I am definitely guilty of this small business trap, that is the battle between profit and fun, which can lead to busyness. Often times, those that are responsible for a business's success and growth spend time doing what is fun and interesting instead of what needs to be done to protect the revenue stream.

Years ago I started up a coffee shop with some friends. If someone followed us around and graphed how we spent our time before we opened, I guarantee you the results would make me cry. We pooled the money together and got cracking. We settled the legal structure, secured a lease, bought equipment, installed the POS (point of sale) machines, bought insurance, wrote employee schedules, and on and on. But just looking back, we spent gobs of time thinking and dealing with pieces to the puzzle that were trivial. We spent a lot of time on decorating, planning the music play lists, booking events (bands), and what not. We spent a lot of time thinking about things that weren't involved with agenda of being profitable. In fact, I can't think of much we did that was on the profitable agenda. That was a mistake of magnificent proportions. We were more concerned with running a cool coffee shop than running a money making machine. We just bought stuff, set up stuff, planned stuff, prettied up stuff, and the like. We should have sat down with excel and planned out to the penny where money was going and where it was going to come from. That was a huge mistake.

When you choose the fun and interesting agenda over the revenue agenda, you become busy. And for the record, busy is not a good thing. In business, busy should be defined as spending too much time doing things that are not important, and not enough time doing what is important.

So why do we business owners drift towards fun and interesting and away from profit from time to time? For one, fun and interesting is easy, and protecting profits is hard. Turning a revenue stream into a moat takes a lot of work. Just visualize a moat. Remember that thing was not built over night. It probably was a stream a long time ago. But someone did a lot of work to stack tens of thousands of stones several meters high to line the walls around and in inside of it. That moat is a revenue stream all grown up. I believe the business owner's job is to turn revenue streams into moats.

So with every agenda, you have to ask yourself: is this truly valuable? Will the time invested have a positive return? A perfect example is one of my favorite charities in Houston put on an $11,000 fishing tournament, but only raised $7,000. They flushed $4,000 because they chose fun and interesting over revenue.

For you business owners out there, focus on revenue. Without revenue, you don't have a business, you have an expensive hobby.

Every so often, it seems I am running around in circles again trying to decide how important a logo is. What makes a good logo? How much do design and color choices matter?

Certainly, the logo does become the business's mark as they sign their products and marketing materials with it. But when you are coming up with a new logo, how important are those decisions to shave a corner there, deepen the blue there, or shrink the symbol there?

As an entrepreneur or business owner, logo decisions will be a true test of your decisiveness. Having worked with over a 100 start-ups, I have seen people waffle for days on end over some of the most non-impacting decisions ever known to man. That is the trap; to over think it, and tweak it to the ends of the earth. Often times, it is one of the few creative/subjective processes that one is involved in. Those people usually either could not care less, or worse, are on track to make up their mind right after the second coming of Christ.

Barring any terrible design decisions, here is where I rest on the issue. The value of a logo sits on a continuum between design and perception. On the left side, and early on, the value of the logo rests on the design, and how well it graphically represents the business. On the right side, after business successes/failures, and brand awareness settles, you have perception. The perception phase, which is far longer than the initial phase, depends on the quality of the business. The coca-cola logo would never be talked about if the whole world ignored the soda. The K-Mart logo would not carry its loser value if the business had not inherited its inferior reputation. If Nike shoes were uncomfortable and placed 9th or 10th in people's minds as the athletic shoe of choice, the swoosh would have a negative perceived value. On the contrary, the swoosh is as cool as it is and carries amazing brand recognition because of the success of the business and the quality of the shoes, not because it is a swoosh.

Do your best to not over think your logo decisions. Focus on the business. If your business succeeds, the logo is good.

There are probably two dozen life lessons to be learned from The King of Pop's passing. One lesson in particular is one I hope I never forget... but more on that later.

Fame is a drug, but much more like coffee and alcohol than crack. If you take crack, we know exactly what is going to happen to you. If you're on coffee or alcohol (or fame), the outcome is far more unpredictable. Results vary by individual. But either way, if you get too much of it (fame), bad things will happen. Even Bono sings that no one should be too good at celebrity. And if there ever was a lethal dose of fame, people like Elvis and Michael certainly had it.

But here is my real takeaway from the media circus that is Michael Jackson's death. If you are a parent, a wife, a husband, or you sincerely love anyone more than you love yourself; pay attention to the fifteen second speech that Michael's daughter Paris gave at his extremely public memorial service. There was genuine, deep, real, unscripted, sadness from here father's passing. Possibly unknowingly, she showed the whole world her deepest hurt. If you saw it, and were not even temporarily moved, then check your pulse, the girl lost her father. It is sorrow at its deepest.

