Live

If not for Life's gifts
I would have never experienced all its Subtleties
the Heart felt joys, love, laughter
the agonizing Pain, loss and Sorrows,
the Ecstasy of woman warm upon my flesh,
cool whispering Winds, natures Peaceful melodies,
laboring to Exhaustion,
the Embrace of a child,
Trust of another,
I give Thanks for all things
Past, Present, Future

Equals

Today a gentleman shared the recent passing of his father. For a moment it took me rushing back. To the night I heard the gut wrenching news of my step fathers death. The only man I ever called Dad. I fought back the emotions as he spoke. 

Then a calm came about me as he resolutely shared the enlightening story of his father. It seemingly appeared to be therapeutic for him. Thinking to myself I wish I had shown more resolve at the time of my fathers passing.

Kindly he shared that after so many years as a successful musician his dad rarely gave him praise. Then one day shortly after writing a story in his fathers favorite outdoor magazine they finally shared a connection. 

In my youth I often resented my dad. And later in life I too found a connection to the man I thought to be a hard ass.  That day was gratifying to look into his eyes and with out words know we are equals.

Solaced over a grave just a boy and his dad. He spoke of how fitting it was for now he and his son to stand over his fathers grave. And so it should be, the father before the son.

Story Time

#clarkclass

One of the best things I have enjoyed in every @okieprof class

is the very interesting speakers that openly share their stories.
They enrich my knowledge by sharing experiences in both life and work. Everyone has had some interesting story to tell each in a very unique special way. Like unwrapping a present I find each one of them to be a gift. Thanks to all who share their story.

Quad incorporating Social Media

I found it very interesting that Quad Graphics the nations leading printer is now teamed with Pixability to incorporate YouTube Video into it's media marketing tools. This is a great example of how in todays business Social Media is playing an important role in marketing its products.
http://www.pixability.com/blog/pixability-quadgraphics-and-youtube-convergence
http://www.qg.com/aboutus/about_qg.asp

Arrest Record Expungement

It seems in my youth I have been a little more mischievous than most and it may have an effect on my background. Sure I have been arrested for fighting, but I don't think this makes me different from people. Everyone has had some form of altercation with another. Only when I was a young man I didn't back down from a fight. Now that I have grown to be a more mature humble person I've learned to turn the other cheek. I have reached out to an attorney who has given me some helpful advise about possibly clearing my record.

Work

I have been recently on the hunt for employment. It seems the 401k is dwindling and this summer it is time to go to work. Well I have to bring in some income people have to eat. I just hate the part of tinkering and tailoring a resume to meet each potential employers needs. I suppose it is all part of the game. So far I haven't had any luck with paid internships I inquired to late or the positions have been filled. The good people over at Quad Graphics responded to my request for employment and may offer me a job. That all depends on all the testing and background checks of coarse. If possible maybe this job will lead to a future internship with Quad. Although a long while ago I was at a bar and got myself arrested and charged with an A&B. I am not to proud of this lil fisticuffs. Friends the things you do when they get in a jam. 

Spatchcocked

This past Sunday I decided to try an alternate way to cook turkey. I was tired of the same old boring turkey recipe so I browsed Martha Stewarts web page. And a really weird word caught my eye spatchcocked. Well at least I hadn't heard this silly word being thrown around everyday. The process of roasting a fowl by removing its backbone and evenly spreading it out on your baking pan. This seemed a little more interesting than just stuffing the bird and throwing it in the oven. So I followed the simple easy instructions and seasoned my turkey. The results were great my family enjoyed their Easter meal I prepared and I think because of how quick and easy this was I will not roast turkey or chicken any other way but Spatchcocked.

Heres the link if you would like to try
http://www.marthastewart.com/355976/roast-spatchcocked-turkey

Reconnecting

These last few weeks I have been reconnecting with my past friends I haven't spoken with in a few years and to find out how they've been. Like me some have had to deal with death and  the loss of a family member recently. It was helpful to share the pain and heartache but to also hold on to the memories of all the good times we had with those lost. I find it is helpful to actually hear someones voice rather than to read unspoken words.

Finding a Passion

As a boy I easily found countless dreams and fantasies about how I could occupy my time in the day and with no real sense of failure. Now I more and more find my self filled with worry and defeat. I don't seem to have the same boyish imagination to explore the unknown. As each day passes it is my intent to claim back some of those boyhood fantasies and make some thrilling memories.

