Neil McDonnell's Comments

They say the quickest way to begin healing an argument is to forgive yourself for your part. So, I forgive myself for not writing in a very long time; doesn't mean I haven't been thinking as much as I always did, just means I wasn't writing.

I'm getting ready to move into DC (hopefully in 2008) and plan on opening an office for my company Bravo Consulting Group. As I did a little basic research, I was stunned at the difference in the unemployment rate between DC and its neighboring "states" of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. DC's unemployment rate is effectively double that of its neighbors. How is that possible?

Some quick stats: DC's unemployment rates compared to MD, VA and DE...

• 2007 - DC: 6.1; MD: 3.8; VA: 3.5; DE: 3.8 (ranked 49/51)
• 2006 - DC: 6.0; MD: 3.9; VA: 3.0; DE: 3.6 (ranked 47/51)
• 2005 - DC: 6.5; MD: 4.2; VA: 3.5; DE: 4.0 (ranked 46/51)
• 2004 - DC: 7.5; MD: 4.3; VA: 3.7; DE: 4.0 (ranked 51/51)
• 2003 - DC: 7.0; MD: 4.5; VA: 4.1; DE: 4.2 (ranked 47/51)
• 2002 - DC: 6.7; MD: 4.5; VA: 4.2; DE: 4.0 (ranked 46/51)
• 2001 - DC: 6.3; MD: 4.1; VA: 3.2; DE: 3.5 (ranked 50/51)
• 2000 - DC: 5.7; MD: 3.6; VA: 2.3; DE: 3.3 (ranked 49/51)

These statistics came from the US Department of Labor. Check them out yourself. I know I'm just doing a quick numbers comparison, but I'd welcome your input.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: DC, Neil McDonnell, PMP; Washington, Unemployment

Tuesday, October 16th is the annual day to celebrate your Boss. What's that mean?

Let's start with Hallmark's stats and fun facts. In a country with about 300 million folks, there are more than 14 million bosses. National Boss Day started in 1958 by Patricia Bays...think she was the boss or the employee? :) Turns out she was just honoring her father...like he needed a second Father's Day.

Then my ever-favorite site, Wikipedia. They consider it an "important secular holiday" for some reason. Not sure what secular holidays they consider unimportant. Fortunately, Wiki... allows us to ignore this holiday on the basis of high commercialism and/or our boss just being undeserving of extra love. Hey, they get our efforts for eight hours a day...that's their thank you. :)

Me, I'm celebrating the day by being extra kind to my wife. When she's not around, I'm the boss of me...but when she's around, I know what up.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: National Boss Day, Neil McDonnell

I was first introduced to LinkedIn many years ago by a vendor-friend of mine. While I knew I wanted to stay in touch with him, I just didn't like the idea of LinkedIn having the benefit of my Rolodex. Long story short, I only hurt myself over those years with my ignorance on this great tool for both professional and personal networking.

When I reviewed LinkedIn again this past week, I began to realize my fear was unfounded. They don't grab my contact list and dump it into their system. They don't send out spam to all my contacts. It actually was very easy to join and get rolling. I added what personal contact information I wanted the world to see and then began looking for friends and colleagues already using LinkedIn. Rather than dumping my contact list into this site for their use, it's really came down to me telling others that I was using the same tool and we could stay connected.

LinkedIn is a great tool for staying in touch with colleagues in our professional life. I think we can all see that. For me though, it is a chance to reconnect with old school friends or Army buddies. I lost touch with several of my closest friends in the Rangers; we just drifted apart as we were reassigned for the good of the Army. I can't tell you how great it would be to hook up with old buddies like Case, Kenard, or Gail. These are the only guys I can tell "back when I was in...." stories. :)

I highly recommend you take a moment and read the "about us" page for LinkedIn. It's a great way to keep in contact with your friends and colleagues. It is especially useful for keeping you up to date with folks you don't talk to for extended periods of time because life pulls you.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Contacts, LinkedIn, Neil McDonnell, Networking

I took some time off from writing in my blog, but now plan on coming back. Actually, I wouldn't so much call it taking time off since that would mean I made a conscious choice to do so. I just didn't write one day, and then the next and that turned into a week then several months. But now I have a writing space available that allows me the freedom to write my thoughts down for your enjoyment. As always, any suggestions on topic are welcome.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

I've always wanted to visit Europe and enjoy the magical experiences that can only be found there. While I've been to Ireland, I don't really count that as Europe. Europe to me is Italy, France, Germany...the mainland countries with centuries of history. Since I love romance, Paris seems like one of the first places I should visit.

A friend of mine used to fly to Paris for an extended weekend and stay at the Hilton next to the Eiffel Tower. She'd sing the praises of Paris, both the world famous parts like the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, and the more romantic parts such as local cafes. I'd love to take my bride there and experience all that Paris has to offer two lovers.

There are several Hiltons in Paris. Take a look at http://www.hilton-paris.com/ to see what they offer and then navigate around to view Paris as they want you to see it.

If money was no object, I'd be jetting off to Europe at least once a year just for a romantic package. To enjoy old world history with a friend is to explore that relationship from exciting angles. What romantic trip would you take to reinvigorate your heart and soul; to spice up your life?

Neil McDonnell

I'm always interested in what readers like you would find interesting in my blog. It's a tough battle to keep from writing the same thing over and over again when I find my passion is on fire for the topic of the day. So I'm thankful a friend recommended I write about why I wake early. Not knowing whether I should follow a narrative or top ten list style, I'll probably end up doing both.

You can not even begin to imagine what gets done before 9:00 AM. I get up at five each morning and have time to read, exercise, play with the cats, casually leave my house for work. On the ride to work I am not rushed, enjoy the music bouncing along in low level commute. Most enjoyable though, I get to watch the sun rise.

Have you ever experienced a sunrise? It's like starting your life over...renewed. If you come outside after the sun's up, you're just entering another day. But if you're outside greeting the sun as it pushes it's way above the horizon, you're owning the day. Together, you and the sun are joining forces to create a beautiful, renewed day full of possibilities.

Top Ten Reasons for Waking Up Early

1. You aren't rushed to get to work
2. Romance in the morning is as fun as it is in the evenings
3. Running in the cool air beats running in the oppressive evening heat
4. You get to play with the cats when they're full of energy and happy to see you
5. There's no such thing as stop and go traffic
6. The sun is there to greet you and gain more energy as you do
7. You'll be very tired at the end of the day and get deeper sleep
8. There's still dew on the cob webs
9. Nothing is cooler than seeing a red and orange moon in the morning
10. There are far fewer people on the path

What ever my reasons are for waking early, I'd suggest you give it a try for thirty days. You'll find your own reasons to rationalizing waking early each morning. Hopefully I'll see you out there one morning. :)

Neil McDonnell

If you think you've experienced music as the message that it is, but haven't heard all Patsy Cline had to say, then you're missing out.

Patsy Cline was born near me in Winchester, Virginia. She never really sung about or connected with the physical love, but man did she wear her heart on her sleeve. She's everything that country is to me. She died at age 30. Can you imagine that? She died at age thirty and had already accomplished enough that her memory and accomplishments would continue to be recognized through 2007.

Two things stand out to me regarding Patsy Cline. First, she chased her dreams her entire life. She often said "I don't want to get rich...just live good." If her dreams paid, that's great, but it was about the music, about the messages. And Second, she sung the deepest songs I've ever listened to. Songs that reached down in my heart and yanked with a love gone wrong. Each one of her songs makes me either commiserate, or more often, pray I never experience what she went through...in her songs.

Go to the library and check out a few Patsy Cline CD's, pop open bottle of wine if you drink and listen to her sing. Use headphones so you have no distractions. Shut out the entire world and drink the wine and Patsy's songs. Let yourself live in the moment of this woman's voice. It's magical and piercing...it's something we all should experience.

Neil McDonnell

What do you dream about? If money were no object...if time were no object...what would you do? What are your dreams? Do you dream of traveling or of starting your own company or of running a marathon? All of us dream...what are yours?

I was talking with a friend the other day and mentioned how I think the prime of a person's life is when they're in their 40's, 50's and 60's. I can go into why I believe that later, but I think that's the time to be trying things and I look forward to that period in my life. He mentioned that he had always wanted to be a lawyer, specializing in constitutional law. He said this in such a way to also communicate that he believes he missed that boat. It shocked me...my friend is at most in his fifties. I shared with him my belief that anyone can become anything within five years, and be recognized as an expert with just one hour a day dedicated towards that goal.

This friend of mine had a dream that I could see ran passionately through his blood, but one he figured would never be realized. I asked him what was stopping him and he really didn't have an answer. As I pushed him further, I began to suggest that he just go for it. Law school might take five or six years at a slow pace his schedule will allow, but six years from now he'd realize his dream. I'll let you know when he takes the first step, when he goes from Dreaming to Doing.

I told my friend that he could begin with something as simple as visiting the Supreme Court. We're thirty miles from the seat of constitutional law and he's never been there. If he's this fired up today, imagine if he began taking baby steps towards his dream. Imagine how he'll feel when he walks through those hallowed halls and perhaps meets a Supreme Court Justice. It's in the Doing that he'll realize his Dreams. Don't you agree that he should do something?

What do you dream about? Take your dreams and write them down...do it today. That one step will take you from Dreaming to Doing. Put each dream on a separate piece of paper, in the middle and inside a circle. Now you've turned your dream into a goal. What's one step you could do tomorrow that will move your dream closer to reality? Draw a line from the first circle towards one corner of the page and put another circle. In that circle, put the one step you just identified. Repeat this step for as many things you could do that would help your dream become a reality. You'd be amazed how fast this Doing will take you from Dreaming to Done. :)

What do you dream about? I dream about helping others take some chances and realize their potential. I dream about helping you go from Dreaming to Doing to Done, and I think this blog entry has moved me forward in that dream.

Neil McDonnell

Some people say that chocolate is sinful and that we should resist its temptations. Why? I say we should embrace that temptation and enjoy being bad for a moment if it means we can taste something that delicious.

I remember going hiking with a very close friend of mine one summer day. She and I walked all through the back part of Leesburg battlefields, and then headed to Tuskies, a great local restaurant to satisfy our hunger. The meal was good, but heaven didn't come until I began to eat the chocolate creme brulee (crem broo lay) that tempted me from the moment it got on my spoon. To reach the creamy center, I had to break the shell protecting this sweet tasting dish. It was like someone was trying to keep me away from this sinful dessert that I must taste. Once past the initial resistance, the cream scooped nicely onto my spoon and accepted its part in my walk down the wild side. Just as the creme brulee was coming to my mouth, my nose picked up on all the excitement that my eyes had been communicating. My nose began to smell a sweet, chocolate scent that over powered it; almost controlling my nose to force a steady, slow inhale as it attempted to never let that experience end. But then this forbidden fruit, this sinful chocolate creme brulee, this most tempting of all desserts, reached my mouth and all senses were dulled as the senses of taste and touch (feeling) competed for attention by sending signals of nothing but pure pleasure to my brain and then on for a full body enjoyment. As the creme brulee slid off the spoon in response to my lips pulling softly, it fell onto my tongue and exploded with a renewed vigor. The awesome feeling of the dessert was spread throughout my entire mouth as the spoon was withdrawn and my entire mouth closed down on this experience. Every taste bud and nerve in my mouth fired off at the same time, forcing me to slam my hand on the table and tightly close my eyes. I wanted to swallow this chocolate delight, but wanted to do it in such a way as to maximize the flavor and feelings I was experiencing. Imagine lingering under a hot shower stream on a cold winter day, you just want to enjoy how the warmth feels and embraces your body. This dessert did the same thing. How hard would it be to resist this dessert if you knew you'd be able to close your eyes the following day and experience the same pleasure? If you knew your lack of resistance wouldn't be the end of the world.

Now I don't advocate eating chocolate every day; too much of the "sinful" treats are a bad thing. It will also dull the experience. We all must eat good meals, making sure we're getting enough vegetables and other food groups. That gives us the very life that we live. We could never give up that which makes us live. Dessert makes life really fun, but won't keep us alive.

But to resist chocolate because it's temptation and call is "sinful" is silly. Life's only worth while when we're truly living it to the fullest. If that means occasionally getting your hands on something tempting, don't beat yourself up about it...enjoy it and then go eat your vegetables. :)

Perhaps once you learn to really embrace and enjoy something as simple as a guilty pleasure without any regret, you'll be ready to chase some big dream you've been thinking about. I'll tell you soon how you can go from Dreaming to Doing to being Done.

Neil McDonnell

Too many people say children should be seen but not heard. That's a sure way to miss out on the joys and lessons they might share from a far different perspective. Why shut off a whole part of society and not embrace what they can give us? Far too many other people think sensory neurons should be felt but not appreciated and embraced for their message.

Sensory neurons are the nerve cells responsible for converting external stimuli from it's environment into motor reflexes or other forms of involuntary behavior. For example, if you run your fingers through a lover's hair, that "feeling" that your fingers experience is converted into heightened breathing or an increase in how rapidly your heart is beating. Think about silk sheets or a cool pool on a hot day; imagine how your wonderful your body feels, every part of your skin as you slide between the sheets or into the pool. Your body, your skin, your sensory neurons are converting that experience...do you enjoy it, or do you just treat it like some functional task?

I encourage you to begin to embrace your sensory neurons. Just as crying while watching a sad movie opens up parts of your heart that feel the most love, embracing your sensory nerves will open up feelings of great pleasure. Admittedly, the same is basically true for pain; but everyone is in tune with their sensory neurons when pain visits. The truly fabulous part of sensory neurons are the feelings we get to experience.

Imagine watching comedy but not letting yourself laugh. Life would be way too boring right? Now imagine how you feel when you watch comedy and can't see because you're crying from laughing so hard...you can barely breathe. That's from an external stimuli. Now imagine having that same level of intensity from basic contact with another. We must open up our entire sensory neuron self and welcome the signals they send us; we must look forward to those signals, those physical feelings.

The next time someone gives you a hug, a kiss or a caress, don't just take that for granted. Recognize that you're experiencing the first "sense" that develops in the womb. Realize that the miracle of sensory neurons are presenting you an opportunity to feel pure pleasure, to feel wonderful, which in turn affects your entire mood and ability to enjoy life. The next time your sensory neurons are passing you information...stop, listen and enjoy as much as possible. It will only last moments, but the memory of that experience will return with almost as much impact.

Neil McDonnell

I had coffee this morning in Washington DC with an old friend. She and I were catching up on our separate lives, laughing over old pictures and talking politics. As I walked to my car I recalled how much I respected this person, but more importantly, how much I need people in my life.

It amazes me that many people get up, go to work, come home, watch television, and then go to sleep. That's their life, not just one day in the week. How can they (you?) live without all the energy interacting with friends or strangers gives them?

My friend this morning reminded me of the past through our conversations about old events. She reminded me of the present as we discussed our lives and recent events. Then she reminded me of the future by discussing world views and 2008 politics. All this happened in an hour! I walked away thinking about my entire life including the future through this one interaction with another human being.

Yesterday morning I ran with a different friend. She and I talked about jobs and career paths while taking in the back woods of Virginia for a rainy run. I came away from that with the energy to work the entire day as if I was leaving the next day on vacation. Highly productive. :)

Tonight I just came back from dinner with my wife. She my best friend and when we're not tired, we have great talks. :) She fired me up about my entrepreneurial ideas by not only believing in my efforts, but wanting me to hurry so she could be a customer. :) We talked about friends and how they affect us and why we want them in our lives.

As I get older, I'm much more relaxed about admitting that I have feelings. I feel very powerfully about many things. Probably one of the most affecting on my life though are the friends and strangers I interact with. They give me energy. They help me remember why it is so cool to be alive in 2007. They give me hope for a great future no matter what past I've had.

I encourage you to turn off the television and begin to hang out with other folks. Do so in your house with friends, do so at events or just go partying. Just hang out with folks and see how much energy you begin to feel flow into your being.

It's good to be back providing my comments. I'd love to hear yours.

Neil McDonnell

Giving a speech before a large audience can be a rewarding experience for both the speaker and the audience. Careful choices beforehand will allow you and your audience to focus on your speech content and not you. Consider these ten tips for looking good before an audience:

1. Remove all security tags, key chains, cell phones, pagers and anything else you tend to store on your body. Don't put them in your pockets either; give them to a trusted friend or host of your event. This includes name tags. Take off the name tag before speaking before large audiences (more than twenty). Name tags are for one-on-one conversations.
2. Shine your shoes. For $5 you shoes can look better than new. Visit a local Nordstrom's or a fancy hotel; they both tend to have shoe shine stands.
3. Don't button the bottom button of your suit coat. Who knows and who cares why, just don't. If you do, it looks like this is the first time you've worn a suit and those of us who know the rule might be distracted by this fashion infraction. I know, we're the shallow ones, but why take chances when you want your speech to be heard.
4. Check the back of your suit coat; often the tails are sown together with a few threads. Many folks tend to leave this thread alone and just figure suits are like that. If you're really nice, mention it to a colleague as you would their zipper down. A quick nip and that thread is gone and the suit hangs better on your body.
5. Take the time to visit a tailor and ask them to work their magic. If you just bought the suit, that store can make adjustments for you so the suit looks good on you. If you're like me and have wandering belt sizes, get your suit checked out before you give an important speech. You'd have your car checked before a long drive or winter, why wouldn't you do the same for a fashion tool?
6. Stabilize your tie. Often men will have a great tie and it lays perfect in front of the mirror, but then life happens. Movement will cause the tie to shift on the neck or point to the side. A tie tack will stop all movement and maintain a desired look. Some folks use official tie tacks or chains as decoration and a tool. I prefer to use a tie pin underneath the top end; this stops the movement, but keeps the decorations invisible.
7. Remove everything from your pockets. In fact, don't put anything in them from the start of the day. It reshapes your pockets from flat, smooth surfaces to bulging, distracting surfaces even if there's nothing in them.
8. Don't eat before a speech, even if it is a lunch keynote speech; the host will keep your meal warm. Eating before a speech has so many downsides, but visually you run into a few specific ones. The chances that you'll get something stuck in your front teeth is close to 100%. Eating means you're moving; that increases your chances of spilling something on your clothing. And don't rule out an allergic reaction to something you eat; can you imagine how hard it will be to listen to your speech if all we see is a red, swollen face?
9. Stand tall. A classic challenge for speakers is to stay still. Often you'll see a speaker swaying or pacing, lifting a foot off the stage in a tilting motion as if they're stretching. Just stand still. It seems odd, standing there as if you're in the army, but your audience can focus on the speech better. If you have stage movement that is part of your speech and adds to your point, use it. Just move on purpose or stand tall.
10. Have everything you'll need (notes, etc.) up on stage at the lectern; hopefully you won't be using notes and can give your speech from memory. When you walk up on stage after being introduced, stand there for a moment and absorb the applause. If they've stopped, just look at them for a few seconds. It gives you a chance to relax into the space, and the audience a chance to just look at a non-rushed speaker; a speaker who is looking very confident. It doesn't have to be long, just count to five by one-thousands. It seems like forever, but your heart beat will go down, you'll look relaxed and look good.

These are just ten tips in no particular order. Mark Twain said that his best impromptu speeches took months of preparation. Don't let any part of your speech (how you look) be by accident.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Neil McDonnell, speech tips

I wrote an earlier post that served as an Introduction to Project Management Knowledge Areas. In this one I'd like to explore Earned Value Management (EVM) at the higher level as well. It seems like the federal government is always discovering things that the rest of you have been doing all along. These past couple of years and heading forward, EVM and PMP are two very hot acronyms.

Earned Value Management falls under tools and techniques for monitoring and controlling project work. According to the PMBOK, "the earned value technique measures performance of the project as it moves from project initiation through project closure. The earned value management methodology also provides a means to forecast future performance based upon past performance." Think about your own projects; how are your project managers (or you) forecasting or measuring performance? Are you learning from previous projects?

EVM objectively measures project performance (comparing budgeted cost of work completed against actual cost) and progress (comparing budgeted cost of work completed against planned budget). I'm a big fan of saying you'll never know how to get where you're going unless you know where you're at today. EVM is just one technique that can be used to tell you where you're at in any given project.

Take a look at the Project Management Institute's web site for much more information on this subject. I did a search already on the site that shows case studies of EVM and other related articles you may want to research. As a PMP, I follow the PMI standards and have researched the information for this post from PMI material. I hope you find it useful and highly recommend you consider joining PMI if you're not a member already.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Neil McDonnell, PMI, PMP, Project Management Professional

Bert Decker has a great post on his blog, Create Your Communications Experience, regarding the use of black slides in your presentations. I've personally used "filler" slides before, but after reading his "Use Black Slides" post, I plan on following his lead.

Bert points out three key things you'll accomplish by using black slides:

1. Clear the Screen [which brings the focus back on you]
2. Black Out the Screen [which takes you out of the spotlight]
3. Totally Change Your Mindset [how you develop presentations in general]

Take a look at this post and others on the Create Your Communications Experience. I consider myself in the top tier of presenters, but find there's so much more to learn.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Neil McDonnell, PowerPoint, Presentations

I read a handy article in AIIM E-Doc Magazine titled Outsourcing Faux Pas by Janelle Julien. It described the common mistakes overlooked by users as they consider outsourcing their document imaging operation. Here's a small bit of it; if you find it interesting, follow this up with a visit to the AIIM web site.

Top Ten Pitfalls

1. Inadequate Security Regulations
2. Failure to Network [w/industry peers who been there]
3. Failure to Verify Vendor Expertise
4. Ignoring Your End Users
5. Scope of Work is not Defined Well Enough
6. Neglecting to Visit the Vendor
7. Not Assessing the Vendor's Reputation or Financial Strength
8. Ignorance of Legislation [and vendor's compliance]
9. Setting Low Reliability Expectations
10. Failure to Establish Standards for the Privacy and Integrity of Data

I remember reading once about a woman in India who was willing to sell medical records because she wasn't being compensated fairly. Considering the damage from full disclosure can help decide which vendor to choose. Here's an Outsourcing Vendor Checklist from the article that states the top ten list a different way:

• Tour the company's facilities
• Investigate its reputation and financial strength
• Determine its reliability in meeting schedules and in preserving the integrity, maintenance, protection, and privacy of its clients' records
• Gauge the expertise of its personnel and the quality of its work
• Get recommendations from other customers
• Investigate its services and specialties
• Consider cost and physical location

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: AIIM, Neil McDonnell

It's so cool when two rationale people are involved in the same situation. Too bad world peace can't be handled in a similar way...or can it?

