It's because of Michael Vick that I'm an Atlanta Falcons fan. I loved him so much, talked about him so much, marveled at him so much, that when all hell broke loose, my friends were calling and emailing me concerned. No teasing calls as one would expect in sports. They knew I felt like someone close to me had died.
It was devastating, and I had a pretty strong point of view in 2007: http://www.bloggernews.net/18850 and then I sort of softened: http://www.bloggernews.net/18934.
Regardless of how you feel, Michael Vick could be our mirror. He is a perfect example of how we can all fall from grace.
We saw another example this week of a high profile person letting their ego get the best of them -- who may have felt seemingly invincible, but when he went too far with a comment, he was immediately fired. I'm talking about one of my favorite anchors, Rick Sanchez.
And it was about ego with Vick. He admitted it face-to-face to one of the people who had his back. He told his former Atlanta Falcons' coach Jim Mora Jr in a taped interview for NFL Network GameDay Morning that he figured he could get away everything because of who he was. He also came clean to Mora that he wasn't listening. He had too many outside influences. We'll get to that point later.
Vick said his whole life was a lie, and he was selfish. When Mora asked what he could have done to help him, Vick replied:
"There was nothing you could do, Jim. The best thing that happened to me and that has happened in my life to this point, as crazy as it sounds, was getting shipped to Kansas. Because other than that, I wasn't going to change. I wasn't going to get all those people away from me--those leeches and who wanted to be around. It was pointless. There was nothing nobody could have done."
Now, I don't know about you, but this is a message we hear from all successful people: be careful of the company you keep.
Maybe our friends or family are not involved in dog fighting or other illegal activities. Maybe they just keep us from ourselves. What I mean is, maybe they keep us from doing what WE need to do to be great.
The friend who only calls to complain about her life -- how is your psyche after? The friend who calls last minute and insists you drop everything to go meet her at the bar or go shopping -- when you do that, you'll have fun, no doubt, but when you get back to the real world, do you beat yourself up about what you didn't accomplish?
The examples don't have to be as extreme as Vick's, but you get the point. We let others control our motivation. Once we take control, some of those people will fall by the wayside, not because you had a falling out or you don't enjoy their company. It's because you have other priorities that don't match theirs.
Friendships are like marriages. Sometimes people grow in opposite directions. And that's okay. It doesn't mean we won't see those friends ever again or we don't think of them from time to time. But if we let them convince us to stray from our goals and dreams, we've decided that our own egos are more important than the task in front of us.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Who Knew?
There are two things that don't touch these lips:
So when I hear about anything that is deemed a "healthy" product, I usually run the other way. I'm in pretty good health already. Yes, we can all maximize our health, but for me, not at the cost of taste or enjoyment. So any product that turns my orange juice sh.. brown is not going in my mouth.
Enter Organo Gold.
When my football family members Steve and Rhonda asked about giving it a try just over a year ago, I said thanks but no thanks. Healthy coffee is not going to happen. Tasted it before when one of my best friends was involved with Gano Excel years ago. I didn't even finish the cup. I felt kind of guilty because I should have bought a box to support my friend, but that box would have ended in the garbage. Not to mention that it was a "healthy" coffee.
This is not the same product. But it does have 100 percent certified organic Ganoderma Lucidum in it (a Chinese mushroom with over 150 antioxidants and other apparently nutritional stuff in it).
I just tasted it once and was hooked. Seriously. You're talking to a Starbucks addict who spends Lord knows how much money on coffee each month -- both having the Starbucks beans in the home and meeting people at Starbucks. I've been to Starbucks and a neighborhood haunt, Kaffa House, since and even had a coffee there, but not many. I've actually put my coffee pot away. (Right now my sister is thinking that aliens have invaded my body.)