How things change

Its weird how at one point in life you feel like everything is working out in your favor and then it seems the next day it all just changes. Like for myself, I was bringing home an income of over 75K and then almost in an instant I am a college student living off my 401K and student loans. I woke up today and said to myself what was I thinking. I question my decisions a lot and wonder if this one, me going back to complete my degree was the right one. Well personally this is just another small mountain to climb and if in the end it doesn't work out. I am sure it will benefit me in some strange way.

Morning Commute

I think I watched to much local news coverage of the snow storm hear in Oklahoma. Every station was talking about the weather all day and late into the night. I lost sleep because my minds debate on how bad will the roads be when I leave in the morning and what time should I leave the house to safely get to my destination. Only to get up at 5 a.m. and have no trouble getting out of my drive way. Crews were out clearing roads and the highway drive was great. I did see several unfortunate cars and trucks littering the ditches on my commute. They must have been out during the high winds or may just have been speeding, but today was really hard to keep my eyes open in class. I think all the news coverage affected me much like when I watched a scary movie at the age of 8. I was scared out of my wits and for what

Round Two

Newkirk OK,Tuesday Feb. 21, 2013

Last Thursdays weather made my commute to  campus impossible. And it looks like today's Blizzard is immanent. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/  I was awakened this morning by my wireless providers Blizzard Warning a loud annoying buzz at 4 a.m. I turned on the news and reporters were out all over the north west showing images of vehicles sliding off the roadways in ditches. They warn not to travel in these conditions but that if you must be prepared with all the necessities to stay warm if you happen to get stranded in a ditch. 
http://www.news9.com/story/20600205/drivers-could-be-stuck-in-an-emergency-if-they-only-have-junk-in-their-trunk

• Pull off the highway (if possible), turn on your hazard lights and use a road flare or reflectors to signal attention.
• If you have a cell phone, call 911 and describe your location as precisely as possible. Follow any instructions from the dispatcher.
• Remain in your vehicle so help can find you.
• Run your vehicle's engine and heater about 10 minutes each hour to keep warm.
• Open a downwind window slightly for ventilation and clear snow from the exhaust pipe to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Don't waste your vehicle's battery power. Balance electrical energy needs – lights, heat and radio – with supply.
• At night, turn on an inside light when you run the engine so help can see you.
• Keep emergency supplies like road flares, a flashlight, blanket, windshield scraper, jumper cables, spare tire and a first aid kit in your vehicle or trunk at all times.
• Keep your fuel tank at least 1/2 full at all times during bad weather.

Blogging Speaker Dave Rhea

The Journal Record, Managing Editor 

Dave Rhea was very informative about the continued growth and change of the blogging landscape. I like that he gave good examples of how to stay creative and incorporate all the tools available in your blog with video, sound and pictures. "Use everything on your Bat belt" as he put it. I agree with him that print news is soon to be gone and that blogging is a good forum for journalism. Dave also explained the importance of being flexible and multi-talented in all facets of media. To have a great blog takes a lot of time and effort and can be very rewarding. 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jdaverhea
http://www.jdaverhea.com/

D2L Isn't Well

I've been patiently waiting for access to my online course but to no avail
I haven't much time to complete my exercises this will be an epic fail
Technology is grand and will continually expand
But man will somebody please fix this blunder

Typography Assignment

http://sisterallie.blogspot.com/
I feel that the type on this site is to small and the color of the type and background make my eyes seem out of focus it is very hard to keep eyes on page with out strain.

http://www.blogherald.com/

This site was easy on the eyes and the type blended well the words pop out at you and I didn't have a problem reading or focusing on the type.

Food Beast Evaluation

Food Beast

I searced dining and this one caught my eye. Catchy name great images and yes love food. I liked the mix of latest food trends and news about food from a variety of people. The recipes were availabe to every dish and I plan on trying this clam and artichoke dip for sure.

I would like to incorporate pictures in my blog and also add links to help with any additional information according to my posts when needed.

 

I think felt like the Food Beast page was a little over crowded so I will be keeping my page simple and easy to navigate. It also uses alot of brand advertising so I am assuming they get paid for it. I did not really like some of the ads placed on the page they were kind of annoying. I think they should make the site more user friendly.

 

http://foodbeast.com/content/
 

 

 











Five sites of the day

www.sbnation.com

clarkcoffee.blogspot.com

blogs/mmamania.com
http://foodbeast.com/
http://larrybrownsports.com/

Crawling out of bed

Some mornings the eyes open and I'm up and out of bed ready to take on the day. Then there are the mornings when I feel like I'm sleep walking not either fully awake or asleep and I don't have any control of myself. I fell out of bed today and couldn't find the light switch hit my head on the kitchen table trying to get Bella my Terrier out the back door. I hate starting the day in a funk.