For those who listened to this last podcast, I mentioned I was going on a business trip to the East Coast. I did and as I type this, I’m on my way back to the crib. I had a lot of fun and my brother-in-law got to go with me. I can honestly say it was an adventure from the very beginning.

Instead of typing it all out, I might talk about it a little on the next podcast. I got to meet up with some family members I hadn’t seen in over 20 years. We traveled through Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Philadelphia and DC. The ride we had was top notch and got us where we needed to go. I’ll post pictures of the places we visited and what we learned in our nation’s capital.

I’ll be back to blogging this week!

On the date of June 7, 1998, James Byrd, Jr. died by decapitation after his head hit a ditch culvert after being dragged by White supremacists in Jasper, TX.

My stomach still turns as I write that statement. It’s astonishing that event happened only nine years ago this past weekend. It’s even more astonishing that this abomination happened a full 135 years after the Emancipation Proclomation, 43 years after Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat in Montgomery, AL, and 35 years after the March on Washington. We are so far removed from those historic events and yet it seems like we’re still up to our eyeballs in the same pile of $#*! and MAN does it stink!
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I’ve really been slacking on the blogging. Having two blogs and the podcast is taking it’s toll on me. I’m going to get back soon, but to get you all through the weekend I wanted to share a post on my site at theojohnson.net. I’m testing out a theory of using child exploitation to drive more traffic to the site. If it works I might use it more when I get in these slumps. Hope you enjoy.

Cute Clip: First Laptop

I guess Charles Barkley was right.

Who knew?!

I’ve gotta say I’m a huge hypocrite. I can recall watching my dad watching the Lakers play against the Celtics and thinking how cool Kareem Abdul Jabbar and “Magic” Johnson were. It seemed like they were almost like living cartoon characters. There images were so wholesome and squeaky clean. Then during my teenage years I figuratively idolized Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys, Desmond Howard during his years at the U. of Michigan, and Charlie Ward as he stormed towards a dominant campaign for the Heisman Trophy while at Florida St. Each of them to varying degrees noted Christ as their inspiration and personal savior as I began to develop my own individual relationship with Christ. Even when I felt the need for a little “bad boy” inspiration I looked towards Michigan’s Fab 5 for which basketball worldwide can thank for ridding us of those disgusting “get it boy” shorts of the 70′s and 80′s (see John Stockton http://youtube.com/watch?v=nbqdxlZr4_0). Then Charles Barkley came along and ruined it for all of us in 1993 when he proclaimed parents should be role models in a Nike ad. Let’s take a little tour of some of the worst/most shocking athletic indiscretions of the past 14 years since Sir Charles made that commercial and look at athletes in trouble:
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As bloggers, I think it’s safe to say that the consensus among us all is to stay “cutting edge” with trends that are going on in our communities, our countries, and worldwide. One of the “hotter” topics among the national media for the past few years has been how we can better serve our global environment and stabilize the ecosystem. Liberals and conservatives fight and banter over the true effects of global warming like a holy war. Western states suffer severely from logistical nightmares of how to efficiently and consistently deliver enough water to satisfy a demand that is constantly rising though watersheds are shrinking. Every year national outrage burns anew as energy, gasoline, and copper (yes, I said copper) prices get higher than a Rastafari cover band of Nirvana. No matter what your feelings are on any of these issues the facts are that there are things we can do and be aware of to preserve our world just a little bit longer for future generations.
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This weekend, my wife and I got the chance to visit the Body Worlds exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. For those who’ve never heard of it, Gunther von Hagens uses donated bodies to educate the public about health and anatomy. The bodies are taken and put through a process called plastination, where the decomposition of the parts is actually halted. This allows them to be preserved and placed in specific poses for all to see. They don’t give the identity of the donors or show the faces because the goal is to educate. And educate it did.
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My heart goes out to the students, faculty and families at Virginia Tech. As a parent, you want the best for your child, so you make the necessary sacrifices to get them a quality education. Only to have someone in a senseless act of violence, take their life. It’s situations like this that make you realize how important it is to make the most of every minute given to you. I don’t know what I would do if faced with the harsh reality of losing a loved one in that manner.