It is no secret now that Michael was routinely taking drugs that doctors now say created the perfect storm for the event of his death. I can not imagine that anyone is shocked to learn there was at least some substance abuse in his fame filled life. But I feel confident if Michael could have seen the sadness of his children, family and loved ones, (but primarily his children) at his own memorial service, he would have quit those drugs cold turkey, and never looked back.

I can't think of anything that I wouldn't stop doing (or start doing) to ensure that I never have to see my daughter Ava go through that kind of pain.

Once again, I have reaffirmed the fact that Easy CGI has the stupidity market cornered to the point of monopoly. For the record, they were bought out by a room full of geniuses (EIG) in October of 2008. What once was great, turned disastrous post buy out. Also for the record, since Oct. 2008, they have completely destroyed dozens of accounts of mine, to which I have been slowly but surely moving those accounts to other hosts. If fact, for most of these sites I would even now settle for a bad web host, because that would be an extreme upgrade from EasyCgi.

I simply must share this latest support thread. I assure you, every ounce of this is true. The transparency of stupidity is simply astounding.

--------------------

06/18/2009 1:44 PM EDT Ticket Created
06/18/2009 1:44 PM EDT Matt Murph contacted EasyCGI
Subject: Site Down
Comment: Why is this site down?

06/18/2009 4:57 PM EDT EasyCGI contacted Matt Murph
Comment:
Hello ,

Thank you for contacting us. I apologize for the inconvenience that may have caused you.

I checked your website and I verified that the website is not loading. Did you make changes on your domain name smh.shoppas.com DNS settings or name servers? When was the last time this website is up?

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact us through the support console in the control panel.

We are available 24x7.

Thank you,

Customer Support

06/18/2009 5:56 PM EDT Matt Murph contacted EasyCGI
Comment:
No, not to my knowledge, in fact if I ping smh.shoppas.com it resolves to your IP address. What's going on?

06/19/2009 3:52 PM EDT EasyCGI contacted Matt Murph
Comment:
Hi,

I did a whois and I noticed that the name servers are not pointing to us.Did you tried to contact your domain registrar if they did something on your domain? The name server should be pointing to ns1.easycgi.com and ns2.easycgi.com.Right now it currently pointing to cbru.br.ns.els-gms.att.net and cmtu.mt.ns.els-gms.att.net.And I think that is the reason why your website is not loading.

Thank you

Technical Support

06/19/2009 3:57 PM EDT Matt Murph contacted EasyCGI
Comment:
NO, the name servers do reside elsewhere, but there are ample DNS records so the SMH sub-domain routes to this account as it always has. You can ping smh.shoppas.com for confirmation.

06/19/2009 5:09 PM EDT EasyCGI contacted Matt Murph
Subject:
Comment:

Hi,

Yes, I just verified that your sub domain is pointing to 66.96.143.169.And with this, I decided that this issue should be escalated to a higher level of support. We need to investigate on this IP address 66.96.143.169. And I also verified that you have lot of account with us. Please give us at least 12 - 24 hours for this.

Thank you

Technical Support

06/19/2009 6:41 PM EDT Updated Ticket: Work in Progress
06/19/2009 6:44 PM EDT Resolved
06/19/2009 6:46 PM EDT EasyCGI contacted Matt Murph (Resolved)
Comment:
Hello,

I am writing in regards to your ticket # 6104796.

I noticed that the domain name 'smh.shoppas.com' is available for registration. If you wish to register the domain 'smh.shoppas.com', then please get back to us with the following information so that we can register the domain in your account.
Contact Information
First Name:
Last Name:
Organization Name:
Street Address:
City:
State:
Country:
Postal Code:
Phone Number:
Fax Number:
E-mail address:
Username:
Domain name:

Please update the Support Console with the requested information, so that we can assist you further.

Sincerely,

Domain Registrar Specialist

06/20/2009 10:38 AM EDT Matt Murph contacted EasyCGI
Comment:

First off, you do not REGISTER sub domains. The top level domain "shoppas.com" is registered until 2019, and the sub-domain resolves to YOUR ip address on this hosting account. So please stop asking questions and start fixing problems. The site has been down since Wednesday. See for yourself... you can PING "smh.shoppas.com" and it resolves to your server. The account is up to date and paid for. Please bring this site back up!

End thread

--------------------

Now, I just called them (6/22/2009 11:30 AM EDT) to recap the ridiculousness noted above, only to find out they moved the site and did not feel like telling anyone. So not only did I get an array of ignorant support reps, and even a comment from a Domain Registrar Specialist, who very obviously is far from Specialist status, they were just fresh out of ideas on a very basic issue. And please not the time stamps. At times they waited nearly 24 hours to respond with more stupidity.

I had more than 40 accounts with them before the Oct 2008 buy out… now I am down to just under 20, all of which will be migrated off their platform when time permits. And hats off to the new parent company, EIG (Endurance International Group). They really have done a superb job turning a great hosting company into trash. Just check out ( http://www.easycgireviews.com/ ), 1 positive and 62 negative reviews at the time of this posting. Unbelievable.

