It's football season and election season. I think I like football season much better. I know I go for the Cowboys so I have no problem with football. Matter of fact, the Cowboys are going to the super bowl again this year. Texas Tech is also going to win every game. With the election stuff going on I am currently undecided. I am so undecided I have yet to decide if I should decide. Is it worth it getting into the political arena only to be disappointed in 4 years when nothing happens? A week ago I talked to a congressman who I have yet to call back, but I got this feeling that the reason why politicians are so successful is that they are willing to say whatever it takes to get your vote, even if they don't believe it and won't do it. They listen to pundits on what to say and learn the tricks of speaking to the audience. Bill C. was the king of double speak and every politician has taken that example. I was watching the speech last night and I thought to myself, I have heard this same speech 4,8,12,16,20 years ago by both parties. We'll probably hear the same thing next week. The reality is health care hasn't changed, taxes really haven't changed, debt hasn't changed, nothing in government has changed in 20 years. Now I am a man of hope, but I am a man of logic and reason too. Why should I believe any politician? Things will remain the same no matter who wins. So right now I say Goooo Cowboys!

So I am here at home when everyone else is working. I can see why people like it. It is freedom. But with freedom comes responsibility. Anyways, you ever notice in Ferris Bueller when Sloan is in the car next to his dad how his dad doesn't recognize her and she is just wearing sunglasses? That tells me that his parents don't know who he is going out with. They should. I was talking about college the other day with Holly. She is getting her masters and has to take classes she won't need. I came to the realization that college is good when you are interested in the classes you are taking. For instance I wouldn't mind going back just to take some courses in entrepreneurship, corporate finance, artificial intelligence or advanced programming techniques, stuff I am interested in. The actual degree means nothing. It is the knowledge I would be after. In other news mom told me she has basal cell carcinoma. It is a disconcerting but it is not the kind that gets you. She has to go through a biopsy and treatment. We are visiting sometime this weekend. Sometimes it is weird to think that we are all getting older. I am like 33. That is old. But I probably have another 33 years working if I don't become a web millionaire. So there is still a future for me to contribute to society. My motto is "There is always hope." and I live by that. Where we are in life is all about perspective. Maybe I am getting philosophical in my time alone. More tests...

Well this morning I was supposed to do a radio show fo Tuscon Arizona, but I didn't, probably because my site was down. So I awoke to a text message that says "Site has been down since 5:30". I eventually figured it out. I also figured out that my "friend finder" has not been working since I released it. And all this time I thought no one wanted to use it. People reading this blog should go to ridesearch and read it and test things and post things. I need some user feedback. Also my iPhone does not like sweat. I was working out the other day and half of the screen quit working. So I am now using my new iPhone 2.0. Lesson learned. That is why it is now encased in plastic. Of course I lost all of my contacts. The iPhone restore was corrupt. Send me your phone numbers. I am about to try out mobileme.com apparently that works in syncing all your contacts and calendars.

Here are some more RideSearch news articles for your enjoyment. The first one was an actual interview I did:

http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080824/NEWS01/808240315

This next one is just a summation of the AP article
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/carpool.transportation.savings.2.803789.html

So this weekend I decided to not work. It had been a long time since I had a free weekend and I figure I needed some time to recharge my batteries. On Friday I helped Holly fix up her room for her students. They start back to school today. I helped get her computers up and running. She is teaching in a run down portable building. Those inner city kids don't have the opportunities that suburbia does. Then that evening I watched the Cowboys preseason game. My impressions are that we have a good offense and won't have to worry about them. Then comes our defense which has a problem tackling but we do have Zach Thomas so that may be good. If we go against another high powered offense we may lose. And then our special teams has improved a little, but I think that may be a weakness. I look forward to the Cowboys winning another super bowl. On Saturday I cleaned up a little. Holly and I just hung out around the house. We went grocery shopping at walmart. That seems to be the place to be for married couples. Sunday Holly taught the 2 year olds Sunday school and later we went to a friend's kid's birthday party. And now I am back to work, getting the business up an running. On Friday I had my first sale. A library in New York will be getting supplied with carpool parking signs. Just wait. Once I get funding, the world will see the dawn of carpool parking everywhere. They always say the first sale is the hardest. Let's hope so. How was your weekend?

