Mind numbing Thoughts

Half of Google Adwords Traffic is from Worthless Link Farms

2008-04-08T14:07:00.001-04:00

Is anyone surprised by this? I have asked no less than 20 people if they ever click on ad words ads and have never gotten a "yes."A couple of months ago I started in earnest tracking the advertising hits that Google generates for me. And what I found is not a happy picture. About 30-40% of the traffic generated - ie. the traffic that I pay for - comes from link farms, that is Web pages that have nothing more than a bunch of links that redirect to Google Adsense links...

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A New Earth (of Golf)

2008-04-07T19:48:00.003-04:00

Yes, I had to do it... I'm reading Ekhart Tolle's A New Earth and doing Oprah's web master class to boot. I'm very much enjoying it and learning a lot about myself and my ego. I will try to blog more about A New Earth later, but wanted to connect the dots to my current golfing obsession with a quote from a golf book I just finished.

Bob Rotella's Golf is a Game of Confidence is a terrific book (read more here on my golf blog). I read it while on a trip to Seattle while I was finishing up the Rotella book. In a chapter about how Byron Nelson won eleven straight tournaments, Byron told Rotella that he never knew how he had scored until after his round. "He felt as if he played in a trance."

The book goes on however, and startlingly hits one of Tolle's key concepts right on the head.

"I would come in and I'd have to go hole by hole on my scorecard, carefully, to realize what I'd shot. I didn't ever know if I was five under, three over, or whatever it was. I never carried that in my conscious mind," he said. "I never knew where I stood in a tourament."

He won eleven straight tournaments this way!

It's is remarkable how often I'm seeing parallels between what Tolle talks about in his books, being present and living each moment fully conscious matches what great golfers do themselves. Astounding!

This post is cross posted to my Golf is Hard Blog as well.

Graphic Novel: Glacial Period

2008-04-07T17:32:00.005-04:00

Randomly picked up the graphic novel Glacial Period off the shelf at the library and was pleased to have stumbled onto a neat book. The first of a series, this book shows what archaeologists thousands of years from now might think of our culture (or at least a portion of it).

This is a neat read and certainly got me thinking about how temporary things really are... a continuation of my mind numbing thoughts around the Singularity and society in general.

Opening Day

2008-04-01T21:47:00.003-04:00

Ahhh... opening day...

My top 5 All-time favorite Yankees list (was chatting with my sister about this)

Nettles
Mattingly
Jeter
Munson
Guidry

If my dad were still alive - he most certainly go with:

Mantle
Ford
Richardson 4
Clete Boyer (but he'd admit that Nettles had just as good a glove, and a better stick)
Yogi
Jeter

Finally, while nothing would make me happier than a 0-162 Mets season, here's my top 5 Mets list, just 'cause we were also talking about the Mets...

Doc Gooden (also a Yankee)
Lee Mazilli (I do believe he was a Yankee)
Strawberry (also a Yankee)
D. Wright (will one day certainly be a Yankee)
Keith Hernandez (just remember not to ask him to help you move - my sister pointed this out for me)

What Was I Thinking?

2008-02-22T13:18:00.001-05:00

I think I've lost my mind, again.

Microsoft...

2008-02-15T09:59:00.001-05:00

From GapingVoid:

I'm really open to the idea of doing more cartoon stuff with Microsoft, if they'll let me. The more I get to know the company, the more interesting I find it. Maybe not so much from a technological perspective [I'm not really much of a techie, truth be told], but more from a cultural perspective. The culture is so vast and complex, as are their challenges, positive and negative, I find it all extremely stimulating. Besides that, I generally like the people meet there. Smart, nice and driven is a good combo, if you ask me. So if any Microsoftees are reading this, please feel free to spread the word. Thanks Again.

Not saying anything in particular here (yet)...

Giddy for Indy

2008-02-14T18:42:00.001-05:00

The Power of Now

2008-01-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

Just finished reading "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. Trippy, new age stuff. I'm really happy I read this book though - tons of great tools and thoughts inside to help me manage my own consciousness.

I'd love for my sister to read this, I think it would help a lot if she "got it" in any meaningful way.

Two of his more important thoughts (read more here and here):

Only the present moment exists.
That is where life is (indeed it is the only place life can truly be found). Becoming aware of the 'now' has the added benefit that it will draw your attention away from your (negative) thoughts. Use mindfulness techniques to fully appreciate your surroundings and everything you are experiencing. Look and listen intently. Give full attention to the smallest details.

Accept the present moment.
It is resistance to the present moment that creates most of the difficulties in your life. However, acceptance does not mean that you cannot take action to rectify the situation you are in. What is important is to drop resistance so that you let the moment be, and that any action arises from deeper awareness rather than from resistance. The vast majority of pain in a person's life comes from resistance to what is.

