Your September edition of "Cruisin' through Construction" is here! Please use the following link to open the email update of the Interstate 215 Widening Project in San Bernardino.
http://www.sanbag.ca.gov/news/215-cruisin/09-08-cruising.pdf
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Inland audience drawn to televised debate
I wanted to share the article that was posted after the debate gathering at Chas Kelley's home last Friday evening:
By MICHELLE DeARMOND and SHIRIN PARSAVAND
The Press-Enterprise, Sept. 27, 2008
Young and old, Democrat and Republican alike settled into white plastic patio chairs and a sofa draped in a red, white and blue afghan on Friday night to watch a big-screen TV in the home of San Bernardino City Councilman Chas Kelley.
Shouts of "right on," cheers and jeers erupted in a crammed San Bernardino living room as a politically mixed, sometimes-contentious group gathered to watch the season's first presidential debate.
Kelley, a Republican, opened his event to the public and said he welcomed people of all political parties. Tim Prince, a Democratic candidate for Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis' seat, stopped by midway through the debate. But opposing sides clashed at times with dueling commentaries that drowned out the TV.
The Kelley family gathering was one of several throughout the Inland area Friday night, as John McCain and Barack Obama met in Mississippi for their first debate. Purely partisan events took place at Democratic and Republican headquarters across the Inland area, including at the Marriott in downtown Riverside, where Obama supporters charged a $5 entry fee.
The events were often equal parts social and political, with friends and strangers sharing potluck dishes and, at Kelley's home, bowing their heads in prayer at the start of the night. Families settled into chairs side-by-side, children lounging on the pale-blue carpet as family cats ran through the room.
About 40 people watched the debate in the Winery at Canyon Crest in Riverside, whose owners, Kevin and Carolyn Craig, advertised the event through the Obama campaign's Web site. The mixed crowd that included 20-somethings and senior citizens sat around wood and glass café tables and leaned against the marble bar to watch.
The crowd seemed in a cheerful mood from the start as people sipped wine, some poured from bottles with Obama's likeness on the label. There was laughter and applause as a couple of Obama supporters walked in wearing Hillary Clinton and John McCain masks.
During the debate, the Obama supporters at the winery seemed confident. Many laughed at times when Obama stung McCain, as when he turned to his opponent and said "John, 10 days ago you said the fundamentals of the economy are sound."
They booed at McCain's first mention of his running mate, Sarah Palin. Much of the time, though, the debate-watchers' faces were serious as they listened intently to each candidate's arguments.
Patricia Small, of Loma Linda, buried her head in her hands as McCain talked about Obama's willingness to meet with foreign leaders hostile to the United States, then laughed hard when McCain initially mispronounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's name.
"McCain, he wanders too much," she said.
Amy Conger, who arrived in the Hillary mask and later wore a baseball cap that said Obama Mama, said she thought Obama should have hit harder.
"Obama was too polite," said Conger, 65, of Riverside.
Greg Lewis, 25, said he found out about the winery event through an e-mail from the Obama campaign, but he's still keeping an open mind about the race.
"I'm pretty sure I'd like to vote for Obama but this is one of the ways I'll make sure," said Lewis, of Moreno Valley.
Lewis thought McCain did well with his answers on the Middle East, but he was unimpressed with McCain during the first half of the debate when the questions focused on the economy. "Total nonsequitur" was Lewis' reaction when McCain brought up his support of nuclear power.
"It seems like McCain is going off on many more tangents than Obama, especially his nuclear power tangent which didn't seem to relate to the question in any way," he said.
The San Bernardino viewers were more certain about their pick for president, saying they already knew whom they would vote for before the debate and were undeterred by the candidates' performances. Most agreed that neither candidate offered a clear, specific answer to questions about how to solve the financial crisis.
The crowd included a few first-time voters and plenty of differing opinions, fueling some testy exchanges.
Tempers flared repeatedly as one Democrat, Sam Clauder, clapped loudly, talked back to the TV and critiqued McCain amid the Republican-leaning crowd at Kelley's house. Clauder works with the San Bernardino Democratic Central Committee and several Inland Democratic campaigns. At one point, two viewers walked out in frustration when he failed to heed calls for quiet.
Debate moderator Jim Lehrer's questions about the nation's financial crisis and the war in Iraq drew starkly different responses from the viewers, with many people nodding in agreement or furrowing their brows in disgust when they disputed something one of the candidates said.
