Moments of Clarity

RentalMetrics Interactive Learning Environment Goes Live

It's been 8 months in the works.  Countless thousands of hours have gone into its creation.  Now, RentalMetrics has officially launched its Interactive Learning Environment (ILE). 

To sign up for a the free trial and poke around, visit http://signup.rentalmetrics.com.  Select the FREE TRIAL subscription.

The business can best be described as "Insourced E-Learning for the Construction and Equipment Rental Sectors".  It's a virtual online consultant.  So...no suits...no flights...expensive dinners.  Just fantastic content delivered in rich media formats (audio, video, screen casts, etc.). 

We're providing the resources, tools, analysis for every equipment rental company to have the kind of personnel firepower to execute technology solution deployments (and get the most out of them) like their well resourced larger cousins.  Of course the big guys will find quite a bit to use as well.  I'm guessing our Marketing & Promotions category will get some attention from the larger companies since they're still contemplating "that whole blog thing" or this new "social media revolution".  We'll see.

The bottom line is that we're open for business.  Most of my readers are probably not associated w/the Construction Equipment Rental sector.  However, if you're a consultant, business coach, or just operate any kind of "Information Based Business", think about how this Interactive Learning Environment platform could work for you.

How would you like to offer your clients rich content for sale?  Maybe you could offer your intellectual property to the world...while you sleep?  Have you ever woken up to new sales and new bank deposits each morning?  Maybe it is time to stop traveling so much and remove your income cap because you're "maxed out".

Lucky for you we built the platform for RentalMetrics so anyone can use it.  If you want to get global overnight, shoot me an email and I'll share more details.  I'd like to put out a special thank you to Andy Brudtkuhl and Paul Gratton for making all of this happen behind the scenes. 

Here's a video tour of the site in case you're interested.  Until we meet again. 

Now the Hy Vee Triathlon is about 6 weeks away

Wow.  The journey that began in October is almost upon us.  Today marks the beginning of my "final push" to be ready for the Olympic Distance "race".  This more a test of survival and proving to myself that I can do it. vs. trying to place.  Yeah...um...not happening. 

I've started a 4 week intensive 3x per week weight training regimen over at Nutri-Sport to really lean out the ol' bod before I have to wear the tightest clothes known to man.  (Variants of these clothes do make other appearances at the Iowa State Fair later this summer...some call them tube tops or "stretch pants that have no choice")

I'm currently sitting at 15.9% body fat and about 222lbs. Yes there's NO rounding up in the body fat game...and I'm shooting for 12% by June 22.  A tall order perhaps but I've shown good response when I match diet up while confusing my metabolism with varying workout styles/intensity.

The HyVee Tri's 1.5k swim will probably take me somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 minutes.  The 40k bike ride will probably be executed in about 1.5 hours.  The 10k run will take me at least 60 minutes but I'm hoping I'll have a little adrenaline left for a push to the finish. (I'm a pretty slow runner typically doing 10 minute miles).

I think what I've enjoyed most about this journey is coming up as the 4th entry on the Google Results when searching for "HyVee Triathlon" just under their own site (I have to have goals right?).  Wait a minute...

No no.  What I've enjoyed most is setting a long term physical goal and taking the necessary steps to achieve it.  There have been bumps here and there but I should probably take a week or two to eat a lot of cheese and think about how far I've come when this is over.  My family can probably rest easy that I'll not be choosing a sport that requires this much mojo again.

I'm starting to think that Kick-boxing might be the ticket.  I've probably been watching too much Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on HDNET.  Watch out Brett...I'm comin' for ya.  Only question now is what weight class to fit into and how to explain these strange injuries to my insurance company.

Iowa Speedway Newton Club Seats Available for Saturday Night, May 17

Fellow Iowans:
Want to go racing Saturday night?  We can't make it to the races Saturday night for the ASA Late Model Challenge (NASCAR'esque) and the Super Truck challenge and my seats are available if someone wants to take the family or have a dudes night out.

I've listed them for sale on the ticket exchange for their face value of $32.50 each (I have FOUR) but the first blogger connection to claim them gets them all for $100 even and I'll pull them off the website.   

