So I haven’t updated in a while. Honestly I’ve just been a little too lazy to and busy with so many other things. The reason I’m updating now though is because I can do so right from my iPhone! So hopefully this will entice mr to be more active in these longer blog posts.

If I’m not though you can always follow me at
http://www.twitter.com/concertman

In the mean time here’s a random photo from while I’m posting this sitting at the bus stop.

So when you give to a charity what do you expect in return? If you gave something as a donation, knowing that you would get a little something in return, and then you don’t get the return, can you be upset? Frustrated? Disappointed?

We gave money to a charity a while back (November to be exact) that provides computers to children in underdeveloped nations.  We actually gave enough money to give one computer to a child and then get another one for ourselves.  Of course I have more than a few computers sitting around the house so what do I need another one for?  Well Mary and I were going to start showing it off and talking to other groups about getting involved with the organization and donating also.

This was a very popular program.  Way more popular than the nonprofit that started it expected.  So now we are in the middle of a “shipping delay”.  Turns out the company “lost” thousands of orders through what they call the Give One Get One program.  We have been reassured that we will receive the computer, we just don’t know when.

My question is if it is within reason to be upset?  The goal of this was not for me to get a new computer.  It was for a child in Mongolia, Africa, or South America to get a computer to use in school.  From what I can tell they have shipped millions of computers to those children.  And our donation helped make that possible.

Now I have read multiple forum post by people who say they are in the process of having their credit card company begin a charge back process.  That makes me sick.  Those people were in it for themselves and don’t care about trying to embrace the spirit of the OLPC movement.

I’m not really upset, just kind of confused.  Everyday I come home hoping to see a green box on the doorstep with and XO on the front.  I want to play with it, show it off, develop for it, but most of all, get people involved with it.

Here comes Barack Obama.

The Democrat who is running neck and neck with Hillary Clinton will appear at a Tuesday late-afternoon or early evening rally in Kansas City, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill announced this afternoon. That’s one week before Missouri’s Feb. 5 presidential primary.

Location? Yet to be determined. (We’ll post it right here when we get it).

At a midtown rally, McCaskill predicted that Feb. 5 turnout in Missouri could reach as high as 50 percent. That’s a far cry from past presidential primaries and a turnout total that almost certainly would benefit Obama.

_____________________________________

That’s  right folks.  Barack’s coming to town and we need to get out there and show people we support what he’s doing.  I will keep you posted on when and where.  Hopefully I’ll be able to go but I just don’t know yet.  If I do I’ll try and do a live blog again!

Peace!

I believe a huge part of leadership is servitude.  To be able to lead people you have to be with them, learn from them and understand them.  By serving them you fill those ideals and earn the respect of the people at the same time.

Barack has a huge background in serving people.

Not only does he serve people but he wants us to be servants to each other.  As a Christian, this is the way it should be.  As a human, this is the way it should be.

I hadn’t read Barack’s initiatives on serving each other until just the other night.  And when I did I found some ideas that blew me away…

Expand Service-Learning in Our Nation’s Schools: Obama will set a goal that all middle and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year. He will develop national guidelines for service- learning and will give schools better tools both to develop programs and to document student experience. Green Job Corps: Obama will create an energy-focused youth jobs program to provide disadvantaged youth with service opportunities weatherizing buildings and getting practical experience in fast-growing career fields.

Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.

What would happen in this nation if all students performed 50hrs worth of community service a year?  What would that do to our communities?  How would that impact the student’s lives?

That’s  HUGE people!!!  This is incredible stuff!!!

How many students from low income families would be able to attend college if they had a $4000 tax credit.  All for working 100hrs?!

Please, sit back and think about what kind of country we could become if everyone got involved in community service.  Everyone helping each other.

I’m getting so excited just thinking about it!!!!

So first up on my reasoning for choosing Barack. I’m starting with a fun topic and will be moving into the more serious ones soon. This one for me is fun because it’s about my livelihood and my passion. Technology!

Barack has said he wants to Googlefy the government. So what does this mean? Wide open and transparent government on the internet.

From the Obama website he wants to:

Require his appointees who lead Executive Branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can watch a live feed on the Internet as the agencies debate and deliberate the issues that affect American society. He will ensure that these proceedings are archived for all Americans to review, discuss and respond. He will require his appointees to employ all the technological tools available to allow citizens not just to observe, but also to participate and be heard in these meetings.

Give the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days before signing any non-emergency legislation.

If you look back to Feb 2007 you will see a post I made about having a government that uses technology to listen to the people and gets the people directly involved. If this isn’t enough to get you excited then you’ll have to wait till the next post I guess.

Keep reading his Technology Issues page though folks. This is the tip of the iceberg. We are talking Patent Office reform (ask anyone in the technology industry what they think of the current patent laws, let’s just say your DNA is no longer your own. Your DNA is patented by someone else. Is that enough to scare you?) and Media Ownership Diversity (How many news stations around the country does NewsCorp own? Look it up. It might just shock you!).