Dimes for Diapers

2008-01-24T17:33:00.001-05:00

This is exciting... my 10 year old daughter is doing her very first service learning project. She's picked the New Haven Diaper Bank to try to help and is hard at work both in school and online trying to fundraise. I'm using a bunch of different outlets to try to help her reach her modest goals of $500 by February 11th (that's the due date on the service learning project). Obviously I'm proud of her, and am even more excited to see her accomplish her goals.

She and I shot a video (outtakes coming soon), built a blog and started to use my Facebook account to promote her efforts (i.e. we'll do anything to raise the money!) In addition, she got the school principal to agree to let her distribute flyers to every class in school - pretty slick I thought.

Kids today, eh?!

Here's her first post on her new blog:

Hi!

This blog and web site is designed to help raise money for the New Haven Diaper Bank - I'm doing a service learning project called "Dimes and Dollars for Diapers" and my goal is to raise as much money as possible.

Here are some of the facts of why I'm doing this project:

Safety net programs, like Food Stamps and WIC, which are supposed to provide poor children with basic necessities do not cover diapers.
An adequate supply of diapers can cost over $100/monthly
Infants need up to 12 diapers a day; toddlers about 8 diapers a day. In low-income households babies may spend the whole day or longer in a single diaper.
Cloth is not an option for most poor people. Most childcare centers require parents to provide disposable diapers. Furthermore, most people living in poverty do not have easy, affordable access to washing facilities.
You should donate now because without clean diapers, lots of bad things can happen.
Parents who are working or in school cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave disposable diapers at the childcare centers.
Inadequate diaper changing increases the risk of numerous health problems from skin diseases to hepatitis.
A baby crying non-stop from being in a soiled diaper for a prolonged time is at greater risk of abuse.
For more information, please visit the New Haven Diaper Bank.

Please consider visiting her blog and:

Make a donation of course!
Send the link her blog: http://diaperdrive.blogspot.com/ to your friends who care about babies who need diapers
Learn more about why this is a problem

Parenting and Youth Sports

2008-01-13T09:55:00.000-05:00

I'm a coach. In another life, I think that I'd do that as a profession. In this life however, I've been coaching my 2 girls in a variety of sports and learning so many lessons. As they have gotten older, more and more issues have come up that have pushed me past those easy tee-ball days. Suddenly, drafts and organizational politics have come into play - neither of which I could care about all that much. I'm still more concerned with my singular goal for each season:

How many of these kids will have so much fun that they will come back and play another season?

There was a study done recently that showed that 75% of all kids who play sports stop completely by age 13. Athletics was such an important part of shaping who I am today and for my girls, I feel that it is extremely important for them to keep playing (something, anything) and having fun.

I picked up a copy of "Parenting Young Athletes The Ripken Way" from the library this weekend and blew through it's pages in one sitting. What I read reconfirmed:

Cal Ripken is a class act
Youth Sports today is very different than it was when I was a kid (not so long ago)
Youth Sports are GAMES... and games are meant to be fun
Parents and coaches may be hurting their kids inadvertently by pushing and not praising at all times

I jotted down a few notes as I read this book (I read with one eye on the Patriots playoff and their 17th victory this season - all those guys played youth sports I bet).

Cal talks a lot about praise and how to use praise to really build up a kids confidence. I do an OK job of this, but am realizing how important it is to not be critical - especially in the car on the way home from a game. My instinct is to keep coaching on the way home, giving my girls tips and pointers on what to work on. What I should be doing is going gaga over their performance and asking them about what they thought.

If my goal is to get my kids to keep playing a sport from season to season, I think a little less criticism and a ton more praise might just do the trick.

A lot of parents have asked me if I think travel teams and specialization is something they should be considering for their athletes - I get these questions more and more now that my older kid is approaching middle school. While I'm not an expert quite yet, Cal's book made some great points that are worth considering.

By playing as many different sports as possible, your athlete develops cross-compatible skills that will help them in every sport they play. The quickness they get from playing aggressive defense in basketball will certainly help their footwork on a soccer field or on a baseball diamond.
Cal also mentions that the college coaches he knows actually tend to favor well-rounded athletes - their thought being that a player who specialized at a young age is at risk for an injury (overuse of particular muscles) and burn out.
The book also talks about travel teams and how for most kids, lack of playing time on a team focused only on winning can actually end up making no difference athletically for that child - and even worse can create other issues. The demands that travel teams make on families creates issues with school work, missing family time and meals and at it's worst, can create animosity or dislike for the game. At 7 or 8 years old, is this really necessary?

In the end, Cal makes a startingly simple and powerful statement that I 100% agree with:

It's not about your dreams, it's about your child's dreams.