The seats are Newton Club seats so you'll have access to the clubhouse and be right on the start-finish line 7 rows up. 

See this post to get an idea of where you'll be sitting.

If you've not been out to the speedway, you'll be very impressed.  Of course these tickets include the Fan Walk / Cold-Pit passes, etc. so you'll be able to do most everything except drive the cars and change the oil. 

Shoot me an email doug (AT) mitchgroup.com, grab your ear plugs, and get ready to be thrilled.

If you're wondering which cell phone carrier to swtich to...consider ATT

ATT is apparently going to invest in the key metro markets of Iowa with technology upgrades.  Des Moines Register article. I'm assuming this means 3G and more phone coverage?

I've been very pleased with ATT in Iowa.  I can understand if you don't have coverage at your house...that would be infuriating.  But I do.  Thus, I'm happy. 

Agile Non-Development

I got the call last Friday afternoon from another highly respected destination site in the IT world asking my permission to do an expose on my "Confessions" book.  I decided in that moment that the book deserved its own website where I would:

1. Aggregate a list of subscribers that may enjoy future e-books I write or that may enjoy the expanded version of "Confessions" in the works.
2. Brand the e-book accordingly since before, it was merely linked on a page at my corporate website at RentalMetrics.
3. Provide a survey so readers could offer their feedback on the book and opinions on its expansion worthiness.

I emailed my technology guy and said, "Hey, I'm going to design a static web page with an opt in form built in, can you put it up and host it for me?"  (Sure no problem). 

I began with the usual suspects:  Google page creator, MSFT Publisher, Dream Weaver, NVU, then MSFT Word.  I was leveraging templates and trying to edit them in the WYSIWYG editors but ended up frustrated and flummoxed....as always. 

Then I accessed that part of my brain that I'd tucked away for safekeeping.   It's the part that uses Typepad for EVERYTHING I do (on my own) on the web.  The next 4 hours were a flurry of keystrokes and configuration and I had:

1. Purchased a domain and mapped it to my newly created typepad blog site.
2. Chosen a template and using TypePad's "pages" function, created a "static home page" that will always show when you hit the site (vs. the always updated blog posts).
3. Created an opt-in auto responder in Aweber.  That little gem of a software application is the best auto-renewing $20 I spend a month. This includes 2 follow up messages that get sent at a pre-determined interval, etc.
4. Created custom "thank you" pages on the blog site (again...all easily created in typepad.
5. Added some "right nav" content by sharing some of the TypeLists I have on other blogs here.
6. Configured/laid out the content blocks.
7. Made navigation links to pages in the right navigation at the top right including an Author Bio page (scraped from my company site at RentalMetrics)
8. Created a survey in Wufoo and had embedded this into a page.
9. Used Feedburner to create easy subscribability and pleasant RSS feeds including "Feed flare" to become more easily linkable.

Effectively, within 4 hours I'd created the full circle marketing and PR destination hub for my e-book on my own.  Now, this will not wow anyone in tech circles. In fact, it may seem rather Luddite.  However, for the entrepreneur, consultant, solo-preneur, small business...this power should NOT be underestimated.  A few simple skills will save you big bucks and big headaches (and be more effective than any generic site will be for you). 

This site is findable, link-able, comment-able, sign-up-able, pleasure-able, and functional-(able :)

It cost me exactly 4 hours on a Saturday and since I already use the hosted applications in all of my other businesses, there was zero out of pocket, only opportunity cost.

Invest little bit of your brain power in some simple techniques to build your own sites and for goodness sake, use a BLOG platform to do it!  Blog platforms come chock full of widgets and nifty little code bits that make your site go from zero to hero in minutes.  Well, at least 240 of them.

That's Agile. 

www.enterpriseconfessions.com

Gateway Market - Opening in West Des Moines after others FAIL

I wrote about my struggles with The Marketplace at Jordan Creek when it was still in business some time ago.
Now the thriving Gateway Market (Woodland/MLK) is opening a West Des Moines location sometime in June down near Art Dinkin in the Village at Ponderosa development.  So when it opens, go experience great customer service, the right sized selection, and then stop by and say hi to Art.

