Don's Thoughts II Returns!

While Blogger is fine as a whole, I like the flexibility of Wordpress much better, so I have decided, this past weekend to set up my business web site again and get Don's Thoughts II back up and running. It's up and runninger here and I will be moving all the messages from here there (so it has something in it, etc), but not the comments. Please repoint your RSS readers, etc, there if you would. :)

Thanks!

A Friend in CA.

I have a friend in Central California that is a bit over weight. She has looked into going through surgery to get a tuck and or a band, at her husband's request, but is not happy with what she has seen and heard. Her husband a many years is demanding that she go do it, even though it will put them in financial straights for a while. He isn't listening to her concerns and her desire to not go through with it.

Do you think a spouse should be demanding something like this? Do you feel either procedure does any good?

My thoughts are if my friend want's to do this, she should go for it, ONLY after looking it over in very detail she can. Personally I'd not do it, and I probably could now. I'll walk more, I'll eat better, etc. (And I already am.) Now in her case, there may be some medical issues in play keeping her from more exercise, etc. But still, I think *she* should control what happens to her body. Now, a spouse can give their feedback and thoughts, but should not demand something like this.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this....

Consulting Web Site.

After about four months of it being down, I have decided to bring back up my business web site. It will probably have a business blog up on it soon, and may soon have an in house photo gallery. Enjoy!

Fuel Cost

There is a lot of hupla going on right now about the cost of fuel here in the US. Now mind you I don't like it myself, but I can't see the problem with what the fuel companies are doing.

This is a free economy Nation. That means you or a company is free to set the prices for your/their product(s). If we, The People, don't want to pay that price, we don't have to buy it, and after a time, the price will come down.

Having the government step in and control the prices doesn't make sense to me. Now, I understand that fuel cost will and does impact the cost of food, durable goods, and pretty much everything else, but the best way for us to impact that is to not use as much of it for none commercial purposes. Start using buses, walking, major car pooling, go buy an electric car, etc. There are ways to lower your cost!

Keep in mind, if you go to Europe, or most countries fuel is over $5.00 per gallon.

Stop complaining and do something about it, walk it's better for you anyway. (And that's what I'm doing as much as possible, walking!)

The Weekend, FINALLY...

Well, other than for the fact I will be sailing a good amount this weekend (and that starts in about an hour and a half from this posting tonight!!), I need to first clean house, then I need to get back to my studies. A friend of mine read the blog today and kicked me hard, figuratively, for not cracking the books, research, and other stuff I need to do for my dissertation. Guess I'll take her advice and get to it!

But there will be some good sailing this weekend too!! And there is a BIG Sea Food Fest going on this weekend as well. Next weekend is a beach air show as well! Going to be a fun, though hot it seems, couple of weeks here coming up starting today!

An update!

Well, I'm down to 258lbs from about 290 back in December!! YEAH!! More to go though!! 210 is still the goal!

Exercise

For the past three months plus I have been eating better, doing ab rolls, push ups, and walking my dog more and for longer distances, all pretty much every day. It’s starting to pay off. I don’t have a scale, although I should get one soon, but my pants are now loose, and my belt is way too loose as well. Not going to buy new clothes, belt or scales till I get it down even more.

My goal is to get from the 290ish pounds I was, down to 210 where I feel the best. (I am a big guy even when I’m in shape!) The last time I did check my weight I was 265 about 2 months ago. Lost ~25 pounds since mid December of 2005. :)

Comes with living in Florida I guess. :)

In Memory Of...

... Don McCoy, who passed away last night about 2030 hours. He had a long life and was a great man from what little I knew of him.

I met him for the first time last December when I came down to Pompano Beach to "interview" for my new job. He and his wife Eileen took me in and found a house for me, made initial contact with the landlord, took me to look for furniture, etc. Great couple!

Don went out of his way every today to do things for me which I found to be very nice and helpful!

I only wish I could have gotten to know him better and for much longer!

May his being rest in peace in the Happy Hunting Grounds and may Eileen relish in the memory of their past together and not the sadness of loss!

Aho Don!

Florida could be a problem...

Well now that I'm living in Florida my studies and work habits could get bad... The weather has been sooooooo good, it's hard to stay in and work on my dissertation or to read or to study or to work on web pages, or to.....

Spent most of the weekend out sailing again, and let me tell you, if it's not something you've done, you should! (If you are in the Ft. Lauderdale area, I can get you hooked up on the Second Star which does two charter cruises a day for $40.00 per person, up to six people per cruise for three to four hours of sailing on the ocean, and if you want, you get to steer the boat, play with the sails, etc!)

Now, on the good side, I’m getting back into shape, walking Kodi almost every day, doing ab rolls, pushups, and eating better. (Kinda embarrassing going to the beach, or playing on the boat being over 270 pounds and ghost white! ;))

I am going to have to start scheduling via my planner all my study time I need!

Immigration Woes...

There is a lot of hoopla going on right now about illegal "aliens" being in the US and either kicking them out, or letting them become citizens.

I'm all for people from other Nations coming to the US, as long as it is a legal move, they have a job, or can get a job, so they can pay taxes like the rest of us, cover their own medical cost, etc.

I am NOT for people from other Nations sneaking into the US and taking jobs "under the table" and not paying taxes like the majority of the US, getting free medical (on "me" (and I say that tongue in cheek)), etc. NO other Nation out there lets people just come into their Nation and live "for free".

Now, make immigration cheaper and easier to do for people that want to leave their Nation of record and become a Citizen of this Great Nation, but make them go through the process of doing it legally.