I'd agree. Sports may not be your kid's dream - but giving them an opportunity to stay fit, learn a new game and make friends is worthy enough a goal!

Improv Class Tonight

2008-01-09T13:56:00.000-05:00

Karen thinks I'm nutty (and she's right), but I'm doing it anyway... improv class tonight!

More Greenscreen fun!

2007-12-29T13:29:00.001-05:00

Our latest fun with greenscreens. See all of my greenscreen pics including Battlestar Galactica, American Idols and more!

The technique isn't that hard, but it does require great lighting (which is tricky at best) and software that makes it easy to drop out the green background. I'm using an old version of Express Digital's Sport and Event software (leftover from when I ran a photography company), but you could use Photoshop as well.

5th Graders Have Mad Skillz

2007-12-13T09:41:00.000-05:00

My 5th grader recently did a report for Social Studies and decided to use Google Maps, along with a fictional diary to illustrate Ponce de Leon's journey and life. I think in 5th grade, all I could do was stutter around girls and play with my baseball cards.

View Larger Map

This really is.. mind numbing

2007-11-06T11:01:00.001-05:00

And so damn cool.

Every Baby Has a Story

2007-10-19T13:40:00.001-04:00

It's Blog Action Day (better late than never I always say)

2007-10-16T13:06:00.000-04:00

It's Way to Easy To Quit

2007-09-28T17:07:00.000-04:00

But the thing is...if you never quit - you can never fail.

More bromides here. Awesome list.

Some of my favorites:

"There is something to be said for keeping at a thing, isn't there?"
~ Frank Sinatra

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."
~ Samuel Beckett

Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn?t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

The Last Lecture

2007-09-21T10:22:00.001-04:00

I read about this in the WSJ yesterday and was thrilled to see that there is a youtube video up as well. Amazing.

"Brick walls are there for a reason: the let us prove how badly we want things."

Enjoy the video.

That's No Moon...

2007-08-24T15:35:00.000-04:00

My Kids and Wife Are Away

2007-08-01T21:04:00.001-04:00

And I'm sad about it. Come home soon!

"Dreams and Disorientation"

2007-06-12T09:30:00.000-04:00

(this is cross posted from my non-profit marketing blog, and eventually from the official International Rescue Committee blog - I wanted to share it here too.

When was the last time you were moved to take action?

This post isn�t intended to get you to take action, or to make a donation to the International Rescue Committee, where I work currently. But there�s a good chance you just might because you will most certainly be moved, surprised and compelled to, at minimum, learn more about what I�m going to talk about. If I can manage to write what I have in my head you will literally be astounded.

Americans take the �American Dream� for granted. Big time.

For me, growing up in Westchester County, NY, college, a career and a family were only ever a question of time. It�s a given for many Americans that if they work hard they can live the life of their dreams. But to me, the "American Dream" isn�t really �American� � it�s more of a statement about the spirit of ALL human beings and their desire to live the life of their dreams.

I spent a few days last week with our San Diego and Phoenix resettlement offices seeing first-hand how �the dream� works for refugees. These offices are in the business of delivering the "American Dream" on a daily basis.

I bet you haven�t heard about the �72 Burundians. I hadn�t. They are a group of refugees who fled their homeland in 1972 following a campaign of violence against them by Tutsi-led forces. What happened is sometimes referred to as the first genocide in Africa�s Great Lakes region and -- two decades before the atrocities depicted in �Hotel Rwanda� -- resulted in 200,000 deaths and triggered the flight of some 150,000 refugees to camps in Tanzania, Rwanda and Congo.

These folks have lived in refugee camps for 35 years. Two generations of people growing up in refugee camps. The government of Tanzania has made it clear that it doesn�t want them to settle permanently � but isn�t 35 years of living somewhere �permanent?�

What if you were kicked out of your house and run off to a foreign country � then after 35 years told to leave?

As for �the dream� - I have to give pause and wonder to myself how these people had any hope at all for a better life.

I met Augustine and his beautiful family (his wife and 3 young boys) as part of my tour of the Phoenix resettlement office. Resettled refugees like Augustine typically travel for up to 4 or 5 days to get from their camp to the United States. Our trip to Augustine�s house was the IRC�s �24 hour� visit � a chance for staff to check in on the family and answer any additional questions they may have.

Before my visit, I could only guess at how confused and disoriented refugees like Augustine must feel when they first arrive. But then the reality of his experience started to sink in. It was confusing and disturbing to me on so many levels:

Augustine grew up in a refugee camp and doesn�t know what an air conditioner is, or butter for that matter. He asked us what a bag of pasta was for � he held up a box of Pop Tarts and with a look of hope and confusion listened while we told him it was a breakfast food, sort of like bread with fruit inside. But Augustine now finds himself in a furnished apartment, with an opportunity for education and a job--and, of course, Pop Tarts and Cheerios. Thanks to the IRC, he's standing on the doorstep of "the dream."

