Too many people are simply following others these days, and it really bugs me.  Have people lost their abilities to think for themselves? To make their own decisions based on their own learning of facts and information? I find this occurring more and more with each new year, and this trend is [unfortunately] continuing.

Growing Up In a Union Family

I grew up in a family that was primarily liberal Democrat with strong UAW ties. My grandfather was a local UAW President, and things were well. While my family did not condemn conservatives and their way of thinking, I certainly was not aggressively taught that side of the story. Lucky for me, I was born with a brain, and it was with that brain that I sought the perspectives of all sides of the debate. As a result, I am more-informed. I lean liberal in some areas of life and conservative in many others. It does not mean that my family is right or wrong, for it just means that I took the time to weigh both sides of the argument and decide accordingly!

However, it appears that I might just be in the minority on this one. Many simply hold a viewpoint for the sake of doing so and without knowing any other side of the debate or position. It reminds me how I somehow thought that I disliked both Mariah Carey and Garth Brooks as a teenager only to realize that they recorded so many songs that I liked. At first, I appeared to jump to a conclusion [without first looking into it], but I later corrected my path by researching a bit and understanding that both had some good songs.

All Aspects of Life

As you can see, thinking for yourself is not something that should just be limited to political positions. Instead, it should be part of every decision you make. Instead of just following the crowd (majority or minority of the people) for the sake of doing so, get off your butt and look into the options a bit further before leaping to an uninformed decision!

The first #GodivaGathering had a great turnout, and we all shared fun times, great conversations about technology and business, and lots of delicious Godiva hot chocolates (and desserts too)! The event was a great success, and we look forward to gathering again in the very near future. It is very probable that this TweetUp/MeetUp will be held monthly, nicely snuggled during the week between CobbSM and ChirpWdstck. Also, if you do not live close to the Barnes & Noble at The Avenue West Cobb but still want to attend a similar event, just let me know which of the Barnes & Noble venues (from the Godiva hot chocolate foursquare list) works best for you, and we can get additional Godiva Gathering events planned!

Dwayne and Monica enjoy great conversation at #GodivaGathering

I wanted to take a moment to extend some thanks to some people. First, I thank everybody who took time out of their busy schedules to enjoy some Godiva hot chocolate with me and the rest of the bunch! Second, I must thank the awesome staff at Barnes & Noble West Cobb ~ to Lynn, Chris, Emily, Tyler, and the rest of the team, thank you so much for the great hospitality and awesome service (as always). Third… to Marcia, thanks for going out of your way to listen to the customers in your district; no matter the level of concern, idea, or request, you actively engage the customer and empower your team to service their needs. Without your help and the café division’s assistance at Barnes & Noble Headquarters, Godiva hot chocolate would never have been brought back for customers like me, and, certainly, these types of gatherings and events would have never happened outside of dreams. Thanks for everything!

Matt shows a few videos on iPad2 while Kristina smiles for camera at #GodivaGathering

I have been down here in Georgia for a little over one year now, and I have seen my share of interesting logic. For starters, the street names change a lot as I cross through an intersection and then later pick up the name again down the road (if at all). Next, I noticed that some people are just sign-crazy; remember my blog about the 14-15 no parking signs that are off the southbound Barrett Parkway (I-75 Exit 269) ramp? Then, it appears that many Georgia drivers either cannot see the solid lines (and striped zones) on the roadways or simply do not care to acknowledge and abide by them. But, now, I have noticed that (sometimes) the people who designed and built these roads lacked a little common sense. Case in point, if you approach the intersection of Due West Rd NW, Acworth Due West Rd NW, Kennesaw Due West Rd NW, and (yes another) Due West Rd NW where Kennesaw and Marietta, Georgia, meet, and you want to turn left into (or out of) either entrance of the Towne Square at Due West plaza (ie to enjoy some Shane’s Rib Shack), you will notice that, according to the law, such turns are technically illegal. To make that left turn (as shown in the Google Map below), you have to cross over the double yellow line as well as the yellow diagonal crosshatch marked island area. Again, this is the case no matter whether you are trying to turn left into the plaza or if you are turning out of the plaza, and this is the case no matter which of the two entrances you select.

