Dirkmonster

Top 10 things to do while Gmail is down

Gmail, and possibly some other Google systems are going through a major outage today.

Here are some things to do in the meantime to keep from melting yourself from melting down as well:

1. Pause your Google AdWords campaigns until this blows over.  Who knows how far reaching the Google problems are.
2. Think about how much you depend on the cloud for your everyday life.  What analog back-ups do you have in place?
3. Consider this another stepping stone on Google's path back down to earth.  No web entity stays on top.
4. Commiserate with all the other victims on Twitter.
5. Get ready for your Fantasy Football draft!
6. Call an elder and ask them how they survived without Google all those years ago.  There are some tips for living to be had.
7. Know that you have to think faster next time: Gmailisdown.com was registered today by Nick McIntyre of San Bruno CA.
8. Actually get some work done.
9. Write a letter and mail it.  This is the best thing to happen to the USPS.
10. Buy an affordable tech stock that you think will be the next Google.

Other suggestions welcome.

My Top 3 Steve McNair Memories

After hearing of Steve McNair's violent death on July 4th, I went to the scene.

Nashville has lost a legend who created so many memories fans share collectively.  Here are ones that I'll always remember:

1. The second to last play of Super Bowl XXXIV.  A play was NEVER over while Mac 9 had the ball.
2. The sprint up the middle of the field for a touchdown that same season in the AFC Championship game against the Jaguars.
3. McNair wasn't even in on The Music City Miracle. But I'll never forget the look on his face right after it happened.

I'm afraid in the days ahead we might learn some things we wish we didn't know about Steve's life and death.  Regardless, this is a guy who made all the difference on the field as the Titans' first QB.  But by all accounts he was a class act off the field as well.  Just tonight, a teenager was interviewed outside McNair's new restaurant near Tennessee State University.  In the last days of his life, Steve gave this kid a job when no one else would.  The young man described the leadership by example that Steve showed at his restaurant - cleaning up, taking out garbage, bringing customers exta napkins.  It clearly made an impression on this young man. 

It occurred to me that this was the same leadership we saw on the field.  He was the one with the biggest heart and the most determination - never to good to block for someone else or hand the ball off to Eddie 35 times.  But I bet there was never any question who was in charge.

Steve McNair death scene

I just returned home from the scene near downtown Nashville where former Tennessee Titans QB Steve McNair and a woman were shot to death.

Pictures from the scene.

A crowd of fans and onlookers is growing larger standing by with the sea of media.

The scene is a small condo complex about a mile north of Riverfront Park in Nashville where Nashville's Independence Day celebration is taking place.  The holiday and this grim scene have collided - just steps away from the condo crime scene is a crowded swimming pool and $10 parking spaces for the fireworks.

Looking in from the north side of the complex, I saw the door to the unit where the shooting apparently happened.  Detectives and other officials were going in and out.

The rumor on the scene was that it was a murder suicide - not confirmed at this point.

Continuous updates at at Newschannel5.com.

Hungry children in Tennessee

Today I received an email from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.  It contained an appeal that should concern every one of us who are blessed to take our meals for granted:

Did you know that 1 in 5 children in Tennessee are at risk of hunger?  According to a new report on Child Food Insecurity released by Feeding America, 20 percent of Tennessee children under 18 have what experts call "food insecurity,” meaning they do not know when or where they will find their next meal.   Not only did Tennessee rank ninth in the country in the percentage of children under age 5 with food insecurity, our state jumped from seventh to fourth in the nation in the percentage of all children under the age of 18 with food insecurity.  You can eliminate childhood hunger in Tennessee by making a donation today!  Every dollar donated to Second Harvest provides 4 meals to hungry men, women and children.

As a parent of small children, it troubles me to think of how it's likely that some kids they may be playing with today might not be assured of a meal tonight.

"Barack Lock" traffic jam in Nashville

Hey Barack! I'm a fan and all but you have a lot of nerve leaving town during rush hour this morning.  I have half a dozen team members and one wife stuck in "Barack-Lock" traffic on the Interstate.

I think you have your own plane so you could've scheduled the flight for, say, 6am.  Want to sleep in?  Late check out?  No problem!  How about wheels up at 11am then?

Between 7-9am on a rainy Wednesday?  Bad call.  You should've called Al Gore. The former Vice President from Tennessee would've told you, even though he did it all the time too.

