Gungadin News Network

He has similar skills as the g.o.a.t (greatest of all time) with humble demeanor. He hails from the same city where His Airness won six N.B.A. titles. He took his skills from Marquette University to South Beach Miami Florida and in his third year he delivered a finals performance that earned him finals M.V.P. and World Champion. He wears the number three, absent is the number two, who he is now compared to. Maybe he is the new second coming. I think its fair to say “Flash”, remind you of the calm who donned number 23 when he was creating the storm in the 90s. He moves like a panther with the killer instinct and never needed the hype to tell him how great he is. The Miami Heat are champions because of him. This young man at the age of 24 became a superstar over night, escalating his star status. Lebron had the media attention while Kobe dropped 81 points on Toronto this year. Little did we know about good the kid who plays down in south beach really was? Previous playoff performances had him hurt, searching for the right mix and alignment of the planets to get the blessing from the basketball Gods. We should all call him Neo, in this matrix of who now runs the N.B.A. Yes I said it, he’s Neo to Shaq’s Morpheus. The Dallas Mavericks had no answer for him as they searched to find their own savior. Hard work and preparation prevented a passive poor performance. Ladies and gentleman with out further ado I introduce to you from Chicago, Illinois, via the World Champion Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade.

copyright

Cho Woods

T.D. Jakes was returning to Texas after a speaking engagement. When his plane arrived , there was a limousine there to transport him to his home in Dallas. As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped and spoke to the driver.

"You know" he said, "I am almost 50 years old and I have never driven a limousine. Would you mind if I drove it for a while?" The driver said, "No problem. Have at it." T.D. gets into the driver's seat and they head off down the highway. A short distance away sat a rookie State Trooper operating his first speed trap. The long black limo went by him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone. The trooper pulled out and easily caught the limo and got out of his patrol car to begin the procedure.

The young trooper walked up to the driver's door and when the glass was rolled down he was surprised to see who was driving. He immediately excused himself and went back to his car and called his supervisor. He told the supervisor, "I know we are supposed to enforce the law but I also know that important people are sometimes given certain courtesies. I need to know what I should do because I have stopped a very important person." "The supervisor asked, "Is it the governor?" The young trooper said, "No, he's more important than that." The supervisor said, "Oh, so it's the president." The young trooper said, "No, he's even more important than that." The supervisor finally asked, "Well then, who is it?" The young trooper said, "I think its Jesus because he's got T. D. Jakes for a chauffeur!!!!!

On my web site, Alternating Currents, I address options people who want to transition out of the fast lane have in terms of work. As I research this topic to find new articles about working-from-home, starting a business, and volunteering, I am struck by how closely Bill Gates stated reasons for his partial retirement from Microsoft mirror the thoughts and goals of so many other folks. For him, it is the responsibility of the wealthy to give back. As he said in his announcement, "I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility - the responsibility to give back to society and make sure those resources are given back in the best possible way, to those in need," he said. Gates added, "It's not a retirement, it's a reordering of my priorities."

Now, there aren’t many of us who can choose to endow a non-profit with a few billion dollars to support world health and education goals, but many of us can use our time and capabilities to help organizations that are trying to make things better for others. What I have found is that most people who make a quality of life choice to slow down, smell the roses, and work for organizations they believe in, is that these folks are happier, healthier, and maintaining more satisfactory relationships. This sense of well-being is in spite of what could be seen as a lower standard of living than they had when they were climbing the corporate ladder.

As I have made my transition out of the fast lane, I finally have time for community volunteering, tutoring, just little things in the greater scheme. I am finding that the more I do, the more helping opportunities present themselves. “Do what you can, for who you can, with what you have, and where you are.” OK.

With all that is going on locally and globally, we have so much interesting information to learn. When the major Hollywood studios stop producing original films, the rise of the independents step in and squeeze in their statements. Surprisingly enough, the documentary film genre is taking over the studios.

It all began with Fahrenheit 911, and its financial success as a documentary film. The film school students jumped all over this as a porthole for breakthroughs in their careers. They are cheap, easy to film, and interesting, a film student’s wet dream. Not only do students love this "real" aspect of their art form, but also astonishingly enough so do politicians!

Recently released in select theaters, Al Gore, former vice-president, created a documentary film detailing the urgent issue of global warming. An Inconvenient Truth, was more shocking and entertaining than any other feature I would have wanted to see. I had to go an hour away from my humble abode to watch this moving document on how my child's world shall become a living hell if I don't act now. I would indubitably recommend this film to everyone. Republican or Democrat, whatever your lifestyle, you should watch this film!

But before the film was shown, the trailers were all of up and coming documentaries that are going to be shown in the theaters, and all of them were documentaries. Who killed the electric car? The Road to Guantanamo, which is a hybrid of drama and documentary. I have no doubt in my mind that these features will surpass any major motion picture. With all of this rebellious entertainment, there seems to be a break in the usurping of the industry these conglomerates have tried to monopolize.

