The Mind of Mr. M

I have been following the story of Clay Sannar an LDS Bishop that was shot and killed in a church meeting house in Visalia, Ca. Today they released the name of the man who committed the shooting. It was also released that the reason for the shooting is that he felt “shunned” by a former Bishop back in 1988, 22 years ago. It was also explained that the man suffered from mental illness and had taken his grandfather’s gun.

Objectively, I can’t for a moment imagine the horror the Bishop’s family is going through. To have something so horrible happen, for something that wasn’t your fault. My heart and prayers got out to the family.

What strikes me also, is the assailant. A man with mental illness that spiraled out of control to the point that he took another’s life then his own. I have to wonder that if his issues were know, had someone reached out to him earlier if both lives could have been spared. i guess those kind of questions are irrelevant and asking them doesn’t change the current situation.

What happened is so tragic, and though honestly, I am appalled by what happened, if we don’t try to look at why, we will never be able to stop them.

This is a copy and paste from a pledgies donation page. Please use the links at the bottom to visit the page directly and make a donation.

(via Pledgies) Clay Sannar, a lay bishop of the Visalia 2nd ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was murdered by an armed assailant just minutes after church services ended on Sunday, August 29, 2010.

Sannar leaves behind a wife and six sons, ranging from 14 years of age to just three months.

All funds donated will be sent to Sannar’s wife for use in funeral arrangements, or for other needs she and her family has during this difficult time.

Please donate and share with family and friends so we can help the Sannar family from a distance.

This fundraiser was organized by Connor Boyack, a fellow Latter-day Saint living in Lehi, UT. Sister Sannar (Clay’s wife) will shortly be informed of our efforts, and all funds will be sent directly to her. For any questions, you may contact me at cboyack@gmail.com or 801.376.2647.

Direct Link: http://pledgie.com/campaigns/12975

In a conversation this last week, I actually had someone reference those that comment on my posts a cult following. I chuckled because there are really very few people that read or comment on what I post on the internet. That isn’t to diminish the excitement I get when those of you do read or comment. But realistically, I know that I am virtually an internet nobody, and I am ok with that.

Why do I post about, what I post about?

Really the major reason is because I am really bad at keeping a journal. I hate writing. The freedom to type and delete and edit is more my speed of record keeping. I am able to start and come back to something I was working on also.

You will also notice that most of what I post about has to do with my family and kids. This goes back to my first paragraph, I am really doing it for them. Everything I post I save to a special location on my computer to eventually print and give to my posterity. It will accompany the several partially written in journals I also have.

When I was young my mother and father separated and my dad died when I was 10, all I have from him is a couple pictures and crumbling memories. I don’t want that for my kids. Good or bad, I want them to know me. The best way I can do that is to try and record it. You will also see in my posts random things about what I cooked or where I went and pics of me with my kids on date night. It is simply my hope that each of those seemingly random posts may in the future be a little spark to ignite a memory or minor emotion.

Then why make it public everywhere?

Well really, I don’t have to and despite what anyone my think, it is not digging for compliments or try to say that I am doing any better than anyone else out there. Really, there is so much garbage and degradation on the internet that I think there needs to be some good stuff too, and to me family family and family life is good stuff.

That’s it, if you actually read this, thank you for stopping by. ;-D

I lieu of the recently posted Empire Avenue photo challenge, I thought I would post a photo of my own. Consider it another minor poke at the new selling restrictions…

I have grown very fond of rainbows. Every time I see one, I think of a special family that lost one of their children as an infant, just weeks after he was born. It was a very sad and tragic experience. At the funeral, his mother delivered the eulogy. I don’t think that I have ever been more impressed with someone’s courage. I can’t and don’t even want to imagine what that would be like. She spoke she talked about how she loved to sing  the song, “You are my sunshine,” to her little boy and she just can’t help but think that her sunshine was gone.