My wife "dinged" another car while parking at the doctor's office this morning. She was really upset about it and felt horrible; I think some of the emotions attached to the doctor's visit spilled over to this event. Anyway, no one was there so she left a note on the car. As any of us might, she spent the day wondering what it would cost, whether the insurance would go up or if the car belonged to someone who would be very upset about the damage.

This evening Bill calls and says his wife found the note on their truck and asked what they could do for us. :) They for us? I told him the situation and mentioned we wanted to make sure we made the situation right. He leans back to his wife, "They want to make the situation right." "It's just a scratch, forget about it." Bill told me that it was a plastic piece my wife hit and it wasn't dented. He was able to wipe off the paint she had left behind and all's fine.

Here's one person making sure they take responsibility for their actions and another extending forgiveness and understanding. I wonder if world peace could be a reality if our leaders took a lesson from these two people.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: forgiveness, Neil McDonnell, world peace

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Jeffrey Shelton was murdered last night; He died this early morning on April 1, 2007. May God welcome him into heaven and may his soul rest in peace. May God comfort Jeff Shelton's wife, family, friends and fellow officers in their time of loss and grief.

Officer Jeff Shelton was 35 years old and had only served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina for six years. He, and fellow officer Sean Clark, were shot and killed in cold blood while investigating a disturbance in an East Charlotte housing complex. There is no information on the suspect (s) yet. [Update: a suspect has been caught and charged with two counts of first degree murder.]

I can not even begin to really understand what each law enforcement officer feels when they answer a call or pull someone over. When I was in the army rangers, I felt the fear of being shot at as we approached our objectives; we knew they had guns and wanted to kill us. Is this how we want our law enforcement officers to feel each hour they're on duty?

Police Officer Jeff Shelton was murdered last night. He was your cop, he was my cop, he was an American cop. We must stop the murders of our cops. Until they are safe, how can we ever, really, expect to be safe? How can we expect our children and grandchildren are safe?

Please pray for Officer Jeff Shelton's soul, and that of his partner Officer Sean Clark. May God also hear our prayers for Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, Officer Eugene Marshalik, Game Warden Justin Hurst, Corporal Mark Nix, Officer Daniel Martinez, Officer Marcus Stiles, and Officer Lonnie Wells. All but one was murdered in the first three months of 2007. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: cops, Neil McDonnell, Officer Jeff Shelton, Police

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Sean Clark was murdered last night; he died early this morning on April 1, 2007. May God welcome him into heaven and may his soul rest in peace. May God comfort Sean Clark's wife, family, friends and fellow officers in their time of loss and grief.

Officer Sean Clark was 34 years old and had only served with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in North Carolina for one year. He, and fellow officer Jeffrey Shelton, were shot and killed in cold blood while investigating a disturbance in an East Charlotte housing complex. There is no information on the suspect (s) yet. [Update: a suspect has been caught and charged with two counts of first degree murder.]

I can not even begin to really understand what each law enforcement officer feels when they answer a call or pull someone over. When I was in the army rangers, I felt the fear of being shot at as we approached our objectives; we knew they had guns and wanted to kill us. Is this how we want our law enforcement officers to feel each hour they're on duty?

Police Officer Sean Clark was murdered today. He was your cop, he was my cop, he was an American cop. We must stop the murders of our cops. Until they are safe, how can we ever, really, expect to be safe? How can we expect our children and grandchildren are safe?

Please pray for Officer Jeff Shelton's soul, and that of his partner Officer Sean Clark. May God also hear our prayers for Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, Officer Eugene Marshalik, Game Warden Justin Hurst, Corporal Mark Nix, Officer Daniel Martinez, Officer Marcus Stiles, and Officer Lonnie Wells. All but one was murdered in the first three months of 2007. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: cops, Neil McDonnell, Officer Sean Clark, Police

I discovered a great blog the other day...well, I didn't discover it, it's always been there; I just found it. Strange Maps provides some of the coolest maps around and gives readers a great review of the origin and meaning.

Today's map, A Cartogram of the World's Population, is particularly cool. It distorts the actual geography to reflect population information of countries around the world. The discrepancies are striking, especially when you see Australia nearly disappear, or Russia and Canada shrink to slivers of land next to their southern neighbors. Personally I hadn't realized how much larger the population of China and India were to Russia. I thought there were three "giants of Asia" over there.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Strange Maps

I heard a great speech tonight at an Area Contest for Toastmasters International. A friend in that organization, Frank, talked about the three pillars of raising boys.

The three pillars, similar to stool legs, are vital to the successful growth and maturity of every young boy. Frank laid out the three pillars as focused in the home, neighborhood and schools. While you'll have to hear him speak on April 20th in Ashburn, VA to learn more, I wanted to point out something he said about schools.

Frank mentioned that his son goes to school and learns the subjects in the normal way; basically recitation. How would a child embrace the lessons and learn if he was taught through practical exercises. For example, rather than being taught history, he acted out history. Or my favorite, imagine if rather than being taught science, he actually did science? Frank's concern seemed to be that boys are being pushed through a system for the sake of learning without any concern as to their personal learning strengths.

Not having boys of my own, I can't relate. But, being a boy once before, I can imagine how school might have been if it was taught differently. Wonder what you all think...

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

I like the idea of having great conversations with friends and digging deeper into single questions. My only challenge is that I find myself wanting to answer questions with "because" a little too often. :)

The West Virginia University Philosophy Department started a blog to get students thinking about specific questions. It quickly became an international hit and now a regular read of mine. The blog is called The Question for obvious reasons. :) They list some great questions like "Is Winning Everything?" Well, is it? I find participating in these types of discussions lead to a better understanding of how I really feel about something.

Another site I participate on is The New Humanist. Eric Hodges leads this blog and has really got me looking forward to his next question. The reason I like his site better than The Question is that Eric only asks one question. The other site seems to end up asking ten or more which confuses the discussion. When you get time, click through and visit these two sites.

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Philosophy, The New Humanist, The Question

All volunteer, non-profit organizations have the same main challenge: how to find guests who turn into active members. This post provides some personal examples and a checklist of the right things your organization should do in order to address this challenge.

When I say all organizations have a similar main challenge, I really do mean all; e.g. Knights of Columbus, American Legion, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Toastmasters International, local museums, or your church. You see it with community groups like those and with professional associations. We all face that challenge of getting active members who will hopefully become the next leaders so we can relax a bit. Does that sound familiar?

Personally, I see this challenge in every organization I belong to including Toastmasters International and my local church. Toastmasters has close to 10,000 local clubs focused on developing communicators and leaders; yet you'll often see the same people stuck doing things or membership numbers hoovering around an unacceptable level. In my church, we have 3000 families focused on living the Gospel; yet the number of folks actually active is very low. How can these two organizations address this challenge?

The key to solving the challenge of inactive members is to bring new members in following a correct process, one that will lead them to become active members. Here's a minimum checklist your organization should have in place if you'd like to bring in and develop active members. I'm going on the assumption that you're getting guests and so your marketing efforts are successful.

1. Every guest, new parishioner, whatever, should be greeted in a warm, friendly and welcoming manner. When you see someone walking up to your organizations door, go to them and say hello. Introduce yourself. They're scared or hesitant; you can make them feel comfortable by just saying hello.

2. Once greeted, every guest should be shown how to sign the guest book. Stay right there with them as they sign the guest book, making sure all information is filled in and legible.

3. After signing a guest book, every member should be given a guest packet. This is usually just a folder with information about your organization in it, perhaps a magazine or bulletin as well. The packet absolutely must have an application and a pen. Explain the packet to them and say it is designed to answer most initial questions.

4. Introduce the guest to an experienced member of your organization and invite them to sit together. While the guest packet has data, the member can answer any questions that come up.

5. After a meeting, continue the friendliness, but ask them to join. This is very important!! You want new members. They came to your organization because they were exploring the idea of joining. Now make them feel like their time was well spent by encouraging them to apply or fill out a membership form. By asking them to join, you are telling them that they're wanted. We all want to feel wanted. NOTE No matter how many times I mention this item to organizations, they all agree to the value, but I'll watch them treat a guest great then not ask them to join. The guest goes away thinking, "I guess they don't want me to join." I know it is silly on the guest's part, but you're in the control position.

6. This part begins the "active-member" section of my list. You need to meet one-on-one with the new member within a week, two at the most. Sit down with the member and find out what they want from their membership; how do they see themselves being involved? Really understand their wants. Then explain what the organization expects from them.

7. Absolutely stress things like regular attendance, filling roles, being supportive to other members/parishioners, etc. But also stress that this is an all-volunteer organization that is dependent on you and me for leadership. Either they need to volunteer for a leadership role (which they won't) or join one of the committees and support the leaders. If you do this from day one, your new member will think it is normal and just volunteer.

8. Finally, for this list, recognition is vital. If someone shows up, thank them. If someone does what they say they'll do, thank them. If someone helps out, thank them. The only thing volunteers really want is to be appreciated. If I feel appreciated, I'll remain active and probably become more so. Show appreciation often and in any way you choose. There's a song "more than words" that basically says you don't have to tell me you love me, I already know. If you respect your members, they'll become active, eventually become leaders and you can sit back and enjoy being "just" a member yourself for a while. :)

Neil McDonnell, PMP

Labels: Membership Building Ideas, Neil McDonnell

My brother sent me an article out of San Francisco regarding legislation being pursued to track inmate whereabouts using a GPS device. The reason this really hit home is because this legislation is being pushed by Sandy Tuvera, the mother of Bryan Tuvera.

For those of you who have read my blog, you know that Bryan Tuvera's murder was my tipping point. He was murdered by an escaped convict on December 22, 2006. When you read the blog entry for Bryan Tuvera, click on the label "cops" to see all related blogs I've posted since then.

The murderer who shot and killed Bryan Tuvera should have been in a lock-up jail. At the very least, he should have been on the minimum security prison he was assigned to. But one day he just walked off the property and disappeared for a year and a half until he was spotted in San Francisco. The idea behind these GPS devices is that authorities would have known instantly if he left a designated area.

While the idea is right, I'm not sure about the tool. Why wouldn't we just insert a chip into a fatty part of the prisoner's body? I can do it with my dog or cat; the vet inserts a chip that lets the cat be identified. A more advanced version could be used that allows tracking similar to the Lowjack (sp) used for cars. For the activists in the country, I would argue that a chip is far more humane than having an ankle bracelet. From a security concern, it seems like it would be harder to remove the chip than a bracelet.

Either way, it is a start in the right direction. Sandy Tuvera is correct that we must do something to change our system to make it safe for others. I'm thankful to her for being so public, so soon after her tragic loss.

May God bless Bryan's mother Sandy Tuvera, Bryan's bride, his fellow officers and those trying to make a difference. May Bryan Tuvera rest in peace, his soul kept in God's loving embrace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, GPS, Neil McDonnell, Police

Moncks Corner Police Department Police Officer Marcus Stiles was murdered on March 25, 2007; he died on March 26th. Please pray for his soul, for his family and for his fellow officers.

Officer Stiles was only 26 years old and served in this South Carolina police department. He was shot and killed responding to a domestic dispute; a couple fighting. A man at the house just opened fire on Stiles and his partner Officer Lonnie Wells, killing both officers. While news is still limited on these two murders, it is clear that their murderer was shot and killed by a deputy from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.

There is no answer to the "Why?" question. Let's join together to instead answer the question of how do we prevent the murders of our cops.

Please pray for the souls of Officer Marcus Stiles and Officer Lonnie Wells, and for the souls of, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, Officer Eugene Marshalik, Game Warden Justin Hurst, Corporal Mark Nix, and Officer Daniel C. Martinez. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

Moncks Corner Police Department Police Officer Lonnie Wells was murdered on March 25, 2007. Please pray for his soul, for his family and for his fellow officers.

Officer Wells was only 40 years old and served in this South Carolina police department. He was shot and killed responding to a domestic dispute; a couple fighting. A man at the house just opened fire on Wells and his partner Officer Marcus Stiles, killing both officers. While news is still limited on these two murders, it is clear that their murderer was shot and killed by a deputy from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office.

There is no answer to the "Why?" question. Let's join together to instead answer the question of how do we prevent the murders of our cops.

Please pray for the souls of Officer Lonnie Wells and Officer Marcus Stiles, and for the souls of, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, Officer Eugene Marshalik, Game Warden Justin Hurst, Corporal Mark Nix, and Officer Daniel C. Martinez. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

Officer Daniel Martinez was murdered on March 23, 2007. Please pray for his soul, for his wife and five children, and for his fellow officers. Martinez was only 33 years old.

Officer Martinez was shot and killed while trying to help retrieve a mother's child. He was shot in the head and killed, on the door step, while his murderer shot the mother three times. I can't even believe this situation, you must read the facts. This murder was so unexpected and so violent that a "why" can never really be answered. Fortunately, Officer Martinez's murderer committed suicide and he is now God's to deal with. I mentioned this earlier this year: can you imagine the conversations at the gates to heaven when God asks what each of them what they did with their lives? Officer Daniel Martinez will answer that he served and protected his fellow citizens. His murderer will point to him and say "I took that man from his wife and five children."

Please pray for the souls of Officer Daniel C. Martinez, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, Officer Eugene Marshalik, Game Warden Justin Hurst, and Corporal Mark Nix. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

Senior Corporal Mark Nix was murdered on March 23, 2007. Please pray for his soul, for his fiancee and family, and for his fellow officers. Nix was only 33 years old, a veteran of the Navy and getting ready to start a new family.

Corporal Nix was pursuing a suspected murderer with several other officers. When the suspect crashed his vehicle, he opened fire on the officers, killing Nix. Other officers at the scene tried to save Corporal Nix but were unsuccessful. His murderer is in custody. You and I lost another brave cop who was willing to get in harms way to take this dangerous criminal off our streets, out of our way and away from our children.

Please pray for the souls of Corporal Mark Nix, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, Officer Eugene Marshalik, and Game Warden Justin Hurst. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

What's with folks who buy a new car but refuse to pay the extra couple of hundred dollars to have mudflaps installed? Are you one of those folks who didn't see the value of mudflaps?

Take a drive on a lightly raining day like today and you'll quickly appreciate the value of mudflaps. Properly installed mudflaps minimize the amount of water, and other ground debris, from being thrown up onto the windshield of the car behind yours. On a day like today, you can tell when you're behind a car, van or SUV that has mudflaps installed; hardly anything will be thrown from the pavement to your windshield. Conversely, and you'll experience this for much of your drive, cars without mudflaps will force you to have your windshield wipers operating the entire time.

Installed mudflaps are a safety concern. You know how much harder it is to see when it's misting and ground water is being thrown up on your car by the one in front of you. The limited visibility limits reaction time which can lead to more accidents. If you're interested in a safer world, a safer drive for you and those you love, then get some mudflaps installed on your car the next time you buy a new car.

I'm not saying run right out and spend money today, but the next time you buy a car just add that feature. Safer roads can begin with that one little decision you make. Happy traveling!

Neil McDonnell

Labels: mudflaps, Neil McDonnell

While CPAs, CEOs, CFOs, etc. know all about Sarbanes-Oxley, it is imperative that the rest of us understand the impact of this legislation. I'm especially talking to Program/Project managers who find themselves responsible for budgets. And those of you who think you're just in the IT or IT services fields. Each of us must understand the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on our domain and how our familiarity with it will help our company.

Very briefly, Sarbanes-Oxley is the federal government's response to Bernie at WorldCom and Ken at Enron, as well as all their morally deficient corporate buddies in the failing companies of these past several years. Prior to SOX, as this law is known by those who like acronyms, financial information being reported by companies was suspect at best. Theoretically, SOX fixes all that by enforcing mandatory provisions and internal controls. Since you want to learn more about SOX, visit one of many sites dedicated to helping you: http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/sarbanes-oxley.htm

ITIL is becoming a common term in the government and some private sectors, especially in the last few years. I find it interesting that folks act like they're just discovering it; I was following the "ITIL Way" since 1997 when I worked with Cable & Wireless. The Brits had brought more than the Beetles apparently. Anyway, ITIL methodologies layout exactly what SOX is trying to address from a service delivery standpoint. If you're in IT or project management, you need to become very familiar with ITIL and how your IT projects can benefit from it. Partly because it just makes sense, and partly because the government (and then private sector) will demand it.

You may also notice the government mandating that contracts be led by PMP certified folks. While the feds might have acknowledged PMI's methodologies, there was never a big push to insist work was implemented following their methodologies or anyone's for that matter. Now, ITIL is being mentioned like it's a product they can implement, and PMP's are being demanded as if they'll stop wasteful spending. While I'm not sure about that, I am sure that if you are knowledgeable about ITIL and PMI's methodologies (or even certified) you'll personally be a better link in the chain...and that's all anyone can hope for these days.

Seriously, take a lunch break and learn about Sarbanes-Oxley from a high level. Hardly anyone understands it; perhaps you can take that lead in your organization.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: ITIL, Neil McDonnell, PMI, Sarbanes-Oxley; PMP

Here's a nice little article from the April 2007 issue of Catholic Digest. It's a condensed article from one in Advent & Lent Activities for Children, 23rd, 1996.

"How Rabbits Became An Easter Symbol"

"Rabbits are a sign of new life, a powerful Easter metaphor. Several factors contribute to rabbits being seen as an Easter symbol: They are extremely fertile animals, potent signs of abundant new life; they sometimes represent the moon , which relates to Easter's date being set by the moon; and, rabbits burrow underground, which is likened to Jesus in the tomb.

The connection also has pagan roots. According to pagan history, rabbits were the favorite animal of the goddess of spring, Eastre, who was thought to have placed eggs in the tall grass at the start of spring, and to have used rabbits to deliver the eggs to children.

When the German people came to the United States, they brought with them a legend of a poor woman who loved to surprise children. With no money to buy gifts, she colored eggs in rainbow colors and hid them in nests made of grass and sticks. Just as the children approached the nests, a rabbit hopped away. The children then believed that the rabbit had left the eggs as an Easter surprise."

For other great articles or learn more about this magazine, check out their web site: http://www.catholicdigest.com

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Easter, Easter Rabbit, Neil McDonnell

Game Warden Justin Hurst of the Texas Park and Wildlife Department of Texas was murdered on March 16, 2007. Please pray for his soul, for his young wife and 4 month old son as well as his parents and brother, and for his fellow officers. Hurst was only 34 years old.

Hurst was killed trying to apprehend someone suspected of illegally hunting. The suspect ran and then thought it would be better to try and kill the officers pursuing him. Now he's in jail charged with capital murder. Can any punishment make us feel better about the loss of Warden Hurst? I would suggest no, and say the only thing that could make us cope with this loss of an American law enforcement officer is to ensure we never lose another. Will you take the sixty seconds to do what it takes to make America safer?

Please pray for the souls of Game Warden Justin Hurst, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper, Officer Nicholas Pekearo, and Officer Eugene Marshalik. May their souls rest in peace and may God protect all of us.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, hurst, marshalik, Neil McDonnell, pekearo, Police, tuvera; jenks; sottile; altman; holly; dressel; plouff;carper

New York City Police Officer Nicholas T. Pekearo was murdered on March 14, 2007 in New York City. He was only 28 years old. He was unarmed, part of the Auxiliary Officers of the New York City Police Department. Please pray for his soul, his family, his fellow officers and all the young men and women of New York who think to follow in his foot steps.

His murderer was shot and killed, but that doesn't make the tragedy any less unbelievable and outrageous. Pekearo and his partner Marshalik, were pursuing someone who had just murdered a New York City resident and business employee. While chasing this murderer and attempting to ensure he does no further harm, they became the victims. Pekearo was shot six times after the murderer chased him to where he was taking cover; then the murderer shot Marshalik in the head when he found him as well.

These were two kids, two men who served and protected the American citizens. They were chased down and murdered for no other reason than they were cops. Can we possibly live another day without avenging their deaths in a way that ensures no other cops are murdered? How on earth can I, can you, can your children expect to be safe if these two cops and their colleagues are not safe? We must...we absolutely must stop the murders of our cops. It starts with you! When the time comes, will you take the sixty seconds to do what it takes to make America safer? Will you take the sixty seconds to do what it takes to make America safer for your children?

Please pray for Nicholas T. Pekearo's soul, and the souls of his partner Yevgeniy (Eugene) Marshalik, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, and Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper. May the souls of these American law enforcement officers rest in peace. May the Lord protect all law enforcement personnel.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, marshalik, pekearo, Police, tuvera; jenks; sottile; altman; holly; dressel; plouff;carper

New York City Police Officer Yevgeniy (Eugene) Marshalik was murdered on March 14, 2007 in New York City. He was only 19 years old! He was unarmed, part of the Auxiliary Officers of the New York City Police Department. Please pray for his soul, his family, his fellow officers and all the young men and women of New York who think to follow in his foot steps.

His murderer was shot and killed, but that doesn't make the tragedy any less unbelievable and outrageous. Marshalik and his partner Pekearo, were pursuing someone who had just murdered a New York City resident and business employee. While chasing this murderer and attempting to ensure he does no further harm, they became the victims. Pekearo was shot six times after the murderer chased him to where he was taking cover; then the murderer shot Marshalik in the head when he found him as well.

These were two kids, two men who served and protected the American citizens. They were chased down and murdered for no other reason than they were cops. Can we possibly live another day without avenging their deaths in a way that ensures no other cops are murdered? How on earth can I, can you, can your children expect to be safe if these two cops and their colleagues are not safe? We must...we absolutely must stop the murders of our cops. It starts with you! When the time comes, will you take the sixty seconds to do what it takes to make America safer? Will you take the sixty seconds to do what it takes to make America safer for your children?

