing a superb job, but wasn't quite able to hit the really high notes in the line "For the land of the FREEE!!!", but he still totally rocked the house - the boy can sing!!!


I did want to point out that in this picture here you will see that someone is not holding their hand over their heart. Since their shirt is red I am assuming it is a Miami Heat fan and they were probably so worried about their team losing that they were flustered and apparently didn't realize what was going on around them.

If you didn't watch last night's game then you might not know that at one point the Dallas Mavericks were ahead by 27 points. The heat closed that gap down to 13, but Dallas continued to hold their lead and win the game 99-85. We now lead the series 2-0 and there will be three consecutive away games. Game 3 is crucial because if we win the first one on their home court, then we will most likely win the 4th and return as champions. I can't imagine losing against these guys. Last night in the first half we weren't even playing great basketball, then in the 3rd quarter we came out and dominated. If we can play wit the same intensity that we played with last night then we should have this thing in the bag.

One interesting thing to note about this series is that Shaquille O'Neal has been shut down! Last night he had only 5 points.

My best friend Joe and one of his friends came to the game last night. I missed Joe's wife Amber who had to work and couldn't come with Joe to the game, but we still had a great time.

It has been a great season and a great time to be a Mavericks ManiAAC!

Go Mavs!!!!!

My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard...

New Photos loaded to Flickr.

Not really, cause if some dude tried to touch my milkshake he would get punched in the face. And recently I have been so busy that it has put me on edge a couple of times and I wanted to punch someone in the face and so if someone had given me the slightest provocation for a face-punching, then believe you me - they would have gotten it!

But that isn't the point of this zany post. The point of this post is to tell you that I miss writing about my life. I miss exaggerating about how much I smoke pot and pray to God that someone will leave me a basket of muffins laced with Marijuana and Benadryl. I mean, who doesn't want to totally mellow out and at the same time have their histamines blocked? That is what I miss, I miss writing about something that I would never really do, but I throw it out there to shock my readers and my mom. It's fun for me. Why else would I talk about testicles? Same reason, it's fun for me.

I'd also like to point out that Cody Miller got married today. I prayed for years that something wonderful like this would happen... to me... and I think God must have thought I was saying "Bring Cody a wonderful wife, bring Cody a wonderful wife..." when in reality I was saying "Bring Eddie a hot, rich, wife, bring Eddie a hot, rich wife..." I think God hears what he wants to hear and does what he wants to do... which is cool with me, he knows what he is doing, but still... I need that Hot Rich wife!!! I did catch the garder today. I have about 600 of them now. I now realize that catching the garder means exactly the opposite of catching the bouquet. For every garder you catch, that means at least 2 more years of being single. And trust me, I get tired of hearing the, "When are you going to get married?" just as much as any of my single friends. I'll get married whenever I am darn good and ready, just like I do everything in my life. When I want it bad enough - I make it happen. ;)

So what has been going on with my life? Well, I don't know if you realize this, but I am a hot male dancer. Yep. I strip off my clothes in front of thousands of people and I love it. I gyrate and writhe about while Marvin Gaye sings "Let's Get it On" and the girls... well, let's just say they go more than a little wild.

Yes, I am a Mavs ManiAAC and I have been on ESPN Sportscenter, Channel 8, Channel 11, Channel 4, and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. If you are an ostrich, or a cave dweller, you might not know that the Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Finals. I have been going to all of the play-off games. I have performed in 3 of them- you might have seen one - Blues Brothers, Who Let the Dogs Out, and Booty, Booty, Booty. Yes, we rocked the house.

I get asked on a daily basis, "How bout them Mavs" and my response is always, "How bout'em!!!" And then I quickly scurry away like a frightented cockroach. Why? Because, like the cockroach, I don't want to be crushed. Crushed by the onslaught of questions about why Eric Dampier grabbed Shaq while he was trying to make a point. Why Jason Terry is hot on some nights and cold on others, How do you pronounced Dirk's last name is it Nowitzki or Novitzki? Have you met the players, what is Mark Cuban like, who is your favorite, how often do you go to the games, do you travel with the team? Why did Stackhouse try to shoot the 3 against the Spurs instead of going for the tie with a two-pointer? How Fat are the other guys? Are they really fat? Or just sort-of fat? Are they taller than you? How tall are they? Do you guys practice alot? Can I get a t-shirt? Can I get free tickets? Do you get free tickets? Do you get FREE PLAY-OFF TICKETS?

