2009-Nov-14 -

2009-Nov-14 - 1800Flowers and Gift baskets

St. Patrick's day is a jubilant time with many great traditoins. On this particular day, many people wear the color green to honor Saint Patrick, if you're caught not wearng green you may incur a hearty pinch. Many people put up shamrock and leprechaun decorations to get into the spirt. In Chicago, Illinois the people celebrate the hoilday and commence the festivities by dyeing their river green.

Most people don't have the resources to dye an entire river. So instead they celebrate the occasion by giving a lucky lad or lassy a giftbasket full of delectable Irish treats. 1800flowers is sure to have whatever you're looking for and at a great price too. Most people turn to gift baskets becasue they are full of so many different treats and almost always come adorned in attractive wrapping. While 1800flowers is famed for its wide array of flower delivery, the company does not shy at boasting an even greater collection of  Gift baskets. St. Patrick's Day is just one of many very special holidays that 1800flowers has to offer, and it seems to be one of the more popular ones as well.

2009-Oct-29 - Sak Narwal and Fishing

For some people fishing is just a hobby; but for Sak Narwal, a entrepreneur by day, fishing goes well beyond the conventional norms of being a hobby. Fishing is not just a sport or a daily exercise, but rather a spiritual ritual that harks back to his childhood. Sak Narwal began his love affair for fishing as a small boy and he hasn't stopped. As he grew older he has been able to slake his insatiable thirst around the country and world in a seemingly never-ending quest for fish.

Sak Narwal takes his fishing seriously, and he doesn't abash at articulating his fishing exuberance. "Fishing has taken me to some of the wildest and most beautiful natural settings," he says. What separates Sak from most fishermen is that Sak does not keep and eat his catch. Rather, Sak is known as a "catch and release" fisherman.

Sak Narwal fishes impetuously, and his spiritual expeditions have taken him to such diverse places as Bristol Bay in Alaska where he sought salmon, to the Beaverkill River in Roscoe NY where he simply was looking for Trout. Whether it's shark, bass, or trout, there is no ocean or lake to far or fierce for Sak. His love for fishing has no bounds.

2009-Oct-29 - Happiness is Pets loves your Puppy

In a bucolic setting outside of Chicagoland lies Happiness is Pets, a friendly puppy store that has specialized in the selling of top breed puppies since 1987. Happiness is Pets works only with the best national breeders to bring their customers happy and healthy pups, and with six convenient Chicagoland locations Happiness is Pets is built to make it easy and fun to get to know your puppy in a clean, relaxing atmosphere where customers can both interact with the

The Downers Grove store, for example, features 5 separate "playrooms" which makes it easy and fun for customers and their families to interact with the puppies. In addition to the largest selection of puppies in the Chicago area, Happiness is Pets also features a full line of dog toys, accessories, grooming supplies and top notch food.

Happiness is involves a dedicated, warm and friendly staff and a diverse team of qualified veterinarians to ensure that your puppy lives long and well.

2009-Oct-29 - Beautiful Montreux and Westford Asset Management

Nestled in the pristine city of Montreux, Switzerland is Westford Asset Management.For jazz lovers Montreux, Switzerland has their famous jazz festival over two weeks in July. They also have their Auditorium Stravinski, a concert hall that features premier acts in classical music, and contemporary music. Then there’s the natural physical beauty that the city has to offer Westford Asset Management. Regardless if the season, Montreux and the Swiss Riviera are breathtaking places

For Westford Asset Management and a slue of other enterprises, Montreux nicely soothes the soul so that work is actually pleasant. After all, a beautiful setting can certainly make work seem less officious. It would sure be nice to map out a plan to visit this fine land and make wonderful use of its beauty.

2009-Oct-29 - K-Designers knows Remodeling

Remodeling your home is no easy task, that's what K-designers is for. K-designers uses only the finest materials to ensure that your home looks as beautiful and as sturdy as they date it was purchased. K designers carefully chooses its contractors based on experience, professionalism, and attitude.

Whether it's siding, windows, or doors K-designers offers the best quality of product. Vinyl siding, for example, is a very popular choice and can make the exterior look like a totally different house. Of course K-designers product won't blister, crack, chip peel or rot. In most instances, just an occasional rinse with a garden hose is all it takes to keep it clean

With over 31 years of remodeling experience with over 100,000 satisfied customers, K-designers is there to make your investment remain beautiful.