Churches need to run (not walk) away from using stock photography for people, facility, and environment photos on their website. Those pesky stock photos do not give anyone the slightest idea what it might be like to attend a service there.

Here's the part that I have trouble understanding. A lot of people get their underpants all up in a wad over pouring water down a known terrorist's nose? Interesting. Is that really torture? I think pledging a fraternity is closer to torture than that is. Besides, are they, the terrorists, not lucky in some ways that they were captured, and not killed in battle?

Torture is frying someone's hands over fire. Torture is dripping water on someone's forehead in the desert until they die. Torture is beating someone to death's bleeding edge. Torture is cutting off private parts, or fingers, or whatever. The history of torture is way, way, way way way more severe and permanent than pouring water down someone's nose.

So the question is: is water boarding torture? It causes no long term damage, and it doesn't kill, or leave scars. The victim completely and totally recovers from the experience. So in the words of Dennis Miller, perhaps its heaven sent.

I just find it interesting that right now, there are US troops abroad killing the enemy. Shooting them, blowing them up with bombs, destroying buildings, you know... all out no holds bar war.

But in Cuba, they just poor water down captured terrorist's noses. So are we saying that it's okay to wipe them clean off the face of the earth with superior fire power, but not okay to poor water down their nose? I'm confused.

And now Gitmo is supposed to close. And the million dollar question is: where do we put the captured terrorists? The obvious solution has been overlooked for too long. Many people suggest you can't just take them back to where they came from, they'll become terrorists again. Sure, history has certainly proved that true. I say send them back to the war, where they came from. But instead of dropping them off at the city center, where they can be welcomed home by their terrorist buddies, just drop them off in the middle of the battle field... say... a half a click (0.3 miles) from a marine base. I mean, if we have to close Gitmo and send them somewhere, back to war is the only logical answer. Unless they are insane (which unfortunately is highly probable), would they not beg to go back to Gitmo?

I just find it fascinating that generally speaking, it seems that so many people have a bigger problem with water boarding, than killing the enemy in battle.

I think I may have a solution for the American Autos. Put simply, it is time to for them to have another mini-van moment. That is, create something that is a total game changer. All this bail out talk is a joke. They vote, it doesn't pass, they vote again, it doesn't pass. The bills are littered with crap, so just stop all the hand out wishing, and go build a product that people want to buy.

Naturally, that's easier said than done. But it's definitely easier that finding some car czar that has a magic wand to waive and fix all the problems of the auto industry. But on a side note, the thought of some government appointed person to oversee the Autos has got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. That person doesn't exist. And you can't have some outsider telling you how to spend your bail out dollars.

But I digress. Here's my suggestion: Disappear for one year.

Support current warranties, repairs, and yadda yadda yadda. But for now, and at the least; stop making stuff that isn't competitive. Bolt the doors. Go into deep R and D. For one, the media will go nuts because they won't know what you're up to. Spend a year thinking, researching, prototyping, and stop making all the same old same old.

For years, we have watched the American Autos go BACKWARDS. They have been sitting around the boardroom thinking, "Hey, what worked in the 70s?... Lets make that again. And what was that one car that was popular in the 80s? Let's do that again." It's regression at its finest.

Now, you might be saying, what about all the union workers, and all those jobs? Well, if the autos stay on the track their on, then they will all be unemployed anyway. Wage cuts are a way better option. Massive unemployment is already the probable case scenario. It's time stop making crap just so you can employ people and start looking long term towards, "What can we do to get a competitive edge?" Now, I'm not literally calling the product crap, it's not; but it's seems like they have 15 brands of cars that are the same ol same ol, producing ridiculous volumes of brands and cars and nothing is sticking. That's a lot of crap. So stop. Spend some time thinking, and come up with something (like the mini-van) that will be a game changer. Tweaking one curve of the fender to come out with next year's model has got to stop.

Americans don't need a cooler looking car, and we don't need to relive the muscle car days. We don't need a 3rd cigarette lighter under the rear passenger seats, and more gadgets and options that will break in 2 years anyway. We need fuel economy, safety, performance and reliability. Is that so hard?

Now, you want the easy road to profitability? Just kill off every model except the overgrown black SUV's. We all know those things have sold like hot cakes, and still are.

On a side note, I watched a discovery channel special on aircraft carriers the other days. An American aircraft carrier only has to fill up once every 24 years. So if I'm supposed to believe that an American made 97-thousand TON boat can run on fuel so that it only has to fill up once every 24 years, but the best GM can do is make their Hybrid Tahoe achieve 2 more miles per gallon than it's gas guzzling non hybrid counterpart, you've got to be kidding me.

If you want revenue, you have to make something that people want to buy. I don't know how any company can go on employing tens of thousands of people spinning all their wheels making a product that isn't competitive, while executives fly around on private jets begging for money.