An exchange between Obama and McCain over what to do about the war in Iraq prompted more heat in Kelley's living room than on the University of Mississippi stage where the candidates stood.
Clauder and an equally loud McCain supporter shouted taunts at one another, to the irritation of other viewers, over whether the United States has made any progress in Iraq and when and how troops should leave.
"Where's Osama Bin Laden?" Clauder shouted over his shoulder to the McCain supporter, an apparent reference to the Bush administration's failure to capture the leader of the al-Qaeda.
When McCain accused Obama of being naïve about Russian politics, the McCain supporter concurred, "that's right" from a back room where a second TV broadcast the debate. The McCain backer was Robert Peters, a 48-year-old veteran from San Bernardino. Peters said he is registered with the American Independent Party but plans to vote for McCain.
"Come on now," Kelley implored good-naturedly, trying to soothe tempers, although he offered his own exuberant applause for McCain's remarks on several occasions. "Drill, baby, drill," Kelley exhorted when McCain talked about drilling for oil.
Reach Michelle DeArmond at 951-368-9441 or mdearmond@PE.com
Reach Shirin Parsavand at 951-368-9645 or sparsavand@PE.com
By MICHELLE DeARMOND and SHIRIN PARSAVAND
The Press-Enterprise, Sept. 27, 2008
Young and old, Democrat and Republican alike settled into white plastic patio chairs and a sofa draped in a red, white and blue afghan on Friday night to watch a big-screen TV in the home of San Bernardino City Councilman Chas Kelley.
Shouts of "right on," cheers and jeers erupted in a crammed San Bernardino living room as a politically mixed, sometimes-contentious group gathered to watch the season's first presidential debate.
Kelley, a Republican, opened his event to the public and said he welcomed people of all political parties. Tim Prince, a Democratic candidate for Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis' seat, stopped by midway through the debate. But opposing sides clashed at times with dueling commentaries that drowned out the TV.
The Kelley family gathering was one of several throughout the Inland area Friday night, as John McCain and Barack Obama met in Mississippi for their first debate. Purely partisan events took place at Democratic and Republican headquarters across the Inland area, including at the Marriott in downtown Riverside, where Obama supporters charged a $5 entry fee.
The events were often equal parts social and political, with friends and strangers sharing potluck dishes and, at Kelley's home, bowing their heads in prayer at the start of the night. Families settled into chairs side-by-side, children lounging on the pale-blue carpet as family cats ran through the room.
About 40 people watched the debate in the Winery at Canyon Crest in Riverside, whose owners, Kevin and Carolyn Craig, advertised the event through the Obama campaign's Web site. The mixed crowd that included 20-somethings and senior citizens sat around wood and glass café tables and leaned against the marble bar to watch.
The crowd seemed in a cheerful mood from the start as people sipped wine, some poured from bottles with Obama's likeness on the label. There was laughter and applause as a couple of Obama supporters walked in wearing Hillary Clinton and John McCain masks.
During the debate, the Obama supporters at the winery seemed confident. Many laughed at times when Obama stung McCain, as when he turned to his opponent and said "John, 10 days ago you said the fundamentals of the economy are sound."
They booed at McCain's first mention of his running mate, Sarah Palin. Much of the time, though, the debate-watchers' faces were serious as they listened intently to each candidate's arguments.
Patricia Small, of Loma Linda, buried her head in her hands as McCain talked about Obama's willingness to meet with foreign leaders hostile to the United States, then laughed hard when McCain initially mispronounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's name.
"McCain, he wanders too much," she said.
Amy Conger, who arrived in the Hillary mask and later wore a baseball cap that said Obama Mama, said she thought Obama should have hit harder.
"Obama was too polite," said Conger, 65, of Riverside.
Greg Lewis, 25, said he found out about the winery event through an e-mail from the Obama campaign, but he's still keeping an open mind about the race.
"I'm pretty sure I'd like to vote for Obama but this is one of the ways I'll make sure," said Lewis, of Moreno Valley.
Lewis thought McCain did well with his answers on the Middle East, but he was unimpressed with McCain during the first half of the debate when the questions focused on the economy. "Total nonsequitur" was Lewis' reaction when McCain brought up his support of nuclear power.
"It seems like McCain is going off on many more tangents than Obama, especially his nuclear power tangent which didn't seem to relate to the question in any way," he said.