But this time when I decided, what the heck, and went to the meeting that Rhonda and Steve invited me to (they lured me with two-time Super Bowl champion and former Denver Bronco Rod Smith), I was convinced enough to hear more and start buying the coffee. Before the meeting started, my NHL colleague and former player Stephane Yelle showed up at the meet and greet and started to tell me what he thought of the product.
I have to say there have been some very noticeable changes in my system -- for the better. More energy, feel great...yadda yadda. But the bottom line is c-a-f-f-e-i-n-e. I get the hit I need and then some. Try it yourself...just the coffee. Order a box at www.smoothandeasycoffee.com or connect with me in Calgary for a sample. Then you can tell me if I'm full of it.
The added bonus for me is that I got to rub shoulders (literally and figuratively) with Rod Smith. Plus there are a number of other NFL and NHL athletes who are disciples of the product. So it isn't just me.
So far it's been a very positive experience. Who knew? This is totally something I would have NEVER thought I'd be endorsing.
By the way, here's Rod interrupting his presentation to talk to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T44UEUd5wEM
- Caffeine-free
- Low or no fat products
So when I hear about anything that is deemed a "healthy" product, I usually run the other way. I'm in pretty good health already. Yes, we can all maximize our health, but for me, not at the cost of taste or enjoyment. So any product that turns my orange juice sh.. brown is not going in my mouth.
Enter Organo Gold.
When my football family members Steve and Rhonda asked about giving it a try just over a year ago, I said thanks but no thanks. Healthy coffee is not going to happen. Tasted it before when one of my best friends was involved with Gano Excel years ago. I didn't even finish the cup. I felt kind of guilty because I should have bought a box to support my friend, but that box would have ended in the garbage. Not to mention that it was a "healthy" coffee.
This is not the same product. But it does have 100 percent certified organic Ganoderma Lucidum in it (a Chinese mushroom with over 150 antioxidants and other apparently nutritional stuff in it).
I just tasted it once and was hooked. Seriously. You're talking to a Starbucks addict who spends Lord knows how much money on coffee each month -- both having the Starbucks beans in the home and meeting people at Starbucks. I've been to Starbucks and a neighborhood haunt, Kaffa House, since and even had a coffee there, but not many. I've actually put my coffee pot away. (Right now my sister is thinking that aliens have invaded my body.)
But this time when I decided, what the heck, and went to the meeting that Rhonda and Steve invited me to (they lured me with two-time Super Bowl champion and former Denver Bronco Rod Smith), I was convinced enough to hear more and start buying the coffee. Before the meeting started, my NHL colleague and former player Stephane Yelle showed up at the meet and greet and started to tell me what he thought of the product.
I have to say there have been some very noticeable changes in my system -- for the better. More energy, feel great...yadda yadda. But the bottom line is c-a-f-f-e-i-n-e. I get the hit I need and then some. Try it yourself...just the coffee. Order a box at www.smoothandeasycoffee.com or connect with me in Calgary for a sample. Then you can tell me if I'm full of it.
The added bonus for me is that I got to rub shoulders (literally and figuratively) with Rod Smith. Plus there are a number of other NFL and NHL athletes who are disciples of the product. So it isn't just me.
So far it's been a very positive experience. Who knew? This is totally something I would have NEVER thought I'd be endorsing.
By the way, here's Rod interrupting his presentation to talk to me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T44UEUd5wEM
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Alleys versus Greenspace
It's hard to find a neighborhood without a back alley in the city's old grid patterns. However, in new developments, some areas have alleys, some do not. A few years ago, I embarked on finding out why. And guess what? The information is still relevant. So if you're curious...
While looks are everything when it comes to a new home development, there is more to designing a community than just making it attractive.
What should be green space? What should be laned? Sometimes choice is preordained. There are three factors that determine if a home will back onto an alley, a green strip pedestrian right of way, or parkland: city requirements, land terrain, and developer preference.
Brent Toderian, former Chief Subdivision Planner for the City of Calgary and current Director of Planning for the City of Vancouver says the municipality doesn’t require one or the other but “any Calgary developer has to set aside 10 percent of their land for open space; municipal reserves is the technical term.” That can be in the form of parks or schools.