It was for me one of the saddest moments I have ever felt. When we came out of the funeral, it was a gloomy over cast day, and we made our way to the cemetery. It began to rain while we were at the graveside as a few people shared their thoughts and condolences. It was quiet and melancholy. As the service finished up and we began to get into our cars, the clouds broke just slightly and off in the distance was the most beautiful rainbow.

It is a moment etched into my mind, I thought to myself, there is her sunshine, peaking through the clouds at the end of such a gloomy day to make a rainbow and remind us all that those we lose are only as far away as our memories.

To this day, every time I see a rainbow, I think of him and I am in awe of what beauty even the smallest glimpse of sunshine can bring to our lives.

Just wanted to let you know that the Boardwalk Tool: Share Where for Empire Avenue has been updated. You can now click the point and get a picture of their profile and it links directly to their Empire Avenue page.

I watch the increasing number of comments that are cropping up around the internet like Eric Schmidt, CEO Facebook and TV like Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report, discussing their take on embarrassing thing posted about you or you post about yourself on the internet. The opinions ranging from changing your name to don’t put those things up.

I am baffled about the whole situation. It seems more and more, “careful” is the new advice for everything. You rarely hear mainstream advice telling people to stop their bad behavior, or embarrassing behavior. It totally seems the focus is on, don’t get caught.

Is that what we have become as a society, theorists that everyone is doing it, but those who get caught are bad. And if they aren’t hiding what they are doing and are fine with the embarrassment and publicity, they get to be celebrities.

Where are the real people anymore, you know that ones that are ok with who they are, have nothing to hide and are still decent people? It used to be that you could tell everything you need to know about someone by a firm handshake and them being able to look you in the eye.

If you don’t want it known, don’t do it.

If you don’t want it repeated, don’t say it.

Be yourself, anyone else is an imposter.

I just want to make a plea to everyone out there, don’t be fickle. For those of you who don’t know what fickle is, let me explain.

Someone who is fickle is someone who is someone who flip-flops back and forth between their loyalties based on who they feel about you that day. If they are happy with you they will defend and share with you. If they are unhappy with you, they may backbite you or ask you to return last year’s birthday present.

The problem with fickle friends, is you usually don’t realize who they are until you have made them unhappy. My frustration with this characteristic really isn’t the realization that someone is a toad, but the feeling of time wasted on developing that relationship.

Is that fickle of me? I wish I was never your friend because you aren’t my friend anymore?

I think that we have lost track of sincerity and compassion as a whole. I think if you are willing or wanting to do something for someone, it shouldn’t be conditional. We should do things because it is the right thing to do and the right thing to do should never be undone because we are mad.

I’m just sayin’!

The screen capture below is a visual representation for where people and business live for which I own stocks in Empire Avenue. Though the practical application of the information isn’t very clear, it is a fun tool to visualize your portfolio on Empire Avenue.

The tool is available at Boardwalk Tools for Empire Avenue at https://eaboardwalk.com/tools. And you  can create your own by selecting the Share Where Tool from the drop down, entering you credentials and hitting Export. See below:

I love summer, especially because my kids love summer. Today officially marks its end with our family council to discuss the “school is in” rules. A family council is where my wife and I get all the kids together and set expectations for the upcoming school year. Not just about school but also about chores and other responsibilities.

A household with seven children takes work and managing them on top of school takes more work and a plan. That is why the before school start council is so need. If you aren’t having one or haven’t yet, it isn’t too late. You should.

This year we have kids in three schools total and our oldest got an inter-district transfer to attend a different high school. The reason for her transfer was because the new high school she was supposed to be attending doesn’t have the programs for her to get her college Associates by the time she graduates. It will require my driving her to school every day this coming year (actually three) because there are no buses from here.

The 8th grader is starting a new Junior High that is opening this year. She is excited, even more so because it only goes to eighth grade, Utah Jr. Highs usual go through ninth,  which means she start high school a year earlier than her older sister got to.

Then we have three others starting a new elementary school that is just opening this year too. That makes five kids in three different schools. Should be interesting.