Those folks that are hear illegally (as in not haven gone through the proper processes to enter the US) and that are protesting and marching against the US, waving their "home Nation" flags, should be arrested and sent back to their "flag" Nation. (If they really want to prove a point, they should be waving US flags!!) They are breaking two US Laws:

1. Illegally in the US.
2. In many cases demonstrating without a permit. (Now, mind you, I don't think that a permit should be needed to demonstrate peacefully, but currently it is the law, so follow it.)

It just doesn't make sense to me how people are getting away with this protesting, while being illegal, and why we aren't doing something about it...

More Photos...

Well, I got off my behind this evening and found some more photos which I have put up on the web at Flickr.

Various Sailing Adventures.

A date with Polly, to the beach.

My pets, past and present.

Aircraft

Friends and Family

Enjoy!

Busy Weekend

Well, I spent all day yesterday rebuilding and "new" (to me) computer that was given to me for helping a guy fix his "new" computer and get it working the way it should be. Boy ole boy, I know why he got a new one. This one is SOOOOOOOO slow, and needs memory which I will probably pick up soon. Going to use it as my print server and take that task off of the computer that was doing it, as it was always busy anyway crunching prime numbers for me.

Today I will be heading into work and working on the network there, as I'm not happy with the way it is set up. Yep, I'm the President of the company, but our "Network" guy left the company before I got there, and it's time to fix things...

Also getting back into (I know, I keep coming and going here...) my dissertation and my Watkins business (see last post there...), so life is busy again!

Watkins

For those interested in receiving up to $20.00 in "free" ("free" as you have to pay taxes and shipping based on your location) Watkins products, go over and check out my other blog that is offering $20.00 in gift certificates to each person that asks. :)

Enjoy!

An aggravation…

Why do people insist that I listen to their music or pitch when I visit their page via a rotation systems such as TrafficSwarm or BlogExplosion? They should set their audio presentations, including music to be off and place a switch to turn on the sound should the person want to hear it.

I listen to my own music most of the time, often via my laptop, where I am surfing from, and do not want to listen to most of the stuff. I will listen to those things that I have an interest in. Let ME decide what I want to listen to...

Sailing Event all day!

Yesterday I was able to be on the sail boat from about 10AM until almost 5PM, what a way to spend the day. We had a charter of a nice family and sailed up and down the coast, tied up to a reef for about an hour or so and swam in the ocean, then chased some fish around the ocean trying to convence them to get on the line we had out for them.

I could find a job on a boat and be pretty happy, provided I got to jump in the ocean every so often and providing I had SOME time off.

Only problem would be Kodi, so I probably couldn't do it, but it sure sounds fun...

My Pets... :)

To the right there, I have a Flickr Badge with my pets, past and present. (Down to just Kodi and Zenda, but Zenda is up north...)

Enjoy!

Getting back up to speed in blogging.

Well, after I shut down tdbellenterprises.com because I was too busy, and I pretty much dedicated my time to AV Books, Inc., I have decided to bring this page fully back into produciton for now. I am in the process of getting my photos up on Flickr (yep, I joined the masses...) and will be updating links to that either today or sometime this week.

You should start seeing me post here more often as well.

Looking forward to getting my two or three readers back. ;)

What a day...

... yesterday! Started out I got to dive again. Water was still warm and it felt great, but one weird thing happened. I was panic breathing for some reason. I just couldn't stay down. I did get what needed done (check and clean the prop on the boat, and check another boat's prop/underbelly, and check a few things down there), but it was in short burst of being down and long periods of laying on top getting over my panic breathing. Wierd for me. I've not had that happen except the VERY first day I dove in the ocean. Can't figure it out...

Did have a good day on the sail boat though, two great groups, on the two cruises, and I enjoyed the whole time.

Had another cruise on the sail boat today, and it was almost as good! ;) Not enough wind for me today, but it was still fun.

Venture Capitalist...

For about 10 years I was an active Venture Capitalist, and funded several companies with money (from $500K to $50M). I reviewed hundreds of business plans, talked to hundreds of people about their company and funded some of them, and walked, or ran, from others.

But in all of the cases, I TRIED to be cordial and friendly.

I am currently working for a company (AV Books, Inc.) that is looking for VC Funding. The response I’ve gotten from the folks I’ve talked to has been from extremely rude, to down right nasty! Why is that? It just doesn’t make sense to me!

Are they put off because I know the processes from the inside? (Although anyone with a sound mind knows how a VC works…) Although my boss was receiving the same responses before I came on board.

I know our product is good; too many potential end users like and WANT the product. Almost every Educator we have shown it to wishes they had every book they use in our product!

I’m confused…

Busy Life...

Life continues to throw things at me and keep me busy and looking for revenue... I haven't taken (or made) much time for my studies, so my dissertation is going no where, although I do have a bit of time till my next "required" check in for that.

I have been having some good times though. My Boss, the owner of the company I work for as President/COO, has a sail boat, and I get to go out on it at least once a week of late, and often more. I'm finding I like being out on the sea. If I didn't have Kodi, my puppy (ok, 6 years old next month, but still a puppy to me), I'd probably quit what I'm doing now and take a job on a cruise line doing computer work or some such.

I did get to scuba dive a few weeks ago. For the first time in my life I dove in water where all I wore was a "skin" (light cloth body suit less than .5m thick) and it was WARM! (Everyone around me said I was crazy and the water was too cold that I should be wearing a 3m wet suit a the minimum. It was warm though! I loved it. I was checking out the bottom of the boat, so I wasn't down longer than 10 minutes, but I have to say it was great! Can't wait to go diving again soon!

Well, back to work.

Back here for now.

Well, I let my company web site die off, sorta by mistake, but I'm kinda happy with the decision in the end. That said, I will be going back to posting here for a little while till I work out what I want to do blog wise. I miss blogging, so I’m back at posting blogs.

There is a lot going on in my life, and I’ll post more on that once I work out what I want to post about and what I don’t think is appropriate. 