When Telemarketers Attack
by: Brandon J. Mendelson
College survival television

I woke up early one Saturday afternoon due to the incessant ringing of my phone. I do not have a lot of time to sleep during the week, so when it gets to the weekends, I try to sleep as much as possible. Biologically you can't really "catch up" on lost sleep, but your mind thinks you did, and if your mind thinks you caught up on sleep then that is all that really matters. So when my face hits the pillow on a Friday night, damn the thing that decides to wake me up.

Because of the high stress kind of life I live, "Hollywood" as one of my friends calls me; I have to answer the phone. I refuse to go out of my way to buy a cell phone, so when people call me in the dorm I have to answer. Unfortunately for me, I was greeted by a voice from over seas on Saturday morning. I think she was Indian. I normally love the Indian accent, but when its coming from a telemarketer trying to get me to sign up for a VISA credit card, I go into what's affectionately called "superfunhappy mode." And while in "superfunhappy mode" I lose it and start to let the person on the receiving end have it with a barrage of artful and colorful terms that would make a sailor or a profusely swearing George Washington blush.

This time was different. People were in the room, and I decided to hear the telemarketer out. She first started telling me I was pre-selected to receive a credit card. This was total bullshit. Not only because they tell everyone the same stupid line to make them feel important, but because my credit is so bad, I've started making a paper fort out of the bills I get every month. Any company that wants to give me a credit card must be brain damaged. But then, this is a credit card company directly soliciting a college student on campus, which has to be illegal in some way shape or form. Maybe they suffered head trauma and never told anyone?

The caller then, in mangled English, started to tell me how I can sign up today and start spending. I laughed and said, "Sure, what do I need to do?" And she started asking me for all my personal information. So I told her I was hung like a polar bear, you know, to scare her off the phone. Apparently she didn't catch the joke and again asked me for my home address. So I started playing a long like I was interested and gave it to her. I needed more letters to finish my fort at home. Finally she asked for my social security number, and I turned dead serious. I told her I refuse to give that to her because it is illegal for her to ask that. I'm not sure if it is illegal or not, but if a college can no longer take your social security number to identify you, I'm pretty sure a billion dollar blood sucker like this company can't ask for it either. She tried about six more times before I hung up. I give this company bonus points for being persistent but that is where the praise ends.

I immediately contacted my residence hall coordinator and asked her if it was illegal for the company to call. The response was it was not, unless you are signed up for the national do not call list. Credit card companies control people through debt. Once they have you signed on with a high credit limit they know they have you for life. 83% of all undergrads have a credit card according to a study by Nellie Mae. They hook you with crap like "build your credit now" and advertising the credit card like it's your gateway to independence. I say, forget them. I'm urging all students to register their phone numbers on the national do not call list. You can access this list by visiting https://www.donotcall.gov. Tell your college you want to be free from telemarketing while attending college. And while we're at it, if your campus store has not stopped carrying advertisements for credit card companies, tear the ads up and bring them back to the store to let them know you've had enough. Maybe this way we can all get some sleep on the weekend and not have to worry about other bills besides our student loans.

Marvin Gaye once sang loudly in 70’s, “What’s going on?” Lately as I turn on the news to get my day started with some up to date information and a little eye candy from Lori Wilson on NBC10 news in Philadelphia, I am in shock at what I am seeing and hearing. No longer does the moniker of, “brotherly love” belong to the city I grew up in. That tag has been suspended in my view because this city that is rich in history now have a cold reality as the summer is heating up.

Just two block from where my mother live off of Broad and Germantown Ave., a Chinese man and his worker were gunned down for little or no money that the predators were trying to steal. What’s going on? Can someone tell me because I am almost afraid to go back home to visit and worst of all I am afraid for my family and the people I love to be easy prey for the people who has no respect for themselves or others. Philly has taken over the news stations, practically North Philly. The mayor John Street was on the national cable station CNN asking for help when a police officer was gunned down in cold blood.

A young man who just graduated from Roman Catholic High School on his way to college in the fall was working as a guard when a man pointed a gun at him and shot him in cold blood. Has Satan himself set up residency in my beloved city? Has the ghetto life gone to another level because of people do not want to wait for the finer things in life. What happen to having a dream of wanting to be something in my beloved city? No sin is bigger than any other sin but God has to be disappointed in what is happening on this planet with all the violence, domestic and abroad. I am proud to be from the ghetto. I had a great time learning what it took to be a law-abiding citizen. Time has change and only God can help us out of this mess.

I acknowledge that crime is everywhere but it troubles me that you can be in any store in the city and a man on a mission to do harm will do it at all cost. Children are caught in the crossfire and mothers are left with nothing but tears and funeral arrangements.
What kind a life can the youth look forward to when all he sees is disturb individuals looking for a quick buck? Is it the music? Is it the upbringing? Is it the influence of friends edging one another to do the wrong damn thing? These idiots have to know that they will get caught. Going to jail is not a glamorous place, I know because I work in the internal affairs department for four years. Marvin also sang in the same song, “Make me throw up both my hands.” I will make sure that when I do throw up my hands I will be saying a prayer for each and every person in the city of brotherly. Lets continue to pray that the means of getting ahead, would not be a a preditor vs a potential victum. God did not intend for life to be lived in fear.