“On top of that, anything that is undevelopable, such as wetlands, steep slopes, or ravines is requisitioned outside the 10 percent, and it’s called environmental reserve,” adds Toderian.
“We have some developments where we have taken as much as 50 percent of the land for natural areas and environmental reserves.” The location is negotiated between the developer and the city.
Toderian states there aren’t any rules that require a certain number of lots to back onto reserves, walkways, or back lanes. “If a developer wants to do a laned development, we let them. There are few cases where we ask for lanes. In specific circumstances, we require lanes because we want the street to be nicer and more walkable. If you have lanes, you don’t need a front-drive garage. The housing fronts can be more appealing by adding more trees, for example. It’s just a nicer pedestrian environment.”
Only in specific circumstances will the city insist on a back alley because of the unique design and character of a development. Lanes are owned by the city, which means maintenance is the city’s responsibility. There is no bylaw that requires developers to pave lanes. Some of the developers will choose to but it comes down to a cost and affordability issue.
Developers may add additional walkways as part of the community. “We do not accept them as part of the 10 percent parkland,” says Toderian. That means, once they are constructed, a residential association needs to be put into place to maintain them. However, some walkways need to connect to public transit and city paths.
Zoning comes into play when a developer makes the decision to build a green strip or an alley. Alix Halpen, Marketing Manager for United Communities remarks, “In properties zoned R1A, they can have detached garages and green areas. The city prefers a mixture, some without a garage and some with. Every phase has to have 10 percent park or green area – any mixture you want. The design of each development phase will also depend on grades and draining.”
Halpin adds, “The advantage to having a back alley means you can have a detached garage and the garbage pickup isn’t in the front. The disadvantage is there is less privacy with people driving back and forth.”
Developers call any home backing onto a green space an amenity lot. The property is deemed to be worth more and may also allow more separation between neighbors.
Hopewell’s Chris Plosz declares that green spaces tempt the residents to become more active. “I live in Copperfield and the green spaces are great. They bring people out to the park. It’s a lifestyle for us.”
In choosing to live in laned property or one that backs onto a green space, it comes down to affordability for most. Plosz adds, “It’s an alternative. But for the attractiveness of a community, mixed use is great.”
Thursday, September 2, 2010
It's Not Easy Being Human
Listening to Jack Canfield's teleseminar yesterday was a good lift. It was about finding things in your daily life and creating daily disciplines to lift your spirits. Some of those disciplines involved flooding your mind with positive influences to push out the negatives. He also challenged all of his listeners to cut out an hour of TV in lieu of meditation, exercise, and all of the above.
The term discipline is a good one. All these things sound easy on paper, but putting them into action is not. Even if we try to be positive and affirm ourselves to death, those negative beliefs or what Dr. Wayne Dyer calls memes, seem to push and shove their way to the front of the line.
Being positive on the outside is one thing, but on the inside -- well, I probably don't have to tell you. I'm pretty sure that unless you were raised by the Beaver Cleavers' fictional TV family and have the made-for-TV-movie perfect life, you've got a voice in your head always berating yourself for something or telling you you're not good enough.
I've spent years and years reading and being motivated by the likes of Canfield, Deepak Chopra, Les Hewitt... and soaking in all the positive aspects of sport. There was one exercise Canfield suggested, that I tried right away. It was impactful, because for some reason it did get to the heart of the matter for me. I recognized "the voice."
The exercise was to take one sheet of paper, fold it in half. On one side list stuff you don't want. On the other side, list the wants that would be the opposite. So if you don't want to have car problems, the other side would say you want a car in good working order -- or something to that effect. When done, you rip the paper in half at the fold, take the list of don't wants and throw them away. Then you take the list of wants, write out how your life would look as you experience them, then write an affirmation to it. The thing for me was that when I got to the want page and started writing, the list really whittled down to two points. And it made total and complete sense.
