My personal use of MySpace has dwindled to almost nothing. For one thing, the usefulness of it has worn off. During college it was a good way to keep up with some of the people I didn’t see as much but wanted to keep in contact with. After college it served the same purpose, but it does a poor job of it.

Facebook is turning into the same clutter-ridden, time wasting, and overall useless site as more and more “applications” get introduced. It used to be, I could go on Facebook, grab an e-mail address and send a quick message, now I have to wade through all of the graffiti applications, zombie punching, and food fight junk just to get to the same information. This, coupled with the introduction of non college-aged users has lead to a decline in the use of Facebook for me. It’s just easier for me to keep all of my friends in my contact list than it is for me to try hunt down their information on these websites.

Music now plays in the background on certain Facebook pages and I am inundated with who to vote for on others, it just gets old…

Well, it’s actually not random, it’s an observation from sitting in Panera Bread to get internet access to transfer some files that are important and hearing a guy talk as loud as he can on his cell phone as he conducts business.

It is one thing to use Panera Bread as a jumping off point in the morning to get some e-mail done, make a few quiet phone calls, and start a productive day but it’s the complete opposite when you are obnoxious about it.

So, to the bald guy seated on the couch who obviously thinks he is the center of the universe, turn down your phone, lower your voice, and conduct yourself in a professional manner. I don’t care what you’re renting and neither does anyone else. We are just trying to drink some coffee and eat a pastry while we check our e-mail.

I had the opportunity to do some beer tasting on a recent business trip to Denver, Colorado.

I visited the RockBottom Brewery located in the area known as the 16th Street Mall.

The atmosphere was lively, young, and very welcoming. While waiting for our table, my co-worker and I made our way to the bar where we were quickly greeted by the bartender. The brewery has six standard brews and a daily “Brewmaster’s Choice”, which for us was the “Mad Cow Milk Stout”.

Overall, the beer menu was well-rounded, from the very light, perfect with a heavy dinner beers, to the dark and Guinness like stouts. The lighter, aptly named “Lumpy Dog Light Lager”, was just too light for my taste. It was smooth but didn’t have enough flavor to make it taste like a beer.

My next taste was the “Buffalo Gold”, which I compared to a mouthful of bees. It was bitter with a strong aftertaste. “16th Street Wheat”, the third in my series of tasting, was excellent, though there was a definite wheat feel to the aftertaste. The last of the lighter beers was the “Falcon Pale Ale”, which was hands down the best beer of the night. It was light but flavored perfectly.

Dark beers were the next thing on my list to try and I started off with the “Red Rocks Red”, an Irish beer with a smooth taste, great color, and perfect smell. My least favorite of the group was “Molly’s Titanic Brown Ale”. There is no good way to describe, except to say it was like sticking a moldy rag in my mouth. Yeah, it was that gross. Rounding out the beers was “Mad Cow Milk Stout”, a heavy but very good tasting beer. Though it probably would not be my first pick for a stout it was a perfect addition to the night.

If you are in the downtown Denver area and like to taste new beers and enjoy good food, check out the Rock Bottom Brewery.

When most people think of McDonald’s they think of greasy burgers and chicken nuggets that may or may not be actual chicken. Well, if you are a coffee drinker then you may want to think of them as a coffee shop.

I know, at first, I was a skeptic too. I saw the commercials about fresh-brewed coffee and scoffed, telling the people around me that “it has to taste terrible”. My heart has done a 180. This morning, for no particular reason at all, I decided to stop by McDonald’s and get a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese biscuit. It has been at least a year since I have had one and a craving just came over me.

When I ordered, I decided to stray away from my safety net of orange juice as my drink and asked for a coffee. I paid, received my order, and made my way to work. I opted to save my taste test for the office.

My first impression was the smell. The coffee does not smell extremely strong or overwhelming, just light and what you’d expect if you brewed your own pot. My first sip was sugar-less and cream-less and it was perfect. Overall it tasted smooth, not bitter and did not have a coffee-like after taste. Compared to some Starbuck’s flavors, this coffee knocks the socks off them. I added a little cream and my morning was complete.

If you are a coffee drinker then at least give it a try. I know those in the northeast prefer their Dunkin’ Donuts coffee to Starbuck’s so maybe those of us down here will make a slow switch to McDonald’s or our local small business coffee shop.

The sun was finally peaking out from the clouds after a long two days of thunderstorms. He drove to the airport, hitting pockets of rain on his way. As he looked to the sky, his hopes grew that the flight would be on time. His exit was next, he signaled and drove the car up and around the flyover.

Parked in the dark and silent garage, the car was entirely too close to a van that had been poorly put there. He removed his luggage and walked toward the terminal, keeping on the lookout for a less crowded way through security. The boarding pass kiosks were empty and knowing that he was not checking bags, he made his toward them. A quick input of his information and he was on his way to the security line.

The lines grew but he grinned, glancing down at his new shoes, a pair of comfortable, sleek, slip-on loafers and knowing that his trip through the gauntlet would be easier than other’s.