I am not a basketball fan or even much of a sports fan, but I do have civic pride. So the past two weeks, I interrupted my usual TV watching to see how my team, the Dallas Mavericks, was doing in the playoffs. I was impressed. Not just because they won, but because they tried so hard – all the time.

The Mavericks have one really tall guy who shoots lots of baskets – this is important in basketball. His name is Dirk Nowitzki. I liked Nowitzki, not just because of his great plays, but because of the way he came across in the half-time and after-game interviews. He was always complimentary of the rest of the team, the coaches, and even the opponents. He was humble, or seemed to be so, especially for a guy whose play determines winning or losing. Mostly he won. It was also nice to see that his friendship with the arch-enemy from the Suns, Steve Nash, continued despite their obvious on-the-floor competitiveness.

Then there is the Maverick’s coach, Avery Johnson. What an intense guy. Watching him watch the game was almost scary because he was so focused. Finally, there is the owner, Mark Cuban. Even as removed as I am from the sport, I know that Mr. Cuban has had many conflicts with officials and paid large sums of money as a penalty for his enthusiastic support. He must have done some things really right. I vaguely remember when the Mavericks were the doormat for the rest of the NBA, before Mark Cuban. Now they are in the finals.

So what have I learned from this new obsession with the Mavericks. Well, leadership really does make a difference. Vision and belief in your capabilities matters. Take care of your employees and they will give you all they can and be happy about it. It is trite to say that these observations apply to all aspects of our lives, not just a basketball team. But, I think we forget sometimes, when we complain about the high salaries of corporate CEOs or even our boss’s boss that the reason some folks are monetarily valued is because they are highly valuable - to all of us.

By: Brandon J. Mendelson
http://www.thebrandonshow.com

Two thousand years of progress and the pinnacle of mankind’s achievement online is a website with photos of Paris Hilton after she was beaten by her former boyfriend. I am not an intellectual by any stretch of the imagination, but what is stunning to me is the amount of garbage there is floating around on the Internet.
On any given day you are bombarded with ads for penis enlargement, hit with spyware, and receive messages from some person in Africa claiming to be a prince that wants to share his fortune with you. I recently saw an advertisement from a company telling me to click on the banner to remove advertisements on my computer. My response and yours should always the same to this bombardment of substandard waste. Run Lava Soft’s Ad Aware when finished surfing the net, try your best to shield your eyes from the ads, tell the guy from Liberia his check is in the mail, and if necessary ask the good people at the “Rhino Penis Company” how much they want.

The sites I go to, when I am done with that cavalcade of gallstone inducing madness that is my email account, are the news sites. I get my news, maybe a few cheap laughs, and then I sign off. Not as exciting as say putting a stick of dynamite down my throat and trying to put out the fuse before it blows, but this kills time between classes and keeps me sharp. I never know when someone is going to regurgitate what he or she saw on the news and misinterpret it to make a point in class. You should never believe everything you read, and you should not form an opinion on something without all the facts. All because The New York Post makes things up does not mean you should either.

Every website out there looks exactly the same. Almost all of the sites that I had a chance to check out were either a cheap knock off of a popular site, or the site amounted to another Norman Rockwell who took their PHP mastery or some such nonsense, gave it a sleek "look at me I'm a nerd" design, and piled on everything they thought they could that would get people to go to their site.

Now you have these blogs popping up everywhere like a foot rash. I loathe blogs because most of the time it is some unqualified, blithering, teenager yapping endlessly about what they think about George Bush or waxing philosophical on such intellectual matters as whether to scratch their behind with the left or right hand. And then of course you have the blogs that just focus on celebrities and offer snarky comments that a 3-year-old chimp named Ooka could top. The media needs to stop their love affair with blogs and “citizen journalists.” There is too much danger in this flash journalism style that people will be harmed. The unfortunate events of the media misreporting the coal miner tragedy in West Virginia will happen again under “flash journalism.”

It seems to me we have been on a downward spiral in terms of what we expect for entertainment and the Internet reflects our low standards. So I say go to your usual sites, stay informed so you don’t turn into a blithering blogger, and for the love of everything holy run Lavasoft’s Ad Aware or some kind of spyware protection when you are done

