The architects and managers of our great nation have spent the last few years telling us the economy is getting better, but yet there was an unexpected jump in unemployment? This is supposed to give me confidence in our leadership? I don’t blame any one political group; I am just.. disappointed.

Rather than invest in war, let’s invest in our future. Better education and incentives for our children and our future.

Reminds me of corporate america.  **sic**

So I’m on an airplane (what else is new) and as soon as the plane takes off, this guy walks over to me and just collapses on the floor.  The flight attendants had to make an announcement to get a doctor or someone with medical experience to help (this is normal), but what just fucking amazes me is the fact that not one American came to his aid.  The chances of more than one person on a fully-loaded 737 having formal medical training is pretty high and the only person that offered to help was a foreign doctor.

Fast forward 5 minutes when the guy finally regains consciousness and is still laying on the floor. Keep in mind that he just passed out in First Class (walking up to get help from coach).  All the people sitting there just looked at him and did nothing. Not one person offered his / her seat to the guy.  (Well, one person did.. guess who).  Anyway, what fucking amazes me is all those people sitting there made snide little remarks like, “Oh, I would have given up my seat if they asked.”  Uhm, people.. What the fuck is wrong with you!?!! The point is to not have to be asked!  Personally, I think it’s kind of fucked up.

Anyway, I guess no good deed is left unrewarded, because I found out today (while making reservations for a flight) the airline tagged my profile to get priority first class upgrades for life.  Personally, that’s pretty damn cool, but I didn’t expect it, nor did I know someone did it. That’s not the point of this rant, though.  It just behooves me people today have no sense of decency. What if that person were your mother, wife, father, brother, etc?  It’s just not right.  It’s not about doing things because you can get something for it.  It’s about doing the right thing.  Personally, sitting 6 hours in coach is *NOT* a big deal if you’re giving up your seat to someone who needs it.

What happened to the “HUMAN” side of humanity?  It’s sad that people have lost sight of this.

So, I’m proposing we all do something once a month that is truly selfless.  It’s not about personal gain, although, it feels damn good afterwards.  (It also makes the world a less bitter place)

If you can’t think of things to do, here are some things my friends and I have done.

• Give Blankets out on a cold night
• Make Sandwiches and give them to the homeless
• Send a bunch of pizzas and clowns to the local orphanage
• Raffle off Superbowl Tickets to your clients for charity
• Work a Soup Line on Christmas
• Give blood to someone who is sick
• Take your dogs to the nursing home for a day
• Find a family that isn’t doing too well financially and give them a memorable christmas (secret santa)
• Buy books for a struggling college student who really can’t afford them
• Stop and help someone change a flat tire, because they’re not able to (elderly)
• Pay for someone’s gas when you can tell they clearly can’t afford it

It just might make you a better person.  Try it.

Well, it finally happened and I didn’t even see it coming.  Just going about my daily business when all of a sudden, BAM! and wow.. I’m still seeing stars!  Cupid came along and took one big swing with a louisville slugger.  I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt this way. That feeling of pending excitement when you know you’re going to see that person later on that day. The ridiculous Kool-Aid smile you have on your face for no apparent reason.  Yup, that’s me right about now.

Humanity has always had a desire to do the unnatural.  We jump off buildings, out airplanes, go diving into the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean.. Well, you get the idea.  One thing we do is “tempt fate” and it is this reason that humanity has a desire to just “go faster”.  I guess that’s where I fit.  I live a fast and hard-edged lifestyle.  Base-Jumping, Sky-diving, fast cars, motorcycles, and maybe even the occasional unicycle.

So this post is about my thing with speed.  Keep in mind, I’m talking about the ultimate adrenalin rush.  Propelling yourself down the freeway at 321.2 feet per second (219 mph) in two tons of steel and leather.  There’s nothing like it.  Well, doing it on a Ducati (although not quite so fast, because mine doesn’t go that fast) is just a great big rush. The point is, even though I’ve had that ability and have done it (just recently), it still just doesn’t feel like it’s enough.  My overwhelming desire for more adrenalin is just mind-boggling. When does it end?

Now, keep in mind, a few of  [my more conservative] friends have told me I’m gonna kill myself doing this, but hell, the way I look at it, if I die, I’m dying in style.. *chuckle*.  Keep in mind, I do it all the time with safety in mind.  I only do it on open roads with nobody around (and I do wear my seatbelt).  It still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.

So my question is.. What drives this thirst for more?  It’s not a power thing.. It’s just the need to feel alive and that feeling is best savored when I’m walking the edge.

OK, call me a geek, call me “one who lives in excess..”, or just call me a spoiled brat, but when I’m home, I like to have all the media I want when I want it. (wow.. that last sentence had quite a few commas).  I like to have movies, music, and whatever else I want at my fingertips.  So I’ve designed what I’d like to call my ideal multimedia nirvana.