I'll keep this one short. The potential Auto Bail Out is the biggest bunch of bunch of crap I've heard in a long time.

Point 1

The bail out is not the American thing to do, it is the stupid thing to do. As an American (company, businessman, entrepreneur, or otherwise), you can not go on year after year making a product that your American consumers are buying less and less of. That's not American, it's foolish. America is an innovation powerhouse; (businesses) get on that train or get left behind.

Point 2

Honda, Toyota, and BMW (at the least) have manufacturing plants here in the USA, with Americans building those cars. I do not see them lining up for a government hand out, and I would bet the farm that sales are down.

Point 3

The economy is down, and it's hit my business too. People are spending less, paying invoices slower, and everything in between. Should I line up and ask the government for money? No! You, me and anyone else with a business has to adapt, not whine off crying to mommy government saying give me money, or jobs will be lost.

Economy or not, if you aren't making product people want to buy, your business will decline; it is as simple as that. All this lining up for the bail out buffet is absurd.

What ever it is, 70 billion, or 700 billion... the bail out of the financial industry will have positive and negative impacts. Positive, because they've basically put a giant band aid on a giant whale.... But the root of what caused the injury still exists. So regardless of how much money the government decides to appropriate to the bail out... it's just a temporary fix. So for positive's sake, it's a quick fix, and might avoid the panicking recession that is at hand.

The negative side for me is the lesson of responsibility. If I tank my company from personal greed and/or stupid decision making, no one is coming to my rescue. I believe at the heart of the credit crisis, mortgage write downs, and other financial collapses is personal greed. And I'm not really hypothesizing here either. There are several cases of a new CEO coming into leadership with a company and in just a year or two they wreck the company having created such a golden parachute in year 1, that the fines and firing that will take place in year two are simply a quick way out, where they can wash their hands of it all. And after all of it, they still have gobs of compensation they created and approved for themselves in year 1. So in those circumstances, there is no accountability.

There is one positive I see with the ridiculous rescue plan. Individual investors like myself can take heart of a certain stability of the markets. I can now throw my money into 10 baskets of good companies, and feel assured that if I picked industry leaders, my money is safe with a higher probability of positive return. With the example of the bail out, if things get bad enough, the government will step in and inject cash to fix the potential recession times. So my fear of my investments tanking, is much less. Sure it's now more of a fixed game, but we are forced to play the game with the rules at hand. It's not just supply and demand anymore. The market won't simply correct itself anymore. The market will correct its speed bumps, but if there's a road crater, it's government to the rescue. The big picture is kind of crappy, but we the individual investors can play this game with the new rules.

And here's a side note on the mortgage crisis. Everyone has been playing a ruthless game of blame for sometime now, and that's really a rope that has no end. There are so many people at fault, you can't just say it's the crooked CEO's, or the predatory lenders, or the dumb people who didn't read their contract and signed mortgages that are way over their pay grade. You can't say it's the real estate investors that spiked up a market so full of hot air that it was bound to deflate. Again, greed is at the forefront of the fault.

Greedy home buyers wanted to get in huge houses with little down, and then bet the farm that their over sized house would appreciate and make them gobs of money. How many millions of people want(ed) to make their millions off real estate? When board games are sold in stores about the industry, that's a sign of a bubble I would say. Lesson learned, the housing market doesn't always go up. But then again, no market does.

Then you have the mortgage industry. In this industry there are zillions and zillions of bees swarming around fishing out the next origination fee. They place a loan, and at minimum they get a point. We'll call it a point, because it sounds a lot better than saying you're going to finance an extra $1000 over the next 30 years so I can put that $1000 (1% of the loan) in my pocket right now, for placing your loan. And that's only on a $100,000 home. The national average is around 200K per home, which makes that one point yield a quick bee bonus of $2,000. Do you think any of these bees might present a not so good situation as great if they are a signature away from a quick $2,000? Many of these bees cared not about honest, ethical, situation appropriate loans. They would just push and fix and sell (which is the industry word) things until they could get their "point" on your loan. And because of this behavior, most of these people aren't working anymore. The days of those points getting passed out like bubble gum are over.

The end result, definitely not laissez-faire. I don't even know if there is a French economic term to describe our current economic state. Some are saying it's the United States of France; not from an ownership point of view, just from an economic governance point of view. That phrase certainly sounds strange, so even if it is accurate, I can't really buy into it. Never the less... and for now... long live the mostly free markets.

Here are a couple links for those who want to confirm their suspicions regarding the age of the Chinese gymnasts in the Olympics.

http://www.socialmedia.biz/2008/08/google-cache-on.html

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/27/sports/OLY.php

Now if I could only find some credible sources to explain the idiocy of the judge’s inconsistent method of scoring and the new gymnastic scoring system.

Up until now, I've been fine with the Bob Costas commentary coming from the Olympics broadcasted by NBC. My favorable opinion of Costas was strongly reversed, almost instantaneously, at the close of his interview with President Bush.