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The real mark of terrorism

There is one important factor in these days and times of terrorism over exploitation in case we all forgot. Too many times you hear the media shaping out minds with scare tactics and false reports that the arm forces are defending this country.
News flash: This country under any type of attack, except from the media who keeps feeding us this garbage everyday. The urban neighborhoods are decaying while money is being spent over in Iraq. Ok I’m done venting, back to the story. The media is forgetting one key element that is the driving force. I believe his name is the Enemy. I don’t like to call his name but he is the one who has all of his might and focus on changing this world to benefit from capturing our souls. The Souls of every man, woman and child is all he wants and to continue to perpetuate negativity so we could take the focus off of God and his plan. As we embark on a new month into this year, there is a remake of the movie The Omen that is about to hit theatres on all day June 6, 2006. It’s being promoted as 6/6/06, in case you didn’t know it’s the mark of the beast. I understand the promotion aspect of it, however Hollywood is making it out to be a remake in sake of entertainment but entertainment its not. Demonic forces plague us all in our days and times.
I should know I’ve been possessed and floated about my bed and lost my voice from screaming so loud. I’ve been thrown off my bed and into my dresser in the middle of the night. I’ve been visited as a kid and had my mother witness the demon in my bedroom. The enemy is the real terror and he’s so upset that we are not giving him his just-do. As a society, we are bent on living our lives but we need to take heed at what is about to come. The fuel he is empowering his army to wreck havoc on earth is only going to get worse. We have armor up our spirits and get ready to for the long haul of hell on earth. This is the only way we will have happiness and peace. Peace will not come at the power of man and his mighty pen to enforce wars. Peace will come when we will stand for no more of the enemy’s tricks. Remember the greatest trick the enemy has ever done was convincing the world he didn’t exist. Keep in mind the three sixes or the mark of the mark of the beast is the real terror and the only way to defeat it, is to acknowledge that it exist and stay prayed up, because the battle is not ours to fight.

Cho Woods
Copyright 2006

I really enjoyed David Weinberger's presentation given as part of the series on "The Digital Future". Weinberger talked not only about knowledge organization, but also about the impact of blogs on our information sharing society. According to Weinberger we need more people to create blogs, not just on personal topics, but on professional and business topics. We need people to share their experiences and give lessons learned.

What does he like about blogs? He believes that they are more intimate and personal than the polished, corporate or professional pieces we find easily on the web. To make his point, he shared a personal story about his purchase of a washing machine. He went to the website of his chosen product and tried to find out the specifications and details about his washing machine. He had a serious challenge getting around all the marketing hype. He could find lots of detail about how smart and successful he would be to buy this machine, but few details on the machine itself.

So, he also checked out blogs - where there were many comments on his choice. People, real people – people who were believable because they had no benefit in his decision, provided all kinds of details about the washing machine. They told him about their experiences - good and bad. He was persuaded to buy the machine because he believed them. That is part of the power of blogs.

What else did he think differentiated the blogsphere from tradition websites? Forgiveness. Readers know that bloggers are writing quickly and may say things that given more time, and reviewers, might be changed or toned down a bit. Readers forgive typos. Also, blog authors tend to reference other blogs – saying in essence, go look at what someone else has to say about this topic. You would not expect Home Depot or Staples to tell you to go check out Lowes or Office Max.

A final comment from Weinberger considered the development of social networks that seem to be a bi-product of blogs. In a real sense, you get to know the people writing blogs – the pleasures, gripes, and humor. Even if you do not make new friends – you can learn a lot.

EVIL

Putting vile thoughts into motion is the act of evil. We all at one time or another have had negative and mean thoughts. It’s not uncommon at all. But the acting upon something sinister, and hate driven is not and shouldn’t be acceptable. Biblically a thought of evil is abomination (sinful thoughts), but it’s the act of evil that is a sin. It may satisfy ones self at the time, but in the long haul it will cause some sort of damage or repercussion. Evil has a bad taste that leaves pain, and bitterness.

Evil comes in many faces. Individual evil can bother, and upset a nation. But evil in a large forum can, has, and will do more than just upset a nation, or the world. It can cause catastrophically horrible damage on a global scope.

Evil amongst individuals can sometimes happen with a surprise. It may have been in the mind of the person for a while, but the act sometimes comes surprisingly to outsiders. But then by chance, we may see the signs of evil forming in a person before the act of it. That is where we must step in. It’s hard to stop evil after it’s in progress, or when it is done.

National or global evil never is spontaneous. It is planned, and executed by more than one person. There may be a leader of the evil idea, but it is not possible without supporters and followers. These people may feel they are doing the right thing. They feel death, pain, fear, and deception is a means to an end.

Look at Hitler, and Stalin. They still wear the face of evil. Even in their deaths. In a grand scale like that, it requires multitudes for that evil to happen. It takes huge numbers of people to unite in a group of negative power, and vision. Hitler and Stalin didn’t and couldn’t have done what they did without a following, and equal evil minds.

The remarkable thing about the worldly evil deeds acted upon by Hitler and Stalin is, many capable people permitted it to happen. Millions of Germans, and Russians disagreed with the actions taken. Millions were appalled by what was happening. Other nations were seeing what was going on and just watched. Conversations were spoken amongst each other. But nothing was done until millions had died, or it got too close to their countries, and homes.

No lessons seemed to have been learned by those past world evils. Look at Sudan, Rwanda, Israel, Iraq, parts of Europe, and Central America. The situations and progress were not foreseen. No psychic was needed to see the damage and end result. We’ve been there before. It’s just the same script from history with different actors, and settings.

Evil has no growth without being fed, and nurtured. It also has a growing future with no correction, or interruption. Like everything in life, cause has an effect on people around it. Evil is a weed that grows in the garden of life. Pruning, fertilizing the flowers of life and nipping weeds as they sprout will give a healthy garden. Because what allows evil to prevail, and triumph is when good acts and good people do absolutely nothing. Good is only good when it is doing well. Doing nothing about something means nothing.