Yes, I do get free play-off tickets and that makes all the questions, the practices, the unpaid media appearances, the early mornings, late nights, and sore joints worth it. Yes, I did get to see Shaquille O'Neal close up. Yes, I have met many of the players. It has been one heck of a ride and it has all been well worth it.

I love being behind the scenes and in front of the scenes and being part of such a great organization. Mark Cuban did an amazing job of turning around a once embarrassing franchise into a team that is loved and respected. Coach of the Year Avery Johnson of course did his part, as well, but we owe a big thanks to Mark for having such a great vision and turning this team around.

Life has been sweet lately. God has blessed me so much and I am thankful to him for giving me such wonderful opportunities. Things have been going so well that I know someone has to be keeping me in their prayers, and for that I am forever grateful.

I hope to get some photos posted soon.

I love you with every molecule of my being... eddo

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

The Mavs ManiAACs will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno - TONIGHT!

Yesterday we got to meet Mo Rocca and a few other writers from the Tonight Show. I have seen Mo many times on VH1 when they do their little "Best of" series. He is really cool and reminds me a bit of my friend Dave Burr and Jimmy McWhinney at the same time.

Blogger keeps acting up and so I can't post more, but be watching for me tonight. The NBA finals are so hot that I expect to see some Celebs other than Basketball players. If I see Beyonce, then I am probably going to try to "check up on it, watch me while I work up on it..." if you know what I mean...

The Unwritten Law

There is an unwritten law that you don't talk about how much you make. Why is that?

One thing that I have learned in my 30 years on this planet is that the more money you make the more people expect from you. I made the mistake when I was younger telling people that I made 35 dollars an hour. Suddenly, whenever I went to lunch with my friends I was the one they expected to either pick up the tab or at least pay for the appetizer. Most of the time I was glad to do it, but the problem came with the expectation. I remember eating lunch one time with a couple of guys I hadn't seen in a while and both of them dropped about 5 hints during lunch for me to pick up the tab. I had been planning on picking up the tab all along, but when they kept dropping hints it sort of took the fun out of paying.

So last week I was listening to The Ticket and they listed all of these people's salaries that are public information. I think it is interesting how some information is made public for everyone, but the majority of us guard the amount we make the way we gaurd a dirty secret. However, unlike a dirty secret we want people to have some idea of the amount that we make - don't we?

Isn't that why we drive a certain type of vehicle or live in a particular house? Even our clothes are dead giveaways to the type of income that we have. We are such an ego-centric culture that we scream "look-at-me!" with our Rolex watches, our Manolo Blahniks and even our coffee.

Part of the reason I bring this up now is because yes, recently I got a raise, but after I looked at the new tax bracket that I am in I am going to be making very close to what I was already making. My new salary is somewhere between what a mexican day-worker makes and what Dirk Nowitzki makes... but it is much closer to the day worker.

Does That Make Me Crazy

My new iPod list... the top 10 that I play over and over anyway...

Gnarls Barkley - Does that Make me Crazy - It is the new "You're Beautiful" - a song that is a hit huge hit in Europe and is slowly but surely becoming a hit here in the states. I haven't heard it on the radio yet, but I heard it at the Mavericks game the other day - which means it has arrived.

Kelis - Bossy (Featuring Too Short) -"You might not like me, but you'll respect me - CAUSE I'M THE BOSS!" Ha ha. This song is catchy like Kelis' previous hit - "Milkshake". Whoever is doing the production on her albums should win an award because the sounds are always so fresh.

Cassie - Me & U - When I listen to this song I always imagine that I am doing a slow motion dance-off. There is something wickedly subtle in the hypnotic bass groove. I can listen to it over and over and never tire of it.

Nick Lachey - Resolution - I've always been a fan of Nick - mostly because he put up with Jessica and even I know that after a while looks aren't everything (even though she was so hot you could put up with a lot more crap). The thing is, the dude can really sing. This song is filled with raw emotion and talent and I am envious of his ability to control his falsetto so well - too bad he wasn't as good at controling Jes...

Dixie Chicks - I'm Not Ready to Make Nice - In retaliation to hate mail and all the other negative feedback Natalie Manes got from her comments about President George Bush. I believe in Free Speech and I think Natalie was wrong for what she said about the president of our Country because no matter who is running the US we should be respectful of that person. To be deragatory about a person in power may make you feel better - but only in the same way that bullies feel better after stealing someone's lunch money. If you don't like someone in office, do a better job of promoting your cause, spend more time changing the way people think instead of making back-handed and off-color jokes about that person. Besides, Bush makes it too easy, try for the more difficult comedic route and make fun of someone like Hilary Clinton or Condoleeza Rice.

