RSS Reader Review

You have heard me talk about RSS and RSS readers in the past. So, with that in mind here is a review that I read today on one of the RSS feeds from Lockergnome Technology RSS feed. So, please understand that this is NOT my review but that of Marc Erickson.


"There are many different RSS readers out there, and the choices are growing every day. For this roundup we picked some of the top new choices and even found one for the Pocket PC. FeedDemon - Full featured RSS reader with lots of bells and whistles. The Cadillac of RSS readers right now. Aggreg8 - Mozilla add-on that provides a simple interface and basic RSS functionality. NewsGator - Unique RSS reader that functions as an add-on to Microsoft Outlook. Blends in nicely with the Outlook interface. Feedreader - Basic RSS reader that gets the job done without a lot of bells and whistles. PocketFeed - Basic reader for Pocket PCs. Still at an early stage of development but we found it usable and quite cool. SharpReader - SharpReader requires Microsoft's .NET framework. It provides basic reader functionality and features. Nothing to rave about but quite functional." (Marc Erickson)

Through the pain onward to battle and victory

Today is a new day and the anger of yesterday has abated somewhat. Because of that and other thought processes I will continue with my endeavours at ADT on Monday. I figure that I am working for myself. So, what I have started in the last several weeks is something that I can build on. I know that the business is out there and that all I need to do is find it and cultivate it. I have come to some conclusions that I am not necessarily happy about but then again we all face things in our lives both professionally and personally that we have no control over. If I have no control over something then it would be silly for me to allow that thing to anger me to the point of controlling me. People are going to be who they are and there is nothing that I can do to change them. All I can do is accept others despite their short comings and try to forgive them and get on with life.

Through the pain onward to battle and victory is a statement that I heard many years ago. I believe that the pastor of Abundant Life Church in Houston Texas used that as a sermon title one Sunday. That title is a powerful statement that I can identify with. As humans we all experience pain and discomfort whether it be physical, emotional, spiritual or mental. Sometimes we experience it in all of the areas or just a combination of one or two. Pain stinks. There is no other way to put it. No matter what we try to do to mask it or hide it the pain is there , it hurts and there is nothing we can do to run from it. How long do we hide from pain or mask it? Sure, there are times when we can deaden the pain by retreating to using alcohol , drugs or other things in life. The problem with doing this is the pain never goes away until we deal with it directly. Through the pain onward to battle and victory. Some of us deal with pain by lashing out at others and trying to transfer the pain onto them and make them responsible. Somehow we find solace in inflicting pain on others thinking that since we hurt others should hurt too. Sometimes we deal with pain by allowing it to drive us into deep despair and depression. Perhaps there at times that this is a normal response and then sometimes we may not be willing to get beyond that despair and depression because we find comfort there.

Katy and I are both working through the pain of loosing our daughter to cancer two years ago. I said that pain stinks. The pain caused by grief is in the same category. People love to tell you that time heals all wounds. I am not sure where those people got that statement because I am not sure that is a realistic assesment of recovery. Maybe it would be better stated to say that over time the pain is not as intense. Over time you learn how to live with the pain. I dont think that the pain will ever be totally healed and forgotten. For those of you that have never lost a child to cancer you can not even come close to understanding the depth of despair and anguish that a parent goes through. The best thing that you can do for those of us that have lived through this type of pain is not to talk to us but rather just listen. That may be harsh to swallow but somehow words and intentions sometimes do more damage than they do good.

How much pain can one withstand you ask? I asked that question after I moved my family to Simpsonville SC and then one month later the one year contract was prematurely ended. We were 3 hours away from Charleston and knew absolutely no one. No church home to attend, very little reserve capital to fall back on and 278.00 per week from unemployment benefits. Some of you might be saying OH just suck it up and deal with it and quit being a whiney baby about it. I understand that in the grand scheme of things that there are OTHER folks out there that are suffering MORE than we have. Somehow when you are dealing with the pain of YOUR issues it is hard to find solace in the fact that there are others suffering more than you. You have two choices to make ultimately. Face the pain and deal with it or allow it do drive you under and defeat you.

That takes us to the battle. Sometimes the battle affects others that are around you. As we are fighting our personal pain sometimes others become victims of our warfare. No, it is not fair but it happens. Gosh, could that be WHY I have very few friends? LOL.... Maybe I am so deep into the warfare of fighting the pain that I just dont have time to invest in being a friend to others. Could that be? Part of the battle comes in the shape of keeping the marriage and family in one piece. Luckily for me I have the most awesome wife in the world. Katy has always been there for me through thick and thin. The other aspect of battling with the pain is that it sometimes crosses over into our professional lives.