I expected somewhat of a liberal based question drilling of the President to happen, given that Costas is with NBC and they almost exclusively drink the liberal Kool-Aid anytime it's served. But I personally think that Bobby showed very little respect for the President. Like him (Bush) or not, he deserves respect. Bob's questions were long, leading, carried a sour attitude, and were worded in a spoon fed liberal fashion; anything but balanced and unbiased.

But to cap it off, Bob's final remarks in the short interview directed to President Bush were, "You are dismissed." Did I really hear that? A reporter telling the President, "You are dismissed?"

I think, "Thank you for coming" (to the interview) might have been an appropriate final remark. Or how about, "It was an honor having you." Maybe, "Thank you for your time." But no, it was, "You are dismissed". It was extremely pompous.

I wish someone with cue cards, or working a camera could have quietly reminded Costas, "Hey... remember you are a news reporter, and you're talking to the President... just remember that in case you have the urge to feel more important then you actually are."

For those I rub shoulders with, it's no secret that I've snubbed my nose at faintest idea of an iPhone for over a year now. I've even blogged my snubbing remarks here and here.

So let's just say the tables have turned. I bought an iPhone 3G on opening weekend. News outlets will tell you that they sold a million units in the first 3 days, while it took them 74 days to reach the same milestone on iPhone v.1. So very literally, I'm one in a million now. But the question is, should you believe the hype?

Apple says it's twice as fast. Coming off of my well featured Treo (which had email, touch screen web browsing, etc), I would say the 3G unit is far more than twice as fast. As far as mobile data speeds are concerned, this thing is way faster. The phone imported all 7 email accounts from my Outlook (Win XP), and it checks all the accounts at lightning's pace.

The web browsing is just insane. Though the 3G unit's network is the fastest cellular network out there, it will pick up any available WiFi networks in reach. Being honest here, I only sense a mild speed difference between fully connected WiFi networks and the 3G network from ATT. The multi touch zoom in/out and drag while browsing is without doubt the most efficient mobile web browsing available.

Not even being an avid iTunes user, I easily synced the phone to my XP Pro running Dell, and threw a couple music and photo albums on the phone. Continuing to play around, I downloaded Bloomberg's free application for financial markets news and quotes. It also comes with a Google Maps app complete with pin point GPS location. So if you're lost in the car or otherwise, help is right in the palm of your hand. Bottom line, It was all a snap. A dumber than average monkey could work this thing like a pro.

Final remarks. I was once an iPhone doubting skeptic, but now I'm not only drinking the Koolade, I'm ready to serve it up to others. It is by far the best smart phone device out there.

Having just gotten back from a fun filled week at K-Kauai, there is much to reflect on. If you are not familiar with Kanakuk Kamps, just know that they are the best Christian camps on the face of the planet. Headquartered in Branson, Missouri, Kanakuk operates several camps throughout the Ozark Mountains, dozens of youth ministries across the U.S., and various other inner city camps and outreach camps located as far away as Africa.

Though Kanakuk started in 1926, it came into my world while I was in Junior High. Just this past week, we attended their family camp, K-Kauai. Calling it a family camp is accurate, but almost misleading. It's really an all inclusive family resort, that happens to have some similarities with camp. They take care of all the meals. Each family has their own air conditioned, 2-bathroom cabana. Kids of all ages, are not just taken care of when the grown ups are busy, but they are involved in age appropriate teaching and activities every day. All the Kanakuk staples are present: multi level ropes course, unbelievable pool grounds, on site water park, zip line over the edge of a cliff, most any sport you can think of and several others you can't, water skiing, bluff jumping, and many others. I hardly call it vacation, because there just isn't a lot of resting going on. After one week, I'm tired and sore.

The week is over, and one item of interest keeps standing out. Most of the 40 families there while we were had all been to Disney World before. And time and time again, I heard the same story from families who asked their kids earlier in the year if they would rather go to Disney World or Kanakuk? Each time the kids would give the parents the unanimous decision for Kanakuk.

I have to stop right there, because that seriously blows my mind. But on the drive home, it clicked:

Kids would rather have authentic, inspiring, and challenging activity based interaction with their family, well trained Kanakuk staff, and counselors, then have entertainment to the multi-million dollar N'th degree from Disney. Put simply, it's authentic interaction vs. world class entertainment.

All reflections aside, we had an awesome and unforgettable time and can't wait to go back. Enjoy the photo album on the left.

I have to look at the bright side here. I know some might call me crazy here, but I almost welcome high gas prices. Katie is a stay at home mom, and my commute is between 12-15 minutes. So from a selfish perspective, the pain at the pump that most people are feeling right now just isn't that painful for us. At the same time, lets just pretend that a whole dollar fell off the gas prices, and took the national average to just over 3 dollars a gallon. Well, that's still expensive gas, which means we're at the point now where it's worse than horrible. So prices getting a lot better, barely puts a dent in reality.