Enterprise Confessions e-book gets its own site

My Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson e-book is still generating a lot of interest and buzz out there in some pretty exciting IT circles.  So much so, that the book has now earned its own site at:

www.enterpriseconfessions.com

If you're in the business of buying, selling, researching, or recommending solutions for your business...PLEASE grab a copy of the book.  It's informative, fun, and will leave you armed with tools to defeat even the most stunning suited software schlepper!

Insulin Resistance - Do you have trouble losing weight?

I have a good friend in Alabama who shared with me that he was really having a difficult time since he:

1. Was eating a very low calorie diet of perhaps 1500 cals per day.
2. Was exercising like a mad dog (really he'd always done that and used to run marathons, etc.)
3. Was gaining weight and could barely maintain 215lbs on a sub-6 foot frame. (some might say pocket sized frame...but I digress :)
4. Had decreased energy and felt exhausted constantly for the last 15 years.

He'd gone from svelte runner to middle aged expanse while busting his butt.  Very depressing.  This situation wore him out by Christmas of 2007.  He was mentally and physically at the breaking point.

He looked inside himself and did some consultation with the big guy upstairs and hit the web hard for some help.  Ultimately, he began diving into the topic of INSULIN RESISTANCE.  He compared the "20 blood test markers for this condition" against his own blood work.  Bam.  20 of 20. 

He's now following a low glycemic index diet (just like a diabetic would) and here are the results in his own words and pictures.  I know MANY people who suffer the "eat right most of the time and workout a lot but can't lose weight" syndrome.  I hope they look toward this example and keep after the answers.  Talk to your doctor and if he/she won't help you understand this...then find a community online. 

I think we discount the affect food has on our entire being.  We aren't meant to take in all of the processed sugars and crap that prepared food has in it. Good luck and comments welcome.  In his own words:

Bottom line, I can't process starches. When I ate a piece of broiled fish on rice, it was not 'good' like I thought, but killing me slowly. I cut out all starches, and as much sugar as possible. No potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread. Seems I was trying to burn 2500 cals a day, taking in 1500, but all the starches went to fat and my body was struggling to find enough fuel from the rest of the food to function. Which meant I was tired, lethargic, and constantly sleepy because my metabolism was trying to shut down.

Since Jan 10th, I've lost 35 lbs. My energy level shot through the roof, and I'm running well enough to do the half-marathon in 8 days.

I share this, because I suffered for 15 years without any answers. I'd have given a lot if someone had given me a clue, pointer, anything to get me in the right direction. Just in case you run across someone you know with a similar problem, I'm sharing with you.

Nice work buddy and good luck in the marathon!

 

 

Enterprise Software Sales Handbook Strikes a Chord

It was social media connections made in the cloud that got my e-book in the hands of Michael Krigsman at the IT Project Failures blog (a ZDNet blog).  I didn't know then how many people around the world would find "Confessions" to be relevant....but I'm still getting large amounts of downloads per day.  In other words, I'm experiencing "The Long Tail" of the Internet daily.

If you note in the graphic below, the post that Krigsman did on "Confessions" is both number one in ratings and popularity.  A month ago, Michael and I had never heard of each other.  I don't read a ton of IT centric blogs...and I'm guessing he doesn't read many blogs on the heavy equipment rental sector or geographic arbitrageurs living the dream in the Midwest.  But here we are.

If you're still "just not able to find the time to write your book" (e-book or otherwise), schedule the time now to chisel away at it...and hop onto the long tail.

My Current Top 10 Why's?

I've been saving up a few why's lately.  I can't hold them any longer.