2009-Oct-29 - Vintage Glasses

Eyeglasses aren’t just merely about seeing clearly; they are also about projecting an image or cachet of some kind. And when we’re searching for a pair of sunglasses, we aren’t just searching for something that protects our eyes from the sun but rather something that looks cool on our face. If it’s convenience, affordability, and quality you’re after then look no further than eyeglasses.com as they offer a wide variety of those difficult-to-find retro glasses or vintage glasses as well as frames you simply cannot find in retail outlets or leading national chains.

If you’re seeking vintage eyeglasses, then you should probably check out the cool pair being offered by Gucci.

Featuring regular hinges and skull temples, the Gucci 1525 glasses were designed for both men and women

For the ultimate pair of celebrity style polarized shades that don’t cost an arm & a leg, there’s always the Smith Gallegos Sunglasses

Smith Gallegos sunglasses is an all-around wrap style sunglass that is perfect for the outdoor enthusiast or someone seeking street appeal.

The Vision Solution Store at eyeglasses.com provides its customers with the tools to help them make your own eyewear decisions, and the ability to buy their eyewear easily and at the right price. While they don’t ‘price match", they sell their products at a 50 percent margin, an industry standard., offering a nice balance between offering excellent value compared to other retail eyewear stores.

2009-Oct-29 - Flowers and Holidays

There’s nothing more uplifting and appetizing to the soul than flowers. Whether they are for a wedding or a common ordinary adornment, flowers can bring happiness and elegance to almost any situation. The most popular time to exchange flowers of course is Valentine’s Day, with the rose being the favorite. The red rose symbolizes passion and devotion, which helps explain why millions of Americans spend anywhere from 5 dollars for a single rose to nearly 70 dollars for a dozen.

2009-Oct-29 - Amos Taman and Taxis

Amos Taman left Israel for America in the 1980's with the desire for change and financial betterment. Immediately after arriving, Amos soon began servicing taxicabs in a fleet garage in New York City. Not wanting to merely service taxi cabs his whole life, Amos used the skills he gained in engineering school and set out to revolutionize the taxi cab industry. Amos Taman is now the CEO of Verifone Transportation Systems, Inc., a division of the giant Verifone Corporation, which is the leading provider of technology and systems that enable taxi fleets to accept credit card payments.

Then again, Amos Taman has always been interested in new technologies. For instance, in 1992 he spearheaded the group that eventually led to the first credit taxi meter. In 1997, he was instrumental in creating a device that combined voice reminders and other safety features on a single circuit board. In 2005, he upped the ante when he created the Verifone Transportation System. It should be noted that Verifone Transportation Systems has been the recipient of many prestigious awards, including lucrative contracts for taxi payment and automation in NYC and Philadelphia.

Amos Taman is now in the process of bringing his highly successful system to other major cities.

2009-Oct-20 - Steve Stevanovich & Finance

Steve Stevanovich is working hard to make sense of the complicated world of finances. Bringing together a diverse group of prominent academics and leading financial processionals, Steve Stevanovich helped create the center. The Stevanovich center plays a unique role in the area financial mathematics. Using sophisticated tools to better understand the vagaries of the ever-changing market, the center is thriving.

The role of the Center is to encourage new thinking by emphasizing classic scientific research with seasoned practice in the financial sector. So naturally the participation of working financial professionals like Steve Stevanovich is what makes the program so viable. Offering conferences, workshops, and hardhitting presentations via the internet, the Stevanovich Center is bustling with activity. In fact, the center will soon provide a brand new space where university of Chicago researchers and visiting academics can meet to discuss and debate their ideas. Truly, Steve Stevanovich and his center are breathing new life in the way we think about the market.

2009-Jun-5 - Online Reputation Management

Online Reputation management, or ORM, is a system in which combines public relations and marketing with search engine marketing. With the proliferation of consumer-generated media such as online journals (blogs), message boards, and forums, important data and information can be easily accessed by search engines. While not everything made available on the web through is substantive or authoritative, it is virtually impossible to perform any task without it.  So it is crucial that businesses consistently pay close attention to what is being said online, even if what is being said is unflattering.

