Random Thoughts From a Wandering Mind

Taken from Reddit this list was complied by u/Custergrant: “ And here's why: • Trump referred to to the Marines killed in WWI at the Battle of Belleau Wood as "suckers" • Trump rejected a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial in France because he feared the rain would mess up his hair and referred to America's military dead and injured as "losers" • Trump knew since Mar 2020 that Russia paid bounties to kill American troops, yet he has done nothing. • In May 2020, the White House ended National Guard deployments one day before they could claim benefits • The Trump admin seized 5 million masks intended for VA hospitals. Kushner distributes these masks to private entities for a fee, who then sells the masks to the government • Trump fired the captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt after he warned superiors that COVID19 was spreading among his crew. The virus subsequently spread amongst the crew. • After Iran's retaliatory strike, 109 US tr...

I really need to start writing again. I haven't touched any of my unfinished manuscripts in months. In fact my main source of writing for a couple of years now has been writing episodes for my podcast Clouded , which does keep me busy but doesn't get the creative juices flowing. I'm going to try and get my profile up on Wattpad going. I never really started it. In fact I deleted my original profile and just recently signed up again. Hopefully this time I follow through. If anyone out there has used Wattpad let me know what you think of it. Or if you have some tips you don't mind sharing please let me know also.

The plan is to revive this blog with a few updates a week. I can't wait to share with you, again, snippets from my life. Please Stay Tuned!

For the past 3 years the majority of us Dodgers fans have have been in the dark when it comes to Dodger games. All thanks to the deal struck between Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers ownership. I say enough is enough. The time for change is now. The past few months I have been lucky enough to have joined the L.A. sports podcast Guys In Shorts Sports . We have talked plenty of times about the Dodgers situation and the frustrations of the fans on a few episodes. So we decided to try and make a change. This where you come in. We are asking all Dodgers fans and really baseball fans in general join please sign and share our petition to get both the Dodgers and Time Warner back to the negotiation table. Dodger management owes it to their fan base to get a new deal in the works. "While the Dodgers might not be feeling the immediate effects of this deal, the long term ramifications could be catastrophic. Three seasons without Dodger baseball available on TV means three years t...

" What happens when you stop and see the invisible?" My newest book is an inspirational short story about giving and seeing beyond the outer surface of people. It's only .99 cents and it's available at Amazon in the Kindle Book Store. Kindle Unlimited subscribers can read it for free. Buy it and read it today! The Gift - A Short Story

Saving money is never easy. Especially if your last name isn't Kardashian or Trump. For most of us saving money is an afterthought or we just don't have the time to do the math. Luckily for all of us Digit is here to save the day. Digit is an automated savings account. It's an algorithm that saves you money and you don't have to think about it. Once you connect your checking account, it will see how and when you spend money. Then it will start putting money aside automatically for you. You don't have to do a thing. Just sit back and start watching the money grow. Start saving for a trip, an Apple watch, or whatever you want to save up for. They also won't overdraft your account. If they do, they will cover the cost. So what do you have to lose? Pretty much nothing. I love using this service. It's the easiest and best way to save money. So far it has worked exactly as advertised. Cabo San Lucas here we come! Sign up today, you wont be sorry. Only ric...

We all live our lives online is some sort of fashion these days. I don't see that changing anytime soon. But that doesn't mean you have to freely give away data about yourself to anyone who wants it. You can take steps to protect your privacy . From VPN's to encrypted email, there are ways to hide or shield your private information from prying eyes. To help you check out this page I created that's all about online privacy: The Best Free Online Privacy Tools Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Parenting is filled with the good, the bad, and the ugly. This post is ALL about the ugly. You have been warned. A few days ago my son was having a hard time pooping (remember when I warned you?). Constipation in never fun. He had started started solid foods and I am assuming that his body was getting used to 'processing' said new food. Unfortunately for the little guy, his poop was coming out hard. He was struggling and crying to get it out. As hard as he tried, it just was not working. It was heartbreaking to see him hurting and hearing him cry. What happened next was, lets just say, a helping hand (plus a wipey) came to the rescue. In the end it all worked itself out. He has been pooping normally now. Crisis averted. But I will always remember when I earned the "Helping Hand" parenting badge.

Well bubba is back to normal. At least what's normal for him. Lol. As a parent you notice even the smallest changes in your kid(s). And when they are not feeling well those changes are rarely small. All you want to do is make them better. Sometimes you are able too and sometimes it's out of your hands. But when they do finally get back to normal, man that is a great feeling. It's a feeling that I think only parents get to feel. Any ways, now that he is smiling, jumping, and "talking" again it's back to normal in this house. Crazy normal but who wants boring normal?

Teamwork, patience, and love. Three of the many characteristics parents need. And did we need them last night. Yesterday Noah got his 6 month vaccination shots along with a flu shot. Needless to say the act of getting the shots was not easy (on any of us) but he recovered quickly and was smiling within a couple of minutes. We headed home with a sleeping baby and we were hoping for the best. Unfortunately that didn't happen. Parents know that some nights are better than others. And overall we have been blessed with a well tempered baby. But last night was the first time we were up all night. Poor Noah was not having it. A slight fever and his legs where he got his shots were hurting. This combination conspired agaisn't us, keeping the three of us awake throughout the night. I would dare say we got a total of 2-3 hours of sleep. Throw in an unhappy crying baby and you have a cocktail of potential disaster. But I think we did a bang up job of handling it. We both took turns trying...