Sure, I see people do it all of the time, and I have even been guilty of doing that instead of turning right so I can turn left into CVS and turn around to go back south so I can head over to enjoy some Godiva hot chocolate and some reading at Barnes & Noble at The Avenue West Cobb. While I do not know all of the reasons or motivations for designing this area of the roadway in the fashion that it was designed, I still think this is lacking a bit of common sense from somebody. So, how would you recommend that I go out of this plaza? I’m to the point where I’m trying to get some insight from a police department that has jurisdiction in that area (sure, that is overkill, but I’d rather be proactive than to get a costly ticket one evening). Do you know of any great examples in your part of town? I’d love to hear about them!

Well, we are just a mere two more evenings until the very first Godiva Gathering! This first event / TweetUp will be held at the Barnes & Noble of West Cobb in Marietta, Georgia. This location is within The Avenue West Cobb shopping center off of Dallas Hwy! If you love chocolate and/or some great conversation, I’d encourage you to check it out. The event will be held on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, from approximately 7pm until 9pm.

If you are able and are planning to make this event, I encourage you to RSVP on the #GodivaGathering Facebook Event Page and/or on the #GodivaGathering TweetUp Event Page so we can make sure that we reserve enough seats for everybody! I must say that Barnes & Noble is really great, and its team is really helpful in setting this gathering up and truly great in listening to and engaging their customers, whether it is helping a customer find a book in the store or understanding the desire of a loyal customer who requests to bring back Godiva Hot Chocolate to the local cafes. Well, I hope to see you there and enjoy some Godiva goodness with you.

Many of you have read my 2009 blog post about how I first came across Godiva hot chocolate at Barnes & Noble and how I worked with their corporate office’s café division up in New York to get it back at local B&N stores near me. I must say that I am thrilled to know that the district manager over the stores closest to me, Marcia, is super supportive and understanding of my Godiva cravings. Furthermore, she is a super leader when it comes to engaging and servicing her customers. So, I must give her and her staff lots of kudos! Without their attention and action, none of this would have been possible. With that said, I often find myself asking the Barnes & Noble Café employees over at their West Cobb and Perimeter Mall locations about how many people are asking for this secret, non-menu item. Normally, I hear that I am the only one; although, I tend to speak loud enough for nearby café goers to hear my Godiva hot chocolate order, and some will mention how it sounds like a great idea – how they will have to try it next time. Thus, I recently have been promoting this great hot chocolate drink even more. Sure, you could buy a tiny hot chocolate from an official Godiva store for nearly twice the price, but why do that when you can check out a book or two and enjoy a conversation with great friends? Hence, I created a foursquare list of the Barnes & Noble (venue) locations where I know this drink is offered! But, while sitting in the West Cobb Barnes & Noble over the course of a few evenings this past week, I came up with this #GodivaGathering idea! I tell people about this great beverage, but let’s just make it part of the event… let’s have a gathering at the Barnes & Noble, share some Godiva hot chocolate (maybe with espresso for those who prefer that concoction), maybe some dessert (ie Godiva cheesecake or Oreo Stack), and lots of great conversations about books, life, work, technology, business, or anything else that comes to mind. So, after a quick straw poll, it appears that some are already interested in such an idea, and the staff at the West Cobb location is supportive and is highly capable of serving us for such an event.

What do you think? Are you interested?

Of course, we can have other events later and at different locations, but what evenings work best for you? We are currently looking at a Tuesday or Wednesday evening. We plan to make sure that it does not land on the same evening as another great TweetUp like #ChirpWdstck. I’m leaning towards a Tuesday evening in the very near future and would not start the event until at least 6:30 or 7 pm. Does a Tuesday evening sound good? What about a time? 6:30pm? 7:30pm? I only bring up the latter because some might want to eat elsewhere and then come to the Barnes & Noble event for dessert! Comment below with your recommendations, and we will get the first event scheduled accordingly! I hope you are just as excited as I am about this! Trust me – once you have one of these hot chocolates, it will ruin just about any other regular hot chocolate experience you will find at a bookstore or coffee shop!!