Please pray for Yevgeniy (Eugene) Marshalik's soul, and the souls of his partner Nicholas T. Pekearo, Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly, Detective Keith Dressel, Sergeant Howard Plouff, and Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper. May the souls of these American law enforcement officers rest in peace. May the Lord protect all law enforcement personnel.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cops, marshalik, pekearo, Police, tuvera; jenks; sottile; altman; holly; dressel; plouff;carper

What are you doing with your life? Are you just living it by working a job and watching television? Perhaps you've added raising kids as well. Is that really living life to its fullest?

What's next? What could you be doing that no one else could be doing? What are you thinking that no one else is thinking? Do you know how unique you really are? God made you an individual. No one else in this world is as special as you are; has as unique thoughts as you have. What's next?

What are you doing with your life? There are so many thoughts that enter only your mind, that could make this world a better place. Are you aware of your own thoughts? Are you aware of how much better the world would be with you following the divinely inspired thoughts and ideas that enter your mind? What's next?

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

One of the benefits of my membership with Toastmasters is a monthly magazine. The articles are usually good, well thought out. Here's one from February's issue that I read with minimal reaction, but I notice many others in the area are raving about.

Don Seaton, ACG is a Chief Master Sergeant on Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. Currently he's serving as an Area Governor in Toastmasters. He's based his article, Team Commandments: 10 Ways to Help Your Club Succeed, off an other's article called the Team Commandments. Here's a quick listing of the ten points...find someone (or a club) near you and borrow their magazine to read more.

1. Help each other to be right, not wrong
2. Look for ways to make new ideas work, not for reasons they won't work
3. Speak positively about each other and about your organization at every opportunity
4. Help each other win, and take pride in each other's victories
5. Compliment often
6. Recognize that the customer is not an interruption to your work, but reason for it
7. Realize that "being right" is irrelevant to good service; the customer's perception is what counts
8. Maintain a positive mental outlook
9. Sacrifice for the good of the team
10. Have fun

Just typing these made me remember what I read. They are clearly transferable to many other areas of our lives.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Don Seaton, Neil McDonnell, Toastmasters

When I tell my cats to go to bed, they do. They run to a separate room we've set up for them. Like kids, they sometimes wine about going, but they clearly know what's up each night when we tell them, "Go to be."

I'm a firm believer that setting expectations clearly in the beginning is vital to a successful execution of any job. That job could be living life as a cat, a kid, an employee, a vendor or whatever. The key is to set expectations early, firmly and supportively train, and then reward proper behavior. Turns out the One Minute Manager pretty much advocates the same thing.

Just in case your curious on how to train your cat, I'll tell you. First, it takes a lot of patience, no anger at all, and a desire to succeed. It might take longer if your cat is older. If you have a special room you lock your cats up at night so they don't claw you at 4:00 AM, then tell them to "go to bed" when your ready. Then softly but firmly lift them from their lazy place in your house and push them from behind in the general direction. If they make a bee-line around you, don't get upset, treat it like a game of catch. Go catch them and set them on the path to their bed while pushing from behind to nudge them along in the right direction. It won't take long (week) before they know what's up. After that it just becomes repetition. It's pretty cool to see cats behave with the obedience of dogs. :)

Neil McDonnell

Labels: cats, Neil McDonnell

Spartanburg County Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper was shot and killed on Tuesday, February 27, 2007. Please pray for his soul as well as for his wife and three daughters and Kevin's fellow officers.

Deputy Carper was only 39 years old, and had served for twelve years with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina. He was killed while making a traffic stop, but not before killing his murderer. Have you ever wondered at the way law enforcement treats you or behaves when they pull you over? Imagine being the cop, worried about you, wondering if you're just a traffic violator, or some crazy criminal about to pull a gun out. How would you feel? Let's work together to stop these murders of our cops. How can we be safe if they're not safe?

Please remember Deputy Sheriff Kevin Carper in your prayers. Remember also in your prayers Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly Detective Keith Dressel, and Sergeant Howard Plouff. May the souls of these murdered members of our law enforcement rest in peace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Anthony John Holly, Bryan Tuvera, cops, Deputy Harold Altman, Deputy Kevin Carper, Keith Dressel, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

I'm not a fan of anonymous comments. Someone stopped by and left a negative comment regarding C.O.P.S. that I deleted. Such is the power of the moderator. Frankly, if they had left a verifiable signature, I would have left their comments with my post.

I would recommend to that poster, before they make similar comments, start your own non-profit and see if you can't make it perfect. Don't knock another person's efforts, ever. There's no honor in that.

One of the reasons I get involved in what I do is to try and make the world a better place. That sure won't happen if all I do is criticize another person or organization's efforts. If you have ideas on how to improve something, don't tell us, just make the improvements.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: C.O.P.S., Comments, Neil McDonnell

It's interesting how personal emergencies can alter schedules. My wife and I have been dealing with medical emergencies since early February with them continuing forward even now. Most of my other commitments I kept, but noticed that my blog entries stopped for a while. Frankly, I think I just wasn't in the mood to write. Now I'm back in the mood to "comment" at will.

Faith: I got to tell you, I can't understand how some folks live life without faith in God. Nancy and I wouldn't have made it through the last thirty days, or the last ten years, without God's embrace and our faith that things will get better.

Family/Friends: Boy, I'm telling you, if you aren't developing these relationships in the good times, they might not be there in the bad times. Nancy and I have received tons of support in the last thirty days from both our families and friends. One of the hardest questions to answer is "What can we do?" So many folks are generous, but the only thing we can think to ask for is someone to take on Nancy's pain. :) Since that's not happening, we rely heavily on the prayers of our friends and family. I am so thankful for all the friends we have and the support they've shown.

Employer: I'm voting for Lockheed to be listed as one of the best companies to work for in the DC area. Lockheed has been unbelievable to Nancy, as has her specific customer. Nancy hasn't been able to get to work for 3 weeks now due to the medical situation, but she feels no pressure. Everyone involved with work just keeps telling her to get better, the job will be here when she's ready. What I especially like is how many of these folks say they're praying for Nancy, not afraid to admit that God is a big part of their life. I'm not in the business of converting anyone, but it's sure nice to know that others are praying for my wife.

Staying busy: Someone asked me why I wasn't home all the time with Nancy. I told them I wanted to stay busy. Each time I go to a meeting or participate in some activity, I gain strength from those I'm around and am able to bring that strength back to our home. Besides renewing my energy and spirit, I'm able to come back to Nancy with so many stories that remind her there is life outside the house. "AOL chartered!" "Next Level 4 Teens is really helping out our local kids." "Subhash gave his Ice Breaker." Think how much healing power I have for Nancy when I can share my fascinating stories of the day...perhaps I'm helping by putting her to sleep. :) Either way, the energy is part of what helps Nancy deal with her situation.

Thanksgiving: tonight we're cooking a Thanksgiving meal. We decided why wait for November. The food is great and we're both up for turkey. If you have a pie, feel free to stop on by.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

Winston-Salem Police Sergeant Howard Plouff was shot and killed on Friday, February 23, 2007. Please pray for his soul as well as for his family and all his fellow officers.

Plouff was 41 years old and had served seventeen years with the Winston-Salem Police Department in North Carolina. He was killed while helping break up a 2:00 AM drunken brawl. His cowardly killer is still at large.

Please remember Sergeant Howard Plouff in your prayers. Remember also in your prayers Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, Officer Anthony Holly and Detective Keith Dressel. May the souls of these murdered members of our law enforcement rest in peace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Anthony John Holly, Bryan Tuvera, cops, Deputy Harold Altman, Keith Dressel, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Howard Plouff, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

Toledo Detective Keith Dressel was shot and killed on Wednesday, February 21, 2007. Please pray for his soul, and for his wife, two children and all of his fellow officers.

Dressel was 37 years old and had served with the Toledo Police Department for 14 years. He was killed while stopping a drug deal.

Detective Dressel was shot and killed by a 15 year old boy! It is insane that a minor should think he's safe carrying a gun. Minors (and all criminally minded) should fear that the wrath of God will come down on them if they go anywhere near a gun. Adults should fear the wrath of a nation (and severe punishment) if they let a minor go near a gun. Where is our outrage?

Instead of any news story announcing this tragic loss of a servant to our nation, CNN chose to interrupt my day (via email) with "Breaking News" that Anna Nicole Smith's dead body would now be in some lawyer's custody. That's just one more bit of information in the ANS soap opera, not breaking news. We must let our media know that we consider any murder of our law enforcement officers breaking news and that we want to be alerted. We should not let ourselves be shielded from these tragic losses, these most blatant showings of disregard for life...if we let our cops be murdered, then the criminal element will think nothing of murdering us. I'll help lead us on the path to reducing the number of murdered cops through what I call the Zero Memorial. Look for more information on it in the coming weeks.

Please remember Detective Keith Dressel in your prayers. Also remember Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Deputy Harold Altman, and Officer Anthony Holly. May their souls rest in peace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Anthony John Holly, Bryan Tuvera, cops, Deputy Harold Altman, Keith Dressel, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

I was at a meeting last night with about thirty folks and was asked about the ashes on my forehead. At least this year no one just blurted out that I had dirt on my forehead.

My favorite was a woman from China who clearly hadn't seen someone with ashes on their forehead before, and here she's noticing both my wire and me with the ashes. The reason she was my favorite is that she came right out and said that she didn't want to offend me, but what was the story behind the ashes. It was interesting responding to her since besides the two of us, one other fellow was with us and he is Hindu.

As I explained the meaning of the ashes, the three of us began to see that some sort of panel speech on this and other religious practices might prove enlightening and even interesting. I know a lot about my own Catholic religion, but am naive with regards to not just Hindu and Muslim beliefs and practices, but I'm also a little confused by all the different Christian denominations. Tolerance begins with understanding. Perhaps I could be tolerated in general if people understood me better. :)

Anyway, yesterday was Ash Wednesday and that was why I had ashes on my forehead. While you'll find tons of information on the web regarding this first day of Lent, I'll highlight a few bits that might help you understand. First, the ashes are put on my forehead at Mass by my priest who said, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." Basically this means stop sinning and be good. I really do try. The ashes are a reminder of that. Second, they're also are a reminder that from dust we came and to dust we'll return. Life on this earth is short, but life eternal is...well, eternal. Finally, the ashes are left on our foreheads (unless we have an itch and wipe them off by accident which is forgiven) as a reminder of our penance and contrition, as well as God's mercy on all sinners who call on Him asking for forgiveness.

Ash Wednesday is to me what New Year's Day is to others. They use the New Year to make resolutions which basically aim at self-improvement. I use Ash Wednesday as a solid reminder that I need to get my act together. There are certain things I need to stop doing, and these days more importantly, there are things I need to start doing more of...being kind to others for example. The beauty, and there are many, of how I react to Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent is that it lasts forty six days...I very much pray that I'm a better man by Easter.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Ash Wednesday, Easter, Lent, Neil McDonnell

Glendale Police Officer Anthony John Holly was shot and killed on Monday, February 19, 2007. Please pray for his soul, and for his girlfriend, parents and five siblings who survive him, as well as for his fellow officers.

Holly was only 24 years old, serving with the Glendale Police Department in Arizona for just two years. He was killed during a traffic stop while removing a second of three passengers from the car. His murderer is in custody.

Officer Holly was a veteran of the Iraq War. This man went to war and survived, only to be shot and killed on the streets of his own country. As soldiers we know that dying for our country is a very real possibility and we accept that risk. As police officers, they expect to be in harms way so the citizenry doesn't have to be themselves; but officers shouldn't fear an armed enemy like soldiers face. We must not let this country continue in that direction. We must cry out with each murdered cop, "No more!" Only when our cops are safe can we ourselves be safe.

Please remember Officer Anthony John Holly in your prayers. And don't forget Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile and Deputy Harold Altman. May their souls rest in peace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Anthony John Holly, Bryan Tuvera, cops, Deputy Harold Altman, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

My wife and I lost our unborn baby to a miscarriage last week on the 12th and spent most of the 13th in doctor's offices and the hospital. It's interesting to see how easily that threw me off my regular routines.

I stopped writing in this blog. I stopped exercising. I stopped eating anything healthy. I stopped all sorts of other things. I didn't stop these things by decision, more just by result of events. Seems like the only thing I did right was comfort Nancy.

We put our faith in God that he'll bless us with a baby when he's ready. Until then, I need to go on living and I guess that starts with a blog entry like this.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

I was talking with a friend of mine who goes "hunting" each year. As he described the process, I compared it to my time in the Army when we'd have movement to contact. In his activity he was hunting a deer and in the Army we were hunting the enemy.

But as he described the "hunting" process he follows, it sounded a lot more like waiting. He goes out into the woods on a cold morning, climbs a tree and waits. He waits for a deer to pass within range of his weapon and then he shoots.

Where is the "hunt" in that? Am I alone here in thinking that all he (and the rest of the hunters) did was wait. Why not call it waiting? Wouldn't hunting be more like tracking? He would go out into the wood on a cold morning, face up wind (or should that be down) and begin looking for deer tracks. Once he finds them, he would quietly follow them until he sees the deer and then shoots. That seems like hunting.

Perhaps I'm thinking along the lines of fox hunting where they really do chase down their prey; you know, a bunch of big guys and loud dogs chasing that little fox. :) In America we often say "that's funny" rather than laugh. So I guess it makes sense to call it hunting rather than waiting.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: hunting, Neil McDonnell, waiting

I watched the Senator Obama announce his candidacy for U.S. President today and was very disappointed. I had sat down to watch a man who's been touted as a great speaker with great ideas. Instead I got to watch just one more politician announce his candidacy.

They (who are they) say that Barack Obama is a breath of fresh air and fresh ideas who can really fire up a crowd. Those of you who have read my blog know that I'm a ROLLOR and base my opinion in this case just on how I felt moved. I didn't feel moved. In fact, I found my mind wandering. Clearly Obama wasn't inspirational enough to hold my complete attention, let alone fire me up.

That leads me to my second point. Barack Obama proved to me today that he's just another politician like Hillary, John, Rudy, etc. As I listened to what this man hopes to accomplish (his ideas) I come to understand how inexperienced he is, and how much of a politician. Some quick examples:

Senator Obama said he has a plan to get combat troops out of Iraq by 2008 which includes getting the Sunni and Shiite to sit down and settle their differences. As I wrote before, I'm not sure how realistic a goal that is when these two factions have been fighting (with pure hatred of each other) for seventeen hundred years. Plus, he's talking about a withdrawal in 12 months; I wonder what his predictions for Iraq will be for the thirteenth month. What would have been great is if he put his plan for troop withdrawal on his web site.

The "ideas" Obama threw out that really got me thinking he's just another politician is that he's going to cure the health care problem by the end of 2012 and obliterate poverty. Poverty has been around since the time man invented wealth; how on earth would he propose to obliterate it? There's a great sales quote, "Some will, some won't, so what." One of the reasons homelessness and poverty can never be obliterated is that there will always be some folks who just choose that path...as hard as that is to believe. Perhaps the real focus should be on providing more opportunities for those citizens willing to make the journey.

As the election season goes along, I would advise you to take notice of two speakers in particular. Al Sharpten and Alan Keyes are the two most articulate men to walk on the presidential debating table. Bill Clinton is another one, but you won't see him talking about where to take this nation anymore.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Barack Obama, Neil McDonnell

I'm amazed at how excited I get when someone actually comments on one of my blog entries. :) It's sort of like sending someone a birthday gift and getting a thank you card in return; they're not required, but sure are appreciated. :)

So today's blog entry is a thank you to those of you who have commented on previous blogs. Thanks to:

Ralph, Eric, Cecilia, Brian Smith, Nic Perez and several "Anonymous"

Please keep giving me encouragement and ideas. I'd love to write some thoughts on topics of your choice.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

Nancy and I went to the NIH this evening for a seminar on ITIL's service catalog. The basics of a Service Catalog was summed up by one of the speakers, Charlie Jones a CIO at NIH. He said you can imagine IT services being listed in the service catalog with a clear understanding of the cost and a price for that service compared to the menu at McDonald's. When you look at the menu displayed on the wall behind the registers, you see what they offer (their services) and what the price is for each item.

These folks from NIH has recently finished a 2-3 year project to implement an ITIL Service Catalog. Doing so has allowed them to provide similar and superior (than before) services to their internal customers at a far lower cost.

ITIL has been around a long time, in fact I remember implementing projects based on ITIL recommendations back in 1997. Recently though, it has become a bigger deal in the United States, especially with government agencies. Take a look at itSMF USA, the American organization for ITIL certified and interested folks. There is a lot to learn that perhaps you might find valuable.

Neil McDonnell, PMP
ITIL Foundation Certified

Labels: ITIL, Neil McDonnell, PMP, Service Catalog

I was in a seminar with about a hundred other folks when the question of ROM came up. ROM stands for return on management and tries to put a cost to manager's time with regard to specific service areas. Anyway, this person asked the expert panel if ROM meant that managers tracked their time the same way their employees tracked time.

The panel started laughing and managers all through the audience were smiling and shaking their heads "no". The very thought of management tracking their time like they require their employees to was funny...to them.

It amazed me that they would think it is okay to require something of their employees that they aren't willing to do themselves. In fact, tracking time of managers is far more valuable than the typical worker. Besides identifying ROM, managers who track their own time are better able to grow personally.

I recommend (as I often read recommended) that all of us document (one sentence or two) what we do with each waking fifteen minutes of our day. Initially that might be a hard habit, so start with hourly and aim to get to tracking the quarter hours.

Tracking what you do is similar to tracking what you spend each day. It's not so much about accountability as review. At the end of a week or month, you are able to look at what you spent your time on and compare it to what you wanted to spend your time on. You'll discover not only personal weaknesses (too many coffee breaks) but areas you're spending time that perhaps could be eliminated or delegated. If you ask your subordinates to track their time, shouldn't you do so as well?

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

As I prepare to write a series of post regarding Project Management, I thought I'd start with a quick introduction based on the PMBOK. That stands for A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge and is pronounced pim-bock.

Among other things, the PMBOK breaks down project management knowledge areas as follows:

• Project Integration Management
  - processes/activities that integrates the different elements of project management
  
• Project Scope Management
  - processes that ensure the project includes all of the work, and only the work required in order for successful completion of the project
  
• Project Time Management
  - processes required to accomplish timely completion of the project
  
• Project Cost Management
  - processes concerning the completion of the project within budget
  
• Project Quality Management
  - processes involved in assuring that the project will satisfy quality standards set forth by the customer / organization
  
• Project Human Resource Management
  - processes that organize and manage the project team
  
• Project Communication Management
  processes concerning the timely and appropriate generation, collection, storage, and dissemination of project information
  
• Project Risk Management
  - processes concerned with conducting risk management on a project
  
• Project Procurement Management
  - processes that purchase or acquire products and services as well as contract management

As you can see, there are nine knowledge areas (ten if you count PMP Code of Conduct). These area organize the 44 project management processes contained within the project management process groups: Initiating, Planning, Monitoring & Controlling, Executing, and Closing.

This is just a very high level introduction of project management; a lot of it I'm sure you can relate to your work. In future posts, I'll begin to really break down project management. While I'm hoping it will prove interesting and useful to you, it is mainly for my own deeper understanding of the science of project management.

In writing this post, I referenced and quoted from PMTI's training manual and PMI's PMBOK; this is mostly done with the bullets. I earned my PMP through training I received from PMTI as will my wife. Check them out for yourself.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, PMI, PMP, PMTI, Project Management Professional

Nancy and I watched the game yesterday at our cousin's with a few other friends. There was a good representation of national security there, including reps from the Army, Navy and Marines in attendance. While I was rooting for the Bears, the game was awesome and the Colts deserved the win.

I think I've become a huge fan of games played in steady rain. :) The turnovers made the game that much more exciting, and we could be pretty much guaranteed that if it went one direction, it would go the other.

The commercials were alright. I think the expectation of Super Bowl commercials has got to such a high level that it's hard for advertisers to satisfy the audience. But, they tried with these commercials. Personally, my all-time favorite Super Bowl commercial was the 2005 one from Ameriquest: Cat Killer. It is totally hilarious and has a good message too. :)

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Super Bowl

I told Nancy that I wanted to post a blog entry today describes strengthening one's three pillars of life, the spiritual, physical and mental, every day. She asked if that's what I did and my response is telling for not only this, but every post I write. These posts are what I hope to accomplish. Ben Franklin wrote the thirteen virtues he thought was required for good character. He didn't live them all, but throughout his entire life he kept "trying" to live those virtues. Like Ben Franklin, I hope to live what I write.

So, the three pillars of life are spiritual, physical and mental. If we work each day to do something to strengthen each area, then we can only have a blessed and virtuous life. I highly recommend working on each for at least 30 minutes each day. That's only 90 minutes for a more perfect life.

Spiritual can mean many things. To me it means building my relationship with God. This is done in prayer, but there are so many other ways it can be strengthened as well. As I try to be a better husband, relative or friend, that strengthens my spiritual life. All acts of charity and community service fall into the same category.

Physical has only to do with the body. For me, it means eating healthier, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Exercising each day is vital; that means more than just working out the muscles, it means stretching, yoga, walking, etc. As I said to my sister once, as long as I put my tennis shoes on, I'm giving myself credit. :)

Mental health is what we're putting into our mind, or how we're challenging our brain. Specifically I focus on reading something each day that isn't fiction. In my profession, I try to read the latest magazines and stay abreast of what's new in the industry. Games though, are another great way to strengthen the mind. So are hobbies like painting, writing or music.

The key is to spend thirty minutes each day doing something. I never try to "stop" doing something. It's not about giving up chocolate for example, it's about eating more fruits and vegetables. It's not about watching less television, it's about reading more books or having more discussion about the meaning of life. It's not about decreasing the amount of times I swear (sin) in a week, but about increasing the number of times I appreciate life each day; one will affect the other.

Be careful of the no-time excuse. That's all it is, is an excuse to stop you from achieving what you want to achieve. To exercise 30 minutes each day, use your lunch hour. To be more spiritual for 30 minutes each day, meditate or pray while commuting to work. To strengthen your mind listen to audio books while commuting to work or cleaning the house. These are just a few examples, but the choice is up to you. To paraphrase a Johnny Depp movie line, either you're an Ameri "can" or you're an Ameri "can't"...which are you? Consider getting up 30-60 minutes earlier each day. Consider watching 30-60 minutes less television each day. Consider what you want from life and make it happen.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Mental, Neil McDonnell, Physical, Spiritual

A friend of mine, Eric Hodges, posted a blog entry that had a great quote from Plato. That quote inspired me to use a favorite quote of mine to guide my thoughts while writing today's post.