The San Bernardino viewers were more certain about their pick for president, saying they already knew whom they would vote for before the debate and were undeterred by the candidates' performances. Most agreed that neither candidate offered a clear, specific answer to questions about how to solve the financial crisis.
The crowd included a few first-time voters and plenty of differing opinions, fueling some testy exchanges.
Tempers flared repeatedly as one Democrat, Sam Clauder, clapped loudly, talked back to the TV and critiqued McCain amid the Republican-leaning crowd at Kelley's house. Clauder works with the San Bernardino Democratic Central Committee and several Inland Democratic campaigns. At one point, two viewers walked out in frustration when he failed to heed calls for quiet.
Debate moderator Jim Lehrer's questions about the nation's financial crisis and the war in Iraq drew starkly different responses from the viewers, with many people nodding in agreement or furrowing their brows in disgust when they disputed something one of the candidates said.
An exchange between Obama and McCain over what to do about the war in Iraq prompted more heat in Kelley's living room than on the University of Mississippi stage where the candidates stood.
Clauder and an equally loud McCain supporter shouted taunts at one another, to the irritation of other viewers, over whether the United States has made any progress in Iraq and when and how troops should leave.
"Where's Osama Bin Laden?" Clauder shouted over his shoulder to the McCain supporter, an apparent reference to the Bush administration's failure to capture the leader of the al-Qaeda.
When McCain accused Obama of being naïve about Russian politics, the McCain supporter concurred, "that's right" from a back room where a second TV broadcast the debate. The McCain backer was Robert Peters, a 48-year-old veteran from San Bernardino. Peters said he is registered with the American Independent Party but plans to vote for McCain.
"Come on now," Kelley implored good-naturedly, trying to soothe tempers, although he offered his own exuberant applause for McCain's remarks on several occasions. "Drill, baby, drill," Kelley exhorted when McCain talked about drilling for oil.
Reach Michelle DeArmond at 951-368-9441 or mdearmond@PE.com
Reach Shirin Parsavand at 951-368-9645 or sparsavand@PE.com
Monday, September 29, 2008
E-Mail Etiquette Tip
Never send a commercial e-mail to anyone
without their permission to do so.
Unless an onliner provides you with their
e-mail address through your site or specifically to
receive information about your commercial
enterprise, you simply should not e-mail them.
Regardless of how much you think they need
your product or service or how desperate you
are to market your business, blindly e-mailing
strangers is not an acceptable marketing practice.
Doing so can get you blacklisted and labeled
as a spammer and your ISP can cancel your
account and shut down your Web site.
This E-mail Etiquette Tip is provided as a
courtesy by: http://www.NetManners.com
without their permission to do so.
Unless an onliner provides you with their
e-mail address through your site or specifically to
receive information about your commercial
enterprise, you simply should not e-mail them.
Regardless of how much you think they need
your product or service or how desperate you
are to market your business, blindly e-mailing
strangers is not an acceptable marketing practice.
Doing so can get you blacklisted and labeled
as a spammer and your ISP can cancel your
account and shut down your Web site.
This E-mail Etiquette Tip is provided as a
courtesy by: http://www.NetManners.com
When Success is Slow, What Can You Do?
When Success is Slowby Jack Canfield
Pop Quiz: Can success be sped up? Is there an antidote to slow outcomes despite arduous planning and actions taken? What is the secret for seeing huge results right now?!
I get versions of these questions frequently from people who feel frustrated at sluggish progress in their success journey - despite all the know-how and principles they rigorously employ.
But first, let's get one thing straight...
When we admire someone else's success, or even our own, we often focus on the end result and not so much on the effort, time, discipline, and setbacks that it took them to get there.
This can often cultivate unrealistic expectations and frustrations, especially the idea that overnight success can happen through careful strategy and execution of sound advice.
Truth be told, success typically follows a series of little events and achievements that include a few disappointments along the way, which challenges everything about you to the core--your stamina, courage, integrity, and even your willingness to keep going.
If you focus on what's not working, guess what: You're likely coming from a place of aggravation as your mind wraps around all that is wrong. You may even have negative thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "It will never work," or "Something must be wrong with me."
What this does mentally is engender more of these counter-productive feelings. And given what we know about the Law of Attraction, you attract what you are feeling. Negative experiences, people, and results will beget more negative experience, people, and results. There's not much success in that.
The key, then, is to focus on what IS working.
To do so, I recommend two simple practices: journaling and meditation.