That’s where the other part of our meeting came in, the chore and responsibility chart. Each kid has there own check of chart that we can look at, at the end of the day to see if they got the necessities, shower, teeth, clothes and homework done. As well as chore chart to see if their piece of the house got cleaned. It was carefully explained that if you want meals and clean clothes, you need to help do chores so mom can cook and wash your clothes. We explained that mom can’t do it all because a lot of her day will be shuttling kids around.

It’s not a perfect system, but all our kids are alive and they seem to do really well at school, which is really the purpose of the effort…

Today when my daughters  a couple of their friends and I came out of the movie theater there was a horrible accident. A driver had veered off the road right in front of the theater and hit two parked cars and then rolled their car. The car was across both lanes of the road, there was glass everywhere.

The first car they hit, was parked behind the second car and the impact shoved the first car through a fence and it ended up next to the car in front of it.  It was a little surreal, the situation was bad.

However, the accident was less of an impact than what I saw after everything settled down and the driver was sitting on the side of the road with her passenger. The driver was a very, very young mother that had just finished working at a fast food restaurant. She held in her arms her daughter, not more than a year or so old. I felt a whole in the pit of my stomach swallowing me from the inside. For a brief moment, I was stuck trying to process what I was seeing, then the daughter looked up at me. I cannot tell you how much of a weight was lifted seeing that little girl look at me.  On the same note, I cannot express in words the hell I went through for that mother in the brief seconds when I first saw them together, mother and motionless child.

I asked if everyone was ok, as did every other person in the crowd that was gathering. The police and emergency response showed fairly quick and began to check them both out. I overheard them say the child was in her car seat and the mother was wearing her seat belt and that is probably what allowed them to walk away.

The entire event was a stark reminder of how mortal we are and how things can change so quickly in just a couple of moments in our lives. The rest of my day has been spent with each one of my kids doing fun things together. But even with the fun, I couldn’t eliminate from my mind the thought of what I would do if anything happened to one of them…and equal time trying to force the thought from my mind.

Sometimes, I will sit down to blog and start with the first thing that pops in to my head as the title and then simply let the free flow my brain dump on to the keyboard. Sometimes it pertains to the subject, sometimes it doesn’t and I can’t determine that until after I am done.

I think that sometimes we approach life that way, we set an expectation or a goal and have nothing in place to fulfill what we are trying to achieve. In fact, sometimes I think we set goals just to have them and really never expect to achieve them. I can think of some obvious ones, like losing those extra pounds, writing those memoirs, building stronger relationships, etc.

But what do we do after we throw those out, do we put a plan in place? Create a list of actionable steps, and check you progress regularly? Maybe, but do things come up? Do we quit because of time, or crisis, or whatever other reason seems good at the time.

You see, I think many of us have the desire to improve, be better, change, etc. I think it is within each of us the feeling that life is a progression and any time we plateau we aren’t doing what we are wired to do. We want and need that feeling of success.

I think the irony lies in how emotionally distraught and disappointed we feel when we don’t accomplish those originally not-so-sincere-or-dedicated goals.  We feel the weight of failure, we can even beat ourselves up and head down the self-deprecating path that convinces us goals are useless and we should stop all together.

I guess what I am saying, is that you should approach life with sincerity. Don’t pretend to be something you are not and don’t set yourself up for failure. Don’t set goals or follow paths just for the sake of doing it. Don’t wait until time is up to evaluate how you are doing, because that that point it is too late and by then your blog is done.

It seems like there are so many consequences to everything that we do even when the decisions we are trying to make are good ones, beneficial ones for our family. Decisions effect so many people. Sometimes we don’t even know the full impact of decisions until after we make them.

Many times, people will let you know when they feel a decision is impacting them not always in the nicest ways either. My guilt is enough that someone wouldn’t even have to say anything for me to convince myself that I have caused irreparable harm to them. Yes, really.