"He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me. That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without lessening their density in any point, and like the air in which we breathe, move, and have our physical being, incapable of confinement." - Thomas Jefferson

I would expand on President Jefferson's thoughts by suggesting that we can give of ourselves without lessening ourselves. I belong to the Knights of Columbus for example; the Knights are constantly giving to the community through volunteer hours in support of various charities, but are never lessened. We are in fact made stronger in so many ways by the help we provide. That help is often not attributed directly to an individual, but we are helping someone else grow without taking away from any one of us. The Knights are just one example of this being done all over the world.

It would be nice if everyone realized that they could light some one's candle without darkening their own candle. The second candle would only help to make each person's life brighter. Let's go light a darkened candle today!

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Eric Hodges, Neil McDonnell, Thomas Jefferson

Now tell the truth here, how many of you knew that Congress extended daylight savings time by four weeks beginning this year?

I didn't know until I read an article in the Washington Post about the change. Apparently, daylight savings time will begin three weeks earlier and end one week later. Congress did this in an effort to conserve energy and oil consumption.

Read the article to learn more details. The only folks who seem to be happy with the decision are the candy manufacturers since this means more daylight for Halloween.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: daylight savings, Halloween, Neil McDonnell

Jackson County Deputy Harold Michael Altman was brutally shot and killed on Tuesday, January 30, 2007. Please pray for his soul, his mother who survives him and all of his fellow officers.

Altman was 41 years old, serving with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department in Florida. He was killed while responding to a plea for help from the Sheriff's wife who was murdered before Altman arrived. Other units responding, including the Sheriff, shot and killed both suspects during a gun battle.

In these past few weeks I have begun to understand in my mind and heart what it is that I truly want to accomplish regarding the murders of American law enforcement officers. I want to create a memorial to these fallen police officers whose lives were taken as they served and protected America. There can only be one true memorial in my mind; a zero memorial. While there are memorials all around the country as lasting tributes to law enforcement officers who make the ultimate sacrifice, they haven't affected the number of murdered cops each year. These memorials are important, necessary and permanent. What I am dedicating my life to is a zero memorial. I don't want to see another name be added to these memorials. I want America to be united in an effort to take the number of cops killed each year from around 65 to zero. That's the memorial I want to build to our fallen law enforcement officers; a memorial that is only a number. That number is zero, and that is the number of murdered cops we should tolerate. Anything more is unacceptable.

Please remember Deputy Harold Altman in your prayers. And don't forget Officer Bryan Tuvera, Trooper Calvin Jenks, and Sergeant Nicholas Sottile. May their souls rest in peace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Deputy Harold Altman, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

Microsoft recently released Vista, its newest operating system. Don't buy it. Don't buy a new computer with it installed.

Too often computer users feel this need to listen to Microsoft (and other manufacturers) and get the latest update. Only bad things can come from that. Companies like Microsoft release these versions/products with the intention of letting users discover the bugs. Why put yourself through that pain?

So here's my advise regarding new OS software. If it is a new OS (Vista), then avoid it for at least two years. Let enough other folks test out the system and find all the problems with it before you depend on it yourself. If it is a new OS build (XP sp3), avoid it for at least six months; avoid it all together if you can. Upgrading to the next build almost always causes more problems than it fixes. If you're responsible for large scale installations, then double the recommended time I mention above.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Microsoft, Neil McDonnell, Vista, XP

Saturday evening Nancy and I went to the Birchmere to see Maura O'Connell in concert. While a bit chatty about her political views (bashing not educating and basically disrespecting the promises she made to earn her American citizenship), the concert was a blast. Maura's music was fun to hear live, but the location was awesome. Nancy and I had a great meal in the music hall while listening to some wonderful music. The night out inspired me to create a blog post that points out some must see/hear Irish music sites.

Take a look at Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin's web site. He is an award-winning, classic, traditional Irish musician who's learned from the masters. One of the things I really like about his guy is that he's not just a musician (not just a musician?), he's also a scholar of all things Ireland. During his concerts you'll hear fascinating stories of the origins of his music or the history of Ireland. Here's another link to info on Gearóid's performances.

Maura O'Connell performed a song written by Declan O'Rourke about the first parts of love, the falling part of it. I loved the song and then after taking a look at the site I thought I'd spread the word about this artist. His site has the song I'm talking about, Galileo, available for online listening. He looks a little like one of my nephews, so I might like him for that too. :) ****[UPDATE: Apparently Declan supports "the man" on his web site and on his MySpace page. There's no way to leave a message or comment without registering. Nothing pisses me off more than wasting all that time keeping out folks like me who just wanted to tell him we enjoyed his work. It's ironic, now I don't feel too motivated to buy from his site since I'm guessing it will be equally annoying. Really too bad.]***[2nd UPDATE: Now I'm really annoyed. Turns out that as much of a Democrat as Maura O'Connell claims to be, she too supports "the man" on her web site. You can't leave any comments without registering. Do these people just want to avoid getting too many complements on their music? *** The good news is that Gearóid's site does make it easy to contact him.]

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Birchmere, Declan O'Rourke, Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, Irish Music, Maura O'Connell, Neil McDonnell

With Valentine's Day only a couple of weeks away, all you guys should be thinking of what gift to get your significant other. And please, please keep in mind that the "love of your life" is lying to you when she says that she doesn't want a gift. She does! It's a trap, a test of your love and basically a test of your intelligence.

Don't worry though, between now and Valentine's Day, I will give you some awesome ideas that are sure to win you points and make your lady happy. So, for the first idea:

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Saphire, Star of India, Valentine's Day

A friend of mine and a brother Knight died yesterday (1/27/07) after a fairly short battle with cancer. Russ Warren was more than a friend, he was a mentor to all of us who knew him at the Good Samaritan Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Russ served in the position of Lecturer with our council. No matter how a meeting was flowing, what tensions might be in the air, all forgot their own lives for a bit when Russ stood up to talk. He'd give these amazingly, inspirational messages that easily could have served as homilies on Sunday. The thing that always amazed me was Russ' devotion to Catholicism. Russ was a convert, but in a room full of "cradle-Catholics" he seemed to be more in tune with prayer and forgiveness. He taught me a lot.

I remember this time last year when a bunch of us got together to help a young boy get his first bike. Because of some challenges, this child was getting his first bike at ten years old and needed specially adapted training wheels. Anyway, after we had it built, we went through a couple of scheduling conflicts trying to get the boy his bike. The entire time we were doing this, Russ kept the bike tied up in the back of his covered, truck. I still can't tell you who was more excited, Russ for having the chance to give this boy a bike, or this kid getting his first "big kid" bike.

Please say a little prayer for Russ and his family when you read this. May the Lord grant them peace.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Russ Warren

I used to literally judge a book by its cover, but in this case...no more. I would recommend the "For Dummies" series of books to anyone interested in beginning new subjects.

Ironically, the first one I owned or read came from my mom. She sent Nancy and me Catholicism For Dummies as an easy first read for Nancy as she converted to Catholicism. Turns out I re-learned a bunch about my own church and got hooked on these books. One of the things I love best about the books are their "top ten" lists; these include a list of ten other books to learn more, ten movies, etc. The books are very easy to read and give the reader a general level of understanding on certain topics.

Since that first book, I have bought and read a For Dummies book on the following topics: negotiation, fund-raising, politics, WWI, WWII, Vietnam War, Sales, Roman Empire. I also have a few more that I just haven't got to yet. Pick one up yourself and see if you agree.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: For Dummies, Neil McDonnell, WWI, WWII

I was reading an article, Welfare Reform: Is it Working? by Patrice Gaines, in The Crisis magazine's Jan/Feb 2007 issue that opened my eyes concerning welfare. I was surprised (and I know I shouldn't be) to learn that the percentage breakdown by race: white - 36.4%; African American - 38.5%; all others - 25.1%.

I wonder how this compares to your perception of welfare recipients. Something else that really surprised me is the age breakdown; 75.1% of the welfare recipients are between the ages of 20 and 40 years old. That's the prime earning age, yet these folks are on welfare.

The question for me to answer is; Why are these folks on welfare? I don't mind helping folks who need help. What I mind is (me) not contributing to a solution that will help them out of the hole they're in today. Shoot, more than half these folks have 12 or more years of school. Is it just a lack of available opportunities to help themselves?

I'll be trying to learn more about welfare over the years, but I would advise you to read Patrice Gaines' article as a start if you'd like to learn more.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Crisis, Neil McDonnell, Patrice Gaines, Welfare

I met with a friend of mine last night and among other things, we discussed how important family should be to each of us. I had mentioned that I'm trying to encourage my "greater" family to get to know one another. "Family" will always be there, even if you hate each other. Friends won't get past that. Why would you pass up the opportunity to make so many friends who are also family?

Anyway, Margaret said that "family is like gold and friends are like diamonds." No matter what you do to family or what damage, they'll always be gold. Diamonds are rare and we hear true friends are like that. The difference though is that if you crack a diamond, it loses its value.

I'm not saying we shouldn't have friends. Shoot, some of my closest friends are friends. But, I am saying that we shouldn't ignore such a huge pool of friends that we have with our family. Go find new cousins and see how easy it is to make a new friend.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Friends, Neil McDonnell

The president of the United States gave his State of the Union Address last night before Congress. While I tend to choose sleep over this particular "lovefest", this time was different. For the first time in President Bush's terms, he had to speak before a Congress completely led by the opposing political party. That tends to give us a more moderate discussion of his Address. So, below is what I found interesting from President Bush's Address and Senator Jim Webb's (D VA) "response" that followed immediately.

Something that surprised me was how timid the Address appeared. I expect the President of the United States to come out with bold initiatives such as putting a man on the moon or winning the Cold War. Instead, as I listened, all I heard was references to issues facing Americans. There were some initiatives announced, but none were "bold" initiatives to unite and excite the country.

One thing the President touched on that I haven't explored yet is the idea of a "guest worker" program. While I don't want to go into too much detail, the idea seems sound in theory; allow workers to come from Mexico to help out employers here who can't find anyone to hire. The benefits seemed good too; workers and employers on the right side of the law, and law enforcement able to focus on drug runners or terrorists at our border.

Regarding Iraq, President Bush suggested that America is protecting ourselves by being in places like Iraq and trying to establish structure there. Senator Jim Webb really drove into that one with his "response" about how this has been a failed idea from the start. What surprised me was how many Republicans are admitting that the strategy failed and that something different must be done.

Again, if you didn't watch the State of the Union Address, then you didn't miss much... unfortunately. One highlight for me was the national introduction of Dikembe Mutombo. This man came from the Congo to study medicine, was recruited to play basketball, turned pro, and then began to put his money back into Congo. He formed a foundation that helped fund the opening of a hospital in the Congo, the first new hospital in 40 years. This man has come from another country, became a citizen of America and a leading citizen at that, and never forgets where he comes from. Just one more example of what makes this country so great.

I look forward to what the congressional and executive branches of our government can accomplish in 2007.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Congo, Congress, Dikembe Mutombo, Neil McDonnell, President Bush, Senator Jim Webb, State of the Union

Those of you who have read my blog entries about Bryan Tuvera, Calvin Jenks or Nicholas Sittole, know that I am furious at more than just their murders. While I believe we're all outraged by cop killings, it seems most Americans ignore the truth.

The truth is, cops are murdered on the streets of our nation and there is no collective outrage from 250 million citizens saying "NO MORE!" The truth is, most Americans aren't told each time a cop is brutally murdered while "serving and protecting" them. The truth is, the federal government places more value on the natural death of a cabinet member than they do of a murdered cop. The truth is, the national media places more value on James Brown's natural death than that of Officer Bryan Tuvera who was brutally murdered while "serving and protecting" Americans.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I was so furious that I couldn't articulate what I feel inspired to do. Today I hope to begin a public process that lays out a plan to follow. As you read my thoughts, please understand they are first drafts on a plan I hope to refine and then solicit help from friends to implement. I wanted you to understand one person's desire to make the world a safer place and his initial confusion on how exactly to make that happen. The following points are in no particular order; I'll save that for a future revision.

1. Change U.S. Code: Title 4, 7. Position and manner of display [of the American flag], paragraph (m), line 7...replace "or the Governor of a State, territory, or possession" with "the Governor of a State, territory, or possession, or any American law enforcement officer murdered in the line of duty" --- this would collectively lower all the flags in America to half mast if a cop is killed from the day they are killed until interment...the same as currently is done if the Secretary of Agriculture, Interior, or Transportation dies a natural death.
   
2. Create a web site dedicated to notify national media (and any local media that request alerts) of an American law enforcement officer murdered in the line of duty
   
3. "Sell" the American press on reporting the murder of an American law enforcement officer as national news, reflecting this national tragedy, rather than local news. CNN, FOX, MSNBC, Matt Lauer and his peers must realize this is news the entire country should learn about.

Obviously there is so much more that needs to happen, beginning with getting guns out of the hands of people who think it is okay to shoot cops. That will have to wait (for me at least) until I successfully start working on the three points above. But please don' t fall into that pessimistic attitude of thinking things can't be changed. They can be changed, and I'm one person who will stand up and spend my time making change a reality that saves cops' lives. Even if you're not sure we'll be successful, won't you join me in trying? How can we ever feel safe if our law enforcement officers aren't safe?

Let me know that I'm not alone in my concern for the lives of American law enforcement officers. I know I am not alone, so let me hear your support and encouragement.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

I was having coffee with a new friend this morning and saw how much he loves his wife. If he had fallen any harder in love, the impact would have broken bones. It reminded me of when I fell in love with Nancy.

We met and fell in love in 1998, and I remember it like it was today. I literally had trouble breathing when seeing this beautiful woman before me. While talking with friends about Nancy, I would find it hard to breathe and could feel the grip of love tighten around my heart.

As Gino told me this morning about when he met his wife for the first time, and how their relationship progressed, he couldn't keep the love from showing up all over his face. If he was a teenage girl, I'd say he was giddy talking about his wife. It was clear to me how much this man loves his wife. As clear to me as how much Nancy means to me. Love is such a cool thing.

So, again for myself mostly, here's another list of ten things; this time the list is ten romantic gestures to tell your wife how much you love her. Have fun doing them.

1. Scrape all snow and ice off her car first thing in the morning
2. Warm up her car first thing in the morning for at least ten minutes
3. Make her breakfast...even if it's just a bowl of Cheerios
4. Throw her towel or robe in the dryer for five minutes on high heat while she's in the shower
5. Give her a ten minute foot massage at the end of the day
6. Fill her car gas tank for her when it is half empty
7. Buy a $10 bouquet of flowers for her on your way home from work...not anywhere near a special occasion
8. Make her a lunch and put a quick note in that tells her you were thinking of her
9. Call her from (or at) work during the day to tell her you miss her
10. Use a picture of her as your cell phone wall paper

Remember, it's not about whether she actually acknowledges any of these things, but whether you do them. Your life will be so much more fun with this type of creativity. I'd love to hear your suggestions as well.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Love, Nancy, Neil McDonnell

Two o'clock in the morning and a fire's raging in your neighbors house. As you run outside, you notice everyone else on the block doing the same thing. The home owners are running from their burning house. You had heard the sirens in the distance as you were leaving your house, but suddenly you're feeling the rumbling of the powerful motor that brings the red, fire engine to this fire. Without hesitation, the firefighters riding that engine hop down, size up the situation and attack the fire. You're amazed to see some go right into the very burning building your neighbors had ran out of only minutes ago. These firefighters are fearless.

That's not quite correct; they're not fearless. Firefighters have fear like the rest of us. The difference is, in the case of fire, they face that fear and step into it anyway. They go where we're afraid to go. They don't hesitate to protect our life and home from fire. Do we thank them enough? When was the last time you said thanks to your local firefighter? I haven't done so in a while. Here's a list mostly for my own use, but perhaps you can implement some of the ideas as well.

Ten Ways to Thank Your Firefighters

1. Visit the local station and say thanks
2. Write a short thank you card and mail it to the local station
3. Wave to fire trucks when they're driving by
4. If you see a firefighter at the grocery store, walk up and just say thank you
5. Bring your kids to the fire house so they can learn about firefighters
6. Make a cake (or any dessert) and bring it to the fire house
7. Write a letter to the editor thanking firefighters publicly
8. Donate to your local volunteer fire department
9. Attend pancake breakfasts held at your local fire house
10. Host a firefighter appreciation day at your local elementary school

If you're lucky, you'll never need a firefighter. Thank them before you do need them; you won't regret it. Say a prayer for their safety.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: firefighters, Neil McDonnell

A friend of mine has spent his life spreading the gospel as a priest and missionary. He is an SMA priest from Ireland, a man who has dedicated his life to serving the people of Africa. The initials "SMA" stand for the name in Latin: Societas Missionum ad Afros; the Society of African Missions. The State Chaplain for Virginia Knights of Columbus also is an SMA priest, further motivating me to support the SMA efforts. I plan on writing a series of blog entries that begin to shed some light on the great work of Fr. Pat Kelly and his fellow missionaries from the SMA. Today's is an article written for the SMA 150 year anniversary magazine.

Primary Evangelization? Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to bring a message through his teaching, his life, his death and resurrection. Later on this message was written down in the Gospel. This Good News seeks to help every believer live a Christian life, which is manifested by the love of God and one's neighbor. Who is going to bring the gospel to those who don't yet know it? Who is going to do this "primary evangelization"? Jesus gave this mission to his Church. Every member of the Church has the mission to spread the gospel around him/her. But some women and men feel called to dedicate themselves full time to this work. To answer their vocations, they come together in missionary institutes. The Society of African Missions (SMA) is one of these institutes. We send our members to countries or to places where Jesus is not yet known. We try to discover and to appreciate the values of the people who welcome us. We attempt to awaken in them an interest and respect for this Jesus who we proclaim. We are happy to enrich these people with the gifts Jesus brings...and to enrich the Church by the original and new answers that these particular people are going to produce.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Christian, Fr. Pat Kelly, Knights of Columbus, Neil McDonnell, SMA, Society of African Missions

There is one simple thing we all can do that sends a powerful message of how much we respect someone else. When we spell or pronounce a person's name correctly, they feel the respect you're paying them.

If you have a name like John Smith, then there really is no problem pronouncing the name or remembering how to spell it. But, in this nation of immigrants, how about when you begin to deal with Indian or Chinese names? Not only is the spelling tough to remember, but the pronunciation is far different than we're used to. Even my own nephews and nieces have some tougher names for those who haven't seen them before: Céilí looks pretty simple, but how do you pronounce it? And how about the spelling; are those accent marks really necessary?

As you go through life, please consider how much it means to someone else that you spell and pronounce their name correctly. They will appreciate it even more if they have a hard name to pronounce even with practice. Taking the time to practice their name before you see them will make their day. They'll go home and tell their family, "Hey, someone pronounced DiBartolomeo the right way today!" Make someones day today.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Céilí, DiBartolomeo, Neil McDonnell, Respect

I was watching television this morning (1/17/07) and was once again forced to see examples of our national media's priorities. They choose to do a story for the entire nation to hear about some woman who accidentally kills herself by drinking too much water. This only reinforced my personal commitment to figure out a plan for convincing the national media to treat law enforcement officers that are killed in the line of duty, as national news.

The woman who died was young and left children. She died of her own actions, an accidental death. While sad, accidental deaths happen in the hundreds every single year. This story wasn't news, rather it was just a different type of death that the national media thought might add to ratings. I would argue that if they really wanted to treat this woman's death as news, they would have shared the lesson of too much water and had it told by a doctor or medical expert working for the television stations.

What is news though, are the murders of our nation's law enforcement officers. We, as a nation, should be outraged by these murders. We, as a nation, should grieve these tragic losses and say a prayer for healing. We, as a nation, should commit ourselves to stopping all murders of law enforcement officers. If we can't stop those murders, how can we ever expect to really stem the tide of murder in general? If we can't make criminals afraid of the very thought of harming a police officer, then how on earth can we expect they'll ever be afraid of harming you or me, or our children or our grandparents?

What is news...what should be treated as news...horribly, tragic news, is any murder of a law enforcement officer. I will work towards educating the national media on this issue. I ask that you join me in this effort. Please write a short comment if you read these blogs and agree with my messages and effort. Let's work together.

Let's not forget the likes of Bryan Tuvera, Calvin Jenks, and Nicholas Sottile. May their souls rest in peace, may their families find healing, and may we never forget their sacrifice.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

10. She says she reads my blog
9. She gave me nine siblings
8. Because rather than take time for herself, she gave birth to me and my twin on Mother's Day
7. She put up with all my crap before I was 23
6. She's put up with all my crap since then
5. She's only judgemental cause she loves me
4. She spells love "luv"
3. She sends entire care packages with no message except "luv"
2. She went back to college in her 50's
1. Because she's stopped saying "My son?" when someone says something nice about me.

Labels: Mom, Neil McDonnell

Yesterday my fellow Knight, Jay McCarthy, and I saw our hard efforts come to fruition when 75 kids showed up to compete in our Free Throw Contest. It's such a rewarding thing to watch all these kids (and their parents) enjoying themselves because of something you coordinated.

Jay and I belong to the Good Samaritan Council (6175) of the Knights of Columbus, a fraternal, Catholic men's organization. I chaired the event last year, but we were snowed out one day and our back up was on Superbowl Sunday; not a lot of folks showed up. :) This year we had great weather and a ton of competitors.

I highly encourage you to join some organization that does a lot of community service. Whether they do it through a church, or on their own, you'll feel the joy of giving some of your precious time to others.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Free Throw Contest, Knights of Columbus, Neil McDonnell

I was made aware of this organization this morning when I read a comment from a reader. She found my site while searching for news on Sgt. Nicholas Sittole.