Many of my friends, co-workers and family members have been involved whether they intend to or not in my current agenda facing gay and lesbian Americans as of today.

The Federal Marriage Amendment is well on its way to pass through the senate on my birthday, June 05th. Not only will this write discrimination into the constitution, this will prevent gay and lesbian people to get married, will prevent gay and lesbian individuals from participating in civil unions as well as receiving partnership benefits. Not only will this deny lesbian and gay couples their human rights as Americans and HUMANS, but it will void all previous marriages and civil unions in states that conduct ceremonies.

I'm not sure if many of you understand that gay and lesbian couples are denied over 1000+ rights that heterosexual couples receive once they decide to tie the knot.

But hate isn't an institution, it surrounds you and I. We cannot blame hatred only on politicians who fail to secure rights for gay and lesbian citizens, because these politicians represent some really ignorant folks. For example, recently the Happy Harbor Inn, located in Deale, Maryland was accused of hanging signs outside their door informing the public that there were to be no "Colored" patrons allowed in, as well as the practice to ban "fag" and other individuals in society.

Is this really 2006? Does my homosexuality really affect you that much? Are you that insecure in your own marriage, in your own life that you cannot grant happiness to another individual? I am saying that those individuals who push for the Federal Marriage Amendment are not only pushing for the amendment, they are on the offensive to attack LGBT citizens. I ask that anyone who is of age to vote, please vote against the Federal Marriage Amendment and do not be the first generation to write HATRED into the constitution.

If not for me, then look around. You know someone who is lesbian, who is gay, who is bisexual and who may be transgendered. They may not be out, but I'm sure you suspect it, you've seen it. There are LGBT celebrities, politicians, leaders, followers, writers, singers, your friends, your family, and I think it is EVERY citizens job to speak up and speak out to protect one another.

A friend of mine is a programmer for the Philadelphia Film Festival and received a few promotion DVD's in the mail yesterday. Usually when these programmers receive this entertainment it is thrown into a pile and left with all of the other DVD's that they will eventually watch, but this time one stood out. Midnight Blue Collection’s Porn King, documenting the fight the owner of former Screw Magazine, Al Goldstein, went through to show his “passion” for the first amendment. Although the documentary is about a vulgar man and his sleazy tabloid, I honestly thought it was a tasteful documentary to show how the kings fall to peasantry.
With every documentary about a former icon, usually at their apex in the 70’s, you see the exciting story of an interesting man usurping power from his ability to express. Eventually the story follows with a fade to black, and switches gears to the sad story of a washed up old man working in a multimillion-dollar fast food chain. Angry, frustrated, and confused, I couldn’t begin to comprehend why he would sell out. A man who was engaging in pornographic acts from youth is now a washed up old man on probation looking for a decent hard working job. How could this be? His trademark was F.U. to everyone including the judge that ultimately incarcerated him on harassment charges. Is it our legal system taking revenge too far, have we lost our ability to fight for our constitution, or are we at fault?
Having a passion for film, personally I feel that the 1970’s were the pinnacle for entertainment. People felt a need for a message to be put across, and they fought for it. Today, I don’t believe that I have actually gone to a blockbuster and enjoyed it. One feature I believed would spark emotion and revolution was V for Vendetta. I was outrageously disappointed when I walked out of the theater. It was sloppy, the main character leapt out of importance in the last half of the second act, and I didn’t feel as though the audience was going to walk out of that theater and stand up for what was going wrong. The pre-existing life in that story about how we are going to have a curfew will most likely happen, but I seriously don’t believe the public will take up arms to defend our inalienable rights.
With this current documentary truly depicting what has happened, not only to our past icons, but to our future generation is depressing and horrifyingly honest. I can only look toward this blogging device, and the Internet to be able to proclaim my message of revolt. No matter what you stand for, the world is changing too rapidly for the worst, and there should be something done about it. Al Goldstein took his vulgar language to the stage and presented it. With the legal system, health problems, and no friends left there was nowhere left for him to turn but to a homeless shelter. Lets not let this happen to America, and ring that liberty bell for our rights.

Perhaps I've been up too long and my vision is blurry, but I've been tryin to post a comment for a little while now on this site and I can't seem to find the link for COMMENT...all I could do was send an email to the author...technology, I tell ya...

I had a bad shopping experience recently. I was looking for an item in a large, all-purpose, hardware store such as Home Depot or Lowes. I could not find it among the thousands of items. I had found other things I needed, I was out of time, and the item was something I could look for another time. So, I went to check out. My typical experience in this store and most other retail stores is that when you check out, the clerk asks if you have found everything you need. However, this clerk did not. So, I said, “I did not find what I was looking for.” Instead of a solution or an offer of help, I got a blank stare. “Are you ready to check out?” she asked. Not what I expected to hear.