I think in the end though, I have seven children and a wife who depend on me. I also have to face myself in the mirror every morning and being religious, know that I have to face my maker someday. That being said, my decisions cannot be influenced by other people outside that circle, I cannot let the fear of confrontation or guilt stop me from making those tough decisions.

I will always wish that decisions were easier and didn’t impact so many but in the end, I just hope I can keep making them

So, I have made several Twitter requests for people to buy my shares but I thought I would share my reasons why.

1. I have great dividends because I am active on my social networks.
2. I am just about ready to release the production version of the Empire Avenue mobile site I have been working on for over a month. https://eaboardwalk.com (Android, iPhone, Palm)
3. I have free tools you can use at https:/eaboardwalk.com/tools that download you portfolio to excel and your shares owned vs. owned in you report with more to come.
4. I am an all-around cool and interesting guy.
5. I need the money to buy more shares.

It seems that this is a term you hear that is used to condemn someone for acting immaturely. Usually, it is a way of telling someone that you are unhappy with what they have done and they should be more adult. I, however, believe that growing up has lost its association with maturity.

Simply growing up doesn’t make someone any more mature or conscientious than they were as a youth or child for that matter. It simply makes them older. On another note, growing up doesn’t even require maturity, unless you are solely referring to age. Growing up doesn’t even garner experience as many people have proven riding the coat tales of their parent.

What I think people are really saying when they encourage more grown up behavior, is asking someone to think beyond themselves. Think of how their actions may effect others. Think of the impression or consequence you actions may cause to others. At least that is my opinion.

Why do I right, this? I was at the lake yesterday and I saw a woman doing something not very becoming of her age, and no I didn’t tell her to grow up. But the expression on her teenage daughters faces as they watched what their mother was doing and the attention it was attracting clearly indicated that they would have like nothing more than to have their mother, “grow up.”

Tonight my oldest took me to see the movie Inception. It was fantastic to spend time with her and the movie was awesome.

As we talked on the way home we discussed how someone’s perception of the ending can say a lot about them. I won’t give away what happens but, I will say that the end is defining.

I think that cynical people will be convinced that the ending is one way while someone more optimistic may believe something else entirely. However, when left with being able to choose, people will choose what they can associate with most.

My oldest and I agreed on what the ending represented, and for good or bad, I am happy about it.

So I am not sure if this is the exact font but it is sure a very close approximation.

I created the above image using the fonts in this zip file. You can download them and install them from HERE.

She wanders aimlessly through a crowd.

They all see her, some more than others.

She is a hundred yards from where she began.

They still watch to see if someone claims her.

She is crying and calling to someone.

They start to criticize and judge.

She curls up on the ground and grows silent.

They move in closer surrounding her.

She looks up with fear pooling in her eyes.

They speak in big words and hard questions.

She says she wants her mommy.

They wait with her until someone comes.

She gets yelled at and a swat for wandering.

They leave her and continue their lives…

I think that this message is SO relevant.

What are we doing to our kids, teaching them to learn or merely showing that conformity is life.

Just thought I would get this on my blog for all my new friends…yes it is me…

First let me say that there are several strategies out there from other sources, but they really don’t know what they are talking about, take it from me. My ticker spells a real word and that is the first thing you should look for, because that means they have been around forever, and like domain names, things that make sense disappear first.

First tip when investing, look at their picture…you should invest heavily in people that have animals as their picture. It means they don’t get out much because they have animals to take care of and inevitably will spend more time on the internet blogging and talking about their pets on twitter. Activity means dividends baby! Wahoo!

Next, never buy shares in people that don’t buy you. It means they think they are better than you and we had enough of that from Betty Sue Riley in high school. On that same note, if they buy a ton of your shares, you don’t have to buy into them because, they already think your cool.

Remember Empire Avenue is about activity, if you can’t think of anything important to say, come up with a list of something…it doesn’t have to be funny or anything, people will laugh just to keep others from thinking they don’t get it.