It's interesting, when my father died in 1983 my family wasn't part of any support group. There was just my mom dealing with her loss and the sudden status as a single parent of ten children. I wonder how we would have benefited from the support offered by groups like C.O.P.S.

Please take a look at this site. If all you do is become aware of this organization and what it does for he survivors of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty, then you've contributed a lot. They say 90% of anything is just showing up at the web site. Anything else is frosting on the cake.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: C.O.P.S., cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

I almost missed a meeting today because I didn't know how to get there. I had put the address in Map Quest, but failed to tell MQ where I was located. Map Quest came back with a "if you don't tell me where you are, then I can't tell you how to get there" type response.

Life is the same way. Whether your a kid in school, someone traveling on a career path or a "Joe Blow" trying to figure out your next ten year plan, if you don't know where you're at, then you'll never know how to get to where you want to go.

Before you congratulate yourself for moving forward on a path, consider if it is the right path. The only way you'll know that, is by knowing where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. For example, I want to be an international, motivational speaker someday. That's where I want to go. I am currently a very confident public speaker, but tend to lean more toward the impromptu (rambling) type speaking style while weak in the preparation. That's where I'm at today. Currently I'm received as a competent speaker, but I want to be received as a fantastic speaker; the only way that will happen is by preparing, practicing and refining both my speeches and speaking skills. That's the path from my starting point to my destination. I wouldn't be able to define that path without first knowing where I'm at today.

Think about where you'd like to be in twelve months. What would you like to list as your accomplishments in 2007 as you're reviewing the past year on December 31, 2007. The only way you'll make those accomplishments, goals, whatever, a reality is by knowing where you're starting from today.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, speaker, speech

Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Nicholas Sottile was shot and killed on Friday, January 12, 2007. Please pray for his wife, daughter, son, other family, friends and fellow officers.

Sottile was 48 years old and had served with the Florida Highway Patrol for twenty four years. He was killed making a routine traffic stop; his killer is still at large as of 13Jan07. [update - shooter apprehended.]

I did a quick search of major media to see what they consider news: CNN lists as one of its top stories in the nation a small plane that crashes and kills two; nothing about Sergeant Sottile and his killer at large. MS NBC talks about man wanting wife's last name, but no mention of Sergeant Sottile's killer being at large. Fox News thinks it's more of a news story to tell the country one more time of some fiasco involving the "Duke rape case" than to inform them of a police officer stolen from us.

Sgt Nicholas Sottile was taken from us yesterday. Let us not forget. I will commit myself to spreading the word about these killings until the major news media considers them "breaking" news.

Please pass the word about Sgt. Sottile and say a prayer. May his soul rest in peace as those of Bryan Tuvera and Calvin Jenks. May God protect all police officers, especially Sgt. Sottile's son who also serves with the Florida Highway Patrol, and my own brother who serves in San Francisco.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police, Sergeant Nicholas Sottile, Trooper Calvin Jenks

I can't imagine the pressure and stress of being President of the United States. Cynical people will say President Bush (or other presidents) is reaping what he sewed. That doesn't change the fact that his job is has more emotional and personal strain than any other. Perhaps when we criticize him, or whichever President isn't part of our "party" way of thinking, we stop to realize he's just a man trying to do his best.

"Tears run from the eyes of U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in honor of Medal of Honor winner Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham in the East room of the White House in Washington, January 11, 2007. Cpl. Dunham was killed when he jumped on a grenade to save fellow members of his Marine patrol while serving in Iraq. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES) " link Thanks Drudge Report for bringing this to my attention.

I know that most of you can't even imagine what it would be like to see a grenade fall among your group of friends. The natural instinct is to feel shock and move away as fast as possible. This marine (like so many others in the military) didn't hesitate to respond from both instinct and concern. I'm pretty sure he didn't think "I have to sacrifice my life for them." My guess is that his thought was along the lines of "Grenade! Jump on it before my buddies get hurt." Frankly though, this Marine's heroic action didn't have any thought; just as if someone sticks their hand out to shake yours, you respond from instinct by raising your hand to meet their hand. Thank God this Marine's instinct is to save his fellow marine before saving himself. He will never know the full ramifications of his caring act; children not even born yet will learn to be thankful for Cpl Dunham.

President Bush's tearful response to the ceremony for Cpl. Dunham is a natural response from a man and leader who cares. Let's cut him some slack while criticizing policy. He's just a man trying to do the best he can. Let's remember Jason Dunham when we're cynical about the goodness of mankind. He's just a man who did the best he can; an example to each of us. His sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Cpl. Jason Dunham, Neil McDonnell, President Bush

President Bush announced last night that he is sending 17,000 more troops to Iraq to deal with problems in Baghdad; cost is $7B for this initiative. He says these troops are temporary, needed to clear out the bad element from the capital city. Just curious, but why can't the federal government provide seventeen grants to seventeen major US cities so they can clear out the bad element?

Imagine what San Francisco, Chicago or even DC could do with 1, 000 additional, temporary officers. San Francisco's entire police department is less than 3,000.

President Bush said the problem in Baghdad is that the military comes in and cleans out a section of the city, killing, arresting or chasing away insurgents and other bad elements. Once the military moves on to another area to begin again, the first area is re-infested. I wonder if it's just one group of folks moving to where the military is not. Anyway, President Bush said these additional 20,000 troops would be able to keep the bad element out of one area while additional areas are being cleaned.

I'm not an expert on insurgencies, but if our government isn't calling the one in Iraq "freedom fighters" then wouldn't they just be the same as gangs? They want us out so they can run things themselves, to bully and exploit the population...pretty much like gangs. Since the estimated number of insurgents is between 20-30,000 in Iraq, arguably they're not all terrorists.

Currently we have 140,000 troops in Iraq with an additional 21,000 authorized last night by President Bush. Think about this, we as a nation are authorizing 21,000 additional troops to be sent to Iraq at a cost close to $7,000,000,000 ($7B); their mission is basically to clean up Baghdad. Please think hard about these (1997) numbers from America's top ten cities and imagine giving them an additional 1,000 personnel that the federal government paid for:

New York - 25,655 cops
Chicago - 11,837 cops
Los Angeles - 8,295 cops
Philadelphia - 6,523 cops
Washington DC - 4,506 cops
Detroit - 4,595 cops
Houston - 4,104 cops
Baltimore - 2,861 cops
Dallas - 2,635 cops
Boston - 2,053 cops

In August, 2006 President Bush proposed to cut federal funding to local law enforcement by over $1.1B. Five months later he's authorizing an additional $7B for Baghdad's security. Would safe streets in our major cities be of national security? How much would an extra $100 million in the 2007 budget of the top ten, crime infested, American cities, help them address that problem?

The point of ROLLOR is mostly for me to figure things out. This particular entry has me wondering why it's okay to go into deficit spending for foreign policy, but not domestic initiatives.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Federal Budget, Neil McDonnell, ROLLOR

Two off-duty police officers were shot and killed while being victims of robberies. If it can happen to them, trained professionals with guns, then it can happen to us. We must stop level of violence from creeping ever higher. We must make it unbearable for the criminal element of society to carry guns.

Please keep Police Officer Tyron Franklin and his sixteen month old son in your prayers. He was with the Paterson Police Department in New Jersey for eight short months, killed at the age of 23 on January 7, 2007.

Please keep Detective Troy Lamont Chesley Sr. and his two orphaned sons in your prayers. He was with the Baltimore City Police Department in Maryland for thirteen years, killed at the age of 34 on January 9, 2007.

Someone asked why I don't title this entry "Fallen Police Officer" like the Bryan Tuvera and Calvin Jenks. I want to keep those who have been shot and killed in the line of duty separate from all other deaths. These two officers while off-duty, represent a gun problem this nation has and must face.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police, Trooper Calvin Jenks, Troy Chesley, Tyron Franklin

Call me crazy, but I like to see ice and snow in the winter time. If I wanted year round temps that were basically the same, I'd stay in California.

Average temperatures where I'm at tend to be around 20 degrees. Lately though, we've seen temperatures average above 50 and reach in 70's. That's great for fall or early spring, but not winter.

I think the real big beef I have with this crazy weather has to do with my trip to Ireland in May 2006. I finally made it "back to the old country" (not that I've been there before) and made a point of buying three Irish sweaters. For those of you who don't know, these are hand-made, wool sweaters that are designed to keep fishermen warm while fishing on the Atlantic ocean. Anyway, I can't wear them without sweating and going into heat stroke...in the middle of the winter.

Here's hoping for some cold weekend days that are perfect for hiking while bundled up.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Ireland, Neil McDonnell, weather

Google recently posted its "2006 Year-End Google Zeitgeist" which is basically their top searches in 2006. The big difference between zeitgeist and a strictly top ten search is that they chose what was hot this year but not last year. Seems that from year to year, folks still search for Britney Spears or eBay. This list focuses on what's new and hot.

It's interesting to see some of the top ten list and how it reflects what was really hot in 2006, for example: wikipedia or wiki, myspace or metacafe. It is very interesting to see that autism ranks as a top news search along with cancer; shows me what the country is focused on learning more about.

Check the list out and compare it to what you thought was worth "googling" about last year.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Google, Neil McDonnell

Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Calvin Jenks was shot and killed on Saturday, January 6, 2007. Please pray for his wife, family, friends and fellow officers.

Jenks was just 24 years old and had served with the Tennessee Highway Patrol for two years. He was killed making a routine traffic stop; his killers have been apprehended.

With each time an police officer is killed, I find myself appalled and more committed to doing whatever it takes (WHATEVER IT TAKES) to stop it from happening again. I will research the stats on cop killings and uncover how many were killed by a "registered" gun. I used to think we had enough gun laws on the books, but were stuck with judges who let those arrested go back on the street. Now I'm leaning towards the thought that every single gun should be registered and oppressive penalties be placed on anyone caught with an unregistered gun. Either way, we can not allow our police officers to continue to be killed.

Please pass the word about Troop Jenks and say a prayer. May his soul rest in peace. Please also remember Officer Bryan Tuvera.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police, Trooper Calvin Jenks

So you've been invited to play Texas Holdem poker with some friend from work. Which cards do you play? How you play is answered by someone else. :) The number one rule in gambling is to know when to quit.

Here are the best starting cards in order. If you have them, play to the next round. If you don't, then fold. It's not as simple as that, but I'm making it so. :)

AA; KK; QQ; JJ; AKs (suited); TT; AQs; AJs; KQs; AK

Sure, you can win with other starting cards, but if you don't have these, there's a good chance someone else does.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, poker

I've always wondered if the big wig CEO's are much different from the rest of us poor smoes, but Steve Jobs tells me "No!" is the answer.

Take a look at this post. In it he complains like a regular factory worker with the language of a dock worker. :0 In this season which brought us the likes of AOL's thousand person layoff, Steve's saying his job isn't safe. It's nice to see him recognize that while also saying that Apple could never be the same without him. Sort of be like Disneyland without Mickey Mouse.

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for introducing me to Steve Jobs' personal blog.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Apple, Neil McDonnell, Steve Jobs

Guy Kawasaki has an interesting blog regarding LinkedIn that you might want to read. Personally I've been opposed to this system since it felt like I was giving up my hard earned contacts to the LinkedIn system. Guy's post is making me reconsider.

Basically, you add your contacts into LinkedIn and ask your contacts to confirm their information. The idea is that it will be an automated way to keep contact information up to date. You can also use the service to reach out to long lost contacts. Seems like overkill compared to what I'm already, proactively doing with Outlook, but I'll look into it again.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Guy Kawasaki, LinkedIn, Neil McDonnell

For those of you who are loyal readers (Mom), you've probably noticed a delay in when I've been posting this past week or so. Seems like it is easy to fall into a rut when you slide off track. I'll try to get back on with my daily posts.

Another reason for my delay in writing is my desire to have daily topic changes. The problem is, I've just been so furious with our national media for showing useless news and not letting the nation know we've lost another good cop. These past couple of days, major press has felt like an avalanche in Colorado is major news, but not a cop's death. I remember growing up in California where mud slides are the norm; either way, it's not national news.

By the way, Bryan Tuvera is a "tipping point" for me, but he's not the only cop killed last year. In 2006, forty eight cops where shot to death, one was stabbed to death, and thirty were killed in vehicular related incidents, while another sixty three died from other causes in the line of duty. That's 142 officers down in the line of duty in 2006.

Let's not forget or make them a statistic.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

I am absolutely floored by the lack of press coverage regarding Bryan Tuvera's death. A police officer was shot and killed but we hear nothing of it. It will be a new goal of mine to create a system that notifies the entire country when an officer is killed in the line of duty. We can not let the country focus more on James Brown's death than that of a respected member of our law enforcement.

My pledge is to work until I get the federal government to lower flags nationwide when an officer is killed in the line of duty. I also pledge to make sure all the major press considers a police officer killed front page news.

It's interesting how furious I am right now; I can't articulate what I'm thinking and feeling. But this I am sure of, I will direct that fury and rage into productive energy. An energy that motivates the entire country to be as enraged about cop killing as I am.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police

I've always said that New Year's is no big deal to me. I don't make resolutions since I do that all year long. Basically, it's just another year. Truthfully though, it is a much bigger deal to me than my birthday which is a day in the middle of the year. The New Year brings the tangible evidence that the years are passing; no longer are we in 2006...welcome to 2007.

I think I will be making a couple of resolutions this year, but will take my time laying them out. They will be focused on what I want to do with my life compared to what I want to fix with my life. For example, losing weight is a year round goal and doesn't need to be a resolution.

One example of a resolution I'll focus on in 2007 is adopting soldiers. I was in the 2/75th Ranger Battalion in the Army. I think it will be good for my wife and I to adopt the platoon I belonged to and support them where ever they are in the world. I'll work to send them interesting care packages for their deployments and remind them that the country does appreciate their efforts. I can't do it for the entire army, but perhaps it will matter to these forty guys in the Rangers.

I hope 2007 challenges you in the ways you want and help you grow to where you'd like to be.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

I'm a big fan of taking stock of my accomplishments each December 31st. It's a way for me to evaluate how well I lived my life compared to how I "hoped" I would live my life.

In 2006, a lot of things happened in my life; some good, some sad. I think the one thing I'm most proud of though is planning a family reunion. I did a lot over the past twelve months, but that reunion really is something I hope to see continue for all time. I brought together almost 100 descendants of the first McDonnell to come to the United States from Ireland. Many of us didn't know each other, but believe in the bonds of family. Now I'm spending time getting to know so many new cousins and looking forward to hanging out with them throughout my life time.

One thing my wife did that I thought was awesome and plan on continuing with her this year is, she sent bday and anniversary cards to everyone of our relatives. Like a Christmas list, we realize it will only get larger as it grows. My niece Glynnis is the one who really solidified it for me though. After she received a card, she quickly wrote back thanking us for thinking of her with so many relatives to track. Didn't she know we always think of her. :)

2006 was great, and looking back on it, I think I spent the twelve months well. Now it's on to 2007. Happy New Year!

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

In a nation that established laws to protect minors from seeing the covers of Playboy and Penthouse magazines on local magazine racks, wouldn't it make sense to also limit the sight of a man being hanged?

As I flip through many of the major media home-pages (Washington Post, CNN, NY Times, etc.) I'm assaulted with a picture of Saddam Hussein's execution. NPR at least didn't show a picture of Saddam with his head in a noose. Why on earth does the media (and legislative bodies) think it is right to show the world such a violent picture without parental warnings?

Oh, I suspect the answer is because "it sells newspapers" or something related to that. Frankly though, so does sex yet we've chosen to protect our children by limiting what they'll see when walking past a news stand. Would it follow suit that we should further protect our children from the violence of capital punishment? If not, then why don't we allow some graphic shots of every execution this country applies as punishment?

Perhaps once this country begins to sway (away from death and destruction and) more towards highlighting the achievements of our citizens and the good things that go on in the world, we'll build on all that is good rather than focus on all that is bad.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, Neil McDonnell, Saddam Hussein, SFPD

On Saturday, December 23, 2006 the country lost another brave police officer. Bryan Tuvera of the San Francisco Police Department, was shot and killed while in pursuit of an escaped convict. I pray that God welcomes Bryan and comforts his wife and family who are suffering from such a horrible loss.

Officer Bryan Tuvera was killed protecting my family and the rest of our San Francisco Community. I have many, many relatives living in San Francisco, any of who could have owned the house that the escaped convict could have ran into. Tuvera and his partner did not hesitate to chase the suspect into the house he broke into. And once Tuvera was fatally shot, his partner did not hesitate to continue the pursuit to stop the criminal, shooting him dead.

I can only imagine what happened the next morning at the Gates of Heaven, both these men standing before God. "What did you do while on earth?" Officer Tuvera would respond that he served and protected his fellow citizens. Convict Ruff would respond that he lived a life of crime and murdered the man standing next to him. Would there be any remorse? Could there be any forgiveness?

My grandfather, my father and my brother all served San Francisco as police officers. I know the pride I feel from their commitment to serve and protect the City. It is a pride all families of cops feel. Please take a moment and visit the Officer Down Memorial Page of Officer Bryan Tuvera and say a prayer for him and his family.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Bryan Tuvera, cops, Neil McDonnell, Police, San Francisco

President Gerald Ford died on Tuesday, December 26, 2006 at the age of 93. While it is understandable that his close family would be sad by his passing, I think the media overplayed their own sadness.

To live for 93 years on this earth is to live a very long life. I know of no relative of mine that lived to be 90 years old, yet they all lived full lives. While I hope to live past 100 myself, if I pass 90 years old I'll be thinking I've lived a very, very long time. To die at 93 years old is not really a shock, so it surprises me that the media would jump on President Ford's death as such a traumatic event. He lived a good life and is now with God; couldn't be much better.

I've never studied the life and career of President Ford, but have one event that defines him to me. Ford's pardon of President Nixon was a clear, courageous and necessary move. This country did not need to dwell on its disappointment with Nixon, but move on. President Ford's decision to pardon moved this country out of Watergate and onto living. That was a bold move since, obviously, so many people disagreed with it. It was necessary though.

If President Ford lived his entire life with equal conviction to that decision, then I think history will look favorably on him.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Gerald Ford, Neil McDonnell

It's nice to hear from friends and family during the holidays, and to receive their Christmas cards. Some send pictures along with their cards; I just wish the pictures weren't exclusively of their kids.

This seems to be a universal habit of families. My wife and I received pictures of spouses when their children were adults and out of the house. For every single picture we received this year from spouses with children at home, the photo was of the kids only. Why has this become the norm?

Next year, please consider sending a picture that includes everyone in your family. While we recognize that perhaps the thought is that kids change appearance each year while adults don't, please don't forget that memories fade with time. We need fresh pictures of you to remind us what you look like. So, next year please send a group photo along with your Christmas card.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Christmas, Neil McDonnell, Photo

I established these a few years back while playing Risk with my nephews and nieces. Oppressive penalties (OPs) are rules established prior to game time that if violated bring down (seemingly) unfair punishment. They sure make a competitive board game run smoother though.

Anyone who's ever played a board game knows the frustration that can build up with several players competing head to head. In an attempt to limit certain predictable triggers, I established OPs before playing Risk one day. Here are some examples:

If you roll your dice and it comes out of the box top, you lose a country to every other player.
If you your dice touches the board, you lose a country to every other player.
If you touch another player's piece without permission, you lose a country to that player.

Now these are oppressive to start, but what really hammers it home is that if you lose a country, you don't get to choose which one; your opponent chooses which of your countries to take and then is allowed to place as many armies on the board as you take off. You can imagine the shift in the balance of power that happens if you violate an OP.

OPs can be used for any situation. One day my sister had a migraine and was resting in the living room while I was playing Risk with her kids. I quickly established an OP to address her pain: If you talk in anything louder than a whisper, including a harsh whisper, then you lose a country to every other player. While this might seem excessive, it gave her a chance to rest on the couch undisturbed while five of us played a competitive game twenty feet away. The kids and I actually had fun with "yelling" with nothing but overly-animated facial expressions. Actually, I had to create another OP that punished for laughing too loud.

Ironically, it is the adults who slide into these games who have the most problem adjusting to the rules. They are very agreeable at the start of the game, but when they violate a rule and are subject to an OP, they're shocked by the reality of losing three or four of their best positions in a game. Unfortunately, during most games I tend to violate an OP and suffer the penalty. But, at least no one hates each other at the end.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, OP, Oppressive Penalties, Risk

My wife and I heard a great homily at Mass this morning. Basically it told the story of Mary and Joseph looking for somewhere to stay when they stopped at the last inn in town. There wasn't any rooms available, but the innkeeper offered them the only space available, a manger in his stables. Not knowing it, he offered the son of God the only space he had available.

The priest this morning equated the innkeeper's actions to our own and asked if we let Jesus in to the manger of our heart and soul. Basically, his message was that in a busy world people often let the "busy work" crowd out what is really important to us. We can all relate if we think about eating right, exercising or forgiving offenses. Sometimes life seems to allow no time for those activities that are important. It's the same with Jesus. If we can take time to let him into our hearts on Christmas, and feel great about that, wouldn't we want to do that every day? Couldn't we do that for five minutes everyday? Most times I'd tell you I do this anyway, and probably most folks would tell me they do the same everyday. Whatever I do, I'm sure I'll benefit from a little more each day. I look forward to doing so in 2007.

Merry Christmas! Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

A friend of mine (Fr. Pat Kelly) sent this story to me with his Christmas greetings. Being from San Francisco originally, a place that doesn't have too many candles in the windows compared to Virginia, I enjoyed hearing the "why" behind a candle in the window. I hope you find it interesting as well. Consider visiting Fr. Kelly's web site to learn about the Society of African Missions.

"We all have our childhood memories of Christmas. It's a feast about a child, after all. It's a feast that appeals to the child in each one of us. According to where we spent our childhood the memories will be different. Each place where Christmas is celebrated brings its own customs and traditions to this most popular of Christian feasts.

