I don't go to the movies much. I enjoy movies, I just don't enjoy the theater experience. Why pay top dollar to sit in a crowded cinema with chatty teens and people noisily crunching popcorn and nachos when I can buy or rent the DVD for less and enjoy the peacefulness and comfort of my home theatre. I choose to go to the Metrolux today in order to get a glimpse of An American Carol... Continue Reading

Thor Schrock is catching a lot of heat over his online reality program, The Top Affiliate Challenge. I remember when Thor first told me about his idea for the show. I encouraged him to do it, but I warned him that it would take a miracle to pull off a quality show on a daily basis. When Eric and I produced The Next Internet Millionaire, we filmed for two weeks straight and had a two-week... Continue Reading

There are those who start at the bottom of a company with the aspiration to rise to the top, and there are those for whom the words upwardly mobile do not apply. I encountered Mr. Latter attending to the United Skycap station in LAX today. My associates and I bring our bags to the guy and we go through the regular procedure. "What is your destination?", "Show me your identification" and "How many bags will... Continue Reading

I'm not a big fan of the major airlines. In fact I have written several entries that demonstrated poor customer service by United and American. However, I had a uniquely good experience on United a couple days ago and wanted to share it with you. I was traveling to Los Angeles with Joel Ownby and Tim Prince, en route to Yanik Silver's Internet Underground conference in Los Angeles. The three of us board the 737... Continue Reading

I've been wanting to meet Jason Calacanis face-to-face for some time. For those that don't know, Jason is the co-creator of Weblogs, Inc., which was sold to AOL for $25 million. I'm at Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas where Jason Calacanis delivered the keynote address this morning. I really didn't know anything about Jason as a person, so I was looking forward to an insightful talk with fresh ideas. Wow, was I in for a... Continue Reading

I'm in Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit and am looking forward to the a few days of networking and learning. And while I have nothing to say about the conference yet because it hasn't started yet, I do have an experience to share with you. As you know, I enjoy blogging about my customer service experiences... especially the bad experiences. Why do I do this? I place a very high value on customer service and... Continue Reading

I am finding Facebook to be a great tool for networking and connecting with people. Since I started using last fall, I have connected with old friends, family members, new associates and some pretty big names. With Facebook, you can make contact with people who might otherwise be very difficult to reach. I've added over 1000 friends, started a handful of groups and have discovered how to post items so others can see what I... Continue Reading

Alright, we are now headlong into the holiday season, and I wonder... Would it be ok with you if I follow a rabbit trail today? I just want to get something off my chest. It may just end up being instructive, but right now I just need to... um... well... er... rant? Yes, that's it. I need to rant. So, if you aren't interested in my little hissy fit, go ahead and delete this email... Continue Reading

If you've been following my life at all, you know I've been working with my mother to help her build her website, TravelsWithSheila.com. Acting on my advice, my mom has issued a press release today. Continue Reading

So here's the deal. I met this bloke in Charlotte, North Carolina last November. I can call him a "bloke" because he is decidedly British. His name is Robert Puddy... Continue Reading

Last week, I wrote about my encounter with Vern Troyer, the actor who portrayed "Mini Me" in the Austin Powers movies. It didn't go all that well. Regardless, I just received the photo that was taken with Vern and I want to share it with you... because I know how much you care. :-) Continue Reading

I am currently in a top-secret location with an unnamed group of people. What do we have in common? We are all online entreprenuers. Why gather? Because when people get together and begin discussing their lives, powerful stuff takes place. Continue Reading

Arrived in Washington, DC today for Yanik Silver's Underground Seminar. I'll be writing about my experiences this weekend. I've already encountered many friends, some fans and some folks that I hadn't met before. But that's another story. There's something wonderful about coming to this city, especially for someone who isn't jaded by living inside the Beltway. Continue Reading

I'm in San Francisco, which is over 1000 miles from home. I'm attending Harlan Kilstein's Six-Figure Copywriting conference (which I am scheduled to speak at tomorrow and Sunday). The conference is taking place at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel. I had a serendipitous event take place around 10 am. Continue Reading

"Bush is stupid" is always a great way to start a conversation. Seriously... bold, definitive statements are the doorway from which we can expand our knowledge base and increase in wisdom. Continue Reading

Mary was out of town at a conference yesterday, so I wanted to find something fun for the kids and myself to do together. Last week, I found out that a new place opened up on Northwest Expressway in Warr Acres, OK, where an old Wal-Mart used to be. It is called "Incredible Pizza". I asked a friend about it and was told that they opened up about six months ago. They described it as... Continue Reading

After many months of exploring the huge world of Azeroth, Riathamus, my human warrior, has reached level 60 of World of Warcraft. I have seen every region, visited virtually every nook and cranny and encountered hundreds (thousands?) of baddies. I have upgraded my weapons, my armor and my skills close to the maximum. So now what? My interest level has declined exponentially. It's been a fantastic journey from newbie at the Northshire Cathedral. I must... Continue Reading

A long time ago in galaxy far, far away, a thirteen-year old boy discovered a new world of action and adventure which had captured his imagination unlike anything before. Star Wars hit the theaters in 1977, and I still remember sitting in the very front row, completely in awe by the images on the screen. I probably saw the film ten times in our local cinema, and waited patiently for George Lucas to churn out... Continue Reading