Now that the lockout has long passed and the regular season has begun, we now begin the water cooler chit-chat about which teams and individual players are doing very well and who is lagging behind. Certainly, this season has started with a few surprises. After three weeks, when it comes to surprise teams, many point to the 3-0 Buffalo Bills, the 3-0 Detroit Lions, and 2-1 Oakland Raiders as exciting news stories within the league. Many are curious to watch how these surprise up-and-coming teams will fair for the remainder of the season and which of them will ultimately make the playoffs. On the flip side, a few top-tier teams have stumbled thus far. Those teams include the 1-2 Atlanta Falcons and the 1-2 Philadelphia “Dream Team” Eagles! As some expected and as a result of the lack of a normal off-season regiment, many individual football pros are starting off the year a bit slower than in recent history, yet many football fans and experts are expecting the superstars to step it up in the upcoming weeks. Still, the debate over which teams will make it into the playoffs begins, and the conversation of which players are in line for MVP consideration heats up with each new week. But, I am confident that this year is showing how one player is head and shoulders the most valuable player. This “sleeper” of sorts really should get more consideration for this year’s award, yet I worry that he will be snubbed of the honors. By and far, the MVP of this season is none other than Peyton Manning!

Yes, you heard that right. He has been the heart and soul of the Indianapolis Colts for so many years now, and I will admit that he is my favorite player. It is frustrating to know that his consecutive games streak had to end the way that it did, and I wish him a speedy recovery… because we all want to see him back on the field, and I am confident that nobody agrees with me more than his Colts teammates! No offense to Kerry Collins (or any other quarterback for that matter), but Peyton is dearly missed and, in my opinion, the greatest quarterback in the game. Either way you look at it, he is truly the most valuable player to his team, and I would urge the voters at the end of the season to do something that they have never done before and that is to rally to give the award to the guy who is everything to his team. Starting 0-3 proves just how desperately the Colts rely on Peyton. In so many ways, he is the key to his team’s success. Whether a team should put as many eggs into any one basket as the Colts put in Manning’s is up for debate, but his importance to the Colts is unmatched. Peyton, you have my vote! Let’s take a stand and see if history can be made… if the Colts end up going 3-13 or worse, Peyton should run away with this award – of course, he would easily give that up to be back playing with and leading his team to the Super Bowl!

Who stood in line and watched Titanic in theaters when it opened up back in 1997? Which of you decided that you needed to go back to the theater to watch this 3 hour and 14 minute long movie a second, third, or fourth time? I remember that I was still in high school, and I recall a few of my classmates watching it between six and eight times in the theater; to me, that seemed like a bit much (the equivalent of about one whole day watching the same movie over the course of about 14 or so days is extreme to say the least). Well, from what I hear in the news, the remastering and conversion of the movie to 3D is progressing along as planned. As of right now, the 3D version of Titanic is scheduled to head to the movie screen next April just in time to open on the 100th Anniversary of the sailing of the Titanic. But, the question is, “Will you watch it?” Does watching it in 3D really appeal to you? Or does sitting in the theater with 3D glasses on for over three hours simply not interest to you? Will this 3D version draw in a new crowd of those who might have never watched the 1997 version? At a conversion cost of an estimated $18 million, do you think this is worth the investment for James Cameron and crew?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-_Okp5sJnU

It was supposed to be just another great sunny day, but that was far from what unfolded that September day. Airplanes were hijacked, and we lost so many great Americans. September 11, 2001, was the biggest terrorist attack on my country’s land, and I was glued to the television, shocked by what I was seeing. I was in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, and I was extremely proud to serve, but I felt an array of emotions that day just like so many others people did. Sitting here today, I reflect back on that day, and I find it difficult to imagine how it has already been ten years. In many cases, time flies by, and we struggle to remember what happened even yesterday, but I hope that you take a moment to remember the events of that day. I encourage you to take a minute to remember that we live in the greatest country in the world where freedoms are great and plentiful; yet, those freedoms do not come free, and there are bad people out there trying to cause harm to our great land and our great people. Certainly, we pause for a moment or two on each September 11th to remember the great loss we endured that day in 2001 and how freedom is never free… and how we have so many great and brave men and women who served and continue to serve our communities and our nation, but I hope that you remember this everyday! Life is very precious, and it can be easily taken away from us in a blink of an eye. Of course, we all take our lives and luxuries for granted from time to time, but tomorrow is never guaranteed. Take a moment to tell your friends, family, and colleagues that you care about them, that you love them, and that you appreciate them. We all have our disagreements, but let’s strive to focus on being the best we can be; help out one another and watch out for others – we are on the same team, so we need to look out for each other! We do not know what tomorrow brings, and we do not know when the evil ones plan to strike again, so we must remain vigilant. Stay proactive, watchful, and kind! Watch my back because I am doing my best to watch yours!