One of my earliest memories of Christmas in Ireland is walking with my family through the streets of our town for the midnight Mass in the parish church. Before we left the house, my mother would take a big white candle out of the box for Christmas things, remove the silver foil it was wrapped in, light it and put it in the front window of the house. Every year, after all the excitement of the Christmas Eve preparations, lighting the candle in the window was the last thing to do before we left the house. Then, as we walked through the dark streets, I would count the number of other houses that had a candle in the window and felt that these homes were somehow special, like ours. Mum said the candle was to light the way for Mary and Joseph as they made their way to the stable, and if they wanted to stop at our house, then the candle showed they were welcome. During the Mass I would imagine Joseph leading Mary on a donkey up our street looking for the houses with the candle in the window, and feeling happy that I belonged to a family where they were welcome!

Just a candle in the window - a small thing.
An old Irish tradition to welcome the Saviour of the World.
Even a child could understand." Fr. Pat Kelly

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Fr. Pat Kelly, Neil McDonnell, SMA

are Rudy and Invincible. Coincidentally they are both football movies, but more importantly they are both movies about chasing your dreams. Do you still chase yours? How old are you? Do you think it's too late to have dreams?

I mentioned in an earlier blog that Contact was my favorite movie; well Rudy is my second favorite only because R comes after C. Rudy is such an amazing movie about a guy who's always wanted to play Notre Dame football, and chases that dream. Invincible won't make my favorite movie, but certainly will be in my top ten list.

My wife and I just watched it again (on DVD this time) and found ourselves being pulled out of our seats. Mark Wahlberg plays Vince Papale who's a 30 year old bartender in Philadelphia, one of the most die-hard Eagles fans to cheer the team on each week. Vince gets a chance to become one of the NFL's most unlikely rookies, and doesn't hesitate to follow his dream. When you watch this movie, Rudy, Contact or any other I mention, don't let yourself get sucked into the negative by evaluating the movie's story line or acting or whatever. Just watch the movie and let the actor make their efforts become your reality for 90 minutes. Be an Eagle's fan when you watch this movie; be a person chasing their dream.

What about your dreams? Why aren't you chasing them? Are you afraid of failing and falling down if you try? Don't worry if you fall on your face; at least you're moving in a forward direction. Seriously, don't let life go by without chasing your dream. You don't need to let go of your safety nets, but reach for your dream at the same time. And remember, dreams are for those among us who are alive. If you're alive, no matter the age, you can chase some dream.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Contact, Dreams, Invincible, Neil McDonnell, Rudy

Life often presents situations that require us to make a choice. Do you make a positive choice, or a negative choice?

I took my car in to a shop for some work this morning, but discovered the most important piece of work I needed done had been overlooked. I was in a hurry and wanted my car, but was told the work would take at least another half an hour. This was at 1:00 PM after I had stood around for an hour after being told the car would be finished in a few minutes. I had dropped it off for an appointment at 9:00 AM. Anyway, it would have been easy to get frustrated and stand around complaining. Instead, I (made a positive choice and) said I'd be back in thirty minutes. I used the time to have lunch with my wife at a restaurant in the same shopping complex. Besides the fun of hanging out with my best friend, the meal was great and I was able to just relax for thirty minutes. When I returned to pay for my car, they waived all labor and apologized for the delay. Imagine how it would have gone if I had made a negative choice and vented frustration on them...right before Christmas.

Each of us, daily, has a chance to make a positive or negative choice in response to what happens to us. For example: while driving, do we leave enough room to allow someone to merge even if they're doing so at the very last minute, or do we go negative and try to crowd them out? Or if someone promised to accomplish something for us at work or home but hasn't, do we berate them for not getting it done, or do we go positive and ask how we might help them?

None of us know what's going on with another person and why they make the choices they do. All we can do is stay positive and make our choices the kind ones, the right ones.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell

Saw this idea on another blog and thought it would be a fun entry for me today.

1. I still want to be President of the United States
2. I really do like my cats a lot
3. If I had the chance to colonize Mars, I would
4. I once passed out in front of five hundred peers (don't party before running 12 miles)
5. My great, great grandfather was hung by the British in Ireland (part of the Land League)

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Ireland, Mars, Neil McDonnell

Today is Carl Sagan Blog-A-Thon, commemorating the 10th anniversary of Dr. Sagan's death. I first heard about this idea from boingboing which led me to Cornell University's article on the same. The idea is to discuss how Carl Sagan has influenced our lives. For me, it was easy to choose the number one reason...Contact.

In 1985 Dr. Sagan wrote Contact and then later co-produced the movie (Contact) with his wife. Contact is my all time favorite movie. Although my brother thought it was so bad that he left the theater mid-movie, I've watched it at least fifty times.

The amount of lessons and emotions that run through Contact are numerous, but it is the visualization of life beyond earth that gets to me. How can we possibly think that we're the only intelligent life in the Universe? This work lays out one possibility of what we'll find when we really begin to look. It is through perseverance and "baby steps" that we'll discover other worlds out there. As much a fan of space that I am, the way Carl tied it all to God really gives me hope.

If you read an earlier BLOG entry of mine, you'll see my hope on space exploration. If there's no life in all those stars, then "it seems like an awful waste of space."

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Boingboing, Carl Sagan, Neil McDonnell, Space

A good friend of mine passed away on Sunday. His death was a shock; many of us had just seen him active on the Thursday prior. My dad's death was like that too; sudden. It has me thinking about life.

Live life now. Don't wait until tomorrow what you can start today. Don't wait until someone dies before you tell them what they mean to you. Live life now.

Please say a prayer for the soul of Kevin Hayes. A friend, a Sir Knight of Columbus, a brother Hibernian and just a really nice guy. Kevin was my friend and a mentor. He will be missed but always remembered.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: AOH, Kevin Hayes, Knights of Columbus, Neil McDonnell

Toastmasters International is an organization that, since it's inception, has only wanted to help each of us become better communicators and leaders. I wrote an earlier blog encouraging everyone to become a member and another blog explaining Competent Communication. In this blog I'll cover the leadership manual you'll receive when you first join the organization.

Competent Leadership: This manual contains ten projects that Toastmasters uses to guide you through various skills to become a more competent leader. The ten leadership projects and their specific objectives are:

1. Listening and Leadership (Objectives: Determine your current listening skills. Identify the seven steps to better listening. Practice listening skills in various club meeting roles.)

2. Critical Thinking (Objectives: Determine your current thinking skills. Practice critical-thinking skills in various club roles.)

3. Giving Feedback (Objectives: Determine your current skills in giving feedback. Identify the steps in giving feedback effectively. Practice giving feedback as you serve in various meeting roles.)

4. Time Management (Objectives: Determine your current time-management skills. Identify steps to effectively manage time. Practice time-management skills in various club roles.)

5. Planning and Implementation (Objectives: Determine current planning and implementation skills. Identify steps in planning and implementation process. Practice planning and implementation skills in various club roles.)

6. Organizing and Delegating (Objectives: Determine current skills in organizing and delegating. Identify steps in the organization and delegation process. Practice skills in organizing and delegating during various club roles.)

7. Developing Your Facilitation Skills (Objectives: Determine your present facilitation abilities. Identify facilitation strategies. Practice facilitation skills in various meeting roles.)

8. Motivating People (Objectives: Determine your current motivational skills. Identify conditions that motivate people. Practice motivational skills while serving in club roles.)

9. Mentoring (Objectives: Determine your current mentoring skills. Identify the steps in being a good mentor. Practice mentoring skills in various club roles.)

10. Team Building (Objectives: Determine your current team-building skills. Identify the steps in building a team. Practice team-building skills while serving in various club roles.)

As you can see, these ten projects, when followed in order, develop your core leadership skills. By the time you complete these ten projects, you will be far more confident when asked to take on leadership roles. You will also be a more competent leaders, hence the certificate and designation Toastmasters International will award you at that point; the Competent Leader. Toastmasters International will also send a letter to your employer to inform them of your achievement as a leader. Employers value employees who can lead effectively, whether they are new staff or part of the executive team. Take time to join Toastmasters International and develop our leadership skills; you will not regret the time invested.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Leadership, Neil McDonnell, Toastmasters

Sometimes we get so caught up in the now that we're unaware of our history. For example, as of December 15, 2006 America had experienced 3,287 deaths as a result of the War on Terror. We have also seen 23,295 service members wounded during this same period. Just to put some dates on the WonT, let's say it ran 2001-2006 even though attacks began far earlier and will continue far into the future. Compare that to other war time losses we've experienced:

American Revolution (1775-1783) - 4,435 battle deaths
War of 1812 (1812-1815) - 2,260 battle deaths
Mexican War - 1,733 battle deaths; 11,550 other deaths
Civil War (1861-65) - 529,332 deaths, including both American sides
Spanish-American War (1898-1902) - 385 battle deaths; 5,077 other deaths - diseases was the true killer - 5,000 more Americans died fighting the Filipinos as a result of the Philippine Islands coming under American control from Spain
WWI (1917-1918 for USA) - 53,402 battle deaths, 76,772 other deaths, 200,000+ wounded and a financial cost of $32B. Some 10 million people died on the battlefields, another 20 million died of disease, hunger and other war-related causes
WWII (1941-1945 for USA) - 305,399 battle deaths, 100,000 other deaths
Korean War (1950-1953) - 33,741 battle deaths 18,505 other deaths
Vietnam War (1964-1975) - 47,415 were battle deaths, 42,785 other deaths
Desert Shield/Storm (1990-1991) - 1,296 deaths, 147 in battle.

What these numbers mean can only be judged by you.

While this entire world knows that Americans shudder at the thought of losing even one service member, they should be recognize that our shuddering doesn't stop us. I'm reminded of a motto we followed in the Rangers: "It is a great honor to die in the service of one's country. Let's give that honor to our enemy."

My personal opinion is that I will not measure our success or failure in Iraq and with the War on Terror by the number of service members killed and wounded. In battle, casualties are expected. Did the numbers in our previous wars give us any indication of success or failure, or were there other factors to measure?

I do thank the all volunteer force that defends this country and pray for their safety as well as their knowledge that the majority of us appreciate their efforts on our behalf.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Iraq, Neil McDonnell, War, War on Terror

Each year the federal government wastes billions of dollars (yes, my estimate) on "line item" purchases just to ensure next year's budget isn't penalized. How is that smart, financial policy? I wish my readership was high up for comments from folks who disagree with me and who might explain this away.

I've served in the military and worked with other federal agencies, so I'm speaking from first hand, not leadership, accounts. Here is the classic example. I worked on an Army unit on a base that found itself under budget towards the end of one year, so they purchased 150 new laptops and put them in storage. This purchase spent the current year's budget, eliminating worries about getting the following year's budget approved. Those laptops were not needed for anything in particular and were purchased solely to address the budget issue.

Throughout the entire federal government, departments like the unit example above face the same challenge each year. For example, if they budgeted (and received) $100M in 2005, they need to spend that money or be penalized. If in 2006, they ask for $110M, but only spent $90M of the 2005 money, the approval authorities will give them grief about asking for $150M. They try to cut the departments budget back down to what was spent in 2005.

Why on earth doesn't the federal government tell departments that anything not spent in the current year, can carry over to the following year? Using the same example above, when the budget request comes through for $150M in 2006, the approval authority will approve the budget and provide $140M since $10M was saved in 2005.

I know the stock answers: That's just the way it is done in the federal government. That was last year's money. Hasn't anyone considered modifying the law to avoid all this wasteful purchasing at the end of the year? Congress is task to legislate, are they not? I wonder how much money we would save from wasteful spending? Don't you?

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Congress, Federal Budget, Neil McDonnell

I just finished reading For One More Day by Mitch Albom. Although I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else, this author has written two other books that I would highly recommend: Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Both books are unbelievably good and drive straight to your heart with each chapter.

Tuesdays with Morrie is about Mitch Albom's second chance to see a mentor from his youth one more time and ask the bigger questions that still haunt him, receive wisdom for a busy life today the way he once did when he was younger. He rediscovered Morrie, a college professor from twenty years ago, in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is about Eddie who, on his 83rd birthday, dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hands in his -- and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.

If you haven't read these books, do so today. I guarantee that you will not regret the short time it takes to read them. If you plan on buying Christmas gifts this year, these two books are inexpensive ($12.95 for Tuesdays and $7.20 for Five People) but highly prized gifts. You won't go wrong by giving them to your friends and family. Frankly, if these books were $50 each I would still be buying them for those I care about; they are that good.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Mitch Albom, Neil McDonnell

Whether you think you live a boring life, or a fascinating life, one thing is certain: years from now someone will be interested in your life. Consider documenting your life experiences. This can be done in quick, annual entries or detailed descriptions of your every waking (and dreaming) minute. Here's what I do...

In Microsoft Outlook, I use a Notes folder to track my life. Nothing spectacular and certainly no heavy need of formatting, so this program is just fine for me. I've listed every year I've been alive and then put in key facts about my life. Here's an example from 1996 as it looks in my Note:

1996 - Alexandria, VA (July-Dec); Tacoma, WA (Jan-Jul); US Army, Fort Lewis (Jan-Jun); Pentagon (July-Dec); MSM; Best Administrative Personnel on Forth Lewis; Certified Novell Engineer; Knights of Columbus

It includes the year, cities I've lived in, employer and job locations, awards/certifications I received that year and organizations I am affiliated with. Those are the highlight of my life for 1996 in a nutshell. Using that information, I'll be able to remember what I was up to that year when I'm reminiscing twenty years from now or when my biography is being written one hundred years from now. :)

We all live very different and fascinating lives that deserve to be remembered. Help that process along by documenting yours. You may find that your life has holes that you'd like to fill in future years.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Army, CNE, Knights of Columbus, Neil McDonnell, Pentagon

I find it very hard to find blogs that I like and feel it a worthwhile use of my time to stop by for a daily visit. Creating Passionate Users is one I'll continue to visit day after day; yes, I could make it part of a daily clipping service, but there's something about actually picking up each different newspaper.

There have been several blog entries in the past few weeks that really caught my eye and made me stop to think how I can apply the lesson to my life. For example, Building a User Community (Kathy Sierra) confirmed and explained the idea of getting new members of any group involved earlier in order to ensure their success. Cognitive Seduction and the "peekaboo" law (Kathy Sierra) explained about engaging another person's mind. Ironically though, none have made me stop to write a blog entry until yesterday, 11Dec06.

I know there are others who post to the Creating Passionate Users blog, but I seem to identify most with entries by Kathy Sierra. Yesterday she posted a blog entry that I haven't been able to stop talking about with friends and colleagues. Two more words that might change your life (or at least your lunch hour) was a phenomenal article. In this blog entry, Kathy Sierra explains that at every point in our day, we could make it so much better just by stopping and thinking to ourselves, "Hmmmm...how interesting." In sales consulting, I advise that my clients learn to stop after asking a question and count to ten; this gives the other party time to think and then respond. Although the silence is awkward (unbearable) it is necessary. In the same light, making your first reaction to many situations, "Hmmmm...how interesting" would make you a far better communicator and resolver of problems. Take a look at the Creating Passionate Users blog and bookmark it; I'm sure Kathy Sierra and her colleagues will be providing other great entries in 2007.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Creating Passionate Users, Neil McDonnell, SFTen Consulting

As 2006 comes to a close, control of Congress switches parties, and the Iraq Study Group issues its report, I am confused on one very basic (in my opinion) question. What constitutes the success or failure in Iraq that President Bush and other senior leaders of both parties debate?

Comments made by President Bush and like minds makes me believe that they suggest we stay in Iraq until we are successful; any pull-out before success means failure. Whether I agree or disagree with the folks on the opposite side of this discussion doesn't matter since I understand what they're advocating; get out of Iraq. Again, my question is about what constitutes a success or failure in Iraq.

My understanding is that the United States declared war on terrorism, hence the "War on Terror" slogan. I understood from the start that this would be an unwinable war, similar to the "War on Drugs" and "War on Crime" that we also hear about. I was okay with that since I just discount all "War on..." statements. I know that what we're really saying is that this country will not standby and let terror, drugs or crime go unchecked. I agree with that policy. Regarding the "War on Terror" that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks, my understanding is that this is a global war. It isn't limited to just Iraq or Afghanistan, but stretches to where ever terrorist's feel safe. If that is the case, how can leaving Iraq mean we failed.

My understanding of the Iraq war is that it was in direct response to a perceived threat of nuclear weapons and the desire to use them by Saddam Hussein. Surrounding the 2003 State of the Union Address by President Bush, it seemed all the talk was around weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Admittedly, also in 2003, President Bush talked about establishing a "free and peaceful Iraq" after Saddam Hussein was removed from power. That said, this country would never have gone to war for a "free and peaceful Iraq" if we did not feel threatened by Saddam Hussein and his WMD agenda. I'm guessing no one will argue that point; if you do, please let me know since I'm just expressing my understanding of the situation.

Returning to my question of what constitutes a success or failure in Iraq. If the United States' goal in Iraq was to topple Saddam Hussein from power and destroy any WMD or capability to create WMD, then it appears we were very quickly a success. Any WMD presence or the presence of Saddam Hussein in power would be a failure as I understand it. We have a success there, so let's pull out and declare it a successful mission.

But, if the United States' goal in Iraq was to create a "free and peaceful Iraq" then at the moment we have neither a success or failure. If we look at this effort as a project and place certain project management principals in play, then I would be wondering what the finished project looked like; what is a success. I'm assuming "free" means that Iraq holds democratic elections and its citizens are not oppressed. What I am having trouble understanding is whether a "free" Iraq will have the same freedoms as the United States, GB, France, Mexico, India, etc. If "free" is not described, then how will we know when we reach it so we can declare a success with that phase?

With a "peaceful Iraq" I can make no assumptions. To me it would mean no fighting, citizens can walk from one end to the other with out anything more than the typical crimes in large populations. Is that what President Bush and like minds mean by "peaceful Iraq?" Without any hesitation I'll admit that I'm not the most informed person on the war on terror and all things Middle East; I will say that I do represent at least the average understanding that Americans have in this issue. From what I read recently about the incoming Congressional Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, I feel there's a chance that I'm as knowledgeable of these issues as 80% of the population. That said, how can anyone expect a "peaceful Iraq" will be achieved in a matter of years or that America is the one to make it happen? Basic research shows that the Sunni / Shia (Shi'ite) split occurred in 632 immediately following the death of Muhammad. If the split occurred over one thousand years ago, and they have been fighting ever since, how can America realistically (SMART goals in project management) hope to end the fighting? How can we realistically set a milestone of a "peaceful Iraq" as a measure of our success or failure?

I'm a firm believer of helping where we can. No other country could have removed Saddam Hussein from power. We were successful with that milestone. No other power could have removed completely the WMD capabilities from Iraq except the United States. We were successful with that milestone. In my opinion, the milestone of a "free and peaceful Iraq" is the responsibility of the United Nations. It is only through a united world that such a large goal could be attained; the United States needs to support that effort, not lead it.

My opinion here has been an effort to understand the question of success or failure in Iraq. I believe this country was successful. Now we must help transition Iraq to an internationally led effort and pull our troops out. I'm not sure how long it will take to pull our troops out of Iraq, but I suggest we stop referring to what goes forward as a success or failure. Both sides need to stop seeing Iraq as a black and white issue. Removing Saddam Hussein was a black and white issue that could be defined with success or failure. The United States military and civilian effort made that a resounding success.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Iraq, Neil McDonnell, ROLLOR, War on Terror, WMD

I served in the Airborne Rangers when I joined the Army. Every day we were required to say the Ranger Creed out loud; most times it was after some long, hard run. No matter how tired we were, saying the Ranger Creed always seemed to fill me with pride and energy. I put it below for your review. As you read it, do so slowly. Really take the time to understand each sentence and imagine yourself, full of pride at being a Ranger, making this promise. It will help you become one step closer to understanding what those of us who serve, commit to do on behalf of the country. For further information on the Army's Airborne Rangers, a part of the Special Operations Command (SOC), visit this site.

Neil McDonnell

Ranger Creed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor and high esprit de corps of my Ranger Regiment.

Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight; I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some.

Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy, and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission, though I be the lone survivor.

Rangers lead the way! (ALL THE WAY!)

Labels: Army, Neil McDonnell, Rangers

A couple of years ago, I tried to bring some of the world's best Celtic musicians to Loudoun County, Virginia as a way to broaden our cultural experiences. That concert series didn't pan out the way I hoped, but the music is still out there and it is pure pleasure to listen to. I thought I'd take a moment this morning and introduce you to some great acts that I've come across. This is only a small sampling; I'll build on this throughout the life of this blog.

I started listening to Irish music the minute I got home from the hospital after being born, and haven't stopped yet. Some "purists" complain that America was exposed to Danny Boy or the Clancy Brothers, but if it wasn't for them, the interest wouldn't be there to broaden our collection of listening music. The fact that I was an Irish Step Dancer as a child also helped expose me to various Irish Music. I continued that exposure when I turned 21 and started Set Dancing in San Francisco, Irish pubs.

My number one source of information on Irish Music is Celtic Crossings. Through their web site and albums such as the newly released "The Independent Suite" I'm able to learn of traditional music from Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton as well as the rest of the world. One of the featured artists on Celtic Crossings label, Gearoid Ó hAllmhuráin, is "a distinguished Irish music historian" who "disproves the theory that those who can, do, and those who can't, teach." The knowledge this one musician/historian holds surpasses the time he has to share it all with us. But, he has written books on the subject for those of you who want to dwell deeper.

Another big favorite of mine is "Canada’s beloved Award-winning dynamic duo, Pierre & Julie Schryer" of French-Canadian, Irish, and Scottish fiddle, piano and foot percussion. Julie joins her brother in music that will pull you from your seat; you absolutely won't be able to sit still. Pierre is a world famous fiddler who makes his home so far north in Canada I'm surprised he's not playing with his gloves on all the time. You won't regret buying his music.

One up and coming (meaning they haven't been at it for thirty years) duo is McMahon & Quigney. "The Fiddle and flute duet is a combination deeply rooted in traditional Irish music." I have their first album, "A Clare Conscience" and really enjoy it. It is especially fun to compare their music to the music of Gearoid Ó hAllmhuráin that I mention above. All are from County Clare, Ireland.