1. Why do the Dem Presidential contenders get a free pass effectively on the question, "If we go ahead and pull the soldiers out of Iraq like you want to...then what's next?  What's your "post withdrawal plan?" It makes no sense that an effectively disengaged 3rd party who's rhetoric is geared toward winning an election...and not actually solving the problem is not scrutinized heavily.  They can't answer that question because they aren't confronting the day to day operations there per Gen. Petraeus.  "Everything in Iraq is hard" but the Dem contenders want him to give "easy answers".  It's a crappy position to be in but and regardless of the cause/reasons...we're there. 
2. Why do we hear things like, "If we don't stop doing A or B, Muqtada Al Sadr will "lift his cease fire order" or what have you?  Huh?  I know we have some pretty precise and some not so precise weapons that could pretty much turn he and his troupe into pink spray.  I have trouble grasping how "War" can be fought from a seemingly neutered position.
3. Why would a smoking ban for the public good...exclude casinos? 
4. Why don't we get a boatload of free oil or dramatically reduced price oil from Iraq...who's collective a$$ we've liberated?  Free or cheap oil certainly would disrupt the profit steam of oil companies and our Arab OPEC buddies right?  This junk makes me believe that our government/President are so in bed with the Arab nations that we literally are willing to sacrifice ourselves to maintain loyalty to whatever promises/arrangements keep the power base stable. 
5. Why do we continue to IGNORE the fact that our educational system is failing?  I think we believe that "that's not my kid or my school's problem"?  It is our problem.  I heard somewhere that the average H1B visa recipient's salary is something like $140k/year.  Do we really lack the technical smarts here to fill jobs like this with our own labor force?  I don't get it.
6. Why won't a Presidential candidate resolve the "Social Security Dilemma" by saying, "Look, here's my plan, starting in 2050, there's no more social security.  Some of you will have to keep paying and you're screwed...but that's it.  The safety net program that has become a welfare program is gone.  Fixed. 
7. Why does Clive has such a screwed up recycling program?  We have a little green bin but we're told to actually "separate" the items, don't include colored glass, etc.  Then, a guy comes around and HAND SORTS it into a truck.  So odd.
8. Why do I have to reboot my windows machine once daily to get back to crawl speed? 
9. Why don't companies respond to EVERY customer service inquiry or suggestion?  If you feel your opinion doesn't matter...you'll go somewhere else right?  Is this not basic knowledge?
10. Why do we really believe that Google has our best interest at heart by hosting our life's data?

RentalMetrics Interactive Learning Environment Goes Live

It's been 8 months in the works.  Countless thousands of hours have gone into its creation.  Now, RentalMetrics has officially launched its Interactive Learning Environment (ILE). 

To sign up for a the free trial and poke around, visit http://signup.rentalmetrics.com.  Select the FREE TRIAL subscription.

The business can best be described as "Insourced E-Learning for the Construction and Equipment Rental Sectors".  It's a virtual online consultant.  So...no suits...no flights...expensive dinners.  Just fantastic content delivered in rich media formats (audio, video, screen casts, etc.). 

We're providing the resources, tools, analysis for every equipment rental company to have the kind of personnel firepower to execute technology solution deployments (and get the most out of them) like their well resourced larger cousins.  Of course the big guys will find quite a bit to use as well.  I'm guessing our Marketing & Promotions category will get some attention from the larger companies since they're still contemplating "that whole blog thing" or this new "social media revolution".  We'll see.

The bottom line is that we're open for business.  Most of my readers are probably not associated w/the Construction Equipment Rental sector.  However, if you're a consultant, business coach, or just operate any kind of "Information Based Business", think about how this Interactive Learning Environment platform could work for you.

How would you like to offer your clients rich content for sale?  Maybe you could offer your intellectual property to the world...while you sleep?  Have you ever woken up to new sales and new bank deposits each morning?  Maybe it is time to stop traveling so much and remove your income cap because you're "maxed out".

Lucky for you we built the platform for RentalMetrics so anyone can use it.  If you want to get global overnight, shoot me an email and I'll share more details.  I'd like to put out a special thank you to Andy Brudtkuhl and Paul Gratton for making all of this happen behind the scenes. 

Here's a video tour of the site in case you're interested.  Until we meet again. 

Now the Hy Vee Triathlon is about 6 weeks away

Wow.  The journey that began in October is almost upon us.  Today marks the beginning of my "final push" to be ready for the Olympic Distance "race".  This more a test of survival and proving to myself that I can do it. vs. trying to place.  Yeah...um...not happening. 

