Chris's Musings

It's Day 16, otherwise known to me as "Whole30 HUMP DAY - WOOT WOOT!"  Can you tell I'm excited?  14 days till I can start eating fake food again... oh wait, maybe it isn't all that great ;-) To tell you the truth, the whole thing has been a great experience so far.  I get bored with my food, yes.  I get massive cravings.  But... I feel great and my energy levels are good. A few days ago, a friend in my Whole30 support group posted this blog article to our group page (by the way, I don't recommend anyone doing this without some moral support).  It's pretty funny ( http://whole30.com/2012/09/doing-the-whole30-when/ ).  However, I think this list is somewhat incomplete and I feel somewhat compelled to add a few based on my experience.  I'll put it in here as a points system... tell me how many points you have, if in fact you are doing Whole30 (and have been on the program for at least a few weeks) +1 point:  You feel your clothes gettin...

It is day 3 of the "hostage crisis" more affectionately known as the "government shutdown" (or government "slimdown" if you read FoxNews).  The hostages of this leadership debacle centered in Washington D.C. are the jobs of 800,000 Federal employees whose jobs have been furloughed as a result of this process.  I have a few friends in this group. I will leave my opinions about who's right and who's wrong to myself.  Okay - maybe.  I wish that this childishness in our government would come to an end, and perhaps it may with a change of leadership.  However, people have families to feed, mortgages to pay, and jobs to do (such as my friends at the CDC), so I thought I would offer some "real solutions" to help motivate our leaders to take action.  And to be honest, I'm not going to be too partisan with this list so I'm sure that you'll equally laugh or be offended at some of these suggestions.  That said, here are my top ten. ...

Did you know that there is now a Waffle House kiosk in Turner Field? That was 13 games ago. They Braves haven't lost since!  They are 13-0 with a Waffle House in the building. Which only means one thing... The Waffle House is HOT.  Given that this is the case, here's a top 10 list of other uses of good WH mojo. 1.) Put one in Kyle Field.  Like... NOW! 2.) Take your next first date to Waffle House.  You think I'm crazy, but she could be the one! 3.) Before you get your PowerBall tickets, make sure you get it smothered, covered, and topped with some love. 4.) Who's to argue with some of Bert's Chili on your suit before that big interview? 5.) Carb loading before a marathon!!  Waffle... Hash Browns... PR baby. 6.)  Prospect meeting before the big contract negotiation (now, to be realistic, I've had pre-sales call strategy meetings at truck stop diners before, so this isn't terribly far fetched) 7.)  Did they announce layoffs at you...

I was actually zoning out somewhat when this suggestion was directed at me.  I was out with a few friends fo queso and tacos at a nearby taqueria, awaiting the Smyrna fireworks show. My friend, a female, was talking about her experience with a guy that she's gone out with about three times now.  And then... "You know, you really should hold a class for guys" Of course, I was now paying attention and ready to tell my friend how unqualified I am to talk to anyone about dating.  (aka - you really should find a married guy to talk to us single knuckleheads about how to relate to women).  Then, she said something to the tune of... "Oh no, that's not what I mean.  I'm talking about guys having a plan." And she didn't mean having a plan for their life... or having anything figured out... she just meant that she wanted the guy to actually plan the date. Apparently (I'm hoping this guy doesn't read this, honestly), this guy whom she was se...

This was a great Saturday.  I went out to the mountains with a few friends today to do a little wine tasting at a north Georgia winery on a LivingSocial coupon.  The excursion was really great.  I highly recommend taking the "cave tour" at Yonah Mountain Vinyards.  The owner, who toured us through the production facilities, shared a lot with us about how they run the production facilities and a few snarky quips. Not to mention, we got to taste a few really great wines.  I actually bought one (shocking, if you know my opinion of Southeast wineries).   After our tour, we grabbed lunch at a really good pizza place near Helen, GA and finished up our day at the Dawsonville Outlet Mall.  My goal, which I accomplished, was to get some new polos and work shirts.  I acquired four pretty good new shirts... mission accomplished.  My friends were perusing the outlets in search of some new shoes, and they walked into this store: Oh, did I ...