I hope this gives you a taste of music you might not be aware of today. In the future, I'll try to find two or three other artists to highlight. Let me know how much you enjoy their music.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Celtic Crossing, Gearoid Ó hAllmhuráin, Irish Music, Neil McDonnell

Toastmasters International is an organization that, since it's inception, has only wanted to help each of us become better communicators and leaders. I wrote an earlier blog encouraging everyone to become a member. In this blog I wanted to expand a bit on what you can expect when you first join Toastmasters International. Specifically, I'll cover the speech manual you'll receive when you first join the organization.

There are two manuals, "Competent Communication" and "Competent Leadership" which break down the two core skills sets Toastmasters aims to help you develop. When you join Toastmasters, you'll receive a New Member Kit that includes these two manual plus some additional supporting material; e.g. three smaller booklets: "Your Speaking Voice"; "Gestures: Your Body Speaks"; "Effective Evaluation". I'll explain the leadership manual and the additional material in a future blog entry. For now, I'll just introduce the speech manual and what it contains.

Competent Communication: This manual contains the ten core speaking skills that Toastmasters guides you through to become a more competent communicator. In addition to these ten speech projects, the manual contains extensive explanations on how your Toastmasters' Club is run and what the various roles and responsibilities are. This is the manual that (if read) helps you become an informed member who contributes as well as "takes" from the club. The ten speech projects and their specific objectives are:

1. The Ice Breaker (Objectives: To begin speaking before an audience. To discover speaking skills you already have and skills that need some attention. Time: 4-6 minutes)

2. Organize Your Speech (Objectives: Select an appropriate outline which allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech. Make your message clear, with supporting material directly contributing to that message. Use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another. Create a strong opening and conclusion. Time: 5-7 minutes)

3. Get to the Point (Objectives: Select a speech topic and determine its general and specific purposes. Organize the speech in a manner that best achieves those purposes. Ensure the beginning, body, and conclusion reinforce the purposes. Project sincerity and conviction and control any nervousness you may fell. Strive not to use notes. Time: 5-7 minutes)

4. How to Say It (Objectives: Select the right words and sentence structure to communicate your ideas clearly, accurately and vividly. Use rhetorical devices to enhance and emphasize ideas. Eliminate jargon and unnecessary words. Use correct grammar. Time: 5-7 minutes)

5. Your Body Speaks (Objectives: Use stance, movement, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact to express your message and achieve your speech's purpose. Make your body language smooth and natural. Time: 5-7 minutes)

6. Vocal Variety (Objectives: Use voice volume, pitch, rate and quality to reflect and add meaning and interest to your message. Use pauses to enhance your message. Use vocal variety smoothly and naturally. Time: 5-7 minutes)

7. Research Your Topic (Objectives: Collect information about your topic from numerous sources. Carefully support your points and opinions with specific facts, examples and illustrations gathered through research. Time: 5-7 minutes)

8. Get Comfortable with Visual Aids (Objectives: Select visual aids that are appropriate for your message and the audience. Use visual aids correctly with ease and confidence. Time: 5-7 minutes)

9. Persuade with Power (Objectives: Persuade listeners to adopt your viewpoint or ideas or to take some action. Appeal to the audience's interests. Use logic and emotion to support your position. Avoid using notes. Time: 5-7 minutes)

10. Inspire Your Audience (Objectives: To inspire the audience by appealing to noble motives and challenging the audience to achieve a higher level of beliefs or achievement. Appeal t the audience's needs and emotions, using stories, anecdotes, and quotes to add drama. Avoid using notes. Time: 8-10 minutes)

As you can see, these ten projects, when followed in order, develop your core speaking skills. By the time you complete these ten speeches, you will be far more confident when speaking before an audience. You will also be a more competent speaker, hence the certificate and designation Toastmasters International will award you at that point; the Competent Communicator. Toastmasters International will also send a letter to your employer to inform them of your achievement as a communicator. Employers value employees who can communicate clearly, whether they are new staff or part of the executive team. Take time to join Toastmasters International and develop our communication skills; you will not regret the time invested.

Neil McDonnell

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Toastmasters

My wife and I took a trip to County Galway, Ireland in May 2006 to visit the "old country" I've heard so much about. My family comes from a little town on the west of Galway, located on the west of Ireland; they settled in the west of America in San Francisco, California. While I was amazed to find how similar to the two spots are, I was more amazed when I found my new favorite beer. Long brew Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale.

I'm something of a beer connaissuer...if that's the same as saying I love the taste of beer. Although I prefer the stouts, lagers and ales, I'm not a snob; I like an occasional Budweiser or Coors. Bud or Coors are more of an outdoor beer that I will enjoy drinking while playing volleyball in the hot summer sun. Ales and lagers are the everyday type beers. If I go out to happy hour, or sit at home with buffalo wings, my beer choice is something along the line of Anchor Steam that's brewed in San Francisco. Their Liberty Ale is almost as flavorful as a good chocolate moose. But for the ultimate in beer experience, I've always chosen Guinness. The minute I turned twenty one, I headed right down to the Plough & Stars in San Francisco and had myself a Guinness...the true Irish experience. How could I ever think that there would be something that could compete with Guinness Draught?

Turns out that I had to travel all the way to the land of Guinness to find something just as good...Kilkenny Draught Irish Cream Ale. Kilkenny is like a Guinness light. It pores the same, and is a perfect Irish beer in that it does not over flow a true pint glass. I "discovered" Kilkenny ale in this little grocery store in the west of Ireland where they only speak Irish (yes, there is such a language). It was like fate was guiding my hand. This store was so small that it quickly sold out of Guinness; where that awful hole appeared on the shelf my eyes lingered for who knows how long. And then I saw it; sitting next to the empty space on this shelf. It was a four pack of Kilkenny Draught Irish Cream Ale, owned by the same company that owns Guinness. Anyway, long story short, it turned out to be a phenomenal beer.

So we get back to the states and my wife is thinking she'll get some easy points by going to the store and picking up some Kilkenny. Would you believe that my new favorite beer is not sold in the US of A? For whatever reason, it is only sold where the Queen still rules. What's a guy to do? Fortunately, I have friends in Canada who knew I liked this beer and they brought some for me to enjoy. My only wish is that more of you will learn to love Kilkenny as I do and request, no demand that our leaders work on nothing else until they make this available in the states.

Long brew Kilkenny Draught!!!

Neil

When I read books, I actively underline what catches my attention beyond the normal interest of the book. Below I have recorded everything I underlined in "Rules for Revolutionaries" a great book by Guy Kawasaki. Since my first entry into entrepreneurship, Guy has been my mentor despite the fact we haven't seen nor talked since 1989 when I had him come to my Software Etc. store in Sunnyvale to talk about 4D. Time flies, but the man has great things to share and I thank him for it. If you find the following highlights interesting, buy Guy's book.

- Revolutionary products don't fail because they are shipped too early. They fail because they aren't revised fast enough.
- Elegant products show that someone cared about what they product looked like.
- Revolutionary leaders have to care more about what they think of themselves than what the world thinks of them.
- Great people are quite busy. Convincing them to join a team is the first confirmation that an idea has merit.
- It's as important to repel the wrong people as it is to attract the right people.
- Communication between people dropped off drastically when they were more than thirty meters from each other.
- Find fault with existing products and services. Go with your Gut. Market research is a pathetic catalyst for revolutionary products. Use your intuition to create something when no one is asking for it.
- Design for yourself. Design what you would like to use.
- Companies with too much funding and not enough real world experience tend to solve imaginary problems.
- Get on base and leave home runs to chance. Concentrate on getting on base and just let home runs happen.
- Ignore Naysayers.
- When the focus of attention is on ways to beat the competition, strategy inevitably gets defined primarily in terms of the competition.
- When do we stop worrying about being crappy and start shipping?
- Listen to what your early adopters say about your revolutionary product.
- How fast you are moving is more important than where you are.
- Face facts; The first permutation of your product isn't going to be perfect. Fail Quickly, but Last Long.
- Improve your product for people who are buying it, not people who aren't. Find out what makes them happy about your product and do more of it.
- Make people aware of a new product or service to stop ignorance.
- Inertia arises after people know there is a better way buy still won't adopt it.
- Enabling people to test-drive your product or service is a powerful way to remove or lower barriers to adoption.
- Determine who is likely to erect barriers and get them to help you refine your product or service.
- Outrageous positioning is intended to shock people into recognizing the potential impact of your product or service.
- The key is to empower the disenfranchised.
- Focus on a subset of customers.
- At the beginning of a revolution, you need evangelists, not sales because leverage spreads news.
- Evangelism is the process of getting people to believe in your product so much that they are compelled to make converts for you.
- Evangelists have the best interests of the other person at heart.
- The features of a product or a service that make it great are the "facts" - add emotion to the facts.
- Create three pitches, watch for the one that resonates and from that point on, deemphasize the other two pitches and focus on the one that appealed.
- Develop a multi-appeal evangelism pitch, explain it briefly and then observe what resonates because people will tell you how they want to be evangelized.
- You need to provide a smooth, easy, and flat adoption curve for our early converts.
- The most important quality is that the evangelizer loves your product and believes in it.
- Present your idea...they will get it in the first five minutes or they'll never get it. If they don't get it right away, move on to greener pastures.
- Soldiers with battle experience will tell you, "The easy way is mined." There are death magnets in business - the traditional habits and patterns of thinking that continue to seduce companies.
- Less is more: Saying "No" enables you to focus on niches, totally satisfy them and then move on to other markets.
- Law of Increasing Returns: The more a product sells, the easier it is to sell.
- Eat like a hummingbird, Poop like an elephant: The peripatetic hummingbird eats the equivalent of 50% of its weight every day. Elephants poop 165 pounds per day.
- A successful revolutionary relentlessly searches for, consumes, and absorbs knowledge about the industry, customers and competition. Do this by: pressing the flesh of your customers, attending seminars and trade shows, reading journals, browsing the Internet.
- When you ask people what they want, they think about how they should answer; they want to look smart; they are influenced by what other people say. On the other hand: actions speak more truly than words.
- Don't hoard information: read and analyze information as you get it, before it piles up; poop like an elephant what you don't need.
- The more inevitable your product is, the more you should strive to establish a standard, make less money per unit and make the big money on volume.
- Stop worrying about the negative effects of spreading information - err on the side of sharing too much.
- Never require customers to give you personal information. Don't inundate them with marketing and sales crap.
- Ways to defeat "but-headed" thinking: Focus on customers, not "experts" - Never consider the battle lost.
- Guy couldn't get a job with Microsoft so Apple was stuck with him. :)
- Don't worry about people stealing your idea. If your idea is any good, you'll have to ram it down their throats. Howard Aiken

Neil

Just a few days ago I wrote about exploring space and looking for life. Today NASA announced that they may have found proof of water on Mars as recently as a few years ago. Check out their site: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/main/index.html to learn much more.

I was watching NASA television and the last question asked of the panel during this announcement was "So, does this mean everything you've known so far is wrong?" While I was thinking this made sense, it is a little unfair; the study of Mars has only been really going on for a few decades at most. One interesting thing a panelist mentioned was the certain acids can drop the freezing point of water way below zero...so much for the thirty two degrees. Guess this doesn't means that water automatically tells us that it must get warm occasionally on Mars.

While I still think we need to explore the vast reaches of our galaxy, I'm guessing this will prove more of a motivator to those who control the purse strings for further Mars exploration.

Neil

Labels: JPL, Mars, Nasa

If you've never been exposed to the Apple revolution/evolution then now is the time. If you're familiar with the 1984 Super Bowl commercial Apple introduced to the world with the literal and figurative power of a sledge hammer, then you'll want to renew that feeling. Steve Wozniak, one of the two founders of Apple Computer, will be a shot of adrenaline as you watch this interview.

Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs. Although Jobs gets most of the visible credit for Apple, Wozniak actually built the original computers. From my own entrepreneurial experience, I can tell you that these two were a perfect match; one drove the technology and the other drove the business.

Guy Kawasaki (the most famous Macintosh Evangelist) interviews Steve Wozniak as part of Steve's iWoz book tour. When I listened to "Woz" give answers to each of the questions, I realized that this man has two (at least) qualities that everyone should have; he's passionate and has integrity. The passion was easy to identify as I listened to this man; every answer had me tuned in, not wanting to miss one word. His integrity (truth) was not only evident in his answers, but you can see in his eyes and facial expression that to be anything less just doesn't make sense. I haven't read any biography on Woz, but will look for one during Christmas for myself; he seems a person worth reading more about.

If you're choosing to continue life, then live it with passion. Perhaps seeing occasional reminders of "True Passion" will renew your passion and make life worhwhile. At the very least you need to see Wozniak's answer when asked how he feels knowing Windows holding 95% of the market...

Neil

Labels: Apple, Passion, Wozniak

General George C. Marshall served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1939 to 1945, and is credited with being the chief architect of the Allied victory. Just this service to our country (and the world) is enough to encourage each of us to always remember General Marshall; but he did far more.

General George C. Marshall also served as the United States' Secretary of State (1947-49), was one of the chief architects of the Marshall Plan to rebuild the European nations after WWII, served as President of the American Red Cross (1949-50), served in the civilian position of Secretary of Defense during the Korean War (1950-51) while being an active General of the Army, and in 1953 was the first professional soldier to be honored with a Nobel Peace Prize.

For me, two key stages of General Marshall's life stand out above the rest, and show us truly who the man was. First, when offered the command of the D-Day invasion, Marshall turned it down knowing he could best served the Allied efforts as Chief of Staff. The position went to Ike. Second, Marshall didn't just help author the Marshal Plan (Truman Doctrine), he went all over the world pushing for its adoption. The man who led the effort to smash the enemy, now led the effort to rebuild that same enemy. These two examples demonstrate the character of General George C. Marshall. I only hope to "try" for a character as strong.

Please take a moment and visit the George C. Marshal International Center. It is the only civilian home that George C. Marshall lived in as an adult. The rest of his life was traveling from one military base to the next. The home is now a museum called Dodona Manor, and is located in Leesburg, Virginia. The Dodona Manor is a National Historic Landmark built in the 19th century.

Other notable, sites for research into who George C. Marshall was and why you should remember him as you would Thomas Jefferson are:

George C. Marshall: European Center for Security Studies - They exist "to create a more stable security environment by advancing democratic defense institutions and relationships; promoting active, peaceful engagement; and enhancing enduring partnerships among the nations of America, Europe, and Eurasia." read more...

George C. Marshall Foundation - "The mission of the George C. Marshall Foundation is to promote the values of selfless service, dedicated effort and strength of character exemplified by Marshall's life and leadership in war and peace, and to inspire new generations to follow his example as they face the challenges of the future." This organization is located on the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) that George C. Marshall graduated from in 1901.

I volunteer (and probably will for life) at the George C. Marshall International Center at Dodona Manor in Leesburg, VA. If you're interested in getting more involved, please let us know; your help would be greatly appreciated whether you live locally, or in California. We can never let this country forget who General George C. Marshall was...to forget him is to forget the horrors of WWII.

Neil

I wrote the following letter to the editor in February 2004:

"In 1946, the Stanford Research Institute was introduced, and over the next three decades companies like Hewlett-Packard (1937), Lockheed (1951), IBM (1952), NASA (1958), Fairchild Semiconductor (1958), Intel (1968), Xerox (1970), and Apple (1976) provided the sun and rain necessary for the Silicon Valley to bloom. From an economic development standpoint, they produced some of the most beautiful flowers of our time.

In 2003, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) broke ground for its Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Over the next three decades, Loudoun County, Virginia has the potential to become a beautiful, economic flower garden nourishing more exquisite flowers than we can imagine. As an agriculture county, we should be familiar with producing bumper crops. Would we invest today for the chance to host over 300 of the best gardeners in the world to produce such wondrous "biomedical" flowers as: a cure for cancer; a cure for HIV; a decrease in the decline of quality of life for our elderly; a cure for autism; a way to prevent heart disease; and many other flowers that will have significant value to each of you? Since my dad died of heart failure, my wife suffers from multiple sclerosis, my sister suffers from cancer, my cousin and my best friend suffer from Crohn's disease, I'd have to say those "flowers" might prove especially beautiful to me.

One of the most energetic, explosive events known is a supernova which releases a huge amount of energy. They are relatively rare events in our galaxy, and even rarer still on earth. The last to be seen in our galaxy was Kepler's star in 1604. The last to be seen on earth was Silicon Valley in the mid-1900s.

Loudoun County, Virginia has a chance to experience a supernova firsthand and watch as the positive rippling effect sets the stage for future events such as: vibrant economic growth, high-paying jobs, educational opportunities to our children second to none, increased cultural activities, increased presence by colleges and universities, and international recognition as a premier place to do business. The Board of Supervisors' focus (in 2004) on removing a tax abatement from this new research campus is penny wise but dollar foolish. They see only one year out, or perhaps five years out. If they would only see beyond their term to the future of our children, they will see a Loudoun County that flourishes with economic growth and rates as one of the best places to live in the country. I plan on spending the next 50 years here, and see this investment in Howard Hughes Medical Institutes' Research Campus as conservative and non-risky, but one that will provide significant return on investment."

2006 - This past summer, HHMI opened it's Janelia Farms Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. I am very much looking forward to what some of the smartest people in the world can accomplish when red-tape is remove.

Neil

Today I went and watched my six year old niece compete at the oireachtas (oh rock tes) as an Irish Step Dancer. She competed in a "four hand" (four dancers together) and an "eight hand" (eight dancers together) in front of a huge audience. If you ever get the chance, visit a feis (fesh) to watch Irish step dancers compete; you won't be disappointed.

I grew up doing Irish step dancing along with all of my siblings. For me, it made me a much stronger soccer player as well as a dancer. It's exciting to watch my niece begin her walk down this path as well; many of my other nephews and nieces have also competed. The dancing is a great way to introduce these kids to their heritage. I would encourage each of you to reach out to your heritage through song or dance as well; it's what makes us who we are.

Neil

I am amazed that the United States doesn't take the lead for space exploration; and I don't mean these token space projects NASA is involved with over the years. I mean true leadership. True leadership, in this case, means thinking outside the box (solar system) and having a willingness to take risks.

Stephen Hawking is hitting the news again with his article on the survival of the human race. He says that we need to colonize planets outside our solar system in order to ensure humanity will never die out. He's talking about the death of our race from planetary issues like large asteroids or nuclear war; obviously he's never heard of the Borg or he would be so optimistic. Personally, I'm less motivated by the survival of our species as I am the pure sense of exploration. Humans have always been explorers, and if you don't count the floor of the ocean, we've pretty much explored the earth. Let's start really exploring space. I don't mean run fancy scientific tests (although they are good on their own), rather explore as Lewis and Clark did, or Christopher Columbus. Just set sail and see where it takes us. Obviously I'm not an expert in space travel, but how hard can it be to set a space ship on a circular trip out about 3 years? Let's send a ship that has basic survey equipment and recording equipment; we're not looking for the next Hubble here, just something that will tell us if there is land across that ocean of space.

What are the odds that there is intelligent life on other planets? Let's play a quick numbers game to answer that question.

Number of stars in the visible Universe is 30 billion trillion (30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)

Approximately 80% of the stars in the Universe are red dwarf stars with less than 1% of our Sun's output. Going on the assumption that perhaps those (red dwarf) stars don't support full solar systems with life, that leaves us 20% of the Universe that could have solar systems and life.

20% of the Universe means that 6 billion trillion (6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) stars could be supporting active solar systems and life.

I tried to take the highest "odds" examples: many popular examples have much lower odds, for example, someone dying in a car accident is 1:19,075; drowning is 1:86,892; even getting hit by lightning is on 1:6,479,405 - what this means is that the odds of dying in various ways are all much lower than winning the Power Ball and would only increase our possibilities for finding life out there. Let's use a very conservative "odds" figure.

Odds of winning Power Ball Lottery - 1:80,000,000 If we went on the same odds as the Power Ball Lottery, there are roughly:

75 trillion (75,000,000,000,000) stars in the Universe might have life of any kind!

About 1 million (937,500) of those (75m) stars that have life, could have intelligent life similar too humans on earth if we used the same lottery odds.

Don't you think it's worth exploring? I do and I think we should be funding this exploration.

Neil

Labels: Neil McDonnell, ROLLOR

Before my wife and I were married, we went through Pre-Cana and learned about God's Triangle. Imagine that God is the point at the top of the triangle, and the husband and wife are the base points. The idea is that as you become closer to one (your spouse or God), you become closer to the other. As you pull away from one, you pull away from the other.

I've always understood the importance of marriage and faith, but until this analogy I hadn't seen how simple it really is to live. If I want a stronger marriage, get closer to to God; i.e. pray more. If I want to be closer to God (live a better life) then I should get closer to my wife.

My wife (and God) won't tell you this, but I'm not perfect. Fortunately though, when I lose my way from what is important to my life, I just need to look at God's Triangle to find my way. All aspects of my life come down to this simple guideline: get closer to one...get closer to the other. Improve my relationship with one (God or my wife) and automatically see my relationship with the other improve as well. Wonder what would happen if I tried to get closer to both at the same time.

Neil

Trace your family tree and learn about history, geography and you. Someone once said that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Well here's an easy way to get motivated about world history while being a little selfish.

I've worked on my own family's history since 1994 and would highly recommend it to each of you. It is amazing what you'll find that interests you, and it is a hobby that will last a life time. I'm particularly fond (right now) of putting together the migration story of my family. I pretty much know the how, but why did they migrate from the west of Ireland to the west of America? Who knows what you'll be interested in once you begin, but for me, here's one example. My family navigated the United States in the late 19th century. As I traced where they lived and possible methods of traveling the thousands of miles from our east coast to west, I was introduced more deeply to the story of railroads in America. The transcontinental railroad was a huge ordeal in the 19th century, and my family traveled America during this period. After researching my family during this period I've become much more knowledgeable about the railroads in America. Just one example out of many.

Here's how you can get started today. I guarantee you that your family will thank you for your efforts. First, begin with yourself: draw a box at the bottom of a piece of paper and put your information into it. You should include your full name, birth date and place. Second, follow up with your parents by putting two similar boxes above your name and connect them to you with a line each. In their box, put their full name, birth date/place, marriage date/place and if deceased, death date/place. Continue this pattern up as high as you can go.

There are tons of sources of information and help; my favorite is http://www.ancestry.com which provides some free material and a subscription service. Happy climbing!