I've started a 4 week intensive 3x per week weight training regimen over at Nutri-Sport to really lean out the ol' bod before I have to wear the tightest clothes known to man.  (Variants of these clothes do make other appearances at the Iowa State Fair later this summer...some call them tube tops or "stretch pants that have no choice")

I'm currently sitting at 15.9% body fat and about 222lbs. Yes there's NO rounding up in the body fat game...and I'm shooting for 12% by June 22.  A tall order perhaps but I've shown good response when I match diet up while confusing my metabolism with varying workout styles/intensity.

The HyVee Tri's 1.5k swim will probably take me somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 minutes.  The 40k bike ride will probably be executed in about 1.5 hours.  The 10k run will take me at least 60 minutes but I'm hoping I'll have a little adrenaline left for a push to the finish. (I'm a pretty slow runner typically doing 10 minute miles).

I think what I've enjoyed most about this journey is coming up as the 4th entry on the Google Results when searching for "HyVee Triathlon" just under their own site (I have to have goals right?).  Wait a minute...

No no.  What I've enjoyed most is setting a long term physical goal and taking the necessary steps to achieve it.  There have been bumps here and there but I should probably take a week or two to eat a lot of cheese and think about how far I've come when this is over.  My family can probably rest easy that I'll not be choosing a sport that requires this much mojo again.

I'm starting to think that Kick-boxing might be the ticket.  I've probably been watching too much Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on HDNET.  Watch out Brett...I'm comin' for ya.  Only question now is what weight class to fit into and how to explain these strange injuries to my insurance company.

Iowa Speedway Newton Club Seats Available for Saturday Night, May 17

Fellow Iowans:
Want to go racing Saturday night?  We can't make it to the races Saturday night for the ASA Late Model Challenge (NASCAR'esque) and the Super Truck challenge and my seats are available if someone wants to take the family or have a dudes night out.

I've listed them for sale on the ticket exchange for their face value of $32.50 each (I have FOUR) but the first blogger connection to claim them gets them all for $100 even and I'll pull them off the website.   

The seats are Newton Club seats so you'll have access to the clubhouse and be right on the start-finish line 7 rows up. 

See this post to get an idea of where you'll be sitting.

If you've not been out to the speedway, you'll be very impressed.  Of course these tickets include the Fan Walk / Cold-Pit passes, etc. so you'll be able to do most everything except drive the cars and change the oil. 

Shoot me an email doug (AT) mitchgroup.com, grab your ear plugs, and get ready to be thrilled.

If you're wondering which cell phone carrier to swtich to...consider ATT

ATT is apparently going to invest in the key metro markets of Iowa with technology upgrades.  Des Moines Register article. I'm assuming this means 3G and more phone coverage?

I've been very pleased with ATT in Iowa.  I can understand if you don't have coverage at your house...that would be infuriating.  But I do.  Thus, I'm happy. 

Agile Non-Development

I got the call last Friday afternoon from another highly respected destination site in the IT world asking my permission to do an expose on my "Confessions" book.  I decided in that moment that the book deserved its own website where I would:

1. Aggregate a list of subscribers that may enjoy future e-books I write or that may enjoy the expanded version of "Confessions" in the works.
2. Brand the e-book accordingly since before, it was merely linked on a page at my corporate website at RentalMetrics.
3. Provide a survey so readers could offer their feedback on the book and opinions on its expansion worthiness.

I emailed my technology guy and said, "Hey, I'm going to design a static web page with an opt in form built in, can you put it up and host it for me?"  (Sure no problem). 

I began with the usual suspects:  Google page creator, MSFT Publisher, Dream Weaver, NVU, then MSFT Word.  I was leveraging templates and trying to edit them in the WYSIWYG editors but ended up frustrated and flummoxed....as always. 

