Random Thoughts, Scattered Mind

I’m not sure if you have these in your life, but recently I’ve noticed that I am inconsistent with my “good deeds.”  For example, two weekends ago, I was driving down the road and noticed someone who was trying to push their car while in the right-hand lane of the main road near my house.  I promptly pulled my car off the side of the road and help the owner push the vehicle (and was later assisted by two younger guys who stopped as well).  The four of us pushed the car less than a quarter mile uphill and into the development where the owner was met by one of his family members.  A little hard work, but an easy “good deed” for the day.

Two days later, on my way home from work, there was a car that broke down in front of me in the left-hand turn lane.  While this section of the street was relatively level, and there was a large shoulder on the opposite side of the road to where the person could park their car and not be in the way of traffic, I didn’t bother to exit the car and help.  In fact, I grumbled and pulled my car out from behind theirs and continued on my way. Why didn’t I stop to help?  It would have been far easier of a push.

Skip ahead a week.  I’m in the office when one of my coworkers calls me if I can help change the tire on their car.  No problem.  Went down to the parking garage, changed the tire in 10 minutes, and went back to work.  Yes, my hands were dirty and I broke out in a sweat, but it wasn’t anything that didn’t clean up easily enough.  So how come today, while walking to lunch, I passed by a person on the side of the street with a flat tire and didn’t offer to help?

Now I know that I can’t help everyone all the time, but shouldn’t I be more willing to stop and help others?  Maybe it is something about our society these days.  As I mentioned in the first example … two young guys stopped to help push the car with me and the owner.  I was very proud of them for lending a hand because it has become the exception to the rule.  It’s too easy to say “Oh, they probably have AAA” or something along those lines instead of stopping to lend a hand.

Also referencing the first example, the car owner and the family member were surprised by the level of help they received.  I’m sure they might have questioned “Why are they helping us” at one point.  It reminds me of one time years ago when I helped a young lady push her car out of the intersection.  She was so nervous because she was stranded, but I think she was also nervous because a strange man stopped to help.  I offered to stay with her until her father arrived, but fortunately a cop showed up shortly there after to assist.

Whatever the reason might be, I hope that I can be a better helper in the future.  Maybe my actions will encourage others to help out more often as well.  If it becomes a common practice within our communities, maybe I won’t feel so hesitant in the future.

Being a big train lover, there is no better “attraction” at Walt Disney World than the monorail.  Whenever practical, my camera was pointed upwards to capture the trains in action while I was enjoying a week in Orlando this Summer.  Below is one of my favorite shots.  Just as the Sun started to set, one of the trains passed overhead. With the headlamps on and the Sub-lit clouds reflecting off the side of the train, the photo has a little bit of a futuristic, almost spaceship-like look about the monorail.  Enjoy!

(Click image to enlarge.)

What is the wold coming to when a police officer boards a bus, holds people hostage, and ends up killing seven of them … all in the hopes of regaining his job?  It makes no sense what so ever.  How can someone who is hired to protect the innocent turn into the complete opposite?

If there is anything positive to take from this, at least the officer was considerate enough to let a mother and her three children off of the bus earlier in the hostilities, as well as a man with diabetes.  But still, how could he think his actions were going to result in him regaining his job?  Truly sad.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to both the Chinese families involved as well as the general public in the Philippines.  Such events should never happen.

Regard others highly
Remember others feelings
Remain courteous

Author unknown

Did you hear about the woman who lost her job over comments made on Facebook?  June Talvitie-Siple, a teacher in Massachusetts, lost her job after calling the parents of her students snobby and arrogant in comments on her Facebook page, as well as referring to her students as germ bags.  Once these comments were found online, they were brought to the attention of the school district who asked her to resign.

So what does this teach you?  You need to be responsible when posting online, especially if you work in public markets.  Companies of many sizes know about the risk of public exposure online, and often tell their employees to practice responsible web use.  This is why most companies limit the access to the internet from within their own firewalls.  These actions come from the advice of reputation management services and business consultants.

When I first got online back in the early 1990s, I was too careless with my web activity.  It didn’t dawn on my that putting out my name and private information could be used against me.  Within a year, I would get random and threatening e-mails as well as people accessing my e-mail account.  It was then that I learned the importance of controlling my information online.

Reputation management services; teach individuals and companies these lessons without making people learn them the hard way.  By controlling the information you place online, and working at monitoring what others are saying about you, you can keep your reputation (as well as personal security) in check.

What does the future hold for June Talvitie-Siple?  Do you think she will be able to get another job as a teacher following this?  If she is smart, she will work hard to improve her image and reputation.  This means not only apologizing for her comments, it means she needs to go through her posting history to edit out the comments that got her in trouble to begin with.  Maybe she should look into taking advantage of the reputation management services in her area to get her life, and her future, back.

Tonight is the Hall of Fame game, kicking off the preseason for this years NFL!  As always, I hope that the Giants make it all the way.  The thrill of Eli Manning holding up the trophy after their victory over the New England Patriots was wonderful, and it eased the hurt from the loss to the Baltimore Ravens back in 2000.  But being a realist, I also know that it will be a rough road and that they might not even make the playoffs.