Okay, I'll give it up.
Some may be surprised to learn that I spent my entire life shaking the negative voice of my mother. She might have said something different when I wasn't around, but to my face -- from the cradle to her grave -- I could never do anything right. I was never going to amount to anything, and she hoped I was not going to be one of those "money-hungry" people (after getting several promotions when I worked for the feds in another life). There you have it. Now you can see what kind of inner thoughts I battle all the time.
Thank goodness for guys like Jack Canfield who give us a road map through it. Not to say we don't slip and fall back into those nagging "what are you thinking? You're not good enough for that" thoughts. It's a process. It's ongoing. And it's worth it.
If you have those inner voices demonizing your self-worth, start today to do something about it. The good thoughts won't happen overnight, but if you at least try and stick with it, what's the worst that can happen? You might actually BELIEVE in yourself.
The term discipline is a good one. All these things sound easy on paper, but putting them into action is not. Even if we try to be positive and affirm ourselves to death, those negative beliefs or what Dr. Wayne Dyer calls memes, seem to push and shove their way to the front of the line.
Being positive on the outside is one thing, but on the inside -- well, I probably don't have to tell you. I'm pretty sure that unless you were raised by the Beaver Cleavers' fictional TV family and have the made-for-TV-movie perfect life, you've got a voice in your head always berating yourself for something or telling you you're not good enough.
I've spent years and years reading and being motivated by the likes of Canfield, Deepak Chopra, Les Hewitt... and soaking in all the positive aspects of sport. There was one exercise Canfield suggested, that I tried right away. It was impactful, because for some reason it did get to the heart of the matter for me. I recognized "the voice."
The exercise was to take one sheet of paper, fold it in half. On one side list stuff you don't want. On the other side, list the wants that would be the opposite. So if you don't want to have car problems, the other side would say you want a car in good working order -- or something to that effect. When done, you rip the paper in half at the fold, take the list of don't wants and throw them away. Then you take the list of wants, write out how your life would look as you experience them, then write an affirmation to it. The thing for me was that when I got to the want page and started writing, the list really whittled down to two points. And it made total and complete sense.
Okay, I'll give it up.
Some may be surprised to learn that I spent my entire life shaking the negative voice of my mother. She might have said something different when I wasn't around, but to my face -- from the cradle to her grave -- I could never do anything right. I was never going to amount to anything, and she hoped I was not going to be one of those "money-hungry" people (after getting several promotions when I worked for the feds in another life). There you have it. Now you can see what kind of inner thoughts I battle all the time.
Thank goodness for guys like Jack Canfield who give us a road map through it. Not to say we don't slip and fall back into those nagging "what are you thinking? You're not good enough for that" thoughts. It's a process. It's ongoing. And it's worth it.
If you have those inner voices demonizing your self-worth, start today to do something about it. The good thoughts won't happen overnight, but if you at least try and stick with it, what's the worst that can happen? You might actually BELIEVE in yourself.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Beating a Dead Horse
This is how the Calgary Herald (and other newspapers) pushes in desperation for paper subscriptions: http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/4032141305
This is how the NY Times remodeled their business to be relevant in the future: http://timesreader.nytimes.com/webapp/TimesReader.do?promoCode=T9179XQW1&campaignId=3747J
Enough said.
Monday, August 23, 2010
History Repeated
It feels like the 1950s and 1960s. The rage of whites protesting anything of color has been elevated since the election of America's first black president Barak Obama. Bitter contrast to inauguration day, where tears of hope permeated the nation -- and every nation.
Now other nations see this.
But until these kids become of age, and as long as the current xenophobes remain in political power, we still have a bit of a wait before these images just become an extremely dark period of our history.
Now other nations see this.