Fort Minor - Remember the Name - Almost as much fun to workout to as Emenim's "Lose Yourself", this song has unimpressive lyrics, but an undeniably motivating rhythm that makes you want to get up and get to work.

Blue October - X Amount of Words - With songs like "Calling You" and "Hate Me" I cannot help but be impressed with Blue October and their amazing versatility. One of my favorite bands that in my book doesn't fall into any specific genre. Sometimes their lyrics are shocking, but the songs are sung with so much feeling that you can understand the writer's pain and it moves you. Blue October is another example of a band that has a knack for writing music that you can listen to over and over without ever tiring of it.

Pink - Cuz I Can - Who doesn't love Pink? Her in-your-face-devil-may-care attitude is surprisingly alluring. She is raw and edgy and there is nothing I can say about her that someone hasn't already said and said better, but I think this new song Cuz I Can is one of the best things she has done in a while and her new album "I'm Not Dead" is a testament to Pink's talent and the fact that not only is she not dead, but she is alive and kickin'!

Shake- Ying Yang Twins - Uh, Uh, This one's a killer! I don't even understand half the lyrics to this half-English half-Spanish song featuring Pit Bull. It is a mix of hip hop and regatone and if it doesn't have you up on your feet and dancing then you must be a paraplegic.

LL Cool J and Jennifer Lopez - Control Myself - I've always been a fan of LL but this time he added J-Lo to the mix and pulled out a hit that is one of my favorite songs of the spring. Here is a sampling of the lyrics: She licked, off, her lip, glossHer hips, tossed, back, and forth Side, to side, and up, and down She touched, the ground, it turned, me outI'm battling desire Lord help me douse this fire... L, we are seeing eye-to-eye on this one....

So what is on your playlist?

A Franchise First

The Dallas Mavericks will be going to the NBA National Championships! They beat the Phoenix Suns last night after being behind in the first half by 17 points.

I'm obviously extremely excited. I think we can beat the Miami Heat and it will be fun to watch Shaq get pommelled by Diop and Dampier.

HOW BOUT THEM MAVERICKS!!!!

Because they Listen...

Last night at the Mavericks game this kid came up to me that I know through some friends in Denton. He is probably 15 years old and he always comes and talks to me about computer stuff - AMD processors, Motherboards, hard drives, video cards, etc. When he left last night I thought to myself, "Why does he always come over and talk to me?" I think it is because I listen. When I was a leader at Denton Bible Church I had so many kids that would come up and want to just talk. Without being too arrogant I can say I am pretty fun to be around, but these kids weren't looking for laughs - they were looking for someone to listen.

If you look around our world you will see that everyone is hungry for attention and they will get it one way or another. I see kids whose parents are too busy working and fulfilling their own dreams and goals instead of taking the time to just stop and listen.

The people that I surround myself with, the people that I care about the most, are people who listen to what I have to say. My mom is an excellent listener. I can call her at any time and she will listen to me whether I am elated about a new job or depressed about a bad relationship - she listens. My best friend Joe and his wife Amber are my best friends because they are always so interested in my life and what I have to say and hopefully I make them feel the same way.

When you listen to someone, you validate them, you make them feel important.

If you want people to love and respect you, then always be sure to listen.

Rate Your Boss!

I get nervous when I am asked to submit an "anonymous" survey where I am supposed to answer questions about my boss. I always wonder how anonymous it is actually going to be and so of course my answers are normally not as truthful as I would like them to be.

What I try to do is be as objective as I can, I remove all emotion and rate the person on their skills and I try to provide constructive feedback.

I have a great boss, but I think everyone could use some improvement in some areas. Very few bosses that I have had in the past have been perfect, but I have had some that have been close.

To me what makes a good boss is someone who is actually interested in you as a person. They want to help you in your career, and they want to find out your personal goals so that they can help you reach them. A great boss will mentor you and give you feedback that will help you exceed not only in the corporate world, but in life.

One of the greatest lesson's that I have learned in the corporate world is that whenver you are trying to get something that you want you have to be sure to do your homework. If you want a raise or a promotion, give them a reason to give it to you. 2 years on the job performing at the same consistent level does not mean you should get an increase in pay - it means you get to keep your job.

I also think people underestimate how important it is for you to "look the part". If you want to be a manager, you need to look and act like a manager. I've also learned that it is necessary to speak up again and again when you want something, but to do it in an extremely positive way so that it doesn't come across as nagging.

So how is your career coming along? What are your goals personally and financially? How would you rate your boss? And if you are the boss, how would you rate yourself?