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/50_words_banned_from_nyc_schoo.html Try to count the number of banned words and references :-) ---------------------------------------------------------- Billy was heading home from school the day before Halloween and didn't have a costume planned out yet.  He thought about going as a ferocious dinosaur so he could roar and chase the girls, but opted to go with something less involved because he wanted to swim with his buddies at Kevin's (the friend whose hosting the party) parents' pool and of course he wanted to play XBOX and post pictures to Facebook on his iPad.  That would be really difficult wearing a dinosaur costume. Billy went a little too crazy eating chips and drinking Cokes at school, so he asked his mom to take him to a Walgreens to use the bathroom and there HE SAW IT.  The perfect costume!!!  At Walgreens?  Yes, I know... you can buy everything from cigarettes, beer, toy soldiers, and posters of...

I first started to believe this is a publicity stunt, but from the appearances of the polls it looks like this time he may be serious. The Donald is considering running for president.  He is in fact, speaking at a Tea Party event in Boca Raton today.  My first question is:  if the attendance is really huge, how many people are there because they believe in small, limited government and low taxes and how many are really there to see Trump? But, he is polling evenly with most of the other GOP contenders, so perhaps in this crazy political environment he should be taken seriously this time.  In light of this, and having been a fan of The Apprentice in the beginning, I do have a few questions that I will pose. My Top Ten Questions about the Alleged 2012 "The Donald" Presidential Campaign 1.) Donald is going to bring up the birth certificate, will "The Obama" bring up The Donald's three failed marriages to Supermodel women? 2.) Will The Donald say "Pres...

Man, I had some fun talking with friends about that post I made yesterday, and it spawned some more ideas, so I thought that instead of coming up with a new "surprise" post, I'd just "complete" the list. More signs you may have been at NorthPoint a long time :-) 11.) You've used any of the following words in your normal dialogue Guardrails Communicator Listen, listen, listen Wisdom Church Person/Church People 12.) You believe that Chick-Fil-A and church are somehow mystically connected. 13.) You have at least two of the following books on your bookshelf: The Best Question Ever The Grace of God Visioneering The Deity formerly known as God by Jarret Stevens Any Boundaries book by Henry Cloud (or any book by Cloud, period) Wild at Heart by John Eldridge if you're a guy -or- Captivating by Staci Eldridge if you're a woman Crazy Love by Francis Chan 14.) You have seen the water ballet at Labor Day Retreat, and wish they'd bring it b...

I've had this on the brain for a while... I need a mental candy break though. For myself, or for any of my friends who are members of one of the NorthPoint Ministries campuses (that means Buckhead, Browns Bridge... you know who you are), there are (admit it) signs that you've been going to this church for way too long.  And now, like any person that needs to get out of their denial, I'm going to point out a few :-) Top Ten Signs You've Been at NorthPoint for Quite Some Time 1.) You commonly use any of the following words in your daily conversation: Margin Life-giving Give, Save, Spend Environment CG Big Idea Virtue Bottom Line Safe 2.) Something that Andy Stanley said in a sermon inevitably makes it into your Bible study discussion. 3.) You don't see anything wrong with wearing the same T-shirt every Sunday for 30 Sundays in a row (a shout out to all of us UpStreeters!), and in case you haven't washed "this year's" shirt, you have...

You know it's rarely a good sign when people get creative with your company brand :-) I'm on a Delta flight, leaving an hour and a half late (fortunately not as late as other Delta flights here), and when I put a comment on my Facebook wall about "what's up with the Delta delays?" a guy that I worked with during my road warrior work days commented with... Don't you know Delta stands for D oesn't E ver L eave T he A irport? And then another friend commented with... D on't E xpect L uggage T o A rrive. For someone who has endured long delays and has had my luggage lost... not once, not twice, but at least three times by this airline, I had to laugh.  Why?  Because I've experienced this... it's pretty true. Being a marketing professional by training and trade, this intrigues me a lot, because you know that Delta isn't really trying to get this type of publicity and their PR department isn't exactly pumping out this message.  Ho...