Let’s talk about what I was trying to achieve and how I went about getting it.  Movies; I’m a big nut for movies.  So I knew the first thing I needed was a videoserver.  I wanted access to my videos at any computer or television in my house.  I looked at all the different brands and offerings on the market and concluded there was nothing out there that met all of my needs. So, what to do?  I built one.

Here are the specs (as of 3 years ago when I decided to do this).

The first issue was space.  I wanted to be able to store lots of video, so that’s what I did.  I built a server capable of storing 3 TB (that’s Terabytes for you non-techies) of multimedia content.  To give you an idea of how much space that is, 3 TB can store:

• 12,600 Movies at DVD quality
• 750,000 songs

In other words,  I won’t be running out of space any time soon.  The next step was to figure out how to “serve” the video and music to my televisions, computers, and multimedia devices.  What did I do?  I simply added some software to my server; pyTivo.  This little bit of software allows any Tivo connected television to access the content on my video server.  The catch? I have to have a Tivo on every television in my house (which I do).  One of the advantages of a Tivo is you can access the content on any Tivo from any other Tivo in your house.

So now, I have Video access anywhere in my house.  So, let’s say I wanted to show pictures of that last night of debauchery to some friends?  I could easily do that as well, as the pyTivo server allows me to access the pictures on my server and display them on my television as well.

What about music?  Oh.. pyTivo does that as well.  I can access music anywhere in the house as well.

As you can see, I’ve covered the entire range of multimedia access with one server and a bunch of Tivos.  How did I interconnect it all?  Category 5e wiring.  Yup, every room in the house is equipped with 4 network ports.  What about wireless?  I have that too.  It’s overlaid over the entire house. (Just in case I want to work on my patio).

Normally, this would have cost the average joe over 50-100K to do for their whole house (and I have a big house), but I’m lucky enough to own a construction company as one of my side businesses, so it cost me next to nothing.  (about $30K).  Total time to completion?  About 2 weeks.

OK, so I’ve handled the multimedia portion of the solution.  What about communications?  Let’s see what I’ve done to facilitate that as well.  I put in a phone system in my house, not just any phone system, but something that would put most Fortune 100 telephone company phone systems to shame.  I have 16 telephone numbers coming into my house as well as remote offices connected and web access to voicemail.  I deployed those really nice Cisco 7970 telephones throughout the entire house as well.

Things my telephone system can (and does do):

• Dial up Weather
• Wake Up Calls
• IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
• Voicemail
• Call Forwarding
• Advanced Call logic

Now, let’s say I was out on the road (which I am quite frequently) and I wanted access from my hotel room? No problem.  I can access my system via vpn from my laptop and watch videos, listen to music, and even make and receive telephone calls as well.  All from my laptop, my iPhone, and my Blackberry.  So in other words, I’m completely connected.

What if you want a system like this? No problem.  I’m available for a consulting engagement (it’s a hobby of mine).  For 20K + the cost of materials and labor, I’ll get a system like this up and running for you in your home as well.  The project usually takes about a month to do, but when you’re done, you’ll have an incredibly robust system that just “works”. If you were to do this with any other AV consultant, you’d end up paying over 100k.  My total cost with parts and labor? about 50K. (This includes my consulting fee).

Is this a shameless plug for my consulting services?  Not really, but I enjoy this type of work (as it’s somewhat mindless for me) and at the end of the day, I have access to everything I need at my fingertips.

Some other things I can implement for you?

Full Home Automation such as:

• Temperature Control
• Security (Video)
• Light Control
• Gate Control Mechanisms
• Video Conferencing (I already do that)
• Voice Activated Commands (You talk to the house.. “Play the Beatles, etc.”)

Drop me a line.  I’ll personalize the system for you from soup to nuts.  I can also do private exhibit spaces, yachts, and jets as well. It’s been a hobby of mine for over 10 years, so I’m more than qualified and yes.. I do have references.

Comments, Questions, and Requests for Help are always welcome. Please feel free to let leave your comments below..

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We all decompress in different ways.  Some jog, others cook, there’s the veritable “walker”.  Me?  Well.. I like to do things that may seem unnatural.  I’m an adrenalin junkie.  I don’t do it so much for the “thrill” of doing it, but for the one moment of clarity I get during the act of whatever it is I’m doing.  Whether it’s skydiving, bungie jumping, or propelling myself down the road at some insane speed.  There’s that quick thought that I could die at any moment and it’s at that moment I gain true perspective of everything.  It makes me realize things like work stress, P&Ls, money.. you know.. things that are major stress-points for people.. well, they just don’t matter.

Just remember boys and girls.. wear a helmet and always put on your safety belt. bah!

OK.. Just wondering if anybody else hears soundtracks in their dreams?  I just laid down for a nap before going out for the night and when I woke up, I realized my dream had a soundtrack with it.  Exactly like a movie.  It was really weird.  The lucid dreaming thing I’ve always been able to do (control my dreams and be fully aware I was dreaming), but I’ve been having soundtracks with my dreams on a more frequent basis lately.  It just seems.. unnatural.