Month: October 2005 (page 2 of 5)

UPDATE, 10.19.05: According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Leo says “thanks, but no thanks” to Steinbrenner. But it seems like a good fit – and a distinct possibility in Baltimore.

Seems The Boss wants to add some more high-priced talent to his lineup. This time he’s trying to pry Leo Mazzone’s talents away from Bobby Cox’s side in the Braves’ dugout.

Leo’s agent says Leo is loyal to Bobby Cox, “like a father.” I don’t know, though.

Maybe a better solution would be for Bobby Cox to retire or head back upstairs. And entice Joe Torre to return to Atlanta. Then Leo can stay and work with Torre. Just a thought…

Earlier today, I posted a picture of an almost-blank Moleskine page, just waiting to be filled up with thoughts, ideas, and stuff (technical term!).

You Moleskine fans know about and appreciate the cool secret pocket in the back cover of the cool little notebooks. My buddy Brian Bowen observed that the secret pocket in the back cover of my notebook appeared to be full. He wondered what might be in that secret/sacred space. Good question, Brian.

So I unpacked it and found some things I knew were in there and a couple of surprises as well. Check the picture of the unpacked stuff (in the same desk space as the earlier shot).

The little white list on the top of the pile is a copy of the Daily Prayer Plan from Peter Lord’s older, but excellent resource The 2959 Plan. I don’t use the 2959 notebook and the whole thing as regularly now as I used to, but I still find great value in being “reminded” to focus my prayer times.

The pink Post-It notes are notes I took while reading Marcus Buckingham’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. The notes list my top 5 strengths I discovered after using the online assessment tool in the book…

• Adaptability
• Communication
• Input
• Intellection
• Includer

…and some thoughts I thought about action steps to put those strengths into practice…

• Invest the time necessary to be excellent in communicating
• Think ahead – but live fully in the moment
• Develop and utilize an effective system of storing and retrieving information
• Read, listen, and observe strategically
• Seek ways and opportunities to include others in my life and ministry

The picture of the baby is the front of a business card from Dean Bowers, pastor at Genesis, a United Methodist church in Birmingham, Alabama. Dean is in the Atlanta Church Growth Coaching Network with us.

There’s a note with some dimensions for a digital picture, but I don’t have any idea what the picture was – or is. It must have been something kind of important at one time, though, because it was 300 dpi. Hmmm…I’ll have to figure that one out!

The orange sheet is my Amazon Music Wish List. It’s attached to three sheets of aqua paper, which contain my Amazon Books Wish List. I carry these with me because, well…you just never know when you’re going to be dragged kicking and screaming into your local Barnes & Noble or Borders or wherever – one must be prepared, you know?

And that, in case you were wondering, is why my secret pocket looks stuffed!

Yep, that’s my Moleskine. And that’s a Mirado Black Warrior – that’s ready to retire. And that blue thing, top center? My Staedtler oval pencil sharpener. Upper right? Dave Brubeck’s Time Out and Miles Davis’s Poetics of Sound, 1954-1959.

Oh, the quote scribbled in the upper left of the Moleskine…

Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.
-Horace Mann

You knew 14 straight division titles with only 1 World Series championship was bad. You knew getting put out in the first round of the playoffs 4 out of the last 5 years – by inferior teams – was bad. You knew your own fans’ moaning and and whining was bad. But you never thought it would come to an article with this headline...

How the Yanks Can Avoid Becoming the Braves

Ouch! No…OUCH!!!

Some random and miscellaneous stuff I found en route to somewhere or something else…

• Handwriting tips, to make your Moleskine time – and those handwritten notes – much better
• Where, oh, where did our manners go?
• Building a smarter to-do list, via 43 Folders. Part 1 & Part 2

Don’t you just hate it when someone – someone you respect and care for – lies to you? Right to your face? I mean, stands and looks you in the eye and lies? All the while, you know better. Even while they’re acting like everything is just as they say, you know the truth – because you have the unfortunate evidence in your possession?

I hate that…and it makes me very angry. And very sad.

Heard on Paul Harvey’s show at noon today about one Daniel Garcia in Stamford, Connecticut, who was going to trial on a drug charge. So Daniel decided to hide his $1500 stash of marijuana under a rock, until after court, when he planned to retrieve it.

Smart guy, huh?

Naaaah….just so happens that the rock/hiding place was outside a window. The window of the narcotics squad office. All the narcs had to do was wait patiently for Daniel to come back. And then they nabbed him.

Oh, the quote in the title? According to Paul Harvey, that’s what Daniel’s own dad had to say in response to his son’s episode.

“Dope,” indeed…

Oh, here’s the “rest of the story…” seems young Daniel thinks his arrest and subsequent ridicule has…are you ready for this?…”ruined his life.” Please note that he may be eligible to beat the drug rap if he qualifies for some rehab program. What do you want to bet there’s some shyster lawyer waiting to take Daniel’s case and he’ll probably make big bucks from the city of Stamford for all the ridicule and life ruination?

Ya gotta love it…

Awwwwwwwwwwww! Say it ain’t so!

Seems Fox has canceled The Skanky Simple Life. Seems the network – like most sane people out there in TV land – just didn’t have time for the show.

No, wait…they didn’t have a time slot for the show…

Fox said its midseason schedule didn’t have a time slot for the show.

“We did not see a place for `The Simple Life’ on our schedule this season,” the network said in a statement.

Funny…I didn’t know anybody had a place for it…

It’s like it’s stuck in there, you know?

There’s this…

Did you know you used to be my hero?
All the days you spent with me now seem so far away
And it feels like you don’t care anymore

And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I’m never gonna be good enough for you
I can’t stand another fight
And nothing’s alright

‘Cause we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I’m sorry
I can’t be perfect
Now it’s just too late and
We can’t go back
I’m sorry
I can’t be perfect

-from “Perfect” by Simple Plan

And there’s this…

It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)

-from “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi

And this…

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you�ve broken
Don�t close your eyes, don�t close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you�ve got now
Yeah, and today is all you�ll ever have
Don�t close your eyes
Don�t close your eyes

This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, are you who you want to be?
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose?

-from “This Is Your Life” by Switchfoot

I’ve been a fan of AccuRadio for a few years now. This month, they’re featuring the best “classic rock” of all time. Some of you – and you know who you are – need to mosey on over there, and mash the “Classic Rocktober” image.