I have had a number of debates with my friends in Atlanta about Texas and how it is not a part of "The South."  Now, most of the folks that debate that Texas is part of the South have never been to Texas, which I understand.   But for those of us that didn't grow up in the greatest State in the Union, I feel compelled to set the record straight and provide a convincing argument that Texas is Texas, and the South is the South. So I give you the "Texas vs. 'The South'" argument folks: 1.) State Flags In the South, most Southerners do not see their state flag displayed much at all outside of government buildings.  In fact, the University of Georgia flag is more popular and prominent than the state flag. In TEXAS... the State flag is EVERYWHERE, and can in fact be seen from several car dealers in sizes larger than most Mack trucks waving over the interstate.  In addition, the Texas state flag is flown at the same height as the American flag.  It's...

I just wanted to take a quick time out to announce to the blogosphere that I LOVE dill pickles.  They're just awesome. And I had a great bunch for lunch. That is all. I'll come up with something more profound later. I just love dill pickles.  I'm sure you were dying to hear that ;-)

So, the grand photo op of this week happened. The aptly named "Beer Summit" or "B3 Summit" was held at the White House yesterday between Professor Gates, a prominent professor at Harvard University and Sgt. Crowley, a Cambridge police officer that arrested him for disorderly conduct when he was answering a call about a break in at Gates' house (turns out that Gates was breaking into his own house) and Gates did not cooperate when he came in to check on the situation. Of course the charges were dropped. This was in fact a huge misunderstanding that should have gotten a little blip in page 10 of the newspaper but because of certain factors (aka - the professor's prominence) it was raised to National debate and even more because President Obama put his foot in his mouth, rushed to conclusions, and said that the cop had acted "Stupidly." So, partly to cover for his own mistake, Obama invites these guys to the White House for a beer to talk... so y...

Of course, on occasion we Buckhead and Northpoint members/attenders have whispered in the back halls... it's obvious that the high degree of fashion sense of our worship leaders have now made the quasi-prime time :-) The Stuff Christians Like "Metro Worship Leader Test" How does your church score? :-)

Airportopolis – A Place on Everybody’s Must-Visit List! This week traveling for business, I looked forward to spending a week in a new city, getting to explore some of the unique areas of Pittsburgh during one or more of our evenings. I had a conversation with someone before I left earlier this week to get the skinny on some of the cool things to do and see here, and had a few things on my list for this week. But for whatever reason… partly workload, partly a not-as-ambitious-as-I’d-hope-for traveling team, partly the “bug” going around to some teammates… I didn’t get a chance to check Pittsburgh out… again. I’ve been in the outskirts of the Steel City twice before, each time being relegated to the outskirts of town because of where our clients were located and them being very quick trips. The location of this client, and hence where we stayed, is a place I will affectionately term as “Airportopolis.” Airportopolis (n) 1. Any small pseudo-city that artificially pops up near a ...

(parody of Nickelback song) For those that are wondering (because I've complained about this a lot over the past 3 months that it's been flaky -as it is now- or just plain DOWN for hours on end - which it is at this very moment- ), I checked with AT&T about DSL about a month or so back... and they can't offer DSL in my area till 1/1/08. I can't wait! :-). This is not quite as funny for me now (even though I tried to be and laughed a little as I was dreaming it up with my Internet down), but it will be much more so soon.. haha :) "If Comcast Cared" (Based on "If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback) From my Starbucks seat, I watch passers-by Checking the news that's passed on by I never dreamed that I'd be online But here I am, e-mails are mine Singing Amen I, I'm online Singing Amen I, I'm online [Chorus:] If Comcast cared, if they really tried To fix my home Internet every time that it died If they would just respond and...