I often wonder what life will be like when I am a retired old man. What will I gravitate towards? Will I play loud guitar and video games? Will I work on computers or will there be something different, like virtual reality for old people where you are on the beach. You never know. I am currently adjusting to not having to go to work in the morning. What that means is my old friend Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome is back and my hours naturally gravitate towards going to bed at 2:30AM and waking up around 10:30AM. What I am starting to do is start work aroud 1PM and then work with intermittant breaks until 2:30AM. Talk about weird. It is like my old day is reversed. My normal evening of relaxing is in the morning and then in the afternoon I start out with a little energy for working and then as the evening progresses I get more and more on top of working as the night progresses. Then at midnight I hit my peak then it goes to where I get tired around 2 and go to bed. So I think that is where my body gravitates toward. However, I know this is not going to last at all, since of course the rest of the world doesn't keep this schedule. I guess I am just adjusting to things. However, when I retire in 30 years I will probably end up where this post begins. And now, the rest of the story...

I am testing embedded widgets. Enjoy:

This weekend Holly and I just kind of chilled. On Saturday we went to a going away party for one of my friends at LM who is going to Austin. Then we stopped by Peetey's kids birthday party. Then we went to go see the latest Star Wars Clone Wars movie. It was kind of sad in that this was opening weekend and there were maybe 15 people in the theater. George Lucas did not promote this movie at all. I suppose because it was a CGI movie made for kids and fanboys. Seeing as how I am a fanboy of Star Wars I enjoyed it. It had what we like, light sabers, battles, shooting and the force. Of course Holly had no idea what was going on. I had to explain it was a story that happens between episodes 2 and 3. There were a couple of things wrong: the dialogue was still bad and the way they made the characters in CGI looked like cut scenes from Star Wars games. I know they could have done it better. I'd give it a 3 out 5 stars.
Now onto this week, where I will be going to a convention to try to sell RideSearch stuff. Working from home is great, but I need some discipline. I find it is weird. It is like there is a lot of stuff one can do around the house besides work. Like get groceries, clean stuff, do laundry, go workout, sleep in, watch tv and surf the net too much. Then there is work that can distract from work. For instance I could post to forums and do some SEO on the site but that is not my top priority. Anyways, back to development, before I go to kinkos to make RideSearch.biz business cards...

Labels: star wars

So here I am at home, coding and doing business. It is pretty sweet. Ah, if I could only get some capital and hire people to do some of the work. I have tons of irons in the fire right now. It does become hard to manage, but I can do it. Sometimes it is weird to think but I have already accomplished things that other businesses would dream of: NBC, ABC, Dallas Morning News, GMA, Weather.com, and Women's Health have all mentioned my business. The fame does work to my advantage. I was talking with someone today and he said,"Didn't I see you on ABC?" That is pretty cool. The one thing I have to get passed is the small talk. I usually get to the point too quick because I can't seem to smooze like other type A people. I think over time I have migrated from type C to type A working on the big picture instead of the small details. I should probably take a course in smoozing and business speak and maybe golf. Then I can say with a straight face "Everyone, you are lookin good today!" But I just can't lie like a politician. I went to the Chamber of Commerce Legislative breifing yesterday and talked with our local congressman. I have this idea of integrating into the energy bill tax credits for companies that have employees that carpool. Of course RideSearch can keep track of it for them... The problem seems to be that my congressman is a republican. Now I consider carpooling a conservative thing - conserving gasoline, saving money as well as an environmental thing - saving greenhouse gases and conserving our fossil fuels. The problem is, our congressmen seems to think that conserving oil is not what needs to be done to solve the energy crisis. Instead build more oil wells and offshore drill to solve it. Of course they will say they want to do it all because they are great at lying. But his whole speech was about drilling. I think the truth about the energy crisis is very clear: the government can do nothing to solve it. Our dependance is on foreign oil and oil will run out, even if you do open up more locations. The solution is up to us, the corporate citizens to find alternatives and conserve.