Maintaining a journal (I call it an Evidence Log, Results Journal, or Gratitude Journal) is a great way to steer your attention to the positive and it helps to continually renew your vision for yourself. Start each day with reflections on what you are grateful for in your life (list them out!) and end each day with notes on what went right (again, write them down), however small.
Meditation can be a powerful tool for arriving at solutions to problems and shifting your attitude so you can attract success sooner rather than later.
The magic of meditation is its ability to essentially shut down the outer layer of your judgmental, highly-critical brain and allow your unconscious mind to take over. This is where you enter a deeper state of inner peace and joy, tapping into a higher level of creativity that will help usher in the results you want.
Through the practice of meditation you will begin to become even more aware of your subtle intuitive impulses, insights, ideas, emotions and inspirations.
Don't know how to meditate? Lots of books and materials are available to guide you this practice. It's easier than you think.
Okay, let's say you're doing ALL these things,
but you still aren't happy with your results...
Then, I'll ask you: Are you taking real ACTION? You may be taking the actions you are used to taking. But therein lies the problem: if you keep doing what you've already done then you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. It's a matter of practicing some new behaviors. Shake things up a bit and see if you can take new actions or modify existing ones.
Remember the Rule of 5. Every day do five specific things that take you toward your goal. Change up the five actions regularly and be open to feedback so you know when you're off course.
Lastly, I want to remind you about patience.
It's natural to underestimate how long a certain goal can take, especially a profound one. When I set a goal to become a millionaire, the year was 1983. How long did it take? Eleven years. It took time for Chicken Soup for the Soul to hit the bestseller lists. You could say our tenure on the New York Times list was more than a decade in the making. That's a lot of patience for someone who initially wanted overnight success.
So, yes, patience is a virtue. But keep at it, and in time, you'll be only one week, or one day away from your ultimate success.
Remember... be grateful, reflect on what IS working and continue to take ACTION!
Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
Pop Quiz: Can success be sped up? Is there an antidote to slow outcomes despite arduous planning and actions taken? What is the secret for seeing huge results right now?!
I get versions of these questions frequently from people who feel frustrated at sluggish progress in their success journey - despite all the know-how and principles they rigorously employ.
But first, let's get one thing straight...
When we admire someone else's success, or even our own, we often focus on the end result and not so much on the effort, time, discipline, and setbacks that it took them to get there.
This can often cultivate unrealistic expectations and frustrations, especially the idea that overnight success can happen through careful strategy and execution of sound advice.
Truth be told, success typically follows a series of little events and achievements that include a few disappointments along the way, which challenges everything about you to the core--your stamina, courage, integrity, and even your willingness to keep going.
If you focus on what's not working, guess what: You're likely coming from a place of aggravation as your mind wraps around all that is wrong. You may even have negative thoughts like "I'm not good enough," "It will never work," or "Something must be wrong with me."
What this does mentally is engender more of these counter-productive feelings. And given what we know about the Law of Attraction, you attract what you are feeling. Negative experiences, people, and results will beget more negative experience, people, and results. There's not much success in that.
The key, then, is to focus on what IS working.
To do so, I recommend two simple practices: journaling and meditation.
Maintaining a journal (I call it an Evidence Log, Results Journal, or Gratitude Journal) is a great way to steer your attention to the positive and it helps to continually renew your vision for yourself. Start each day with reflections on what you are grateful for in your life (list them out!) and end each day with notes on what went right (again, write them down), however small.
Meditation can be a powerful tool for arriving at solutions to problems and shifting your attitude so you can attract success sooner rather than later.
The magic of meditation is its ability to essentially shut down the outer layer of your judgmental, highly-critical brain and allow your unconscious mind to take over. This is where you enter a deeper state of inner peace and joy, tapping into a higher level of creativity that will help usher in the results you want.
Through the practice of meditation you will begin to become even more aware of your subtle intuitive impulses, insights, ideas, emotions and inspirations.
Don't know how to meditate? Lots of books and materials are available to guide you this practice. It's easier than you think.
Okay, let's say you're doing ALL these things,
but you still aren't happy with your results...
Then, I'll ask you: Are you taking real ACTION? You may be taking the actions you are used to taking. But therein lies the problem: if you keep doing what you've already done then you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. It's a matter of practicing some new behaviors. Shake things up a bit and see if you can take new actions or modify existing ones.
Remember the Rule of 5. Every day do five specific things that take you toward your goal. Change up the five actions regularly and be open to feedback so you know when you're off course.