Then I accessed that part of my brain that I'd tucked away for safekeeping.   It's the part that uses Typepad for EVERYTHING I do (on my own) on the web.  The next 4 hours were a flurry of keystrokes and configuration and I had:

1. Purchased a domain and mapped it to my newly created typepad blog site.
2. Chosen a template and using TypePad's "pages" function, created a "static home page" that will always show when you hit the site (vs. the always updated blog posts).
3. Created an opt-in auto responder in Aweber.  That little gem of a software application is the best auto-renewing $20 I spend a month. This includes 2 follow up messages that get sent at a pre-determined interval, etc.
4. Created custom "thank you" pages on the blog site (again...all easily created in typepad.
5. Added some "right nav" content by sharing some of the TypeLists I have on other blogs here.
6. Configured/laid out the content blocks.
7. Made navigation links to pages in the right navigation at the top right including an Author Bio page (scraped from my company site at RentalMetrics)
8. Created a survey in Wufoo and had embedded this into a page.
9. Used Feedburner to create easy subscribability and pleasant RSS feeds including "Feed flare" to become more easily linkable.

Effectively, within 4 hours I'd created the full circle marketing and PR destination hub for my e-book on my own.  Now, this will not wow anyone in tech circles. In fact, it may seem rather Luddite.  However, for the entrepreneur, consultant, solo-preneur, small business...this power should NOT be underestimated.  A few simple skills will save you big bucks and big headaches (and be more effective than any generic site will be for you). 

This site is findable, link-able, comment-able, sign-up-able, pleasure-able, and functional-(able :)

It cost me exactly 4 hours on a Saturday and since I already use the hosted applications in all of my other businesses, there was zero out of pocket, only opportunity cost.

Invest little bit of your brain power in some simple techniques to build your own sites and for goodness sake, use a BLOG platform to do it!  Blog platforms come chock full of widgets and nifty little code bits that make your site go from zero to hero in minutes.  Well, at least 240 of them.

That's Agile. 

www.enterpriseconfessions.com

Gateway Market - Opening in West Des Moines after others FAIL

I wrote about my struggles with The Marketplace at Jordan Creek when it was still in business some time ago.
Now the thriving Gateway Market (Woodland/MLK) is opening a West Des Moines location sometime in June down near Art Dinkin in the Village at Ponderosa development.  So when it opens, go experience great customer service, the right sized selection, and then stop by and say hi to Art.

Enterprise Confessions e-book gets its own site

My Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson e-book is still generating a lot of interest and buzz out there in some pretty exciting IT circles.  So much so, that the book has now earned its own site at:

www.enterpriseconfessions.com

If you're in the business of buying, selling, researching, or recommending solutions for your business...PLEASE grab a copy of the book.  It's informative, fun, and will leave you armed with tools to defeat even the most stunning suited software schlepper!

Insulin Resistance - Do you have trouble losing weight?

I have a good friend in Alabama who shared with me that he was really having a difficult time since he:

1. Was eating a very low calorie diet of perhaps 1500 cals per day.
2. Was exercising like a mad dog (really he'd always done that and used to run marathons, etc.)
3. Was gaining weight and could barely maintain 215lbs on a sub-6 foot frame. (some might say pocket sized frame...but I digress :)
4. Had decreased energy and felt exhausted constantly for the last 15 years.

He'd gone from svelte runner to middle aged expanse while busting his butt.  Very depressing.  This situation wore him out by Christmas of 2007.  He was mentally and physically at the breaking point.

He looked inside himself and did some consultation with the big guy upstairs and hit the web hard for some help.  Ultimately, he began diving into the topic of INSULIN RESISTANCE.  He compared the "20 blood test markers for this condition" against his own blood work.  Bam.  20 of 20. 

He's now following a low glycemic index diet (just like a diabetic would) and here are the results in his own words and pictures.  I know MANY people who suffer the "eat right most of the time and workout a lot but can't lose weight" syndrome.  I hope they look toward this example and keep after the answers.  Talk to your doctor and if he/she won't help you understand this...then find a community online. 

I think we discount the affect food has on our entire being.  We aren't meant to take in all of the processed sugars and crap that prepared food has in it. Good luck and comments welcome.  In his own words:

Bottom line, I can't process starches. When I ate a piece of broiled fish on rice, it was not 'good' like I thought, but killing me slowly. I cut out all starches, and as much sugar as possible. No potatoes, rice, pasta, or bread. Seems I was trying to burn 2500 cals a day, taking in 1500, but all the starches went to fat and my body was struggling to find enough fuel from the rest of the food to function. Which meant I was tired, lethargic, and constantly sleepy because my metabolism was trying to shut down.

