Start the School Right with the Right Computer

Desktop vs laptop? That is the question. It think it is a question of mobility or stability. If you are more stable and sit at your desk to do most of your work in one place and or not in college, graduate school, law or medical school, a desktop is the thing for you.
Most people who regularly use desktops do their work in one place print it out and send it out. They usually have in-home offices and transfer data from their at-work office to their in-home office and use by flash drive or portable hard drive. Stability is the the goal of desktop users.
Now laptop users are a different breed. They are people who are always on the go and need a computer wherever they are . Laptop users would use their laptops in the shower if they could. The people who fall into this category are usually students of all ages, travelers who need to bring their homes and offices with them. They have a desire to check their email, make online purchases and find out a little bit or a great deal about where they are. Laptops have become the filofax, Franklin planner, reference library and personal assistant all rolled into one.
Students use laptops to take notes, do research, download music and movies and it is a must for success in college. I has replaced the calculator, encyclopedia and numerous trips to the library. Since most universities have online access to the library, students can research and write papers without leaving their dorm rooms.
Now that we have established who uses what type of computer and why, we must answer another question, MAC or PC?
That is a matter of preference. The official line is that macs are for the artist, writer ,designer, musician and the PC is for the accountant, scientist and engineer.
Those descriptions are not fair to either computer. There are people from all disciplines who use both Macs and PC's but I will admit that you find more musician, film makers and artists who use a Mac and many scientists who use PC's . It usually comes down to costs .
For a long time many students used PC's because the price was affordable for them. When Apple dropped the price of their laptops and desktops and created the ibook and now the under $1,000 Macbook plus the $100 student discounts you see more Macbooks in the hands of students at all universities. More students are now purchasing Macbook for another reason most schools also use a majority of Macs . This encouraged students to also use Macs as well.
But as Macs have gotten cheaper so have PCs . One can purchase a PC laptop for as little as $200 so as you probably realized they are more PC users that Mac users.
So what is the answer to the question, PC or Mac? The answer, whatever.

Summer Fun Summer Food

If you live in the Twin Cities area you should try to get to Sea Salt in Minneapolis. Located on the Hiawatha parkway and at the main park pavilion. Sea Salt is one of the most unique seafood restaurants in the Twin Cities. You can sample a variety of seafood prepared with love and care . From Po boys made from catfish, oysters, craw fish or shrimp or some of the best calamari I have Had the pleasure to taste or fried or grilled fish platters . If you are lucky a band may be playing in the band shell and you can have music with your dinner. If you have not dropped by this fine establishment do it soon because it closes in October.

Workout music

I workout every day because I have to. I am at the point now that I am used to working out and it is a part of my daily routine. What makes the hour that I put into my daily workout pleasurable is to do things that keep up the pace and change up the routine.
One of the things that does this is choosing different music for each workout. When you have an Ipod with over 11,000 songs that is not hard to do.
I have found that certain music is better for certain workouts:
Yoga is best done listening to Ravi Shakiur, Tony Scott and maybe a little classical or Kenny G. Weight lifting or fast aerobics is best done while listening to Rock: The Stones, ZZ Top, Van Halen or Lenny Kravitz. If you want to get your heart rate up listening to squeeze box is the way to do it.
The cooldown should always be accompanied by Isley Brothers slow songs or world meditation music.
I workout seven days a week riding over 60 miles a week on the exercise bike and lifting over 3,000 pounds per week to prolong life, spirit and attitude.

The Mannings are the Men

When I was in the 7th grade in Jackson Mississippi, the greatest football player that I knew was Archie Manning, not be cause he was the establishment's football player but because he was a nice guy who loved the sport and took superficial things like race and politics out of it. Archie was the real deal.
Sports writers tried to get him to expose on whether Ole Miss should or should not play against teams with black players. Archie did not see football players as black or white just players opponents and team mates . He saw the game as a game and players as players.
Archie was never pretentious never verbose . I remember being at music camp ( not football camp) at Ole Miss and Archie came by to visit friends of his who worked at the camp. We all got to meet him he was kind and cordial to us all black or white male or female. Archie was kind and made us all proud that he played for Mississippi, not just the University but the state for us all not just half of the state. A few years later when I was a student at Ole Miss, the school had changed since Archie played there many of the players were black and many of the students thought like Archie with a since of fairness and a concern for the future of Mississippi and the nation.
I often judge people by there children and Archie is no exception, his sons Peyton and Eli are fine examples of what young athletes should be positive in their public image always giving back to the community of humankind. When Katrina hit the Manning boys were the first on the scene along with Archie to do whatever they could to help their city.
I think Archie was an all-American and the name not only applied to his football playing ability but to his overall manner. I am proud to be from the same state as Archie and will never forget what he did for the state and the nation.

Back to the Turnpike

Heading toward Maine, I passed Toledo the home of Tony Paco's Hungarian hot dogs and I could not go there because it was off the turnpike. Not being on the turnpike creates many problems for businesses because most drivers are trying to get there. You might ask, where is there? There is the destination that you would like to reach before the sun goes down . There is where you plan to stay for a couple of days. There is why you are on the trip in the first place. The turnpike also does not allow you to ride past anything because all of the sites are off the turnpike.

East Coast Travel : Keep the Change!!!!!!!

Two weeks ago, I went on a trip to the east coast to Maine and New Hampshire. During that trip I encountered what many of us in the mid west are not familiar with the dreaded toll roads . Not the kind that you encounter going to Chicago From Minnesota that usually run no more than 5 dollars but the mother of all toll roads I-90 From Indiana to Maine I paid fee after fee to stay on this road as little as $5.00 to as much as $30 . I did not mind the payments I just wish that the payments were more organized. For instance if it is the same highway why must one pay a different fee for Pennsylvania than for New York . Why must all the hotels be off the toll road and why is it that all of the good restaurants are off the tool road?
These and many other questions will be answered in my next blog

Blogging From DC

Hi,
Just a quick note. I am in Washington DC for the NEA convention . I will be doing two things for the 10 days that I am here : Posting a blog of the activities of the convention and a travel log of interesting places to go and eat in the DC area. I wil also send some pictures and video . Keep in touch and tune in .