We all know each day is not promised. When I wake up each morning, I thank God for a new day. I wake up ready for the challenges and opportunities that life is ready to throw my way. I prepare myself to make the best of every situation. I look forward to getting the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. Each second is precious and I try not to waste the time I’m given.

Continue to pray for the state of Virginia. They’ve faced a lot over the past couple of weeks. There’s so much going on in the world. Always remember, it doesn’t take a lot to make an impact in society. Take time for others. Show someone how much you care about them. Just a small a amount of your time might change a person’s life.

As a show of support, many students have replaced their MySpace and Facebook photo icons with the ribbon above.

April 16 Memorial Website

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

Virginia Tech’s MySpace Message Board

JD over at the Black In Business blog tagged me to respond to his meme on goals. The original meme was started by Alex Shalman. I told him, I’d have this at the beginning of the week, but things have been pretty crazy and I wasn’t able to get it out. I’ve found it works for me to put goals in writing because I’m able to come back later to see how much I’ve accomplished. JD had a good post about being able to measure the goals you set, so I’m going to do that for some as I list them.

In no particular order.

1. Be a better husband, father, son. Although I’m not listing this in any particular order, I’d have to say this is one of my top goals. I can always rely on my family to be there for me, so I want to make sure I do the same for them. I feel I do a good job at this, but there’s always room for improvement. My measure for this is my wife (you married guys know what I mean). If she’s happy, then everyone in the house is happy
2. Grow business and clientele. I’m a contract computer programmer, so I’m always looking for ways to expand my business. It’s small now, but I can see it being bigger. Some of the most successful business ventures started as a vision/dream. If you can see it, then you can achieve it. My measure for this is increased business through referrals. If you are getting referrals, then your current clients must be happy with your services.
3. Be an effective role-model. There are a lot of good role-models out there, but how many are really making a difference in someone’s life? An effective role-model causes people to change for the better. It’s not about show or for publicity. It’s about one person, doing the best they can to help others.
4. Be more active in the community. Life gets busy and time is limited, but I want to do more. Even if it’s just an hour or two a month, I urge people to give what time they can. Just think if everyone in America donated one hour of their time a month to help someone in their community.
5. To have friends from every part of the world. I might be closer to this goal than I think. But wouldn’t it be cool to be able to travel around the world and have someone to visit. I love learning about different cultures and meeting new people. I think that’s why I enjoy blogging so much. Someday I’ll have to map out where my friends are from to see how far along I am on this goal.
6. Financial independence. I’ve been trying to get out of debt since I made my first dollar! I think I’ve finally come to the realization that I am the cause for my debt. That’s changing this year. By the end of the year I plan to be done with credit cards. Delayed gratification is key. Then I can really make some moves through investing and making my money work for me.
7. Close the digital divide in Black America. I can’t do this by myself, but I do have plans on shrinking that gap a little. The key is to get to the younger kids. Catch them while they’re young and willing to put the time into learning about computers and technology. They just need the access and someone willing to come teach.
8. Travel to Africa. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ll make it one day. My wife and I got a passport a couple of weeks ago and I can’t just let it sit in the desk drawer.
9. Conquer fear and uncertainty. I’m going to measure this based on the amount of risks I take in life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about taking dumb risks. I’m talking about stepping out of my safety zone. There are opportunities out there that I miss out on because I’m always letting the “What If?” hold me back.
10. Keep God first. I told you, this is in no particular order. This is one of the things I strive to do, but sometimes lose focus on. I was raised in the church and it’s made me who I am today. My belief in God is important to me and I hope that others can see that in the things I do. I’m far from perfect, but each day I pray to get another chance to do better.

Whew! That’s all I got. I want to thank JD for tagging me to reply to this meme, so I guess it’s my turn to tag someone else.

My three choices are:

The Villager – The Electronic Village

Vanessa – Vanessa: Unplugged

Benin – The Benin Epiloge Part 1

Tag you’re it.