I remember the interview and I said kind of the same stuff I always do and he printed the same quote the other guy did, "It's like a dating service except you don't have to be as picky" This article goes through all of my competition. It is good though to be listed in the top when there are many more sites out there.

http://usatoday.com/money/autos/2008-08-12-carpool-websites_N.htm

So it has been a year since we stood and said our vows. Wow. I guess we should be marriage counselers now. Together we have survived many things and grown together even more than when we said "I do". Ah the honeymoon is my happy place. On the beach at Maui, scuba diving and sleeping at our super hotel. It was paradise. Then life hit us when we came back. Your car decided to catch on fire, so we got a new car. Then the air conditioner broke and we spent a month living in the guest bedroom while they tried to fix it and eventually replaced it. Then you got sick on Thanksgiving which wasn't pleasant. Then my car died and we had to replace it. And that was just 2007. Our first trial and we survived ;-) This year has been good. You have stood by me the whole time with RideSearch. From my first newscast to going to Santa Monica to promote, to helping me at Green Expos and Conventions, you have been there. Then you were worried about your kids in school and I was there. And now with RideSearch at the forefront you still support me. This has been a ride, but a good one. I wouldn't have done a single thing had it not been for you, my love. Happy Anniversary! We will be going to Rafain's and will enjoy the decadence of Brazilian food tonight. Then we will watch our wedding video. And that is life. One year gone, many more ahead.

Review 1: Batman
I really enjoyed this movie. On Monday Holly and I went to the IMAX and saw it. It was very good and had more character development than the other batman movies. The joker was pretty cool and the rest of the cast followed him. Of course there is the one thing, the voice of batman, that was overplayed. He sounded like Clint Eastwood when he was Batman, kind of freaky. I didn't notice the length of the movie. I am glad it wasn't comic-bookie like the original movies. I know this was a sequal, but I tried to forget the first one in the series as it was just not good. I would say this was the best Batman movie out of them all.

Review 2: Weird Al
Now I have not laughed like that in a long time. I got tickets to see Weird Al weeks ago and his show was last night. He played all of his hits(except for like a surgeon). But the best song of all was the "Pentium" song. I had never heard the original "Benjamins" song so I didn't know what it was, but when he put on this gangsta rapper outfit and starts rapping about pentiums and hard drives I almost fall out of my chair, crying. There were clips from "AL TV" in between songs that were hilarious. Weird Al has to be the funniest man alive. So if you ever want to really laugh go to a Weird Al concert.

Labels: reviews

Check out the Orlando Sentinal. I got interviewed last week. They really like me in Florida. I think I have been in the paper there three times and recommended by a TV News team once.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/consumer/orl-carpool0508aug05,0,3168989.story

Also, check out this Kansas City, Missouri NBC News story about carpooling. I am mentioned alongside the competition that has been around for years. Right now there is a new carpool website popping up every week, but I have a huge jump on them since I have been around since the beginning of the year and have over 6400 members already.

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=61f92e1a-01b9-4267-bf72-72544d58e65c&rss=764

Well, last Thursday I said goodbye to all my IRS coworkers. They all thought it was wrong for them to let me go(but they let everyone go) and said that if a position opened up at the IRS they would try to get me on. I told them that at the moment I was persuing my dreams and get back to me in a couple of months. I never burn my bridges, except at one place a while back that I never wanted to go back to. This weekend Holly and I hung out around the house as we are now really watching our finances. On Sunday night we went to "top golf" which is a driving range that keeps your score for you. It was hot but they had mist fans, and you didn't have to bring clubs as they provided them for you. Today I am doing more work in one day than I did in a month at the old place. I already have a business to do beta testing with, I got a call just this morning from them and offered to do it for free so I can test out my corporate packages. And I would like to announce I will be taking on my brother, Ron Bass as a CFO. He is so familiar with the financial side of business while I am familiar with the development side. This harkens back in history when my grandfather got help from my great uncle to start his insurance company. It is exciting, everything is coming together and it is only the first day.