The days in which businesses and organizations could carefully structure product related information are long gone. Today, the rapid development of consumer generated media sites mean that public can instantly find much needed relevant answers to their product queries and even openly express their  opinions on a given product. And since a majority of consumers wholly rely on these forums as it pertains to their buying decisions, your online reputation could be severely tarnished if you fail to employ a thorough feedback system.

Now, in order to ensure that a number of negative responses doesn't come when one googles the name of your business, it is equally vital to engage in reputation management. Reputation management is a service that promises to defend businesses against harmful and damaging information on the web. Again, with a myriad of potential customers jumping on the super information highway to peruse products and services, overly negative reviews that turn up in a basic search can ultimately mean lost business, both current and potential. Therefore, effective reputation management can ensure that only positive pages show up, while effectively burying all harmful and offending sites 

2009-Apr-3 - My exchange with Twentieth Century Fox

2009-Mar-8 - Bill Maher's Ode to Government

2009-Jan-18 - The Wasilla Hillbillies

According to Gawker, a barely literate MySpace message was left regarding Sarah Palin snubbing the family of Levi Johnston, the burly, dewey-eyed simpleton who knocked up Bristol, because apparently they're "white trash." Pardon the cliche, but that is like the pot calling the kettle cheap, tawdry garbage.

The message was supposedly left by Mercede Johnston, Levi's 18-year-old sister, on the page of Mellissa Wilfong, a former Wasilla resident who now lives in Florida, to tell her about an upcoming trip to Orlando, according to Gawker.

I have seen Pollock paintings that were less chaotic than the grammatically bankrupt writing of Mercede, whom I’m guessing is best friends with Lexu. I swear the inhabitants of Wasilla are descendants of H.G Wells’s fictional Eloi.

Get dangerously drunk and read the message below 

If you're abstaining from alcohol, then here is a translation courtesy of Gawker:

"Levi is in a bit of a haze right now... Umm, I'm not allowed to see my nephew and my mom isn't either. We aren't Palins so therefore we are white trash and Bristol doesn't want her baby around us. So mom and I are really upset over it. I just hope Levi pulls his head out of his butt and lets us see our nephew and her grandbaby."

2008-Sep-28 - TomObamaRama Political Comedy Fundraiser

2008-Sep-27 - The 'not so' Great Debate

Did anyone happen to notice the trippy, hypnotic tie donned by McCain? And the fact that it only said "Live" during the camera shots of Barack? I am sure it was completely accidental, but I thought it would be downright hilarious if MSNBC were trying to show the imbecilic swing voters which candidate was living. But that ****ing tie! That tie was a barber poll/candy stripe on acid.

The most interesting moment during the HOUR AND HALF of sheer circular logic was seeing McCain tweak and have mini strokes, although I guess that sort of happens when you demonize Barack for liberal spending when your ****ing empty-headed VPILF requested 27 million in earmarks to govern sticksville. My favorite moment, however, was when the topic of delivering broadband to rural areas came up. I mean, let’s start with teeth and books and work are way up.

On a more serious note, capturing and/or killing a 50 something asshole (or "folk" as Obama called him) on Dialysis is hardly relevant; the man has invincible mystique and passed the torch to a young, tech savvy generation of religious fanatics. It would make good fodder for youtube and put Giuliani out of a job, but that's about it.

With every passing day McCain is increasingly becoming the cantankerous, crotchety uncle living in the attic, wearing a tin foil cap and listening to Israeli Army Radio. I do believe that Obama missed several key opportunities to punish McCain, for example, McCain's drooling over his fondness for veterans after having fought against the new GI Bill and trying to reclaim respect for the Geneva Conventions despite having capitulated on the issue of torture earlier this year. But I am delighted that the debate delved into the realm of foreign affairs, demonstrating that the bush adminstration's thirst for global hegemony and military preponderancehas played an instrumental role in the deepening decline of our economy as it has taken monies away from domestic programs, e.g., 47 million without health insurance.