Since Jan 10th, I've lost 35 lbs. My energy level shot through the roof, and I'm running well enough to do the half-marathon in 8 days.

I share this, because I suffered for 15 years without any answers. I'd have given a lot if someone had given me a clue, pointer, anything to get me in the right direction. Just in case you run across someone you know with a similar problem, I'm sharing with you.

Nice work buddy and good luck in the marathon!

 

 

Enterprise Software Sales Handbook Strikes a Chord

It was social media connections made in the cloud that got my e-book in the hands of Michael Krigsman at the IT Project Failures blog (a ZDNet blog).  I didn't know then how many people around the world would find "Confessions" to be relevant....but I'm still getting large amounts of downloads per day.  In other words, I'm experiencing "The Long Tail" of the Internet daily.

If you note in the graphic below, the post that Krigsman did on "Confessions" is both number one in ratings and popularity.  A month ago, Michael and I had never heard of each other.  I don't read a ton of IT centric blogs...and I'm guessing he doesn't read many blogs on the heavy equipment rental sector or geographic arbitrageurs living the dream in the Midwest.  But here we are.

If you're still "just not able to find the time to write your book" (e-book or otherwise), schedule the time now to chisel away at it...and hop onto the long tail.

My Current Top 10 Why's?

I've been saving up a few why's lately.  I can't hold them any longer.

1. Why do the Dem Presidential contenders get a free pass effectively on the question, "If we go ahead and pull the soldiers out of Iraq like you want to...then what's next?  What's your "post withdrawal plan?" It makes no sense that an effectively disengaged 3rd party who's rhetoric is geared toward winning an election...and not actually solving the problem is not scrutinized heavily.  They can't answer that question because they aren't confronting the day to day operations there per Gen. Petraeus.  "Everything in Iraq is hard" but the Dem contenders want him to give "easy answers".  It's a crappy position to be in but and regardless of the cause/reasons...we're there. 
2. Why do we hear things like, "If we don't stop doing A or B, Muqtada Al Sadr will "lift his cease fire order" or what have you?  Huh?  I know we have some pretty precise and some not so precise weapons that could pretty much turn he and his troupe into pink spray.  I have trouble grasping how "War" can be fought from a seemingly neutered position.
3. Why would a smoking ban for the public good...exclude casinos? 
4. Why don't we get a boatload of free oil or dramatically reduced price oil from Iraq...who's collective a$$ we've liberated?  Free or cheap oil certainly would disrupt the profit steam of oil companies and our Arab OPEC buddies right?  This junk makes me believe that our government/President are so in bed with the Arab nations that we literally are willing to sacrifice ourselves to maintain loyalty to whatever promises/arrangements keep the power base stable. 
5. Why do we continue to IGNORE the fact that our educational system is failing?  I think we believe that "that's not my kid or my school's problem"?  It is our problem.  I heard somewhere that the average H1B visa recipient's salary is something like $140k/year.  Do we really lack the technical smarts here to fill jobs like this with our own labor force?  I don't get it.
6. Why won't a Presidential candidate resolve the "Social Security Dilemma" by saying, "Look, here's my plan, starting in 2050, there's no more social security.  Some of you will have to keep paying and you're screwed...but that's it.  The safety net program that has become a welfare program is gone.  Fixed. 
7. Why does Clive has such a screwed up recycling program?  We have a little green bin but we're told to actually "separate" the items, don't include colored glass, etc.  Then, a guy comes around and HAND SORTS it into a truck.  So odd.
8. Why do I have to reboot my windows machine once daily to get back to crawl speed? 
9. Why don't companies respond to EVERY customer service inquiry or suggestion?  If you feel your opinion doesn't matter...you'll go somewhere else right?  Is this not basic knowledge?
10. Why do we really believe that Google has our best interest at heart by hosting our life's data?