If you know me at all, you know I love to save a buck. My wife used to laugh and scoff at me, but even she has seen the light. So when I started to read about a guy who wanted to take on the eCommerce giant Amazon and beat their low prices it immediately caught my attention. The guys name is Marc Lore and he's faced Amazon before. And sold out. He was one of the creative minds behind Diapers.com and when he became a viable competitor to Amazon he was bought out by them. But he didn't just sit around and spend his money. He is now sinking his teeth into his newest venture that he says will be cheaper and better than Amazon. And you can get in on the ground floor. It's going to be a membership eCommerce marketplace but if you sign up NOW, you can get 6 months free. That's right FREE. So click below and start saving money! Jet.com - Launching in early 2015

I self published a hard cover children's illustrated book titled " Tommy the Courageous Bird " last year. I cannot sufficiently express the joy in seeing something you created come to life and being able to physically hold it. Simply amazing! I also had such a wonderful time promoting the book. From book reads to meeting new people online, it has been a great learning experience. And with that experience I hope to make my next book an even greater success. I am embarking on another children's book called "Walter the Turtle". It's a story about a turtle who learns to become comfortable in his own shell. With a cast of new animal characters and a great moral / lesson to the story, I'm sure EVERYONE will enjoy it. I'm going to use this blog to update my next adventure with this book. I hope you come along for the ride. Thanks!

One thing I have not really told you about here is the way the wedding plans have been going. I can't quite put my finger on why I haven't been posting on this. But I figure better late thane never. So far the process has been pretty good. In fact I would like to use the word 'great' but I'm afraid you may not believe me. But I do have to say that none of my fears of what this could turn into have manifested. Don't get me wrong, there have been some minor to medium sized bumps in the road, but they were not really cause by my beautiful fiance. They had more to do with my side of the fence. Pretty much we are on schedule (except at this point the invitations) and we just had the cake testing this past Friday and seeing as how me and my fiance are not 'sweets' kind of people we brought along my future mother in law with us to help us find our sweet tooth. Our meeting was set for 11:00 am at Beverly's Best Bakery  in Fullerton and I must say the bak...

So I took my dog this morning to get neutered at my local Vet. Needless to say my dog, Dexter, was as happy as ever when I left him. I was the one who was worrying. He was completely fine. The hardest part was coming home and not having Dexter waiting for me at the top of my stairs as he does every morning after I drop off my son at school. That got to me. I guess I should learn from Dex. I cannot wait to get him home tomorrow.

Tomorrow I take engagement pictures with my fiancé for our wedding in October. I do like to bug her that a lot of the things you're supposed to do now for weddings seem manufactured to make someone else money. Including these photos that are "included" in the photographers package. She doesn't take too kindly to that. So after figuring out what two outfits to wear (mainly her choice and I'm ok with that) we are ready to roll. She has, of course, had her two outfits for at least a month now. We have also gone over some ideas and props for tomorrow. I can kind of see in my mind what the pictures may turn out to look like. And I can honestly say that I am now excited.

It's so close. I approved the cover photo, back photo, illustrations, text, and even the dedication and thank you pages. It's almost here. It's an amazing feeling to finally have Tommy come to life. But at the same time it's a scary one. I've never tried to sale a book before. I'm entering unknown waters. BRING IT ON If there is anything Tommy and this whole process has taught me its this: Do it and its not that bad. Just like Tommy, I am courageous

So I have decided to try my hand at investing in the stock market. Not much, I want to invest a little (so if I lose it, I won't miss it) and get use to how everything works. I am now in the middle of teaching my self what all the jargon means and what would be best for me and my family. I have been obsessed with learning all I can the past week. I think I have barely scratched the surface though. Any ways hopefully I won't make too many mistakes!

 500 Days of Summer is a movie that came out in 2009 that stars Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Needless to say that both my fiance and I love the movie. Seeing as how it was shot primarily in Downtown Los Angeles and we live 45 minutes away from DTLA, we decided to make a day of seeing where some of the popular spots were shot.  Bradbury Building  We started by going to the Bradbury Building where Tom meets Autumn, at the end of the film, while waiting for a job interview. The building itself was built in 1893 and has been the home of quite a few movies. The building itself from the outside doesn't look like much but once you are inside it is absolutely beautiful. The intricate detail, that is present every where, really has to be seen in person to truly appreciate it. The picture I took to the right just doesn't do it justice. When you first walk in it almost feels like you have been transported back in time and you tend to forget that it's still ...

Since the day Tommy was successfully funded I have been trying to figure out the best way to say 'thank you' and to convey what it was like to go through the whole Kickstarter process. Unfortunately I have not found the words in the English language that sufficiently conveys both of those things. But here goes my best effort. For anyone who backed this project one HUGE thank you is coming your way. Without you Tommy would still just be an idea and not a reality. Your generosity is what made this whole process worth it. It was an incredible feeling having all these friends, family, and strangers show their belief in me and my story by donating towards it. I cannot say enough times how much it meant to me. The entire proccess was a true blessing that I won't soon forget. I also don't want to forget everyone who tweeted, liked, posted, pinned, shared, and/or told someone about the book. You are all angels in my book so thank you too! This will probably be the close...

Today I got the story board (in pencil) back from the illustrator for Tommy The Courageous Bird. When I first saw the email my initial reaction was excitement, I couldn't wait to see what was in the .PDF file. But that was quickly followed by a sense of dread. What if I didn't like it? What if it was nothing like what I imagined it to be? Luckily it was none of those things. It's not perfect but it was pretty damn good. It was crazy to see what I created through the eyes of someone else. Amazing in fact. So now to add a few notes and hopefully move on to coloring. Woohoo!