It is true. I am an Arbonne consultant. (Actually, that may be past-tense by the time you read this...) For those unfamiliar with Arbonne, they are a fast-growing company focused on health care and skin care products. They claim the products are all natural and most of the people who try them truly love them. The downside is that they are ridiculously expensive. Still, you get what you pay for. For the record, I have... Continue Reading

I've been developing a new site with a cool gimmick. It's called DropThatName.com. Sounds kind of weird, huh? It's not like "hey my name is Rudolpho and I don't like it so I am going to drop it". Nope. Nothing like that. Drop That Name! is a place where anyone can brag about their "brush with greatness". Who doesn't like to tell tall tales of their encounter with politicians, movie stars, rock stars, authors and... Continue Reading

And I thought it was going to be as simple as getting on an airplane... Our flight home was initially scheduled for 6:30 pm, putting us into OKC around 8:30 pm. However, our schedule for the day was clear, so we decided to head to the airport early in hopes of catching an earlier flight on standby. We arrived shortly after 12:15 pm and attempted to book on the 1:11 pm flight. It had been... Continue Reading

Way back in July 2004, Disney released America's Heart and Soul without any fanfare. I reported about the release of the movie and indicated that I was eager to see it. While the film received virtually no screen time, it is now available on DVD. I finally viewed the movie tonight and I am perplexed as to why Disney did not put some promotion muscle behind this brilliant and inspiring picture! America's Heart and Soul... Continue Reading

About fifteen years ago, I started using bulletin board services online. These were pre-world wide web servers that ran out of people's homes. You would dial up the BBS on your 1200 baud modem and connect to a text-only based site. These sites would provide forums for discussion, information for reading and programs for downloading. Some of the more progressive boards had games you could play online, text only of course. Way back then, I... Continue Reading

Mary and I had the opportunity to enjoy a "date night" on Friday. First we enjoyed a nice dinner at Johnny Carinos Italian restaurant. Next we went to the mall and pigged out on ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery (superior to Marble Slab in case you are wondering). Finally, it was on the cinema to take in a showing of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I received a great deal of chastisement... Continue Reading

Several years ago, I remember going to the theatre with Mary to see a Martin Short film called Clifford. It took us about 15 minutes to walk out of the theatre and request a refund, something I had never done before or since. It was THAT bad. We just got done watching a movie that makes Clifford look like Shakespeare. Over the years, Christian film-makers have lagged behind secular filmmakers for lack of creative scripts... Continue Reading

It's fun to be right. It really is. Last month, I predicted the early demise of Air America, the liberal radio network featuring the very unfunny Al Franken. This story appeared on Drudge Report today. After just two weeks on the air, Air America Radio, the fledgling liberal talk-radio network featuring Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, appears to have encountered serious cash-flow problems. The CHICAGO TRIBUNE is developing a story, insiders tell DRUDGE, on how... Continue Reading

I have been into computers since the TRS-80 Model I came out in the late seventies. I am not a programmer, but I can put a PC together from scratch, install an operating system and just about any software. I can tweak a machine under the hood and have been able to solve just about any problem I have encountered. To my family, friends and associates, I am the local computer guru. But even I... Continue Reading

I have been a computer gamer ever since I encountered Space Invaders on my TRS-80 (that REALLY dates me) about 25 years ago. Dozens of computer games are published every year, but only a handful of those I try actually keep my attention for the duration of the game. The last game to do so we Star Wars Galaxies (which has since lost my attention and I am cancelling my account). I had a great... Continue Reading

It was another walk in the footsteps of our Founding Fathers. The city of Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was composed and signed. We can trace much of that which makes America great to the heart of this old city. We started the day by hopping a bus downtown. If I had known how crowded the bus would have been, I think we would have taken a cab. Anyhow, we arrived downtown and... Continue Reading

I've bumped heads with politicians and celebrities. But my most recent encounter blows all those away. How many of you can say you met these two? That's right. You are seeing THE R2-D2 and C3PO, not just any droids. Mary thinks I need therapy... hehe... Continue Reading

Yes, it's true. I have been a Presidential Advisor. At least that's what Mary tells me. About 10 years ago, I was shopping at Best Buy on Central Expressway in Dallas. It was the holiday season, so the store was packed with people. I meandered my way into the software aisle, and there HE was. Who, you ask? None other than then-Governor-elect George W. Bush! He has recently won the election for the Gov seat... Continue Reading

I've been having a great time with Star Wars Galaxies. What a fun and addictive game. Here are the latest screen shots I have captured while exploring the galaxy. I took a few of me hanging out after a long night's hunt, as well as some HUGE creatures I encountered on Talus while doing missions with Vaba. Continue Reading

Woman swallows fork trying to retrieve cockroach An Israeli woman has swallowed a fork while trying to retrieve a cockroach from her throat. The insect reportedly jumped into her mouth as she was cleaning her home in a village in northern Israel. The 32-year-old tried to scoop the cockroach out with a fork, but ended up swallowing that as well. Dr Nikola Adid, of the Poria Hospital in Tiberias, said: "It's a bit of a... Continue Reading

Well, I have been playing Star Wars Galaxies for three days now. I can safely say that this stuff is digital crack. Highly addictive and just plain fun. See that strapping young lad above? Yup, that is my alter ego, Mmoc Leoj. Already sharp with a pistol and an up and coming rebel, I have ventured forth on many missions, encountering a good number of beasties and critters. I have met some very nice... Continue Reading