Lastly, I want to remind you about patience.
It's natural to underestimate how long a certain goal can take, especially a profound one. When I set a goal to become a millionaire, the year was 1983. How long did it take? Eleven years. It took time for Chicken Soup for the Soul to hit the bestseller lists. You could say our tenure on the New York Times list was more than a decade in the making. That's a lot of patience for someone who initially wanted overnight success.
So, yes, patience is a virtue. But keep at it, and in time, you'll be only one week, or one day away from your ultimate success.
Remember... be grateful, reflect on what IS working and continue to take ACTION!
Jack Canfield, America's #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
How to Survive the Credit Card Crunch
Well, actually, we just need to stop using them--this is a complete paradigm shift from the American way of thinking, but since it is more of a nightmare today, shouldn't we really try to remove these plastic cards from our way of life? "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."--Proverbs 22:7 (NKJV)
I really am learning a lot from Dave Ramsey . . . love that guy!
Listen to what Suzie Orman has to say:
I really am learning a lot from Dave Ramsey . . . love that guy!
Listen to what Suzie Orman has to say:
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Financial Peace University
If you've heard of Dave Ramsey, then you know about his Financial Peace University. Robert and I are currently taking this 13-week course through our church. It has a lot of common sense practices, that unfortunately, many of us are not following. People don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan. As much I we hate to admit, we are in the same boat as many others today, but we have realized that we must do something about it now, or things won't change.
Dave Ramsey also has a TV talk show on Fox News Business channel, and he talks for real, doesn't pull any punches, he just tells it like it is . . . that's the kind of person I like.
Please check out Dave Ramsey's site and find out more about Financial Peace University. www.daveramsey.com
Dave Ramsey also has a TV talk show on Fox News Business channel, and he talks for real, doesn't pull any punches, he just tells it like it is . . . that's the kind of person I like.
Please check out Dave Ramsey's site and find out more about Financial Peace University. www.daveramsey.com
Post Debate Chat with Pickens
Here is the link to the replay of the chat session. Missed it because of the debate gathering, but worth sharing.
http://www.pickensplan.com/chat/
Dena P
http://www.pickensplan.com/chat/
Dena P
My Entrepreneurial Side
Always adding in a word for my business as a virtual assistant. Please visit my site: http://www.denastoolsandtips.com
Dena Peters
Dena Peters
The First Presidential Debate
We were invited to a small group gathering to watch the debates courtesy of 5th Ward Council rep Chas Kelly. There was a good turnout for a home gathering, with lots of passion amidst the attenders. A Press Enterprise reporter was there also to document the event.
During the hour and a half debate, there was lot of chatter among the watchers, some more vocal than others. Chas mentioned at the start that we all needed to be respectful of each others' opinions, so, you know how that goes, there was a bit of controversial comments made.
Afterwards, Chas rounded up everyone for an open discussion on the debate session. Note that there was a republican-leaning on the attenders, although the democrats were there, which makes for an even more debating arena.
Other officials present were 3rd Ward rep Tobin Brinker and family and local community participant Tim Prince, who is running for Congress.
So we had a good open discussion, from senior citizens to the youth of our community. The main concensus was we did not hear much to change our minds--if we came in for favoring one candidate, we still felt the same.
Chas wanted to know if the group was up for the same type of event for the remaining debate sessions, as well as the VP debates, next time we will be meeting at Jersey's Pizza Parlor, a bigger, and cooler place, to be, as well as putting our monies into the local community.
During the hour and a half debate, there was lot of chatter among the watchers, some more vocal than others. Chas mentioned at the start that we all needed to be respectful of each others' opinions, so, you know how that goes, there was a bit of controversial comments made.
Afterwards, Chas rounded up everyone for an open discussion on the debate session. Note that there was a republican-leaning on the attenders, although the democrats were there, which makes for an even more debating arena.
Other officials present were 3rd Ward rep Tobin Brinker and family and local community participant Tim Prince, who is running for Congress.
So we had a good open discussion, from senior citizens to the youth of our community. The main concensus was we did not hear much to change our minds--if we came in for favoring one candidate, we still felt the same.
Chas wanted to know if the group was up for the same type of event for the remaining debate sessions, as well as the VP debates, next time we will be meeting at Jersey's Pizza Parlor, a bigger, and cooler place, to be, as well as putting our monies into the local community.
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