Can it get any crazier?

I don't know about you but just when you think everything is starting to turn around, many times, it goes backwards. What does it all mean Basil? I've started a new phase in my life and I am trying to do the right things. As I plug away I still can't help but notice it still seems like I'm spinning my wheels. What do I need to do? What is my ultimate goal here? You see, I'm confused. Isn't the first time and it won't be the last. Anyway, I'm just hoping that the ramblings of a lunatic mind might just help me to get some support. I'm reaching out here. CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? LOL! I'm really not desperate, but I'm sure many of you have felt this way before as well. Thanks for listening. I'm going to bed now, PMPs tomorrow with Bill Walters and Mike Edwards. Loads of fun.

Punch Dub? WHAT???

What's up with VW and their commercials with the Punch Dub? Where in the world did this saying come from? PUNCH DUB? And when do you say it and punch someone? Whenever you see any VW what so ever. There goes a Jetta, PUNCH DUB! There goes a Beetle, PUNCH DUB! There goes a VW CC, PUNCH DUB! And what about the saying itself? When I was growing up, back in the 70's we would say SLUG BUG (you see how slug and bug rhyme? It kind of makes sense doesn't it?) whenever we saw a beetle and we would slug (hit) someone. Now as my kids got in there teens they started saying punch bug. I tried to correct them but to no avail. They still said punch bug. But now punch dub? I think this saying is just ridiculous and it's nothing like the game we used to play. I say let's get back to slug bug once again and cut all this punch dub stuff out.

How to make the Kookaburra Bird laugh.

When Poison enters.

Have you every worked at a place where everyone worked well together and everything just clicked? You know, the left hand always knows what the right hand is doing. There are times that associates work together like a fine tuned machine. Like the way the pistons and the valves work in an engine or a healthy heart and the lungs work together. Everything running smooth, all parts doing what they're supposed to. The nice thing about a group of people who work well together is that one person will help another out without even being asked. Then, one day, poison steps in. Like dirt in the engine or smoke in the lungs. All of the sudden a machine that was clicking on all cylinders is not working at all. Some times we deal with this in our work place. Someone comes in to a workplace, a sales team or a territory that causes all kinds of problems. The sad thing is that management may not always recognize it. As a matter of fact, there are times when management is the last to know. Many times the other associates know the truth before management. Hence, the poison continues to fester and once everything settles and the poison is finally removed, there is a lot of work to be done. In the body, organs may need replace. In an engine you may need a new short block. In the work place you very well may need to resell your clients as to why they should stay with your product or may have to re earn your customers trust. My suggestion, listen to your employees, ask them if they can think of anyone who they would coin as poison. Maybe they can see someone who isn't poison yet but could be pushed to become poison. Then you can take the precautions so that this doesn't happen. Bottom line, listen and talk to your employees. Listen and talk to your customers. Chances are they know the poison way before you and, caught quick enough, you can stop it before it becomes a major problem.

1 Hour a Day

Interesting comment my son Andrew said to me yesterday. "If you just commit 1 hour a day to ventriloquism, imagine how much better you will be a year from now." 1 hour a day. Interesting, that's 365 days a year or 365 hours a year. Let's break that down into even more reasonable numbers 365 - 104 (skipping Saturdays and Sundays) is still 261 hours a year. If you subtract another 10 hours for vacations and 5 more hours for whatever reason you still have 246 hours a year. Now if you dedicate 246 hours a year to anything it's going to improve but only if you 1) Have a plan and 2) Work that plan. So I figured, how about dedicating 1 hour a day to ventriloquism, 1 hour a day to magic and mentalism and 1 hour a day to AutoTrader.com. That only 3 hours a day. I can find 3 hours a day by 1) Getting up 1 hour earlier 2) Watching 1 hour less TV a day and 3) Well, watching another hour less TV. Good advice from my son that I'm going to pursue starting today! Enjoy the video below!

Just got back from the hospital!

Had a fairly nice stay at Trumbull Memorial Hospital this last week. Had a chance to lay in bed, rest, have antibiotics pumped through my veins constantly and share rooms with a guy that was in more pain than I was. It all started on Friday when I had to get my stomach checked because it was hurting so bad (actually, I had gone to urgent care on Wednesday and they diagnosed it as a urinary tract infection). After getting a CATscan they came to the conclusion that I had, get ready for it, DIVERTICULITIS.
Now any of you SNL (Saturday Night Live) fans out there remember Doug and Wendy Whiner. They always complained about their diverticulitis. We all laughed at it. We thought it was silly. I mean, what a name for a sickness, it just sounds like a made up word! Well, I got news for you, it's no laughing matter! It feels like you just got kicked in the groin and the pain never goes away! (On a side note, diverticulitis is an inflamed diverticulosis so Doug and Wendy, most likely have diverticulosis not diverticulitis.)


I love staying in the hospital. You always have at least one person on the floor that is out of their mind and just yell peoples names, "Laura, Laura, Norma, Nancy, Nurse, Miss, Mommy" constantly all night long. Plus you have a nice uninterrupted sleep all night long. "Mr. Robison I need to take your temperature, Mr. Robison I have your new antibiotic can you tell me your full name, date of birth, allergies, social diseases, government bond serial numbers, blood type ....." And the food is always so good, I was on a clear liquid diet for the first few days which included broth, jello, and tea. Next I retired to FULL liquid diet which included cream of wheat for breakfast (still trying to figure out how that's a liquid) and strained soup for lunch and dinner. And don't forget the mighty shake!!! YUMMY!

It was mostly cleared up by Tuesday and I thought the doctor was going to send me home that day but when I had the CATscan (I know that's not how you spell it but I also know it's annoying some of you! ) they found a small spot on my kidney and they wanted to get a biopsy on the kidney so, blessing of blessings, I got to stay another day!

The biopsy went well and they found it was only scar tissue (which leads me to another question, how do you get scar tissue on a kidney?) And I got to come home today, PRAISE THE LORD! Now if I only didn't have to go back next week for skin graphs where they put all the adhesive during my stay! What kind of glue do that use on hospital tape anyway? I'll tell you this much, if it ever got out on the free market the superglue/crazyglue companies will be out of business!

Be Strong!

Another great devotion today from Positive Living Day by Day by Norman Vincent Peale. If you don't have this book I would highly suggest getting it.

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Positive Living Day by Day

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He gives strength to the weary and increases power to the weak. Isaiah 40:29

Nobody can live successfully in this world without being strong. You may be pampered and protected when you are a child, but you have to learn to be strong as you mature, because sooner or later, life will throw the book at you. Sometimes it will throw the whole book at you all at once. You have to get adjusted so you won't collapse under the trouble, or give way under difficulty, or fold under the blow of adversity. I sometimes think that the greatest virtue of all is to be strong.

Christianity is a way of life that makes people strong. You can have all the strength you will ever need if you build into yourself the love of God and stay close to Jesus until He becomes part of you.

Our Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for the great power that comes to us from You through Jesus Christ. Amen.