But back to welcoming high gas prices. High gas prices are pretty much the only thing that will kick energy innovation into high gear, because frankly most of the solutions being pitched right now just aren't going to cut it. I would even say it's an embarrassment to U.S. innovation that the 145 million cars on our highways are virtually running on the same fuel that the first cars ran on exactly 100 years ago. In 1908 the Model T ran on gasoline and ethanol. Now in 2008, our cars (vast, vast majority) are running on gasoline and ethanol. The Model T also ran at about 18 mpg (miles per gallon). I think the only reason we're not still driving the Model T is probably because it wouldn't pass today's safety inspections.

Ethanol is a great buzz word; I sure fell for it a couple years ago. And FYI, ethanol is not going to cut it. It's caused the price of certain crops to skyrocket, so many countries can't even afford basic foods now. And it takes a boat load of corn and 80 gallons of water to make a gallon of ethanol fuel. That's immeasurably ridiculous.

So how about Hybrids? That word is about as grey as "broadband internet service". What does it really mean? You could buy a 2 wheel drive hybrid Tahoe and get 22 mpg (Hwy). But wait there's more. What if you opted to save $15,000 and get the non-hybrid version, and just take the 19 mpg (Hwy). Pretty simply math here; for 15 grand you get 3 more miles per gallon. NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Now, there certainly are some hybrids that are just killing it out there. They're not all marketing scams. The Prius boasts more than 45 mpg. That's pretty impressive. For me, I'm not really drinking the hybrid Kool-Aid yet. My well performing sports sedan gets close to 30 mpg on the hwy, and I'm fine with that for now. Premium gas and all.

And as many are pitching, the future is not in driving less for me. It's not in ethanol, hybrids, carpooling, windfall profits taxing, or any of the other insufficient ideas out there. It's not in better fuel economy as far as I'm concerned. It's in DIFFERENT fuel economy. We're a hundred years past the Model T right now. I'm actually shocked that my car isn't running on tap water, nuclear energy, batteries, stored solar power, or frankly anything other than the energy that OPEC gouges for.

Quick reminder, it's takes between 2 and 4 dollars to get a barrel of oil out of the ground in the Middle East. The current market value for that barrel is close to $140. And crying about it doesn't do much, because it's a great case and point for Economics 101: Supply and Demand. Very few people control the supply, and about a billion people feed the demand.

So I look forward to high gas prices. Real pain at the pump is simply a line we will all have to cross. There is no doubt it will have to get worse before it gets better, and I am really looking forward to better.

So I wrote this back in January, and I have been wondering why Apple is up the last several days here. It turns out some analyst that follows AAPL like a shadow noticed that the iPhone was fairly sold out across the Nation. History tells us that Apple tends to eliminate supply of a product when the new version is around the corner (sounds easy enough). So the rumor is that the 3G iPhone is on the (near) way and Apple doesn't want to get stuck sitting on a bunch of version 1 iPhones. Very interesting.

I thought this was interesting...

From the Heart...

I have surprised even myself at how my opinions of the presidential race have shifted over time. As the dust from the primaries settle, I am starting to think that my opinion shifting is sure to slow down.

But what is Obamamania? This week, we have received 4 messages on our home phone from Obama telemarketing. Yesterday, we had a family stop by our house doing some door to door promotions for Obama. Certainly that is Obamamania. They were disappointed that both Katie and I had already voted earlier that day, and not for Obama. I did not have the time to ask "why" when they knocked, but I wanted to. Why is a simple question. Why Obama? I just want to know why those who support Obama so passionately do.

Here is my Obamamania.

I hear Obama make a speech, and I'm moved by it. I look at his voting record as a senator, and I'm disappointed (if not disgusted).

I watch Obama's performance at the debates, and I'm impressed. I take note of his various relationships and associations with questionable characters, and I'm disappointed.

So it turns out, when I see the guy on TV, when he opens his mouth, when he inspires the masses; I too get caught up in the Obamamania. But when the rubber meets the road, it turns out he has the most liberal voting record in the history of the senate. Well that doesn't really gel well, when my views typically aren't in line with the far left.

So I am constantly baffled about how on the surface I can be so attracted to a candidate with whom I couldn't disagree with more?

Serving the Illinois State Legislature, Obama voted "Present" 129 times. Present means I'm here at the vote, and I choose not to vote Yes or No. That's essentially showing up to vote and passing, like it's a game of Go Fish. He defends that point in interviews by saying that voting Present is a tradition in Illinois. So indecisiveness is a tradition? For a leader? The President of the USA doesn't get to vote Present. It's yes or no, all day every day; much like any leader. Voting present is a habit that needs breaking.

On government spying, I say let them spy and Obama says no, not even on foreign suspects. That means our agencies must acquire a court order every time they want to tap the phone line of a foreign suspect. I call that thick red tape in the form of delaying productivity.