Now, I had recently read the RETAIL ASSOCIATES RANT on this blog, and I examined my behavior see if I had behaved badly as a customer. I was not complaining, it was in the middle of the day, not first thing in the morning or near closing time. I had not messed up any inventory in my search. I asked nicely. I do not think this failure was my fault.

But it got me to thinking. What could the store have done to make my shopping experience more successful? I find it understandable that a retail associate may not know the complete store inventory or the location of each of the tens of thousands of items it carries. Could technology help? What if there was a terminal, conveniently located, where I could ask the location of my item. The database would have the item by name, with a functional description – in case I do not know the exact name, some common misspellings or alternate names, and even pictures. When I found the item I wanted, the computer would tell me its location.

Or, items could have RF Tags and when I selected my item by name or picture, the system would radio the item to find its location and then give me directions. The instructions could be a text message or a speech-from-text reader. Heck, a robot could go get it for me. The computer message could even contain some helpful information about using the product or other items I might need to purchase to make it work. If the store did not have the item in stock, the computer could log the item for ordering and give me a polite message saying that the item would be ordered and available at X time.

As it turned out, I found the item in my local grocery store while doing my regular shopping. I will go back to the hardware store because I often need items from there and generally I have a successful experience. But, that day, they did not do well by me.

Going to the movies gives me an aneurysm
By: Brandon J. Mendelson [ Brandon's Personal Website ]

Up until recently there was nothing to do in Monroe. The movie theater was the place to be because Wal-Mart kicks you out at 3am. And since this is a corporate theater chain we’re dealing with you can imagine the wonderful experiences people endure when going to see a movie there. When you hear guest lecturers or business experts on television talk about the loss of a human touch in corporations they weren’t high when they said that.

For those of you who don’t have a corporate movie theater chain near you, or those intelligent enough to avoid these theaters from the beginning, let me tell you about the problems the rest of us have to deal with. This particular chain has raised ticket prices over the past few years quietly while complaining publicly in the business section that movie attendance is declining. Right now it’s up to $10 to see a movie. Considering that you’re bombarded with wall-to-wall advertisements for non-movie related products, and commercials that make you yearn for the return of Pauley Shore, I think it’s fair to argue that anything approaching $6.00 for a ticket equates to consumer rape.

Before you even get to the theater you run into advertisements. They’re on the front door of the mall entrance, and the ads are in your face when you step inside the theater courtesy of these new plasma screens hanging around the lobby. If you can find your way out of the zombie-like trance the screens induce you’ll find a conveniently placed concession stand. A concession stand that has popcorn sitting there from before the Earth cooled. And if that wasn’t bad enough the theater sells overpriced candy and food you could have gotten at one of the other stores in the mall. The problem is the theater decided you couldn’t bring in outside food and drinks with you to see a movie. Nice huh? Not only do they get you for $10, but now if you want to eat you have to smuggle food in like a cocaine mule. And that food the theater serves is no walk in the park. Between you and me, one of those value meals will send you into the bathroom twenty minutes into the movie with Montezuma’s revenge.

This chain expanded with 10 new theaters in the downstairs. All of the new and allegedly improved theaters are smaller in terms of screen size, theater size, and have those chairs that rock if you lean back in them. Imagine my enjoyment when I have to wedge my 6′ 4″ frame between these seats, and some bald headed schmuck who thinks he’s Steve Austin leans back and takes away my quarter inch of leg room. Once paralysis sets in you start to notice local advertising on screen and canned music from the corporate record label. It used to be that you came in and they go right to the trailers for upcoming films. Now they started running commercials that you can see for free on television like the stupid jeans commercial with the guy riding his 70’s muscle car like a prom date.

Then there is everyone’s favorite, the Fandango commercials. I HATE Fandango. I swear to god that the next person I see who laughs at the Fandango commercial is getting smacked in the face with a piece of dry wall. Those Fandango commercials are not funny. Just buy the fricking tickets in person! If you know the movie is going to be sold out get the tickets a few days in advance. Problem solved. The more people stay away from Fandango the more likely they will stop airing these mind-numbingly lame commercials. After about ten minutes of this cavalcade of crap you think they’re going to show the trailers but then they hit you with this anal leakage inducing “Inconsiderate cell phone man” ad. Why couldn’t they go with a ten-second slide saying “Please turn your cell phone off” followed by another that says, “If you don’t, you’ll be beaten to death by the lady sitting next to you”?

I like how the rating system is thoroughly enforced at these chains, too. I went to see Bad Boys II and they checked my ID when I purchased the tickets, and again when I reentered the theater after a bathroom break to get razor blades. As I was getting ready to end my life I overheard an usher kicking out a seventeen year old just as a baby was crying inside the theater. I want someone to explain to me how a baby and other small children are allowed into the theater with their parents when some seventeen year old can’t get in to see the movie. Maybe I shouldn’t question these people; after all they gave us Fandango puppets made out of brown paper bags. Which if you ask me is an act of corporate thrift. I could be lighting dog turds in those paper bags!