Next, be evil. Nothing is better for your stock prices than to make someone else look bad. People can’t help but take a side, that means that you will get at least a 50% increase on profile views just from the side you take. Strategically, you will get a ton more replies on twitter and comments on your blog from the other side calling you names.  It’s a win win situation if you ask me.

My final tip, whatever you do, don’t mess with the squirrel. Stupid thing worked for Empire Avenue and I know he has a port open somewhere and is manipulating my stock price. Guess he didn’t like me sharing recipes for squirrel.

Good luck!

Week before last my oldest was gone for a week. Monday, my two oldest leave for girls camp for a week. I am excited for them, they will make friends enjoy the outdoors and get a spiritual experience while they are gone. They have been “getting ready” all week and today is the day, I got the list of what they couldn’t find.

I started the morning tearing apart the garage looking for sleeping bags, tents, air mattresses, lanterns and mess kits. Yes, all of the above. I had to ask, I thought you have been getting ready all week. Never question preparations for girls camp ever. I found out that prepping for girls camp has nothing to do with getting camping gear together….nothing.

I didn’t get all the details but the list (yeah, another list on my blog) was actually impressive.

1. Find out all the girls that will be going.
2. Find out the theme, yes it has a theme.
3. Acquire, from aunts, mom, stores, closets cool things that match the theme for girls camp.
4. Make something cool for all the leaders that are chaperoning, and giving devotionals and activities at camp
5. Find out who you secret sister is, this is a girl camping up there with you that you do special things for all week.
6. Go out and buy trinkets, treat and other items for your secret sister.
7. Wrap, plan and strategize how you will anonymously, get all the thing you have for your secret sister, A) into your bag and B) out to them.
8. Make, NOT BUY, make a card for every girl attending for every day of camp that you can write a special note in and give to them, yes every girl every day.
9. Figure out, how to pack all these things to get them to girls camp.
10. The Saturday before you have to leave, present your dad with the list of camp gear you need for Monday.

I have to say, though I tease about it, I love to watch the excitement and I know that it will all be worth it…**deep breath**…I know that it will all be worth it…**deep breath**…I know it will all be worth it.

Those that know me have heard me say that my first job was a dishwasher at an Italian Restaurant. I was twelve. I realize that it was a very young age, and the ethics and legality may be in question but I come from a long line of do what you gotta do people.

Back story, we were poor. At the time, we had my stepfather’s brother staying with us and he was a sous chef at the time. I walked by the restaurant every day to and from school for a couple years. I remember it always smelled so good. I think that is where my love for Italian food came from. My uncle came home one night and said he had a tough night because their dishwasher quit.

I remember being sick of being poor…I wasn’t looking for supplemental income, I was looking for income. When I came home from work the next day, I stopped in and told them I heard their dishwasher quit and asked if I could have the job. I swear the expression on their face I will always remember. It was the first time I ever had someone look at me like I was crazy. It would not be the last.

I made $3.35 an hour washing dished three nights a week. What I loved most was the table in the back that they put their mistakes. I would sneak some home to share with my family every chance I could.

It was hard work for me. I gave my parents most of the money from my checks. I would keep a small amount to buy a hot lunch at school and have some candy.

I have had a job pretty much ever since.

The restaurant was Luigi’s Italian Family Restaurant in Fremont. Yes, really! I would joke in years to come that Mario’s first job he worked for Luigi…

I made these novelty shirts a while back an only have a few left if you want one…I am selling them cheap because my wife wanted them to stop taking up space.

They are a “super” logo with a matrix-ish background on a black shirt.  I am sending them out today if you get one.

You can buy them here to the right ------------------------------------------------->>>>>>>>

My last top ten list was pretty well received so I thought I would do another. Please understand it is all in fun and not meant to offend. If you can’t (e)LAUGH at life, your missing out.