As expected, security was a breeze and our valiant business traveler stopped at the electronic flight status boards to check his flight’s departure chances. His jaw dropped as he watched the departure time jump from its original time, 6:35pm to 7:00pm, then 7:30, and then finally settling at 8:15pm. Hope was still there but it was fading fast. His head lowered as he made his way to gate C-29.

Again, he was dumbfounded when he reached the gate. A throng of people had surrounded it and appeared to be preparing a siege against the gate agent’s computers. The plane they were waiting for was stuck in a far off city after being diverted away from the thunderstorms that surrounded the airport. Our business traveler walked around like a Lieutenant watching after his platoon, observing those who were tired, stranded, and had lost all morale.

A break in the crowd led him to a semi-secluded area where he could sit and watch the chaos from a distance. It reminded him of a riot, minus the throwing of rocks and the overturning of cars. He watched as aircraft slowly started to trickle toward the different gates, letting off their precious cargo of men, women, and children, all of whom looked tired and downtrodden.

As 8pm approached, the business traveler gathered his bags and walked toward the gate. The situation had not been made any better, in fact, it was worse, with even more people standing and waiting for the flight to board. The gate agents slowly started calling the rows, finally, row sixteen was called and our businessman was off to Denver…

Today marks the 63^rd anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, the largest combined land, sea, and air operation in history.

The battle started the evening before with paratroopers and glider troops going in behind enemy lines to help prepare the beachheads. Around 3am, the shelling of the German positions started and would mark the beginning of a battle that would last two more months, ending with the securing of Paris.

Three million troops took part in the invasion and the battle would be the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler’s regime in Europe.

Today, let us remember the 45,000 killed in action during the two month battle and the sacrifice that every serviceman and woman made to secure a continent from the grasp of dictators and ensure this country’s freedom.

Cindy Sheehan has given up her protest, leading a lot of war supporters to cheer. She was staunch anti-war figure and did have a family member pay the ultimate price for her right to say what she said.

I do not necessarily agree with everything that Sheehan said but something in the article that I linked to above struck a chord with me.

“I have tried ever since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful,” she wrote. “Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.

“It is so painful to me to know that I bought into this system for so many years, and Casey paid the price for that allegiance. I failed my boy and that hurts the most.”

I must say that I agree wholeheartedly with her and it’s a tragic realization. Americans are ignoring the events that surround them and the cost is just now being realized. Soon, if something does not change, we will be a nation of television watchers with very little understanding of what is happening around us.

Sheehan also points out a flaw in the anti-war movement, personal egos. The egos of those who have the ability to enact change have crippled the anti-war movement and in my mind, the Democratic Party, from making any serious advances.

Life is fragile, so the one thing that irritates me more than anything else is when I see a child maneuvering freely in a moving vehicle. How do parents allow something like this?

This morning I watched two children, neither older than five years old, roll down the rear passenger window and stick their bodies halfway out of the car. The driver, who I assume was the parent, did not seem to mind at all. I wonder if they would have noticed if one of the children fell out.

Of all of the precautions a parent could take a seatbelt is the most simple. You buckle the child in, you tell them not to touch it, and you reprimand them if they do. Even better is a car seat. These parents who blow off the law will either be responsible for their child’s death or for that child’s misunderstanding of rules and authority.

I just cannot believe that something so easily preventable is ignored so very much.

By now, the news that Roger Clemens will be returning to New York to play for the Yankees has reached almost everyone who cares about baseball.

Some have voiced their opinion over the matter and their disagreement with the move while Yankee fans think it could change things for them.

Here in Houston the mood is a little different. We are sad to see him go but at the same time cannot wait for the revolving door to hit him in the butt as he walks out. He is a great pitcher, when he’s on. When he’s off, you might as well write-off the game and hope for the best.

At some point you have to ask yourself, “Should I retire finally?” and I think Clemens has skipped over that and is now asking himself “Do you think they’ll let my skeleton pitch?”. I am sure if Hakeem Olajuwon announced that he would be making a comeback to the NBA, people would laugh him out of the press conference.

So, Yankees fans, you can have Roger. You can cheer him on while asking yourself, “Why am I paying $14 for a hot dog”, then remember that you have “The Rocket” and shovel another $12 to the vendor for your peanuts. I on the other hand will be enjoying the Astros with a half-priced hot dog and an all around good team, not a bunch of overpaid fellas with egos bigger than their batting averages.

I flew to Dallas this past Tuesday for a meeting and testing turnover. The flight took-off at 6am, giving me the following view as we popped out of the clouds:

A good majority of business people really hate flying, airports, and the whole travel process. I seem to thrive in it. Yes, at times the stress of it gets to me, but the fact that I get to fly 40,000 ft. above the earth and see things like the above makes it worth it.

The fact that I love to fly doesn’t hurt either. In fact, even though I bring a book and my iPod on flights I usually stare out the window for at least 30 minutes, just out of sheer elation that I am above the ground and heading somewhere new. I probably look like a first time flyer but it doesn’t matter, I am amazed by flight and do not mind showing it.