To my family, thanks for being great and for supporting me throughout; I love you so much! To my loved ones, I love you with all of my heart!! To my fellow Devil Dogs from Charlie Company (1/24, 4th Marine Division), thanks for serving along side of me through thick and thin! To my friends, thanks for sticking by me and watching my back. To everybody who has helped me become the person I am today, thank you! Let’s all remember what happened on 9/11 and honor those who were lost that day in the best ways we can; let’s remember what happened each and every day and be sure to make each day count!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT5_whBdKu8

There are no outs! The opposing team has runners on first and second. The opposing batter steps into the batter’s box and eyes the first pitch. Here comes the pitch… the batter swings but gets under it. It’s a pop-up to the shortstop or second baseman. What does he/she do? Catch it for one out. WHAT? One out? I see this a lot, and my over-thinking, over-analyzing brain jumps into action. Why not attempt a double play? I mean, the base runners at first and second are holding (so long as there are not two outs already wherein a single out would only be needed). If you have a crafty and skilled second baseman or shortstop, I would have them act as though they are going to catch the ball, and, to be sure that he or she did not mess up the play, I would allow the ball to fall in the glove for the shortest second ever. I would hope that the ball player would then be sure to not squeeze the glove, thereby allowing the ball to bounce or fall right out of the glove. Then, all he or she has to do is toss the ball to player covering second base (or merely step on the bag) for the force out and either tag the runner who is now running to third base or throw the ball to third base. One thing I am not 100% sure of is whether or not the runner on second base would be out if the ball was thrown to the base for the force out and thereby allowed the runner who was originally on there to remain while not being out.

I know this approach is a little risky and could backfire, but I am surprised that we do not see this attempted more frequently. I believe that the other side of the argument is that you take whatever out you can get; the one out is most important, but I contend that the double play attempt should be examined, especially when there are no outs, since the person on second base represents a runner in scoring position. In my opinion, attempting the double play… in the worst case scenario… should result in the original one out, so what’s the harm in giving the double play attempt a shot? Hey baseball and softball players, experts, and fanatics, what do you think?

Since the Casey Anthony case has now concluded with the jury finding her “not guilty” of the three main charges, I wanted to take a step back and get your thoughts about the matter. For weeks and months (and maybe years), legal experts (and talk show hosts) at our major television news outlets have drawn great comparisons between OJ Simpson’s trial some 15 years ago and the recent Casey Anthony trial that just concluded one week or so ago. Many have debated and considered each to be the trial of the century and certainly each has been tagged as the trial of its decade. While each case was different, both cases have some similarities. With the media attention and hyper each received, it is fair to say that many members of the general public were drawn to the trial. Since both were televised for all to consume, many followed each trial’s every move with some people watching each and every day. In addition, many found the verdicts in these trials to be completely appalling, leading to protests and further public shows of frustration. Emotions aside for one moment, I have been wondering which defense (OJ’s or Casey’s) was more believable and worthy of the verdicts it received. Certainly, I realize many feel that both deserved to be found guilty on multiple charges, but I want to hear your thoughts about which defense was better. Of course, Baez is not as seasoned as Cochran was at the time of the trial, but each defendant had a pretty robust and intelligent team of lawyers. And each team did their best to inject reasonable doubt into their respective prosecution’s case on behalf of their client. But, imagine if (for some odd reason) only one of the defendants was guilty of the major charges and one was actually and truly not guilty, which defense case was more credible, convincing, and realistic and why? I’m anxious to get your input!