Neil

Trying to meet or exceed the recommended intake of fresh fruit each day was tough in my household until my wife and I discovered the ultimate fruit smoothy. Now we exceed the "5 A Day" and are feeling much healthier.

I love how people (okay me) claim to have discovered something, when all along it was sitting right there. (What an interesting phrase, "sitting right there." What does it mean exactly? Sort of like saying something's funny but not laughing. Aah, the American language... but I digress.) I believe I discovered the smoothy from Chalene Johnson, a fantastic and highly motivating personal trainer of mine. Okay, we only meet in front of my television when I pop her DVD in and start (turbojam) kick boxing. (Now that I mentioned her, I just found her blog on Google with more great stuff.)

I'm amazed by some of the statistics out there: "approximately 65% of Americans are still not aware of the need to eat 5 A Day, and approximately 77% of adults are not eating enough fruits and vegetables to reach their goals for good health." How can that possibly be, 65% don't know about this healthy eating tip? I guess that will be a different blog entry, one where I brainstorm on how to educate the country on this one little tip that could make such a big difference.

For now though, what I really wanted to do was share my morning routine for those of you looking to get your fruit early and quick before you start your day. This particular recipe makes 48 ounces of a fruit smoothy that my wife and I split; instead of a large coffee cup or big gulp, you'll see us driving off with a large fruit smoothy.

In a blender that is at least a 48 ounce version, put the following:

4 ice cubes (square ones from a tray or equivelant) to make cold
1 large bananna
2 yogurts (I use the mixed berry since it livens up the flavors)
fill blender to the top with fresh fruit (I use the bowls of fruit from Giant that have a large variety of cut-up fruit since I'm entirely too lazy to cut it all myself)
8 ounces of milk (you can use what you want, soy or fruit juice, since I put this in to make the mixing go much easier)

Grind the ice cubes a bit and then blend the fruit for a minute or two. It's a great way to wake up the entire neighborhood. :) I do this around 5:30 AM each day, seven days a week. You absolutely will begin to feel some of the benefits within a week, and potentially "see" some benefits as well. Now if I can only figure out how to make my vegetable intake just as easy...

Neil

I just read Alan Alda's book Never Have Your Dog Stuffed. It was an interesting read, but I'm never sure how to recommend books to others. Will my taste and reviews really be useful to you if they're different than yours? Who knows, but here are some of my thoughts on the book.

If you are a fan of Alan Alda, most famous for playing Hawkeye Pierce for eleven years on the television show M*A*S*H, then you might enjoy this book. "The actor's superlative memoir is full of surprises... Alda writes with witty, self-deprecating honesty." according to Entertainment Weekly. I'm not really sure where they're seeing the witty part, but this book is certainly full of surprises regarding Alda's life experiences. Personally, I was shocked by the horrible environment he grew up in and the terrible challenges he faced with his parents. Fortunately, his own family (wife and three daughters) turned out to be much more enjoyable and loving. This book only touches briefly on his career. It is much more focused on the challenges he faced growing up and trying to catch a break in his chosen career field; acting.

I bought this book because I hoped it would give me insight into recording my own history. I come from an environment with twelve of us (parents and ten kids) in a house with few bedrooms and one bathroom. There must be stories there. :) Alda's book does lay out his experiences in a more humorous and entertaining method than just "poor me" stories. Even his tough experiences are shaped with humor so we see the challenges he faced, but come away with a smile (some how) and/or a lesson.

My favorite thing about this book of Alan Alda's is how I've come to think of him as a regular person. He had his challenges in life, but it was his optimism and continued pursuit of a dream that made him who he is today. Seems like he's lived a great life and probably will stay very active until he moves on to that great stage in the sky.

Neil

There should be some sort of system in place to quickly notify all interested parties that tickets have come available (for free) to attend a show at one of the finer houses, for example the San Francisco Opera House.

My wife and I had box seat tickets to a matinee showing of the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC today. When she awoke this morning, she knew she wouldn't be up for attending the show and suggested we give them away. I tried the obvious source, local family and friends, with no takers. Unfortunately, these tickets went unused; a shame really since they were arguably two of the best seats in the house.

It would have been ideal if I could have put the tickets on some eBay sort of system that quickly alerted anyone interested in shows at the Kennedy Center. I know I would join such a list serve for local venues such as KC, Ford's Theater, etc. So here's my idea for whoever has the time to create this site...

First, create a site that has the capability to sign up members and notify them via their preferred tool, i.e. cell phone, email, etc. It is important to only list the large venues, otherwise it becomes a level of spam with alerts happening daily.

Second, market via word of mouth only, don't waste any money. It will spread on it's own. Suggest people like me sign up to be notified if free tickets become available to a show locally. It is vital that these tickets be free otherwise you're just creating another eBay without any real reason to. It is also vital that the tickets be available at the door if it is the same day; coordination is a tough nut to crack on the same day.

Finally, allow some way for me to communicate to the appropriate members that I have tickets available on first-come / first-serve basis. Obviously I'll need to include the particulars, then an alert goes out immediately.

I'm not sure who will read this blog entry, but imagine if you heard two, free, box tickets for the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center have come available. Would you put on a nice outfit and go see a show with your son/daughter or a date? Or would you know someone who might be interested in attending this show for free?

Neil

It shouldn't be so hard to pay for college if a high school graduate is interested and motivated to continue their education. If they want to attend college, we as a country should figure out how to make the financial requirements easy to navigate.

As I sat around this weekend with family, the conversation eventually turned to seniors who are preparing for college. Moms, dads and the soon to be college students talked excitedly about the many colleges around the country that they've visited. Unfortunately, the conversation always shifted to finances when the kid left the room; finances being a parents worst nightmare. "We have no idea how we can pay the tuition for any school but a state school. It's just so expensive."

My niece wants to attend my sister's (her mom) old college stomping grounds, but at $40,000 per year, the price is way too steep. The real problem lies in financial options. Her parents aren't wealthy enough to drop $160k for her education, so she must look at other options. Pretty much that would be scholarships and loans. She's working hard with many other kids across the nation to compete for scholarships, but even if she won a lot of them, she's not going to qualify for full tuition scholarships. That leaves loans.

This is my concern and something I hope to explore over the next couple of years. How can we as a country set up a system that allows children to receive loans for college education without regard to parental net worth or income levels? For example, my niece's parents make enough money that the federal government says they're well off, but anyone who had their income and responsibilities would disagree. Certainly they earn far more than someone in poverty, but that doesn't mean they make anything outrageous. Besides the cost of living with four kids, they have the mother of all expenses to spend that income on, their own retirement savings since none of us really expect social security to be there for us.

I'll admit I lack any real knowledge on the subject, but that's exactly why I'm writing this blog entry. Why can't we set up a loan system within the federal government that helps pay for college expenses? It would not be dependant on the parents' financial situation. It would be for a low interest rate that would not begin to be repaid until after college. We would make the next generation of adults responsible for their own education. It just seems to me that money should not be the decision maker for which college a kid attends. It should be on which school best fits a person's needs and interests.

I'll write more on this later, but for now I thought I'd get the ball rolling. I have twenty nephews and nieces (no kids myself yet) and they have just begun going through the application process. Let's hope I can see their lives, the lives of their parents and the lives of families everywhere, go just a little bit smoother when entering college.

Neil

Labels: Neil McDonnell, ROLLOR

Why do Americans let themselves be sucked into the hell that is Black Friday?

I find it ironic that the day after all of us make a special effort to remember what we're each thankful for, many Americans shoot out to the mall to express anything but thankfulness. Have you seen any CNN reports today of store openings? There are many images of people pushing through doors and clearly not caring if anyone in their way gets trampled.

Please join me in boycotting Black Friday from this point forward. Spend the extra day visiting a museum with friends and family. I'm off to spend another day with my beautiful wife, thankful she's in my life.

Neil

Each day I thank God for something. If I wake up on-time (or get up), I thank God. If I begin heading out of the house, I'm thankful that I remember to bring something I need (security badge for example) before driving off.

Today is just a special day to remind me of an attitude I should have each day of my life. God blesses me each day with so much good, from a beautiful wife to share my life with, to a beautiful sunrise to appreciate each new day. When I'm feeling down, the quickest way out of that misery is to take stock of all I have to be thankful for and realize it's great to be alive.

I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Neil

It's an interesting issue with what people say when they are enraged. Do they mean what they say? Are these dormant thoughts, or just a poor choice of words?

Michael Richards spouted off a few minutes of pure prejudicial statements and then with hind-sight suggested that he's not a racist. Where did those words even come from then? Perhaps he's not a racist in the active sense of the word. Would we be right in saying he's a closet racist? He clearly has racist thoughts, evident by his spoken words.

What about the rest of us? What's hiding in our thoughts, closed off in the closet? I can't remember who said this, but our thoughts shape who we really are. If I think my wife is a clothes hound who constantly blows money on "sales" for no reason, then that's how I feel. Me not saying anything to her about it won't change my thoughts. In fact, it will probably just come out in an argument about something else; "You didn't take the trash out." "Yeah? Well…you blow our money on clothes you don't need!" All of us "know" that the best thing would be to share my concerns with my wife in a normal conversation about finances. All of us men know I should just be quiet since my wife looks great in all those new clothes. :)

I think the way to avoid saying horribly wrong or hurtful things is to acknowledge those thoughts whenever they pop into our mind. Don't pretend that they don't exist, or outright deny they ever enter your mind. Acknowledge them, admit to yourself they are wrong and then move on with life. If they enter your mind again, repeat the process. Eventually, those thoughts will realize they're not welcome in your mind, your heart and especially not in your mouth. I work on this daily. To assume anyone is perfect is to set yourself up for more disappointment than necessary.

So, what to do with Michael Richards? Today is just three or four days after his poor choice and hurtful words. Do we stay mad at him forever? Do we hate him? Should there be a boycott of the Seinfeld DVD's as they get released? Should Michael Richards ever be forgiven? I can (and do) easily turn to God for help understanding what is right in this case. In fact, I believe God spoke on this issue through Will Smith in his song Just the Two of Us -- "Throughout life people will make you mad; Disrepect you and treat you bad; Let God deal with the things they do; Cause hate in your heart will consume you too."

Neil

The ROLLOR Political Party stands for Right of Left & Left of Right. As you might guess, that means this party stands to the right of the Democrats and left of the Republicans.

I've started this political party in an effort to feel like I belong. The two main parties seem radical in some of their views, but most significantly, they seem to exclude those with a minority view. Yes, I agree that you'll find some pro-choice folks in the Republicans, and some pro-life folks in the Democrats; that's not the norm though. Look to each party's platform (Democrats, Republicans) to see what that party's leadership is saying they value most. One thing to keep in mind, it is far different to say you're a Republican or Democrat (even registered) than it is to run as a Republican or Democrat. Both parties are the Big Tent type when it comes to voters; when it comes to politicians, that's when things get black or white.

The ROLLOR Party currently consists of one member; me. It will remain that way as I lay out in this blog what I envision. If at any point you'd like to become a member of this party, all that is required is the following statement: "I am a member of the ROLLOR Party." Perhaps if we have enough interested folks, we'll begin to field candidates of our own. By the way, I envision that this party is mostly for candidates at the state level and higher in politics. Let's see how that matches up against reality as time and this party advance.

Over the next year, I will begin to blog on major political issues such as: pro-choice/pro-life; guns; immigrants; education; large/small federal government; gay rights/marriage; health care; taxes; home land security; civil rights; evironmental protection; oil/energy; morality; world police actions; international relations; economy; space exploration; war on drugs; war on poverty; war on terror; social security; medical research; campaign reform; balanced budgets; etc. I welcome your suggestion of other issues to explore.

Why am I doing this? Really, I think the main reason is my shock that our two main parties, the political leaders of our country and representative to the world, are so polarized. How much more could they accomplish on our behalf if they worked together...actually together? That term bipartisan sounds very good each time I hear it; sure would like to hear it more. I know that there are other independent parties, but they all seem to be single-issue parties. This country needs a party comprised of those of us who are ROLLOR and who are willing to tackle the very toughest issues facing our country over the next 20-40 years. Are you with me?

Neil

Labels: Neil McDonnell, ROLLOR

Someone needs to invent toilet seat warmers, don't you agree? I'm assuming women would agree faster, but all would come to this realization in time of need. This profound thought came to me last night.

As winter arrives here in Virginia, the temperatures drop significantly. With internal body temps running in the 90's and toilet seat temperatures running...well much lower, middle of the night shocks to the system are bound to happen. This has to be much more of an issue the further north one lives.

How hard would it be to create a toilet seat warmer? Two options come to mind when I do some quick brainstorming: heat the lid, or heat the seat. A wrap-around seat warmer could be invented that just slides over the toilet seat lid. When the lid is down, it activates the warmer which heats the seat from above. The other option is to design a seat with a built in warmer; it would work sort of like the household tiles that heat a home. Since the general code seems to be avoid putting an electrical outlet near the toilet, power would need to be run or the design must include some sort of battery power.

Am I an expert in any of this? No! Am I a potential buyer? Yes! I scored big with my wife the day I bought an electric blanket as a gift. If you think I'm not going to try to score points again with a seat warmer you're wrong. Although it won't be flowers and candy, she'll enjoy that I was thinking of her comfort. :) The market is there. Now all we need is for you to invent a toilet seat warmer.

Neil

Imagine what life would be like if you could choose the way people treat you every day... How would you want to be treated by others? Imagine if you could choose their attitude for them each morning...

You must know that's impossible, but have faith; your day can still be just as good. You can choose your own attitude each morning. Would you choose to treat others as you imagined having them treat you in the paragraph above?

There's a book, "FISH!" that I would highlyl recommend you pick up and read immediately. "A moving parable about the power of personal choice, FISH! is the story of Mary Jane's journey of self-discovery. Along the way she and her team discover they have the power to create the workplace of their dreams through the choices they make every day. And now, each of us can make that same journey." This book is one part of the FISH! Philosophy.

In this book, you'll learn what I mean today about choosing your attitude. Mary Jane's team has a sign in their department that everyone sees as they exit the elevator that depicts a smiley face and a frowning face; above both faces are the words "Choose one to wear today." Which would you choose? Every morning you have the opportunity to make that choice again. Choose your attitude for the day by imagining what attitude you hope everyone else will choose. Chances are you'll start your day with a smile and a positive attitude.

Neil

Hands down, the number one, universal, professional development organization to belong to is Toastmasters International. I highly recommend everyone join this organization.

Besides being useful in your career, the skills developed and strengthed within Toastmasters will cross over to every part of your life. You'll find yourself using these skills on the PTA, within your church, or when going to New Year's Eve parties for example.

The number one skill of a leader is communication. Toastmasters is a Communication and Leadership organization that's focused on making effective communication a world-wide reality. How would your life improve if you were no longer afraid to speak before large audiences? What would you get involved with personally if you had full confidence in your ability to lead the effort?

Visit a club today. I joined in 1998 and haven't regretted it since. I meet facinating people and develope many friendships through Toastmasters. I have been given the opportunity to speak before small groups and audiences of several hundred. I have developed my leadership skills with hundreds of volunteers who at any point can say "No!" but don't; something in the leadership lessons I've learned from Toastmasters gives me the ability to motivate these volunteers. Imagine how much easier it is to lead those under me whose paycheck depends on my satisfaction with their performance; I'll tell you it is far, far easier.

If you want to become a better speaker or leader, visit Toastmasters International's web site for more information. Click here to see which other organizations value Toastmasters for their employees; e.g. IBM, Apple, Shell, Microsoft, Intel.

Neil

Labels: Neil McDonnell, Toastmasters

So I was washing my hands at Bone Fish Restaurant in Ashburn, a favorite spot for my wife and I, and it occurs to me for about the hundreth time, that all these public restrooms have their signage wrong. Does it really make sense to have a sign above the sink that says "Employees must wash hands!"? Who do you think is reading that sign? It's those folks who don't need the reminder. I say it's time for the signage to be moved to where it might be read, over the urinals and above the toilet paper.

The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) created a Clean Hands Campaign as "one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others." The focus is on all citizen groups, but there are obvious, specific groups they target. For example, if we can educate our children to see the value of clean hands, that will begin to cover most of society over a period of time. Using the SNAP iniative, CDC is targeting hand-washing education towards middle school children. Together with other agencies (USDA, EPA, HHS, FDA) the CDC is using the Fight BAC! initiative to "keep food safe from bacteria. The Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, provides guidelines regarding clean hands with the work place. Perhaps they can make some modifications to provide suggestions on sign placements in bathrooms.

Don't forget, ask the management to better place signs the next time you visit a restaurant and celebrate National Clean Hands Week in September of every year. "According to the CDC, the single most important thing we can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others is to clean our hands." Let's do our part. I'll start it by going back to Bone Fish in Ashburn, VA and working for change. :)

Neil

I belong to many organizations, and the most common "excuse" I hear is "I don't have enough time." Have you ever said that? There are 168 hours in a week; have you ever wondered what you're doing with them? Let's do a rough breakdown of a typical week and see how it stacks up against how we spend our time.

Sleeping: 63 (9 hours x 7 days)
Work: 60 (12 hours x 5 days including lunch and commuting time)
"Free" 45 hours

How are you spending your additional 45 hours? If you want to be more involved with your family, is it that hard to commit one hour a day to them? If you want to get in shape, is it that hard to commit one hour a day to your health?

There's no such thing as "not enough time", it's just a matter of what you value. If we all have 168 hours in a week, then the easiest way to see what we value in life is to look at how we spend those hours. The average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television a day; how does that compare with you? Does the time you spend watching television reflect accurately the value you have for that activity compared to others?

I'm no different that anyone else here, so I'll put my time where my mouth is, so to speak. Starting today, I'm going to dedicate an hour a day to something that I value but don't contribute time to; cooking. I do not cook dinner on any sort of regular basis. Starting today, I'm going to dedicate an hour a day to learning how to become a dinner cook so my family and I can eat healthy, perhaps delicious meals. I'll occasionally post back here with how things are going. My goal is not so much to become a professional caliber chef (although that would be nice), rather it is to spend time cooking dinner each day. My hope is that besides learning how to cook, my efforts will lead to more time spent with my wife and friends while sharing a fun meal. Who knows where that could lead to and what ideas might be shared around the dinner table.

Review how you spend your time. If you have some spare time, consider dedicating it to something you value. You won't regret it.

Neil

I've always been a little skeptical of the surprise that house fires cause residents. "How could your house catch fire without your being aware of the imminent danger?" My prejudice led me to the unfair belief that someone's neglect is what really caused the fire. Turns out that I'm not only wrong about the causes of house fires, but wrong about the speed an event like this can rage out of control. "Fire killed more Americans [in 2004] than all natural disasters combined." See other stats: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/quickstats/
My wife and I were sitting on the couch reading one night (July 31, 2006) when I started to smell something. It smelled like a vacuum cleaner belt that was burning rubber. "Do you smell that?" I asked Nancy. She didn't smell anything, but as she looked at me and responded that she didn't, the six foot, torch-style lamp behind my head arced and then caught fire. This all happened in less than 30 seconds, from the first time I smelled something to the point when flames were leaping up six to twelve inches out of the lamp bowl. I quickly jumped off the couch, and looking at this lamp burning, several thoughts ran through my head. First, "Why, oh why haven't we bought fire extinguishers?" and second, how was I going to put this fire out before the wall caught fire? Unplugging the light from the wall socket extinguished the fire and after putting the lamp outside the house, our only reminder of this event was the smell and our heart rates.
Long story short: that was an intense one to two minutes in our lives. What if we were not sitting right there in that room? As I roamed the house, I unplugged three other (same model) lamps; two were right up against the wall. I can't imagine how fast our lives would be altered if any of them had caught fire. Please take heed from this little lesson of mine. Buy a fire extinguisher for every floor in your house. Pull lamps away from the walls; even a six inch gap could prove useful. Always turn all your lamps, etc. off when leaving the house. And most importantly, Stay Alert - Stay Alive!

Neil

Recently I took and passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam. The test was an intense four hours with 200 questions. According to http://www.managementconcepts.com/publications/project_management/pmpowertrac.asp, 40% of test takers fail on their first try. There's no bad or good grade on this test, just pass or fail. So why do project management professionals, with at least 4500 hours of experience in this field, fail when taking this test? And how can you ensure you'll pass?
Blog means my opinion; so with that in mind, let me tell you the why and how. The reason these professionals fail is because they think they know the subject. "I have five or ten years experience managing some of the most challenging projects available. I know project management." Yeah, but you don't know test taking! I've seen this with every certification I've prepared for, professionals go into the test center thinking they'll pass the test since they know they have the experience. Experience is vital for a work place, but it can be a hinderance in test taking. So how do you pass the exam the first time?
First, forget what you know! If you're taking an "exam prep course" then don't assume you know it all. These courses are designed to help you balance your experience against what will actually be tested. And above all, stop saying "That's not how it happens in the real world!" Who cares what happens in the real world? This is the testing world. Second, only study the material that you're given from a exam prep center. Too many people make the mistake of reading tons of books and other material on the exam topic. This clouds/crowds the material that was designed to help you pass the test. If you want to know the topic, study everything. If you want to pass the test, then study the test prep material. Finally, stop taking the practice tests! So many people get used to passing a specific test but don't realize that the real test could have ALL new questions. You need to know the concepts, formulas, theories, etc., not the answers. Study, take one practice exam, study your weak areas and then go take the test. I guarantee that you'll pass on your first try…unless you don't.

Neil

Ted Leonsis was profiled in the Washington Post today; they told his blogging story. After reading about his motivation, it just hit me that now was as good as any time to begin blogging myself. Actually, another AOL employee, Jay, was the first one to introduce me to the importance and fun of creating my own blog. So, here I am.

I intend on sharing ideas or thoughts in this blog. I'm not too keen on rambling here about my day to day life and what the cats did today. :) I have a thousand thoughts that flow through my mind on a daily basis that might prove interesting to you. Let's explore those and see where it leads us all.

I'll do a Google search on my name to see what results are delivered. This will be my base line, and I'll do quarterly updates to see my progress compared to Ted's.

Neil