1. You check your stock price more than twice in any fifteen minute period.
2. You have disputed the value of your stock price compared to another with a support request.
3. You have cursed @Dups under your breath.
4. You have changed your TICKER to be more representative of your personality.
5. Someone has asked you what #EAv was and you were offended.
6. You have made a video apologizing for buying into Hitler. (That was funny!) (For you (e)COSTE)
7. You have cancelled your vacation plans because you are worried about a sell off.
8. You have created a QR code for your Empire Avenue account.
9. You have posted a blog on Empire Avenue ethics.
10. You have replaced you daily visit to TMZ.com with a visit to blog on Empire Avenue ethics.

Have a great day!

Ok, so the title is a little misleading. I actually don’t rent my kids out to work. That would be both illegal and wrong. But they are not unfamiliar with work. In fact, they are almost always willing to help out.

Tonight, on my way home from work I got a text that said there was a family that needed some assistance moving TONIGHT. It’s in our neighborhood, so I drove by to see if anyone was there yet. There were only a couple people there to help. So, I ran home, went in and told my wife that I had to head over and help move. Then I asked my oldest girls if they wanted to come help. I didn’t put any pressure and they said sure.

I was glad, the three of us headed to the house to help. We were there for just a few minutes when my boy showed up and asked if he could help. I was so excited, that they were willing to help.

For over an hour they worked hard moving everything out of the house and onto the truck. They didn’t complain or avoid anything they didn’t want to move. They simply worked. We didn’t even know the family we were moving.

Why do I share this, because they asked for no recognition or reward…they will probably never know I shared this information.

I love my kids…

In the last few days, I have decided that one of the most vicious things we can do to another human being is rob them of hope. It seems beyond religion, race, gender and anything else that separates us there is one resounding commonality, hope. I think that often times this is associated solely with religion. Though religion, has many facets of hope incorporated into it, it is far from the only place you can find hope.

In the eyes of a child, hope shows in self in anticipation for gifts. A special item they long for that generates excitement. The same for important days events, doing something with a friend or father. Their hope that that will in fact come is what creates the anticipation.

For families, especially in our struggling economy, hope is what keeps them looking for work, keeps them working. It is the promise that tomorrow can be better, different, not today. It is what drives some to be good fathers or mothers to their children, the hope that they will do right by their kids.

What hope is not, is a catch phrase. It is not simply a word to entice or manipulate. Sadly, when used incorrectly or taken away, it causes some of the most irreparable damage. It can take away all motivation, desire and in extreme cases the will to keep living.

It is within each of us to spread hope. To encourage and empower those around us to achieve their best, to continue their journey in the world. I would hope that every day brings challenges and opportunities into our live to allow us to grow and progress beyond what we are today.

Please, do not rob someone of the hope for a better tomorrow.

This is a phrase I hear almost everyday. My children will come up to me, usually just before bedtime and tell me, “Dad, I have nothing to do.” I have some to recognize the difference in their tone. Sometimes they are actually saying, “Dad, I miss you, can we do something?” This one is easy to spot.

It usually comes from the younger kids after I have been working a long day. It can be heard in the older kids if I have missed a day or two without sitting down one on one with them. It is easily rectified by a game, a book or simply listening.

The next one, the reminder, comes when I have told them to stop asking to do something because I have already told the no. This is my son’s favorite. He uses this one, when he wants to play an electronic game and his allotted game time is used up for the day. That is his way of telling me there is nothing to do, but play that game you told me I couldn’t. This one is easily thwarted by suggesting random chores that he could help out with. Occasionally, if he really wants to play, he’ll do the chores and then I relent and reward him in 10 minute blocks for each chore he does. My truck stays clean this way.

The last one is the, plea to stay up. This one is the most common, it occurs just before bed. As, the kids get older and can read the clock, I seem to hear it on queue fifteen minutes before designated bed time. Why, fifteen minutes before bed, so right at bed time they can say but dad I wanted to do something before bed, and I told you I didn’t have anything to do fifteen minutes ago. This is the easiest to overcome, I simply explain to them that fifteen minutes is exactly what it takes to pick up your room, brush your teeth, get your drink of water and say your prayer. Good night.