In my eyes, Augustine is a hero � he is a man that I can only bow down to and honor. He has survived something that for any American is completely inconceivable. He is raising his family amid all kinds of upheaval, he speaks 5 languages and he has found a way to build a better life for them. I�m in awe.

Later that evening, I decided to go along with IRC staff to the airport to pick up another set of incoming Burundians who had been traveling for 5 days. At 11:16, a group of African men wearing standard issue gray shirts, blue pants and basic sneakers came walking down towards us, their eyes bleary, holding on to their IOM issued bags with their papers � their permission slips to "the dream."

As we stood around baggage claim, communicating in smiles and gestures, we soon learned that 3 of their 5 bags had been �lost� by the airlines. Americans get upset when they lose a bag with their pool toys and bathing suits. These folks lost bags with everything they own in them. The airline representative made us fill out forms and told us to call in 24 to 48 hours. Welcome to America!

Imagine if you packed your house to move cross-country, and the moving truck got into a wreck that destroyed everything inside.

I can imagine it � and it�s just horrible. But the newly arrived refugees just smiled. One of them picked up a copy of USA Today (he speaks no English at all) and found the weather map. He was looking intently at it and I leaned over to see if I could help him make sense of things. He pointed to Arizona and smiled. I pointed out New York and made an airplane motion with my hands - I think he understood me perfectly well.

The World is Flat

2007-05-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

We were telling the kids that the phrase "Digging for China" is an expression.

Here's my question - do Chinese kids dig for America?

"Look at that dog! He's digging for America!"

Mr Mom "Scorecard" [Day 4 April 25, 2007, Thursday]

2007-04-27T08:44:00.000-04:00

The week is almost over. I am going to make it! As I was taking the kids down to the bus this morning, I asked them if I've done a good job.

It wasn't all good but they may have been busting my chops (I deserve it, I bust their chops every chance I get).

Given their not so stellar review, I thought that I'd rate myself on a series of key categories to see how I've done.

Waking up, brushing teeth and eating breakfast:
4 out of 5.
Totally forgot to wash Syd's face this AM and noticed it as I was saying goodbye to her at the bus stop. Bits of chocolate donut on her face, very cool.

Following mom's instructions:
5 out of 5.
Followed them perfectly. When Julia accused me of not following the instructions when I didn't pack her lunch on Thursday, I suddenly became F. Lee Baily and showed her PROOF. In yer face kid.

Dinner, homework and showers:
6 out of 5.
Despite them not liking dinner 2 nights (I made them eat some anyway), dinner worked out well. Showers went surprisingly well also - they are old enough that I just turn on the water and walk away. Bonus point for making cookies twice - the second time we put the hot cookies in a bowl and made sundaes. That's niiiiice.

Keeping the house clean:
2 out of 5.
I did remember to turn on the roomba in the kitchen. It's a damn mess everywhere else.

The final score:
17 out of a possible 20 isn't too bad!

Mr Mom "Tired" [Day 3 April 25, 2007, Wednesday]

2007-04-25T20:40:00.000-04:00

Today I'm tired. Yes, I am to blame as I stayed up way too late editing the video from yesterday. And then I played some video games before falling asleep, so yea it's my fault.

Today was rough. I've got the wake-up, do breakfast, get dressed, catch the bus thing down, but now I'm getting into some new issues.

Like why is there MORE laundry to do?

And how about: how is it possible that I've already done the dishes, but somehow we're already out of forks again?

Also, homework sucks.

And how the hell am I supposed to both cook dinner and drop and pick up the kids simultaneously? How is that even physically possible?

But not all is lost from Day 3... I did a Junior Achievement lesson for my daughter's 4th grade class. I love doing JA as it let's me live my dream of being a teacher in a very small way. Today, we learned about Scarcity.

You know what is scarce? The amount of time I have had this week to fricken relax for 2 seconds.

I also coach girls softball (where do I find the time?) and our first game was tonight. It got rained out - BUT we scrimmaged and got wet. Fun stuff. I love coaching and I'm better at it than being a stay at home mommy. Way better.

That said, the wife told me I was doing a good job today - sweet! Even so, Saturday can't come fast enough.

Mr Mom "the Video" [Day 2 April 24, 2007, Tuesday]

2007-04-24T22:42:00.000-04:00

The Mr. Mom blog has gone video!

Shot from 6:30 to 9 PM on Day 2, I think you might enjoy this. What ended up on the cutting room floor was us watching American Idol, fighting over brushing teeth and nudity (after showers, there tends to be a lot of naked running around the house).

Enjoy.