Just an average guy, screaming into the void, hoping for an echo in return.

Kudos to President Biden for a warm, heartfelt Columbus Day Congratulations message. I grew up with incredible friends of Italian descent and treasure those relationships to this day. Their parents and extended families treated us Hispanic kids in the neighborhood like their own and I learned many lessons on loyalty and family from them. Italian-Americans have been a part of our great experiment literally since the beginning and I'm thankful for their contributions to our Nation.   "Congratulazioni e felice giorno di Colombo."  President Biden's official proclamation: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/10/11/a-proclamation-on-columbus-day-2024/

When I introduce myself in a friendly social setting I tend to say I'm a recovering people-pleaser. It's my icebreaker. Bear with a little Saturday morning oversharing. I promise there's a point at the end. Other than a mild teenage rebellion stage, for most of my life I did what was expected of me. From my childhood to the day I left the service, I generally toed the line; and to be honest, was greatly rewarded for it. I lived to help others, even if it came at my expense. I saw it as honorable. As noble. Sacrifice for others = selfless and good. Sacrifice for myself = selfish and bad. And since I had done it since childhood, I didn't know or want to know any other way. But since retiring from the military four years ago, I began doing deep self-reflection. With the guidance of great friends and mentors, I went from "we" to "me." This post was inspired by Bruce Thompson, . He wrote an amazing post yesterday about how he lives his life and i

 Happy Fall 2024. What's your favorite part of the Fall Jose? Well, I'm glad you asked. Sweaters, of course. Oh, and when SeriusXM starts their Christmas music mid-Fall.

  You're welcome. 

  Can you imagine us having this conversation ten years ago? A former president, now candidate for president, being targeted by two assassination attempts? One which drew blood? We'd likely be in utter shock. It would feel like a historical low for our nation. And while the news cycle ate this last attempt on former president Donald Trump up for a few days, it's already starting to fade into short updates or the second story on national news. It'll be third story or after the first break in a few days from now. This is absolutely unprecedented, and so is the response. We're not only numb to it, we welcome it. Tens of thousands of people are not only celebrating the attempt, but amusingly asking how it's possible the gunmen keep missing. "How can you miss a big, round target like that?" said one X user. Another said "just give me the gun. I'll do it." TikTok influencers are openly joyous about the attempts and some call for more until it's

  I'm going to say it, I'm not a fan of "group" month observances. I know many people believe our nation is far worse off than it was during the Jim Crow era when it comes to diversity relations, but honestly I think that's absolutely laughable. I believe it's incredibly important to celebrate diverse groups, but to the extend that they've added to our national fabric. You don't need a month for that. When you force people to "celebrate" something, you're tying its value to the time you're celebrating. I want to be celebrated as an American who happens to be of Hispanic heritage, who's family brought their unique culture and added it to the spices of our melting pot, as part of my day-to-day life. I want to celebrate others who's families brought their unique flavors to our nation, on a day-to-day basis as well. Having said that, if you're going to have a Hispanic Heritage Month, then at least do it right. Make it meaningf

    ***Gets on soapbox: Artificial Intelligence is just a marketing term. Sort of like sugar-free soda. Not always, but often. Artificial Intelligence is everywhere. It's being used in all sorts of software, apps, web searches, etc. What most people seem not to know is most AI isn't actually AI. It's just regular old programming, done AI'ish. AI requires taking information and creating something novel based off more than just calculations, but actual understanding. If it doesn't understand, process, and respond intentionally, then it isn't AI. Programs that process information and spit out pre-programmed responses, regardless of how life-like or genuine, have existed for decades. They're indispensable to every aspect of our modern world. Just because an app creates a photo mash-up doesn't make it AI.   ***Gets off soapbox.

  I didn't want to watch. I figured I'd get the noteworthy zingers from news networks and social media so why waste two hours I could be watching game shows.  But I watched. Mostly because I remembered the news media is quite biased, and it is so exhausting reading the obvious far left/right opinion-pieces afterward to try to figure out the ground truth. So I figured I'd invest two hours, hear it with my own ears, and process it unfiltered from their mouths. That way I could make up my own mind on how it went. My friend Michelle, who is a soon-to-be PhD in strategic communications, and absolute Kung Fu communications grand-master, wrote an incredible piece on how Vice President Harris, the underdog, used three expert techniques to what is widely considered (even by the right) to have been an easy win over former President Trump. I'll link to her article below. My take is Harris got under Trump's skin, and when push comes to shove, Trump literally can't help hims

 Did you enjoy summer?  Any unexpected wins or losses?  If you could speak to yourself from today back to January 1st of this year, what would you say? What lessons have you learned so far this year? ***MY ANSWERS BELOW***  Did you enjoy summer? It was nice. Nothing too crazy. To some degree forgettable. I should have definitely made more meaningful memories. But the memories I did make were with those I love, and those are the only memories I care about making. Any unexpected wins or losses? Well, a win is I'm going to be a grandfather! Jan 2025. That's more than enough of a win to cover any losses I'd care to remember. If you could speak to yourself from today back to January 1st of this year, what would you say? I'd ask myself to work harder at forgiving myself and others. Holding onto things will only drag you down. Let. It. Go. What lessons have you learned so far this year? It's hard for me to Let. It. Go. Lol. I'm hilarious all by myself in this lonely li

 I can hear the world's smallest violin being played for me as I write this. Look, it sucks not to be the 20-year powerhouse New England Patriot dynasty of old. We've had a few crappy years and it sucks. I know having terrible seasons is part and parcel for many fans of respective teams across the country. But all dynasties fall, and it was great while it lasted. So for now move over on the bench, Washington, Arizona, Las Vegas, Seattle, Carolina, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, New York, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Minnesota, Houston, and Tampa Bay. We want to sit down. This year I have a little more hope than the last three. Are we a Super Bowl contender? Hell-to-the-no. Will we have a .500 season? Maybe. And I'd call that a win. Anything more and it'll be icing on the cake. And don't @ me Cowboys fans. Go get a couple of folding chairs. You'll be sitting here with the rest of us watching the Super Bowl on February 9th, 2025.