I guess that is why every football season is so exciting.  It is a fresh start for every team to show what they are made of, and make that climb to supremacy with a blank slate.  Tonight we see the Dallas Cowboys and the Cincinnati Bengals face off against each other.  Two notable Bengals (Terrell Owens and Adam “PacMan” Jones) wore the blue and silver just a few years ago, showing how dynamic the league can be.  These changes is what makes each season interesting, since we don’t know how the new players will improve or hurt the teams.

Unfortunately, some players will be watching this season from home due to injuries during training camp.  It is my hope that the number of major injuries will be less than that of prior seasons.  For while I love to watch the hard hits and circus tackles, I don’t like to see people missing out playing the sport they love due to injuries … especially ones that could lead to the end of their careers.

Be safe everyone, and best of luck with the new season!

Odd question alert! What ever happened to Sanka? With Starbucks dominating the coffee industry for the past decade, somewhere along the line Sanka disappeared from the coffee advertising circuit. In fact, I don’t think I heard any advertising for any of the Instant Coffee brands as of late.

Has our society grown too accustomed to the coffee houses that stirring up a quick cup of instant coffee is no longer appealing? Or was it that the instant coffees lost the taste that only fresh brewed coffees could offer? As one who doesn’t drink coffee, I cannot answer that, but maybe you can. Anyone seen or drink Sanka lately?

This is a sponsored guest post written by Memphis Travel on behalf of Memphis CVB. Post powered by Sponzai.

More than just the home of the blues and barbeque, Memphis gives you plenty of ways to play around, with fun things to do no matter who you are or what you like. Of course, if you’re into Elvis, rock-and-roll and mouth-watering ribs, you’ve got to check out Graceland, Sun Studios, and the Rendezvous. But Memphis has much more to offer than this holy trinity of southern culture, with enough to see, do and eat to make it the perfect location for your next long weekend getaway. 
    The families out there (or the wild at heart) should be sure to check out the Memphis Zoo, one of only four U.S. zoos with giant pandas. Recently ranked the #1 zoo in the U.S. by TripAdvisor.com, the Memphis Zoo lets you get up close and personal with the animal kingdom. And with the recent addition the Northwest Passage, home to Polar bears in a see-through underwater exhibit, and the zoo’s newest section, Teton Trek, kids and adults alike are certain to have a blast.
    Don’t let your midtown experience stop at the zoo; the Cooper-Young and Overton Square neighborhoods are just down the street. Ask a local Memphian where to find a tasty bite to eat, great local music and ice cold beer, and they will probably direct you here. Speaking of beer … the environmentally conscious visitor can enjoy a locally brewed beer by Ghost River Brewing or walk through the natural landscape and educational facilities at the Lichterman Nature Center.
    Memphis has museums for just about everything. From the Civil Rights Museum, Cotton Museum and Fire Museum in downtown to the Brooks Museum, Children’s Museum of Memphis and the Pink Palace Museum further east, the number of places to have fun while you learn are as bountiful as the barbeque restaurants. Families, friends, sports fans, history buffs, self-proclaimed food critics – Memphis has everything you need to keep everyone happy.
     So when you visit Memphis, stay a few extra days. Even the locals don’t run out of things to do. And to make it easy, memphistravel.com is launching a new travel guide to help you plan your next vacation. Simply choose from a list of interests and you’ll be given a sample itinerary with lots of great ideas. You can also register for a chance to win one of twelve trip packages that include tours, gift certificates to Memphis’ favorite restaurants, hotel stays and more. Go to itinerary.memphistravel.com to get started.

For those of you who remember, I ended up buying a new car last year after having my last one for a decade.  My new vehicle has a larger storage section in the back which came in handy when I was rebuilding my lawn (as noted in the “Adventures in Landscaping” section).  As you can see in the picture to the right, I was able to stack multiple bags of soil without having to find creative ways to slip it into the trunk – a problem I use to have with my old sedan. 

What you might also notice in the picture is that I was using a large sheet of plastic to protect the interior from possibly being stained by the new soil.  Being a utility vehicle, it is likely that I will continue to use it to carry large (and possibly dirty) items over the next decade, so I want to make sure the interior lasts as long as possible.  One of the things I’ve considered buying was a cargo mat for the trunk.

Just as you would buy floor mats to protect from the constant wear and tear on the carpet caused by wet and dirty shoes, a cargo mat protects the trunk.  When you consider in the case like mine (where the fabric is a light color), the odds are stains will appear over time.  In fact, when I bought this car, the dealer had to do some extra scrubbing in the trunk since the car was originally owned by a car rental company. 

I haven’t settled on a mat yet, as my sheet of plastic seems to be holding up, but if I continue to haul dirt and mulch with my vehicle, it might be worth the investment.  After all, $100 now might be cheaper than paying for upholstery cleaning a few times over the life of the car.  What do you think?