On partial birth abortion, he voted Present. On lowering the penalty from carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon from felony to misdemeanor, he voted Present. On firing a gun near school grounds, Obama voted Present. On sealing the trial records of Sex-Abuse victims to protect the victim's privacy, he voted present (making himself the only member not supporting the bill.) On protecting the life of a failed abortion, he voted Present. On prohibiting strip clubs from operating within 1000 feet of schools, churches and daycares; he voted Present.

Now keep in mind, voting present aligns with NO, because Present will not get a bill passed. Voting Yes gets bills passed, while No and Present will not. But we'll keep calling it Present, because that's what the vote says.

Even in his book, The Audacity of Hope, he writes, "You must vote yes or no on whatever bill comes up..." Well that is interesting.

So I guess I'm at a point where I just don't get it anymore. Why all the fanfare? Why all the fainting at rallies? Why all the support?

By no means am I saying Hillary and McCain are saints to be praised. I just don't get the run away blind love that Obama receives from so many. Obama coming to Dallas got the same response as U2 did, as if Obama has been building a fan base of millions for 30 plus years.

He says he wants to have an immediate withdraw from Iraq. But if he withdraws from Iraq and turmoil develops there again (in the Middle East) then he'll order troops to go back. I'm sure that would be cheap. Of course he will raise taxes, so maybe that will help with the Leave and Go Back plan.

I wonder what would happen if the US left Iraq. I wonder if things would go bad in the Middle East? I mean, I have no historical reference to draw from, so I just wonder. I mean, it's not like we have sworn enemies growing armies, and taking refuge in nearby territories or anything? I wonder if Oil prices would go so sky high that it would cause serious and long term damage to the US economy. Now, more so than ever, is not the time to mismanage the Middle East.

I am simply truly interested to hear why people support Obama. I don't want hear about Bush, he's not running. I would like to know Why Obama? That's my question.

Many of you know and have heard Eric Orson sing. From the moment I first walked in the doors of Fellowship Church back in the fall of 1999, his voice was the first voice I heard. Having previously served on praise and worship teams for churches; I was immediately imprisoned by the music and worship at Fellowship Church. For almost 10 years now Eric has led Fellowship Church in song, in worship, in praise, and in prayer. Very few people have the passion, heart, sincerity, and the immeasurable raw talent that Eric has.

Whether it is an event for President George W. Bush, a nation wide church conference, a youth camp, a weekend service at Fellowship Church, a missions group in Africa, or just a small group of ten people; Eric's ministry and passion for music has touched a number of people far to large to be counted. Anywhere in Dallas/Fort Worth, he's likely to be asked for his autograph. Even when in Mexico, or while backpacking in Europe, he's sure to be stopped with the question, "hey, aren't you that guy that sings at Fellowship?"

Little did I know back in 1999 that Eric and I would eventually become close friends. I could not foresee that Eric would invite my future wife to 1824 (the single's ministry) in 2002. I could not foresee that we would eventually rent a house together, serve in ministry together, and eventually stand in each other's weddings. All that to say, I've been blessed to come to know the man that Eric is, not just hear the voice he has.

Eric and his wife Emily are now accepting the challenge to a whole new life adventure. After months of hard consideration and prayer, they are moving to Honolulu. Certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity, Emily has accepted a position with one of the top marine institutes in the country and will be working with dolphins, which is her life long dream.

I know I speak for many when I say they will be missed here on the main land. Eric's ministry, reach, and impact to the masses has no bounds. I have to guess that there is a lucky church somewhere in Hawaii that might soon be blessed the way Fellowship has. I can not wait to see what the future holds.

With much love for the Orson's, we wish them well in their new adventure. If you would like to do the same, feel free to leave a comment here (which he'll get), or comment on his MySpace page at: www.Myspace.com/EricOrson

(Thanks to Bill Harned for the Video Montage)

The song that Will-I-Am put together for Obama is getting quite a bit of attention. Millions and millions of views on youtube are just the start. The media is all over it. I watched the video, and I was impressed. Very impressed. It is catchy, carries the strong "yes we can" hook, and it's loaded to the brim with A-list celebrities.

It is apparent: people are absolutely desperate for inspiration. Whomever shows the first inkling of inspiration; Hollywood and its naïve-idealist followers all come running. Passion. Charisma. People are yearning to hear something and be moved by it.

Here's the problem. It's a speech. It's a song. It's the image of the famous, who most people unfortunately confuse with the wise minds of our time. For the most part they Act. They pretend to be someone else, for a living. Does it take talent? Yes! Can it be unbelievably entertaining? Absolutely! Does it deserve the blind and inherent personal influence it gets? No.

Don't hear me wrong, it took strong talent to put that piece together. It IS a great piece. It also takes strong talent to put an amazing speech together.