After seeing some of these new movie trailers that look like a chimp took a dump and smeared it on a roll of film, my legs and back feeling like I was in a car wreck, and the incredibly bad movie that made me wish I had killed myself, you then stumble out of the theater blurry-eyed and agitated. As if this experience was not bad enough, as you leave the theater they have some loser handing out free candy or flyers promoting some inane product. It’s not until you get to your car, which is either banged up or stolen depending on what the local wildlife felt like doing, that you are free from the grip of theater and this nightmarish experience. Why couldn’t they pay this guy to watch my car? I should be allowed to take the candy and give him one swift kick to the nuts. Because that’s the closest thing I’m getting to a refund. If I were you I would find a nice local theater near you and start investing your money there. Support the local economy and stop giving money to these corporate chain wods.

As an internet blogger, I have public and personal responsibilities surrounding the body of work I create. I try to keep my posts entertaining, often related to current events, Hollywood, or everyday life. Today I am not blogging a typical entry. Today I am going to be selfish, as I examine the cruel, harsh reality that is writing a book.

Writer's block. I always beleived that it was a big joke, this well-received farce was something that authors created in order to justify a few more days to soak up the sun. Wow, I was wrong! I've come up with multiple ideas to create a memoir, they're noble, they could be perceived as "entertainment," but I'm having a difficult time developing my voice on paper.

I knew it. I should have been born in 950 A.D. I'll even take 1694, you know, wearing those awful dresses, repressing all of my homosexual tendencies, you know the drill. But at least I could have the job of my dreams, you know? Storytelling. That's what I should do. I bet there is almost no cash in storytelling. But I bet it includes a bunch of four and five year olds drooling on me. What a day.

Help me write a story. Anything. I'll write about a bear that falls in love with a bee. However the bee had a previous relationship with a very jealous ardvark. Oh my god, it would totally sell. People would find so many hidden meanings, it's disgusting. But alas, my ADHD is kicking in, and I'm supposed to be working right now.

Good Night, and Good Luck!

I just read an article on Yahoo about waiterrant.net a site for those who "ever wonder what your waiter's thinking". I read it and I thought maybe I can tell you what your retail store associate is thinking...seeing as how I am a part time retail associate in a woman's clothing store I thought, hey, I can let you know what I'm thinkin when you come into my store.

I work mainly a couple week nights and almost every weekend...when I applied for the job I specified my availablility was 2 nights a week, somehow my manager read that as 4-6 nights a week.

When I get to work on week nights, I am tired having fought traffic for almost 45 minutes coming from my full-time job and the last thing I wanna do is go back to work, but knowing that my bills are always in the mail, I have to suck it up and get to slavin.

Before I even finish clocking in, my managers are tellin me we need to get people to apply for credit, credit, credit...great the last thing I need is to hear other people complain about their credit ratings when the store I WORK for won't even approve ME for a card. I can barely afford gas to get to work, and these people want me to get people to open a card there to spend more money. I'm not harrassing someone to open a card with a 20% interest rate give me a break. Sure it's part of my job, but will I be able to live with my self knowing I keep helpin our population grow into deeper debt?

Customers complain about the prices of the clothes. I mena all I can do is listen, but sometimes you customers think I was the one sittin behind the desk calculating how much I think this sheer shirt is worth and somehow I figured, for as little fabric and detail there is on the shirt, it is WORTH the $40 and YOU'RE gonna buy it. I don't make the clothes, and I don't set the prices...and if you're gonna complain don't come back within following weeks to buy the same item you were complaining about at the SAME price you were complaining about.

When I say only 1 person at a time in the fitting room I MEAN IT. I don't care if you're her mother, the both of you could be stealing...a mother/daughter version of bonnie and clyde. You know you are not a MEDIUM sweety, let me get you that X-Large...don't be ashamed of your size it's just a number, and I dont wanna laugh at your ass when I see you walkin down Main Street with that tight ass shirt on. OMG PLEASE SHOWER, those fitting rooms are too small and poorly ventilated to be comin up in there funky as hell smellin like onion soup.

Is it NECESSARY to unfold every tshirt in a diff color? A black LARGE tshirt is the same as the red LARGE tshirt. Look at the maniquen...she's wearing the shirt. Don't think I didn't see you unfold that shirt after I folded it and walked away. If you don't want that pair of pants, dont leave it on the tshirt table. If only hitting stupid people with my hanger wouldn't land me in trouble...

The store is about to close and you have the nerve to walk in 5 minutes before we're about to lock up or you are still shopping past closing time. I have a full-time office job, and at 5pm I know no one in the office is sittin around lookin at paperwork that is gonna be there first thing in the morning when the office opens again. You want to go home at the end of your shift the same way I want to go home. Difference is at your job your fat ass is sittin in a rolly chair for 8 hours and at my pt job I'm constantly on my feet for 5-6 hours. GO HOME!! If you really needed those ugly pair of shorts you shoulda came 30 minutes ago. I have a full time job in the morning just like you, so please keep it MOVIN OUT DA DOOR!

Now I'm frustrated again. Please be kind to your retail associate...you never know who will get mad and purposely open the fitting room door on you to expose your goods to the WORLD.

