Holy bug zappers, Batman!

Well, my vacation is officially over and on Monday, I found myself back in the real world fixing all the problems that didn't get fixed while I was on vacation. But, I have to tell you about our trip to the Bat Cave at the North Sauta Wildlife Refuge in Scottsboro, AL.

There were so many bats coming from the cave. It was awesome!!!! There is an observation deck there if you don't want to get too close, but, my daughter looked at her mommy and said, "Mommy, I want to go down dere." So... into the mouth of the cave we went and this is the view.

Cave Entrance

Bats emerging from cave

One of the little factoids presented by the volunteer that was there was that these 200,000 plus bats would eat more than a ton of insects on this single night. WOW! I need to move this cave to my back yard!

Fishin' is Fun!

From Mountain Lakes Resort on Lake Guntersvile in Guntersville, Alabama -
Well, my vacation officially started today. All was well until the fish made me mad. Yes, fish can make you mad. You see, I'm the kind of person that likes to catch fish, not drown worms. I spent about 3 hours fishing today and the only thing I caught was Millfoil weeds. My 4 year old daughter even caught her first small (note emphasis) bluegill bream. So, yes, I am mad at the fish. On the other hand I guess you could say I have a future as a fishing guide.

But, (there is always a but), you can learn alot from fishing, like patience. Patience is important when you are fishing because the fish don't always realize that you are trying to catch them. Maybe one day I will develop a gadget to let the fish know I am trying to catch them so they will look for my bait and I won't have to look for them. Learning patience when you are fishing can help you throughout your life when dealing with different trying situations.

You can learn humility. When you humble yourself and sacrifice your fishing time to help those around you, it gives you a good feeling. Like baiting hooks for your wife, daughter and visually-impaired brother-in-law. Or removing the fish they just caught with the hook you just baited!! GRRRR!!! I'm quite sure there is a lesson on envy here but since that isn't a positive lesson we will move on. You see, you develop humility by helping those that need your help. What a boost to your self-esteem. People need you to help them so sacrifice a little and be patient and help a friend discover that fishin' is fun!

You can also learn pride. I'm not talking about the pride that can puff you up and make you think you are better than others. I'm talking about the pride you feel when your 4 year old daughter catches her first fish. That ranks right up there with graduation and weddings. (The phrase "You might be a redneck if..." suddenly comes to mind). There is nothing like seeing the surprise on your child's face as they reel in their first fish, then the fear as the fish come near them, then the joy they express about their accomplishment.

I also learned that fish must be smarter than me. I mean there are alot of little fishys swimming around down there that the bigger fishy's could eat. Who am I to think that they would prefer my whimpy worm to a nice juicy shad? Someone defined fishing for me today: Fishing is a jerk on the end of a pole waiting for a jerk on the other end. (Those that didn't quite get that have probably never been fishing.) Kind of puts it in perspective doesn't it?

Today I learned that if fishing were easy they would call it catching. Maybe one day my daughter will learn patience through fishing. One day she will learn the humility and pride with her own family and children. And I hope she she learns that nothing in life is easy but you can succeed and have fun if you try. But most of all I hope she learned that Fishin' Is Fun!!! And I hope she had as much fun fishing as her daddy did watching her.

Brad

Free Lunch!

I was speaking with a colleague this week about our corporate initiatives for technology. He began to tell me about his company looking to replace all of their networking and phone equipment with less reliable and less reputable equipment…all for a few thousand dollars a year savings/rebates. I even viewed the presentation that was provided to my friend for review. I was not impressed; it brought to mind visions of Multi-Level Marketing. As I pondered my response to my friends concerns over this initiative, I began to think about free things.

Free things are usually good. Like when someone else pays for lunch (ok, so sometimes lunch is free); Or when you win the IPOD door prize; or the local radio contest. But sometimes we get lost in the concept of reducing costs. We can cut corners so much that yes, we've reduced our expenditures on critical corporate communications services and hardware by 89%, but we had to spend 300% to fix the problems we were experiencing. You see the free car you just won is good… untill you discomver you have to pay to have an engine and a transmission installed before you can drive it. The bottom line is this; less expensive and quality are mutually exclusive 99.999% of the time. Lunch really isn't free... someone has to pay for it. So, why not get the sirloin instead of the chopped steak. It may cost a little more but the added expense is insignificant when when you look at the quality of the item you just purchased. In a nutshell, don’t fret over money. There's plenty for everybody (just ask the banks). Step back and view the big picture. Whether it is technology or dinner, I'm confident in your ability to discern the value of a product and make the right decisions without regret. I hope I don't sound like I'm rambling but here's the best part………………..

Go give somebody a free lunch today!!!!!! You will be repaid many times over what that one meal is worth.

So who's buying me lunch today?

Brad

A New Chapter

Well, I'm officially a blogger now. I have been hearing about this phenomenon for some time and now I'm a part of it. I really don't know who will even read my posts but I'm sure someone will find them and read them. For those that do, perhaps some will find some insight into life or maybe just a little humor. Maybe someone will pay me to write things for them. Or even better maybe someone will pay me not to write... Hmmmm.......that would be a most interesting concept.

Perhaps one day my daughter (with siblings to follow, God willing) will even read this to see what was going on inside this crazy old man's head as she grew up. At any rate, I hope these words can help someone at some point in time.

Well, I just had to get my first blog in so happy reading and pay attention, you never know what nuggets may come out of my Brain Housing Group.

Semper Fi,
Brad