Today, Empire Avenue announced the ability to purchase eaves (virtual cash) in exchange for real cash. The cost is fairly cheap and you can look at the details on their blog. The most you can spend in any 30-day period is $15. This is to keep the game play even. I think that keeping things fair is very important and if they weren’t to limit the amount you could spend, someone could easily step in and buy their way to the top. That being said, capping it and making it affordable is genius. Here’s why.

Most online services, games or other charge a monthly amount to use their service. Some offer a lite version of their product but to really be competitive you need to subscribe to some additional level of service. People usually, complain because they want free and the don’t want to be told they have to pay.

@Dups, changed the model just enough, that I have actually heard comments saying, is that all I can buy? You see, I think people want to have an available and fair way to elevate their status and worth in Empire Avenue without feeling like they are being “duped” (pun intended).

Why else is it genius?  It’s money for money and the trade is 1000 eaves to 1 dollar. It’s the classic I will give you ten pennies for one quarter because 10 is better than one right?

The people that have been on Empire Avenue have worked hard to get where they are at, I know I have. Psychologically (addictive trait), the desire to stay on top is going to out-weigh the feeling of having to spend money. After all, they don’t want some deep pocket nobody paying their way to the top, sorry, I digress.

I think the introduction of cash for eaves, especially in its presentation was genius for Empire Avenue to monetize their product, as that is the goal of any company. At the same time, buying more eaves doesn’t make your decision making and market watching any better. So, that being said, we’ll see how the decision plays out amongst the community.

There is always a top ten for things, and I wanted to do my own. I do not claim they will be funny or relevant because I am doing a fluid blog and making them up as I go along…

1. You talk more to those in your portfolio than your actual friends on Facebook.
2. Twitter has become a chat program for that portfolio.
3. You are now breaking the cardinal rule for your social account, soliciting sales…for your shares.
4. You have run out of things in your office or around your house to take pictures of to post to Flickr.
5. You have blogged about Empire Avenue’s impact psychologically.
6. You have made a video apologizing for buying into Hitler. (That was funny!)
7. You have made enemies, that have put and EAv price on your head to take you down.
8. You have cash in your pocket and tell people that you are broke because you have run out of eaves.
9. Your mom says grandpa is having problems with his ticker and you say you didn’t realize he was on Empire Avenue.
10. You spend your free time building applications for the Empire Avenue API.

This is one of my favorite quotes. I printed in on a transparency and put it on my daughters’ bathroom mirror.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-Marianne Williamson

 

This is one that I hope my girls will internalize.

So the progress with boardwalk has been steadily progressing. This past week, I secured an SSL and pushed out a teaser version of boardwalk.

What I really need is to know what users want…what do you want to see in a mobile version of EAv. I am a creative type and all, but I wouldn’t even come close to coming up with the ideas EAv users would have.

I have started this google group for boardwalk, feel free to join and participate. http://groups.google.com/group/empire-avenue-boardwalk

Oh yeah, and this:

NOTE: Buying and Selling is intentionally disabled and the teaser site is several versions away from where we are in development because, well, I don’t wan to let it all out of the bag. But I need the app to gain some momentum and feedback.

First Technology

There are tons of games out there that people can play online. Some games are group games that you play with a large group, sometimes strangers, sometimes friends that use the internet to connect all the player together. Many games are designed that way and you can’t play them alone without internet.

Second Family

My son and his cousin Elijah are huge fans of each other but live in different states. They do talk occasionally, but what they really want to do is hang out and play together. They are both nine years old so, Star Wars, Lego, Nerf guns and computer games are the rage. But, the most of those activities have a proximity requirement.

Technology and Family

Much to my sister-in-laws chagrin, the last time I visited my nephew, I introduced him to Command and Conquer. It is one of those games that you can play online with others or just at home alone. On Sunday, I got a call from that nephew asking if I could hook up the game so he could play my son in Utah. I was so excited that I couldn’t contain myself. I got up at 6AM the next morning and made sure all the firewalls were open, the NAT was working and that I could get his machine in Cali to connect to ours in Utah.