This is big stuff people! And we’re just getting started

How did you spend your day today? A good number of people were off today. Schools were out, banks were closed, stock markets closed. In true American fashion a lot of people spent time shopping and spending money. And that’s fine, it’s what people like to do. But how many people took the spirit of this day and actually did something about it? Did you?

The answer for myself and my wife was yes. Today, along with yesterday we spent a few hours of our days off to reach out. To spread a message. To get people involved. We went to one of the poorest neighborhoods in the Kansas City area and were knocking on people’s doors asking them if they were registered to vote. Asked them if they had any questions. Two well off kids in a run down neighborhood trying to find ways to get people involved in their own well being.

We did have an ulterior motive though. We wanted to get the word out about “our” candidate. Passing out flyers for “our” guy. The thing is, it’s because of the people we visited and talked to over the last couple days that he’s “our” guy. These people need a change. They need a chance. They don’t need a handout or charity. They have skills and drive. They need help getting started.

We as Americans now are at the point of a major decision. We stand at an intersection with many different paths, none of which we can see the end. We can barely see the first few feet. And from that we have to make a choice. That choice will start us down a direction from which there could be no return. The good thing is we can see a little further down one of the paths than the others. The one we are currently on as a nation, we can see a few more feet, maybe even yards, than the others. They don’t look good. They actually look chilling and bleak.

I see this and demand a change.

Change for our nation. Change for our states. Change for our cities. Change for our neighborhoods. Change for our World. I see one person with the opportunity to make those changes. He’s got the vision and more so the passion and compassion. He’s the kind of guy that makes you want to believe. Makes you want to have hope for the future. And you know what.  If we do believe, then there is hope for the future. That’s why I’m officially standing with Barack Obama as “my” guy.

In the past I used to vote along party lines. I was a good republican who listened to Rush Limbaugh, watched Fox News, voted for whatever guy we put up for office. Then something changed. I started looking at the plight of the people around me. Not just those in the east Kansas City neighborhoods. But those in the Brookside neighborhoods. What was their affluence doing to them? What was my good fortune doing to me. Most importantly how do I reconcile this with my faith.

I couldn’t reconcile it, I had to change. I hope over the next few days I can post some more thoughts on this subject. There is still so much more ground to cover and I want to get to it all. In the mean time head over to Barack’s home page and take a look at a few of the videos for yourself. Watch his speech from Iowa. Read about his faith in Christ. See for yourself why he wants us to lead the nation and not the other way around.

peace be with you

Well not that far right…  To the right of this page.  You’ll see in the right column I have added my twitter feed.  I’ve found that I much better at this micro-blogging than keeping up with my regular blog.  If you would like to subscribe to my twitter feed then head on over here…http://twitter.com/concertman 

There are few times in a person’s life that something so profoundly touches them that it becomes a part of who they are. Words will fail to describe the emotion and thoughts that come to mind when that time comes. This is one of those moments for me.

Johnny Cash did a cover of a Trent Reznor song, and in doing so brought something to the surface that was not intended. He showed how frailty can be portrayed in power.  The song creates power and weakness in the same moment.

I can not say much about this song.  It stands on it’s own. If you have not heard the song then you must listen and you will understand what I mean.

Hurt – Johnny Cash

I wish I would have had the chance to meet Mr. Cash.  He’s not what most people would think of as a good role model, but in everything he did you could see his passion.  That passion is a beauty and inspiration to many people past, present and future.

Most people know my stance on this but I’m going to let everyone make their own choice no matter what it does to me in the end.Put your political and economical views aside for a minute.  Seriously.  Do it.  Don’t blame Al Gore or GWB.  It’s not their fault or choice.  It’s ours on both counts. 

http://view.break.com/311805 – Watch more free videos

Watch, then act. 

who tells me that myself or someone in my family is going to die from a terrorist act if I don’t vote republican is going to meet the business end of a 2×4 face to face.

I do not take well to threats and tell me that if I don’t vote for a specific candidate I am going to suffer is a threat. I will then respond accordingly.

Anyone out there read 1984? What was one thing Big Brother used to keep the people under control? The threat of war. The world was always at war and the people had to support the war effort. The fear of war being brought home kept people scared enough to not question their government. What about the ministry of Truth? In the novel it was their job to filter news. It was their job to cover up lies and inconsistencies.

Does any of this sound familiar? Who keeps saying if we don’t fight the terrorist there then they will follow us home? How many people have been called unpatriotic for not supporting the war? How many news stories have come out about the current white house trying to cover up situations that might contradict what they have previously done or not done?

I will not be terrorized into giving my vote away to someone who does not deserve it. And in my book, if you tell me I’m going to die if I don’t vote one way or another then you are a terrorist.

Like Teddy said, I talk soft, but carry a big stick. I’m standing here with 2×4 in hand… who’s the next one who wants to open their mouth?