I think everyone at one time or another thinks that they wanted to own a restaurant or write a great novel. Add to that for 2006, everyone wants to develop their own webpage. Well, me, too!

When my previous employer lacked contracts to support my work, I found I had a lot of time on my hands. I was used to working to a schedule with tasks to check off my list each day. Now, I had time on my hands. So, I decided to pursue my goal of having my own website.

I began by taking classes in HTML and web design. Ooooh! I really wanted one of my own. As part of my classes, I conceived a website for folks like me. People who were tired of spending 10 – 15 hours per week in traffic. People who were tired of traveling at the mercy of the weather and someone else’s schedule. Folks like me, who wanted to simplify their lives. Sounded good. Ideas came quickly. A site dedicated to lifestyle transitions.

The first thing I thought about were the graphics – great pictures. I had spent a lot of working time developing graphical representations of concepts. Then, I thought about topics: money, health, lifestyle, and work. Those seemed to be the “biggies”, if you wanted to change your life and still pay the bills. My first effort was a frame-based site. Frames were easy to develop. I used a common banner, navigation bar, and footer. The content of each page included several topics and links to relevant articles. It looked pretty good.

But, there were some things that did not go so well. I had not yet learned about SEO (search engine optimization). So, when I went looking for my site, using Google, I found that the search engine found only the banner and then tiled it ad infinitum. Yuck! So, I took a DreamWeaver class and modified the site to straight HTML – better. The site name was too long and hard to remember. So, I invested in a domain name – easy to remember - Alternating Currents

As I did more research on SEO, I found I needed to pay attention to key words. I needed meta-tags for content and keywords. I needed to repeat key words on each page. OK. Progress was being made. My initial reviewers were friends. They suggested adding a new topic, spirituality. OK. They suggested darkening the font color for easier reading. OK. They suggested removing links to sites that had potentially offensive ads. Hmmm, well maybe.

This was well and good, for a hobby. But, I also needed to make some money because updating the pages each month had become a lot like real work. So, I began evaluating pay-per-click ads on my pages. What an interesting concept. I researched the main ad services and eventually settled on Google’s AdSense. They made adding ads to my site fairly painless. Copy code snippets, decide on color scheme and placement. Done. Not everyone was pleased by this commercialization.

So, the journey begins. I doubt I will get rich this way or even pay many bills. But, I am having a very good time making the site every month. I had a chance to interact with new folks along the development path who have been very helpful in offering comments and advice. I enjoyed learning about the web from the provider’s side. So, it is a good experiment and now, I HAVE MY OWN! I invite you to see the results at Alternating Currents

My favorite band, The Starting Line once sang in a song called Decisions, Decisions, "He loves you, who loves you more...to let you go?" Now whether or not my tragically unhip emo lyrics mean anything to you or not, they happen to mean something to me.

I am leaving Penn State. I'm finding a job in the real world, where people wake up and grab a cup of coffee, jump in a semi-warm shower, tighten their tie and head off for the longest eight hours humanly possible. A salary dangles at the end of the day like a cupcake dangles in front of a heavy set man running on a treadmill. It just sucks that I'm that heavy set man who is running (let's be honest, fast-walking.)

I've made so many friends. I've been to football games, rallies, protests, campus events, I've been President of an organization, I've experienced a bar tour, I've laughed, I've cried and through it all, I've realized how cliche my life is.

Cliche is not quite a bad thing, it's perspective you see. I did everything there was to do at college, but I did it with flare. I got in arguments with suitemates in my dorm halls, I earned an "F" in Calculus, I've even experienced a disasterous three-way if you'll even call it that? And those are the things we see in movies like American Pie, and those are the things acted out by other fat men wearing "College" sweatshirts (If you do not know whoI'm talking about then you have disappointed me), and those are the things open to us. But I not only seized these wild oppurtunities, I did it with attitude.

I met with my advisor Christian in the resource center, and I started babbling about how nervous I was to hit the pavement and start running. He looked at me and said something to me that really helped, even though it too has become overdone and cliche for me. "You choose to take things and make them your own. People are drawn to you, not just because you are eccentric, but because you know what you want."

I'm going to miss you Penn State. I'm going to miss walking down College Avenue to hear "We Are" and then a rowdy crowd across the street cheers, "Penn State!" I'm going to miss the crowds outside of Canyon Pizza, someone running up to me asking them to randomly facebook them, someone puking for the first time in Calder Alley because they had just a little too much tequila. I'll miss the LGBT resource center, in one year they all became great friends, I'll miss professors I've bonded with, I'll miss students groups I worked with, and I'll miss the classrooms.

But I'm ready to move on...I think. If not, I can always move to New York and sell myself on Avenue B. Right? I know someone who dropped out of his last semester in college to prostitute himself in New York because he was making unbelievable amounts of cash selling his ass to older men with deep pockets. The future is looking bright, maybe I'll even get over college with another The Starting Line song!

"All I wanted was a little bit of time for me to clear my head, gonna clear my head. Gonna clear it up. For you, gonna get ready, gonna get ready. I'm already ready. Gonna get..."