Troops escorting black students (Little Rock nine) to high school through hate-filled protests by white parents
Protests against building an Islamic center in New York
And don't forget this dark piece of North American history:
Add to this the litany of rumors and innuendos about the United States president since he took office. (Is he a citizen because he was born in HAWAII...is he a Muslim...) Most of these images and hateful spews are coming from one side: the group people call the religious right, where intolerance lives. Christianity is the only religion and Christian values are the only values to live by. These are the loudest voices. They are drowning out the voices who welcome integration.
Even more disturbing than the actions taken by these adults and the right wing media that fuels this hatred to ensure it remains on the front pages -- is what message does this send to their kids?
Fortunately, from where I sit, it's the kids who have it right. They are fully integrated. They welcome their gay, black, and Latino peers. They don't see what the big deal is about and wish their parents would just shut up and get a life.
But until these kids become of age, and as long as the current xenophobes remain in political power, we still have a bit of a wait before these images just become an extremely dark period of our history.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Water Is the Bridge
I met an author yesterday who I probably learned as much from as she learned from me. She has a very interesting project she is working on, but when we got off topic, she talked about the power of silence, as in keeping our minds silent and meditating. That's something I have never been able to master, but she said it can take two or more years to do so.
Silence allows the mind to come up with answers to the questions we have. If you believe in a higher power, shutting up our minds allows us to hear our higher power show us direction. However, shutting up is not easy, so this morning I practiced during my morning shower routine.
I thought about water.
As I took a swig from my water bottle (which I refill with tap water for travel purposes and for my night stand) and paid attention to how it felt as it splashed in my mouth and how the neck muscles pulled it down into my system when I swallowed. In the shower, the water felt like a warm embrace, erasing the remnants of old hair spray and such.
Then I thought of how humans take water for granted. So much for the silent brain.
While showers make us feel fresh and new, rain nourishes and cleans the earth. Wikipedia says water covers 70.9 percent of the earth's surface,[1] and is vital for all known forms of life.[2]
We also know our bodies are made up of about 80 percent water.
If we contaminate or take water away, there is no evaporation cycle -- the system that ensures rain and allows the earth to continue to be nourished and refreshed. Life begins to die. Vegetation shrivels and browns; food disappears; and wildlife starve.
If our bodies drink contaminated water, we get sick -- and sometimes fatally. If we have no water to bathe, we eventually get sick and are at risk for fatal disease. If we have no water to drink, our bodies dry up, we decompose, and our systems shut down for good.
If water is the bridge to life, why do we keep putting it at risk (off-shore drilling) and waste so much of it?
Silence allows the mind to come up with answers to the questions we have. If you believe in a higher power, shutting up our minds allows us to hear our higher power show us direction. However, shutting up is not easy, so this morning I practiced during my morning shower routine.
I thought about water.
As I took a swig from my water bottle (which I refill with tap water for travel purposes and for my night stand) and paid attention to how it felt as it splashed in my mouth and how the neck muscles pulled it down into my system when I swallowed. In the shower, the water felt like a warm embrace, erasing the remnants of old hair spray and such.
Then I thought of how humans take water for granted. So much for the silent brain.
While showers make us feel fresh and new, rain nourishes and cleans the earth. Wikipedia says water covers 70.9 percent of the earth's surface,[1] and is vital for all known forms of life.[2]
We also know our bodies are made up of about 80 percent water.
If we contaminate or take water away, there is no evaporation cycle -- the system that ensures rain and allows the earth to continue to be nourished and refreshed. Life begins to die. Vegetation shrivels and browns; food disappears; and wildlife starve.
If our bodies drink contaminated water, we get sick -- and sometimes fatally. If we have no water to bathe, we eventually get sick and are at risk for fatal disease. If we have no water to drink, our bodies dry up, we decompose, and our systems shut down for good.
If water is the bridge to life, why do we keep putting it at risk (off-shore drilling) and waste so much of it?
- ^ "CIA- The world fact book". Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html#Geo. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
- ^ "United Nations". Un.org. 2005-03-22. http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/background.html. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
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