I cannot discount the talent it took to create and deliver that message in song. What I can discount is its ease of impact on the masses. What does this mean? Good, original rhetoric is powerful. Combine that with song, and you have an emotional magnet.

If needed, I could write a song to convince people of a position (at least 51 percent of an audience). I cannot say my song will be near as good as Will-I-Am's, but I bet I could put together a pretty good piece.

What does this mean? Nothing. It's music and lyrics. Songs can be powerful. Words, emotion, music, delivery... it's just that. It is art. It's not a plan and follow-through.

This election is not about our Nation's issues anymore. It's not about finding the best man/woman for the job either. It is a popularity contest. A presidential hopeful doesn't really need to convince people that their plan is the best plan. They need to figure out how to get you to vote for them. There is a big difference.

Personal example. Ten years ago, I interviewed with a partner of a big firm. He was the decision maker of me getting a job or not (getting elected you might say). The interview with this company was my last straw. But instead of talking to him about why I am the man for the job, I researched his interests. I talked to people that knew him. For over an hour and twenty minutes of conversation, we talked about his interests and hobbies, and boy I was excited about them. I didn't have the credentials for the job, so I pursued the path of convincing him to LIKE me. I didn't have the experience. I didn't have a plan, the skills, or the knowledge. Granted I might figure out a plan, and acquire the skills and knowledge to get things done and make things work. But at the time of the interview I was a blank slate. So instead of talking about technologies (the issues), my previous work with them (experience), my plan on how I can make his team better, and my ability to invent solutions to solve problems; I worked every angle so he would LIKE me. I needed him to go back to his boardroom, with the rest of the million dollar salary partners, and say, "I like Matt, I think we should go with him". I needed his vote. This man knew absolutely nothing about my experience, my skills, or my potential to learn and become and asset on his team. He simply had an enjoyable hour and twenty minute interview. You could say I did a song and a dance. Was it right? You be the judge.

Back to the Yes-We-Can song and dance. Let it entertain you. Let pop culture and musicians entertain you. Let Hollywood entertain you. That is what they are there for. But do not let them influence you. Influence is Power. Do not hand that power over to the first person who entertains you. Look at the facts. Look at the plans. Look at their beliefs. Look at their position on the issues. Look at their experience. Weigh that on your own personal scale, however you see fit. Make your own decision. We should all be so careful that we don't let someone else do that for us.

For the last couple years, I have felt sorry for Aruba. Their tourism industry is in shambles. One horrific crime that happened to take place on their turf has crippled the island.

I've been to Aruba, and it's a beautiful place. Great beaches, great food, and very friendly people. The US dollar is accepted everywhere, and over all, it's an inexpensive travel destination. Given that it's only 3 hours south of Miami, the year round temperature is in the upper 70s, and the fact that it is a Caribbean island outside the tropical storm path make made it a great place to vacation.

Despite the fact that Aruba has the lowest overall crime rate in the region, Katie and I thought it was quite close to a lawless society. Traffic laws aren't enforced. You can go as fast as you want. No one stops at intersections. Right of way is lost to anyone who yields. You can drink and drive, while not wearing a seat belt. Some drugs that are illegal here in the states are legal there. For the most part, if you don't kill or steal, you won't get yourself in trouble.

The Holloway case started in May of 2005. Understating the obvious, it is a terrible story. For the past couple of years, I've found myself wanting justice for those involved, but sticking up for Aruba with comments like, "They aren't prepared or qualified to solve high profile/serious crimes, because they have no experience." The USA has tons of experience solving violent crimes. We have several branches of law enforcement, zillions of lawyers and private investigators. Our media is like an unstoppable rebel force. It was our media who practically moved to Aruba so the story wouldn't disappear. Aruba doesn't know how to deal with serious crime, because it so rarely happens. The island is roughly 7 miles by 19 miles. There's nowhere to hide.

I have a new opinion now, and I will say I have already visited Aruba for the last time. Here is my problem. Natalee Holloway's step father was interviewed just days after the disappearance. He was asked a series of questions about whether or not Natalee was epileptic, or had a history of seizures. That line of questioning seems strange all by itself. Now just this week, an undercover video is exposed to the world with confessions (albeit conflicting and confusing at best) from Joron. Regardless if his recorded statements are true or not, he spoke at length about Natalee shaking, and displaying seizure like symptoms, just before dying (he claims).

Why would the Aruba authorities have asked Natalee's family just days after her disappearance if she was an epileptic? Is that question normally asked in a murder or missing persons investigation? How would they know to ask that question more than 2 years before the release of the undercover confessional video? Now, I am not bringing any new information to the table. However, I do feel that question is the most important question on the table right now, and the answer to that question is in the critical path to solving this terrible crime.

Wow. Though I was tired of hearing about the Olympics, I am saddened that Romney is no longer in the race. His most powerful campaign speech (by a mile) was given moments ago while announcing his campaign's end. Had he come across that powerful over the last month, he would be winning the race, not leaving.