2008-Sep-20 -

2008-Sep-12 - Chuck Norris Versus RealityTown

I usually scoff whenever I see or read about a left-leaning first-rate actors pretending to pontificate on the abstruse, byzantine issues simply because I positively adore their profound work. But whenever I see or read about an abysmal second rate actor with conservative leanings really pretending to pontificate on the abstruse, byzantine issues, my soul, brain,and heart all seem to want to collide with my taint. At the risk of dignifying a response to a man with nil credibility, if Norris was so au courant on what the soldiers want he would know that they are donating 6 to 1 in favor of Obama. That is all I will and can say in response to the guy who hawks exercise equipment at 3 am every nite. In fact, I am pretty sure that The Home Gym endorses Obama. In short, watching this man speak is like watching a really bad Chuck Norris movie.

 click here to view video

2008-Sep-9 - Not winning any PETA Endorsements

Indeed, there are a lot of crazy eco-terrorists and eco-zealots. Moreover, ones who believe in sabotaging shipping vessels carrying completely unsuspecting workers, and ones who believe that sitting down is inherently immoral because your ass is a living thing, however. I think we can all universally agree on the imperativeness of this incredibly unbiased and eloquent point from one incredible man....except if your name is Rudy Giuliani.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

(Going to the whitehouse or Valhalla?)

2008-Sep-3 - Sarah Palin: Were the soccer moms too busy?

It's getting vomit out of a Honda Odyssey and making baby formula less than five seconds with her eyes closed while shooting a polar bear cub with her ruby-red assault rifle.

Ha! I can't wait to see the "hockey mom" PTA leader debate Joe Biden. This is why the Repugs have truly lost their mojo, and not just because their anointed leader is ED: they are ignoring their own captious criticisms of Obama's lacking experience in national security by selecting someone not eligible to be class president. Moreover, McCain is going with someone with elementary experience at best as a pointless pander to the 18 million disenfranchised Hillary supporters, and it aint working!

Once they learn that Sarah Palin opposes rape and incest exceptions for women seeking abortion, they completely write her off. Sarah Palin is to the movement for women's equality what Steven Segal is to acting. She's an extremist and an enemy to the cause that has been fought on her behalf. What confuses me beyond belief is if surface, cheerleading, nonthreatening appeal with shit for brains is what McCain was seeking, then he could've looked no further than his wife. You know she wasn't properly vetted because they would've told McCain that he's seeking a vice president, not a third piece of disposable eye candy.

How about that Cindy McCain? I swear she looked the Malibu Stacy patriotic collection. I still say that the award for most inadvertently funny speech goes to Mike Huckabee! All I heard was something about his Elvis and the electorate not deserving the right to carry desks around. All that was missing from that quintessentially southern nonsensical ramble was a park bench and a half eaten box of chocolates.

Now, her child's accidental pregnancy shouldn't be exploited--even though the Republicans thrive on opening up such non-issues--but I really wish they would stop saying that the Palins were ecstatic to hear the news. They were about as ecstatic when they heard the OJ verdict. Speaking of family values, a fellow blogger said that if your going to take on a super high power job.....maybe 5 kids isn’t the way to go. Her son may have down syndrome but she's ****ing retarded. She is against abortion.... thus the Down Syndrome child that could have been detected in the first 6 weeks and spared this poor child an existence as a special needs kid with a mom who has better things to do.

As far as maverick and independent thinking goes, 2000 Senator McCain is dead. I believe I wrote about his slow descent to the lunatic fringe long ago when he embraced one time "agent of intolerance" Jerry Falwell. John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin was designed to pacify dyed-in-the-wool conservatives' anxieties about many of McCain's liberal impulses (campaign finance reform, immigration, etc.)and thus mobilize the Dobson, Bauer, and Buchanan crowd. In short, he swiftly threw the independent crowd under the cheap talk express and they aint coming back.

The NY Times already has an article of what really happened and why, according to sources in his campaign.

It pretty much alludes to the fact that the McCain camp was ready for Lieberman. Phil Graham was even pushing hard for this pick. But the judgment was finally made that the social conservative base would be outraged (the main issue being Lieberman is pro-choice) and their lack of support would too drastically undercut McCain's chances.

She passed the crazy, conservative ideological litmus test with flying colors and that is why she's there. The fact that she she's hotter than Johnny's temper, well, that's what we call value-added.