I will probably continue this thought process but not now. I sat down at the computer wondering what I was going to say and how and you see what happened. I have more to say than time allows at the moment. I need to go get Kristina and Justin from the Awana car wash in Goose Creek. I hope you have a good day and a restful weekend.

God bless

Pictures from St. Louis Missouri

Ok gang, here are some pictures from St. Louis Missouri.

Ya got to love it folks!

I spent all week in St. Louis Missouri learning how to be a BETTER sales person. I learned the 7 step sales process. I actually learned a lot from this course. I have stayed at better hotels and eaten better food but all in all the experience was positive.

Today I got my first commission check. When I looked at it I thought that there was something wrong with the amount. So, I pulled out my commission sheet to find out that in fact I should have gotten much more than the amount on my check. After investigating further and talking to my manager I was told that instead of my getting training pay that what I was really getting was a draw on my potential sales. That is NOT what I was told verbally by my manager. I was told that I would receive training pay and that as soon as I started to make sales that the training pay would stop and I would receive the commissions I earned. So, I am in a lose lose scenario with the manager. I guess that when I signed the paperwork at the beginning I should have double checked all the fine print with regards to the so called "garuntee" that he spoke about today. That also means that the next two months if I do not make enough sales that they will deduct my "garuntee" from those commission checks as well.

As you can imagine I was NOT a happy camper. My motiation to go out and sell went to ZERO..... As it stands right now I am looking for somewhere else to donate my time and talents. On a positive note it appears that Katy might be doing some substitute teaching in about a week for both Berkeley County and Charleston County.

Gosh, all of that training , for what??

Good morning folks! Rise and shine and give God the glory! Today is God's gift to us, what we do with it will depend on what gift we give back to Him.

My trip to St. Louis yesterday was rather uneventful. The weather was wonderful and very little turbulence. I especially enjoyed the slim design of the coach seats on both aircraft. I believe that when Boeing designed the seats they were assuming that only tiny people fly. Why is that anyway?

When I got to St. Louis I spent approximately 30 minutes running around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to find the "supposed limo" that would meet me there to pick me up and take me to Holiday Inn. The first thing that should have clued me in was the name HOLIDAY INN. After much investigation I finally figured out which (cough) Limo was supposed to pick me up. The Limo turned out to be a Chevy Van. The important thing is that I met up with my party and rode for about 40 minutes to the other side of St. Louis to the Holiday Inn that I am now trapped in.

For some weird reason I did not get ALL the information with regards to the itinerary here because when I got on the van some of the other sales folks told me that I would have a room mate. I said "No way!" and they said "Yeah WAY!". When I arrived at the hotel, sure enough I received a package at the front door with my room mate's name on it. My "roomie" did not arrive until around midnight when I was just getting ready to dose off. How special was that? I grunted something at him and went back to sleep. When I woke up this morning he had his head buried under his pillow which means that I must have removed the pain on the wall by his bed with my snoring. Poor poor roomie huh? Maybe I will get lucky and he will go get his own private room so he wont have to deal with my snoring.

Here in ST Louis it is 6:15 am, but to my biological clock it is 7:15 am. So, I am up and reading e-mail and scribbling in my blog. Wahoooooo. I love my Internet connection while away from home. It sort of makes me feel like I have not left yet. I can see it now. I am gone and my side of the bed at home has been taken over by the two mutts, Sammy and Angel. Well, atleast the dogs dont snore so maybe Gizmo will get caught up on her sleep huh? When I left yesterday the kids were happily doing their thing and did not seem to mind the fact that daddy was leaving for a week. Gizmo was also smiling when I told her good bye at the airport as well. I guess that 8 months of bonding will do that to ya...

Well, I have been up for over an hour already and have not had my first cup of coffee. So, I suppose that I will leave my cyber seat for now and go find java. Have a wonderful day!!

God bless

Band Competition and Jeremy Moffitt

I received some cool pictures of Jeremy dressed up in his band uniform performing with the rest of his squad. Here is one of them.



I was told that at the end of the session that Jeremy collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. Apparently he is fine and was just dehydrated. I am certainly glad that he is ok. I can remember how hot it gets in Houston Texas so I can only imagine how hard it would be to carry that Tuba around in the heat with those hot uniforms that they have to wear.

Good Job Jeremy !!