Dangit, so no sh*t there I was... trying to get to the Facebook page I advertise on for business purposes. I usually go through a third party app but yesterday, I felt it was more convenient to just go through my personal account. Facebook requires you keep a personal account to be an admin on a group, business, or professional account. Not sure I'd still have a personal account if that weren't required.  In most cases, I use an app that takes me directly to the page I manage without seeing my personal account. Yesterday I made a rookie move. I went in through the front door, so-to-speak. And there it was, the dreaded "feed." And there they were, the dreaded thought-vomiters; imparting their elitist "wisdom" on us peasants, and their carefully curated edicts and party approved talking points, masquerading as opinions. Not gonna lie, I was sucked in for about five minutes. The whole can't stop looking at the car wreck thing. It didn't take more than t

  It's gotta be weird to be an incumbent president, whose party celebrates for having done a great job during his first presidency, has to pass the torch to his vice president. Such was the case at the Democratic National Convention's first night in Chicago. "My fellow Democrats, my fellow Americans, nearly four years ago in winter, on the steps of the Capitol on a cold January day, I raised my right hand and I swore an oath to you and to God to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, and to faithfully execute the office of the United States," the president said at the start of his 48-minute speech. "In front of me was a city surrounded by the National Guard. Behind me, a Capitol that two weeks before had been overrun by a violent mob." He continued: "With a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered. And now democracy must be preserved." Whatever you think of B

 I'm on a "now" kick. Not really sure if I'm rejecting the convenience of modernity for the simplicity of traditionalism. I never considered myself a traditionalist. Truth-be-told, I've always been an early adopter of technology. I bought my first Vic-20 (predecessor to the Commodore 64) in 1982; the same year I bought my first vinyl album out of my own piggy bank. I started making mix-tapes in the mid-80s, got the Atari in 1986, and sent my first email by 1992. I got my first personal computer and plugged into the internet in 1995. "You've got mail!" I'm got my first beeper in the 80s and my first cellphone in the mid-90s. I got a Friendster account, then Myspace, then Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Over the last few years though, I've been pushing away technology; especially with regard to social media. The noise and silence are just too deafening. On one hand, you've got the noise. The ever present noise. Endless a

  This was me during a speech to senior people at my alma mater, the Defense Information School, minimizing my success. This post is inspired by today's Leader Transition Institute post called The Growth Zone+. It's a weekly post helping us better understand ourselves. The topic was not allowing what others think of you to stifle your success. I read it and remembered all the times I apologized for my success. My profession was dog-eat-dog. A “what have you done for me lately” type environment. That was my summation as I reflected at the sunset of my military career, four years ago. PAOs moved faster than the average Soldier. Our Privates interviewed Generals. We worked in radio and television and social media and reached masses. And we worked to support media access to our troops. There is no "off" button when you're a PAO. This is a personal observation on my individual experience. I moved through the ranks fast. I raised my hand for the hard jobs, did well,

  Here's the bottom line. It doesn't matter how many medals the U.S. gets. What the Chinese people will hear is China won the most medals in the Summer Olympics in Paris. How? Here's the count as of August 5th, 2024. The U.S. is tied for most gold medals, most silver and bronze medals. But... who cares? China is still winning. Here's how. What the Chinese people hear is China is winning. How? To the people of China it's transparent. They just see the numbers on their carefully crafted medal count graphics during their newscasts.  How does China counts its numbers? It includes any medals from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and 16 other nations it disputes it has territorial claims over all across the Pacific. You'd be surprised to know China claims among those 16, it owns the two Koreas, the Philippines, Japan, and India; none of which recognize Chinese rule. Does that matter to the Chinese government? Nope. It's all about the numbers. Throughout and at the end of the Ol

I cannot believe an announcer, who saw exactly what we saw, and came to the same visual conclusion almost all of us initially did, and got excited announcing what he saw, has to apologize for saying what most of us thought. We were all as surprised and excited when the photo finish was revealed and Kishane Thompson was announced the winner. He immediately corrected himself and celebrated in the moment like we all did. End of story. NBC , always tucking its tail under its legs, groveling at the feet of sensitive society. Wouldn't want to offend anyone. I would never have apologized. Link to story. Copied and pasted as-is. Any photos not pasted over just didn't make it  over. I wasn't going to work to edit this crap story. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nbcs-leigh-diffey-admits-fault-after-erroneously-calling-kishane-thompson-as-100-meter-winner-over-noah-lyles-125921385.html NBC's Leigh Diffey admits fault after erroneously calling Kishane Thompson as 100-meter winner over