It was a success, now I know that there are those that will condemn computer games and I recognize the issues that can arise if we are not careful in regulating the addictive nature of online game play. So please, no haters. But, I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to foster a distant cousin relationship allowing them to play together 600 miles apart.

All I can say, is where was this technology when I was a kid. Aluminum cans and string only stretch so far.

It is widely known that social media has been a maker or breaker of careers, relationships and in some cases government policy. You can hear it’s impact at water coolers, church and even casual conversations in Walmart, don’t ask. With all that said, I have found that there are few “new” trends that actually make us any more social, until now.

I have been participating in a, what I will call a social media experiment, called Empire Avenue. At first I thought it was more of a game than anything else. In fact, when I was first turned on to it, that was exactly what it was for me.  It seemed initially the goal was to get your virtual worth up above anyone else's. You did that by simply buying and selling shares of people who participated in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or blogging. You invested based on their activity and how relative they are to their friends, followers and subscribers. That was how it started.

But, like all experiments, it has undergone an evolution of sorts. The obvious is its growth from BETA to release in the time that I have been using it. However, that is so minute compared to its evolution from game to social compass.

In my search for finding the right investment, I realized that I also had to do market research in the people that I was buying virtual stock in. I had to find out if they were sensationalists, garbage collectors or real people. In doing that research I discovered that the people that I was trying to invest in were more than just statistics and dividends, they were interesting people that I probably would have never had made an acquaintance with otherwise.

What made them a good investment was the face that they were interesting. What they had to say extended beyond, the realm of burying my Twitter account with fluff, but sharing and interacting about things that I found I was interested in.

So, to those of you wondering what Empire Avenue is, don’t judge it solely on “building a portfolio.”  Sign up sit back and do some research it won’t be long before you rediscover the “social” in social media.

Oh, and buy lots of (e)MHIP. ;-D

There are so many things that I don’t understand, the world is full of them. It’s important that I keep educating myself and looking for answers to these questions.

1. Why can kids remember something you promised you’d do with them from a year ago, but forget to do their chores you ask them to do everyday?
2. Why is bottled water so expensive?
3. What on earth possess people to gas it around you when coming to road construction to sit and wait two spots ahead of you?
4. Why do we work in the middle of the day when so much is going on?
5. What hasn’t baseball been demoted as our National Pastime?
6. Who on earth came up with the portion sizes on nutritional labels?
7. What is gained by being specifically affiliated with a political party? If in the end you are truly voting for the best choice?

I will keep adding to this list and if you have answers, let me know.

My son is a huge fan of Star Wars and he is also the only boy in our family. As such, he got to pick what his room was decorated like. he really wanted a Star Wars room. We did all the painting, bought life size cut-outs of his favorite Clone Wars characters, but what I really wanted was something that made the room awesome.

So, I searched the internet and found several pictures and did a mashup using Photoshop. I think the result turned out pretty well. It was designed to appear as though you were looking out a bay door of a ship. I know that he isn’t the only Star Wars fan out there so I thought I would share. The image is a small version of what the link under it contains.

The large format link is 10800 x 4091, fairly large. There are several places you can find on the internet that will print the image for you on vinyl with a 3M adhesive on the allowing you to stick it right to your wall.

Enjoy!

Large Format Download (Right Click > Save Target As)

I am not one to intentionally offend. Quite the opposite, I think that other people’s feelings and well being do have a huge effect on what I actually say and do. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, or a good thing for that matter.

However, let it be know that if I feel compelled to say something that I feel is important and that something may be confrontational or may cause someone to be hurt, I will say it. It is important for me that I stay true to myself.

What you need to know, is that I am fallible, what I say is my opinion and I have the inalienable right to share it how and when I choose. You are free to question critic or criticize. In actuality, if you convince me I am mistaken or should view things differently, I am open to change also.

I think we grow and learn from others, people influence me regularly. On that same token, I will never have that effect on anyone if I keep my mouth shut because I might offend.