Double, Double, Toil and Trouble .... It will be May and Bathing Suit Trouble!

Witch 1" When Shall we three meet again... In thunder, Lightning, or in Rain?"

Witch 2 "When the Hurlyburly's done, When the battle's lost and won."

Witch 3 " That will be ere the set of sun."

Act I, Scene i - MacBeth, William Shakespeare....

Have I gone off my rocker? Nope, I just realized that Memorial Day, Bathing Suits, Sleeveless tops, and shorts are 8 weeks away... (insert music from any Hitchcock movie).

The second realization is that I have been writing this blog for close to ten months and I still haven't found a way or the sustained motivation to kick butt with getting in shape. I do think I am eating better. However, motivating to exercise is my biggest challenge. I am not sure why?

I guess I will get my legs in gear and go for a walk after our sales meeting today. One, it will clear my head and two put some mileage on my feet. As I have said before, I step forward and 2 back.

Fairtax.org

I spent last night doing our 2006 taxes... Or at least pulling the information together into a spreadsheet for our CPA. (Who is terrific if anyone wants a referral in Georgia, Robert Skinner, CPA). I, like many in the States, put this off each year as a dreaded task.

I do prepare all year by throwing receipts into the "Yearly Tax Folder" to be kept safe until the day each year I pull them out to sort into Client expenses, charity giving, office expenses/home office deductions, investment income etc. Each year, I curse myself saying ... I know I gave more to charity... where is that damn receipt!!!

The last two years it has been even more tasking as I have been educated to the "FAIRTAX PROGRAM". A radio talk jock on WSB in Atlanta, Neal Boortz, is one of the prime promoters to this bill that has been introduced into the US Congress year after year. While our elected representatives boast they want to overhaul the tax code, most of them are .. well... Sissies! There! I typed it. It takes guts to say, abolish the IRS. The fact many IRS agents agree this is a fairer and better system is proof this can work! I was against it. I didn't understand how this would work. Real estate values would drop. I would be paying more ... 25% more every time I bought something, went to the doctor, or ordered something online Yikes!! That is a tough pill for a Republican.. but I continued to listen after all, Neal is a Libertarian and somewhat more conservative than Attila the Hun.

Well, I discovered a couple of interesting points. Take out that W2. Total up the amount of tax you paid last year to the State, Federal government, social security, medicare etc. What is the percentage of your income? Mine came to about 26% but that was in Georgia. I am scared to do it in CT.

Now, think about who doesn't pay that percentage but uses a ton of the services you just paid for and by the way you have worked for exclusively this week as we have hit tax freedom day yet.

• Illegal immigrants


• Criminals (drug dealers, pimps, thieves, etc)


• Tax evaders (including some very proper business people that think it beneath them to pay .. taxes - Yes, I am talking about GS.


• Foreign tourists (that stay for ever)

And the list goes on...

There is clear documentation that moving to a federal flat sales tax will also solve the social security issue. Check it out at Fairtax.org or read John Linder & Neal Boortz's book The Fair Tax Book" - Very - short, funny, and mind changing.

Blogging Pulpit

Mr. B and I have been trying to plan a couple of days after my next conference to see his parents and to take a couple of days vacation on a beach. Since my airfare is covered, it all makes sense. How do we go about doing this? Well, the first thought was the Keys. I have never been there and tis himself hasn't ventured out there in close to 30 years.

We researched a couple of great places on line. I decided to see what might be going on in Key West those couple of days. Guess What!! That seems to be "Pride Week". Perhaps, we would be better off going out to the keys another time. I put away the Hemingway novels I had thought about reading.

Next idea, I am a gorgeous resort for our event... why not just stay on there? Himself read the reviews.... yikes .. The reviews on Tripadvisor and epinnions were not so great. So my question is..... DO YOU BOTHER TO RATE PLACES AND EXPERIENCES THAT ARE GOOD?

I am guilty .. I don't. I only use the "Blogging pulpit" many times for ranting about horrid restaurants, experiences, bad customer service, and more.

As I was sitting here, I wanted to share a recent great experience. I have been shopping for new places since the move. A new drycleaner, groomer, nail salon, liquor store, carpet installer, you name it .. We need to find it all over again.

Kudos to the following:

• Tiffany Nails - Great people, awesome value, and clean
• Kovac Carpet - Family business, on time, great advice, and good follow up (they install the runner on the stairs tomorrow
• Ne Jaime Beverages - Have an email newsletter, invited me to a tasting, and have a charity wine tasting event to help buy mammogram machines for the New Milford Hospital.
• Village Green Drycleaners - Have a bin to recycle wire hangers and the plastic, tons of coupons and very welcoming staff

The difference may be I ask questions. I ask politely for recommendations and I tend to like to do business with locals rather than large chains if possible or I just shop the Internet. It was difficult to do this in Georgia with the multitude of strip malls and chains.. but some great local businesses are:

• The Biscuit (homemade biscuits open mornings Wednesday - Saturday - cash only)
• Rose Cottage - Home Decor and gifts
• The Big Shanty Barbershop - my dad loved that place

Okay... that is enough "Do Gooding for the Day"

Vernal Equinox

I was about to attribute the line " Spring has Sprung" to ee cummings. However, it a quick quote search, I discovered it is part of an unknown poet's words.. I checked my Bartlett's quotations. Published in 1937.. that didn't help.