Dave Ramsey's Take on Wall Street's "Crisis"

I have to admit despite the dire warnings and fearful predictions, I'm still skeptical of the idea that we MUST rush into passing a $700 Billion rescue plan for Wall Street OR ELSE.  I'm thinking, burned once on that idea with the Patriot Act. Burned again on that idea with the war on Iraq.  Now, the government is trying to scare us again into rushing into something with tremendous consequences.

So I was interested to read Dave Ramsey's take on the situation.  He sounds much less panicked than The President or EVERYONE on CNBC.

Bank bailout issue is the key to POTUS 08

It's stunning the twists and turns Campaign 08 has taken from the historic figures on the tickets to the ever changing issues defining the election.  Surprisingly, domestic security and the "war on terror" probably are not the issues that will propel Obama or McCain to the White House.  It could be this confusing mess in which the executive branch wants the authority to spend $700 billion or more buying securities no one else will.

The candidate that can instill the most confidence in how the plan will be administered next year will be the next POTUS.  And how do they do that?  If I were Obama I would think about securing my Secretary of the Treasury and Chairman of the Federal Reserve now, not after the election.  It may be these same two guys, but they are getting beaten up awefully bad this week.  I'm told Alan Greenspan is not healthy enough to come out of retirement and he's arguably linked to the early 1990's deregulation that caused the crisis we're facing now.  (Greenspan was wrong?  The Maestro?)  I'm just suggesting credible picks for those spots now might make the candidate appear ready to lead.  Would Warren Buffet serve the nation, even though he just took a huge stake in Goldman? What about that Mad Money Guy?  Or...Barack could make a Palin play and get Maria Bartiromo (c'mon, she minored in Economics at NYU and she can see Wall Street from her house).  I don't know, but the candidate that can explain it to me and seems to have the plan and the resources to get this thing under control gets my vote.

Why save banks and not people?

Congress hears testimony today from the Treasury Secretary and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board on why a $700 billion (or more) financial bailout should be quickly passed, "warning that letting problems persist would have dire consequences for the national economy".

Everyone seems to agree that there is a financial crisis that threatens the economy.  I'm trying to understand what it's all about.  My understanding is that banks were allowed to make loans to consumers who probably should not have qualified.  Those mortgages were the recipe for exotic mortgage back securities and derivatives that probably should have been regulated, except for a Congress and a Federal Reserve that pushed it to happen.  These mortgage backed securities apparently became the backbone of the world's largest investment banks.  When those debt securities lost their value because people couldn't pay the mortgage it all started with, the investment banks were toast.

But what's in this plan for actual people, not companies, that are in trouble.  Someone please comment below and explain to me why the bailout shouldn't be for the Americans who took out those mortgages? Why shouldn't the money the Federal Government is throwing at the problem pay the banks back the money owed on the mortgages?  The banks get the cash, the people get their debt forgiven.   I'm not saying everyone who defaults on a mortgage deserves a bailout, but they deserve it at least as much as Fannie Mae, AIG or Morgan Stanley?  What's wrong with that?

"We hope you've enjoyed your stay at the Holiday Inn Guantanamo Bay"

Three detainees checked out of the the US Defense Department's all inclusive Cuban resort for Arab's last week. 

According to the Government's press release, "one detainee was transferred to Afghanistan, one detainee to the United Arab Emirates, and one detainee to Qatar.  These detainees were determined to be eligible for transfer following a comprehensive series of review processes...The transfer is a demonstration of the United States' desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary."

Is this release (or transfer), one of over 60 in the works, an admission that these detainees were never a threat to begin with or just no longer a threat?  Maybe the Defense Department has gotten as much out of them as they're ever going to.  In any event, I'm sure they'll have a lot of nice things to say to their friends in Afghanistan, the UAB and Qatar.

The approximately 265 guests still (not) enjoying their stay in Guantanamo Bay can sit tight.

"Last Lecture" author Randy Pausch dies

Last night I was only about halfway through Randy Pausch's small book, The Last Lecture, and I knew I was blessed to be reading it.

Today, I saw the news that Pausch died this morning.  The cancer that prompted him to put together the lecture took his life.  The cancer couldn't get him before he felt the need to do something important for a relatively small group of people.  Turns out, he's told the world about some of the best things in life.

Let's pray for his wife and 3 small children who have lost their dearest one today.  Thanks Randy!