If you noticed the comment on my posting about my Vegas trip, my darling friends in Atlanta are reminding me that the gardens I spent 4 years planting, weeding, bark mulching and paying for have begun to bloom. The wild bradford pears in the common land and along Hackamatack are in full bloom. The azaleas are ready to burst with pinks and pomegranate colours.





On St. Paddy's day, we receive over 10 inches of white stuff and not the petals from the pear trees. We didn't get out to conduct our plans until after 3PM when we were plowed out. Mr. B was beside himself. As St. Paddy's day on a Saturday doesn't happen too too often.





So technically, tomorrow may be the Vernal Equinox. However, it may be April before the flowers signal spring. The original quote and poem seem to be unknown. So I will leave you with thoughts of Spring with this....

"If we had no Winter, the spring would not be so pleasant;

If we did not sometimes taste the adversity,

prosperity would not be so welcome."

Anne Bradstreet

Cead Mille Failte!!!

It is St. Patrick's Day ... or the last work day prior to it. I love St. Paddy's day. Here is Seamus dressed up (for Halloween) as my little leprechaun! Oh.. and is he ever....

Cheers and Slainte to all!

Branny

What happens in Vegas - Ain't Staying There!!!

I am still recovering from my recent trip to Sin City this week for my company's inaugural "C 2.0 Conference / C20". Not for the reasons so many visitors have returning from the LV. Being part of the conference production team is always a challenge. You are up and working prior to your audience and leaving conference floor long after the audience is off having fun at a variety of activities. I have been working at events like this since 2000. I love it! For the first time, I have been able to get honest feedback from the audience, attendees and our sponsors.

Why do you say? Because they have been blogging their hearts out!! We have been able to read opinions, feedback, and comments. That haven't been written on the conference survey forms for just a few to read. They have put it out into the atmosphere for everyone to read. They are posting pictures as well on Flickr.

You will never understand how wonderful it is to be able to read these blogs. Am I tired! Yes, I am exhausted as are my team mates. Half of them are off to do it all over again for our EA Community and Conference next week in New Orleans. Bless their hearts!

Moreover, I am beaming. I learned a ton about communities, blogs, tagging, photo sharing, and the benefits to business along with the challenges and bogs to avoid.

We are becoming a more interwoven fabric of society with the new technology. The "me" society is being heard and is developing into a "We" - hence the "we are smarter" project.

I feel like the last couple of months has been a roller coaster ride with the event. I didn't know what to expect. Their was a ton of ups and downs and corkscrews. The end result was a great ride and I can't wait to be back in line to do it again! WEEEEEE...........

So if you are in the business of selling community and web 2.0 services and products, get ready. I will be calling you shortly to discuss how to reach this passionate audience of enterprise individuals wanting to bring communities to their customers.

http://www.futureofcommunities.com/2007/03/13/community-20-conference-discussion/

ps. Aaron, I tagged this and outed myself.

and now a word from Boomer ....

Stacy P sent this to me. I did it and it is simple and not a information grabbing experience. Stacy has witnessed this first hand as a social worker in Boston, New York and San Francisco. She is my resident social issues queen. So happy clicking

You probably never thought of this, but women's shelters in the U.S. go through thousands of tampons and pads monthly. Assistance agencies generally help with expenses of "everyday"necessities such as toilet paper, diapers, and clothing, but one of the most BASIC needs is overlooked - feminine hygiene products. "Every month" necessities seem to have fallen throughthe…ahem - well, they've been overlooked Seventh Generation, a green paper products and cleaning products company, has a do-good attitude and will donate a box of>sanitary> > > >products to a women's shelter in your chosen state - just for clicking the link (or copying and pasting). Talk about easy, and, yes, it is legitimate!http://www.tampontification.com/donate.php

Thanks for helping out. Please pass this on.

Interesting Search engine

Hey, did you know about www.goodsearch.com ? Everytime you are tempted to "google" something.... check out the above link. They donate to a charity of your choice each time you use them. Am I giving up Googling? Nope, I just try and balance it with goodsearch. My searching pennies are going to the American Brittany Rescue. There are scads of charities and schools on it.

So when you are feeling down and are tempted to google something ... remember good search.

Introducing the Duchess of Brannydoon!

Well, I haven't mentioned the Duchess as she was under house arrest in the townhouse. We were limited to two pets. Now, I have never heard of anyone getting busted for indoor cat that didn't impact anyone, given the issues with the dogs, she was "Clandestine Kitty" for 9 months. She wasn't mentioned in the blog as a result.

This is her coming out entry !! Duchess was adopted by Annie and I from the Bedford NH Animal Shelter in November of 1998. I think the staff thought I was nuts because I insisted on bringing Annie into the interview room. I wanted to make sure they got along. She is a dog loving cat. Duchess is not as friendly with her own kind.

She, along with her canine brother and sister, are loving being in the new house. The human care takers are as well. The move went smooth. We had a bit of a rough period with the furnace and a getting a part but all is well and we are slowly going to make it our own. The impulse is to rush out and order curtains, new lighting fixtures etc. We are forcing ourselves to live in the space for a time to figure out what right for the next 20 years. There you have it! You can start placing bets now.