Just a quick note about the cost of the war in Iraq.  I have strong feelings for both sides of the war argument, not appropriate in this forum. I just found this statistic alarming.

“The money spent on one day of the Iraq war could buy homes for almost 6,500 families or health care for 423,529 children, or could outfit 1.27 million homes with renewable electricity, according to the American Friends Service Committee, which displayed those statistics on large banners in cities nationwide Thursday and Friday.

The war is costing $720 million a day or $500,000 a minute, according to the group’s analysis of the work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard public finance lecturer Linda J. Bilmes.”

>> Read the Whole Story Here

Holy Cow! And I thought I was just marrying someone who was hot… little did I know she would become one of the most prolific podcasters (5 times a week +), a TiVo superstar, a kick ass personal trainer and now… a published author!

Congratulations to my wife, Amy Mac, for releasing her first ever book aptly titled Fitness Attack: 101 Tips, Tricks, Do’s Don’ts and Other Random Thoughts from the Master of Fitness. I am so proud of you and can’t wait to share this with our family and friends (ps, if you are in our family, don’t buy this. You are probably getting it in your stocking).

The book is available now online, and will be available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more, Amy Mac is just getting warmed up!

>> Buy the Fitness Attack Book Here
>> Find out more about the ‘Master of Fitness’ at WithAmyMac.com

This Photo taken by theFerf

Good friends are hard to find. Good friends who give you scotch for your birthday are even harder to find. Thanks, Joe, for both. See you after the holidays so we can enjoy a glass together!

Happy 29th Birthday Tim McGovern.

There is no denying the fact that my wife, Amy Mac, kicks some serious ass. To prove it I would like to present the details to you. She is on TiVo. Need I say more?! If you own a TiVo purchased in the last couple of years you can now access Amy Mac’s Fit Life (from PodShow) on your TiVo box. The photo is the night it happened… Amy Mac watching Amy Mac on TiVo (it was too funny not to take the photo).

Anyway, if you own a TiVo there are a few different ways to find the programming. But Basically, this is the deal…

How to Get Amy Mac (Fit Life) on Your TiVo:

1. Push the TiVo button on your remote
2. Click on “Find Programs”
3. Click on “Download TV & Movies”
4. Click on “PodShowTV”
5. Click on “Fit Life with Amy Mac”

That’s it! From this point, I recommend that you get a season pass so it will automatically download the episodes when they are published. Enjoy, and congratulations to my wifey!
>>View the Slide Show of the TiVo Photos Here
>> View Just the TiVo Photos Here

Well, it has been a few weeks and a lot has happened. I have been heads down trying to cope with life and get ahead at work. With that in mind, here is a dump to get you caught up.

1. Since returning from Indiana I have been heads down at work driving to release to our integration environment the first phase of our new website. It is amazing and the product and engineering teams at the office have been kicking ass and taking names. I had the opportunity to demo the site to the entire company and a few outside guests as well. Keep your eyes open in the coming months for some amazing changes.

2. I now own an iPhone. It has been a long time since I could say one piece of technology has single handedly change my life (talk about fanboy!). But seriously, imagine having the features from your laptop computer (chat, web browsing, mail, camera, calendars, notes and more) combined with a cell phone and all of that merged with your iPod… all in a device no larger than a standard sized iPod?! The feeling of always on/always connected is quite amazing and empowering.

3. On the home front. Amy and I have moved away from the ocean and into a house in San Bruno, California. It is enormous (in comparison to our other city residences) and even has an entire room dedicated to video and audio production… talk about sweet! The backyard (to continue my bragging) has a gazebo and a waterfall! Needless to say, we really love spending time at home in front of the fire, listening to the waterfall, and working through the night :)

4. We are getting old! Amy turned 28 on October 8 and I am about to turn 29 on December 8 (a good time to mention that Tim McGoverns birthday is on December 5). Where has the time gone? It seems just yesterday I was working from home in my robe and to think how far we have come in the last 3 years is amazing.

5. Speaking of the last 3 years, Podcast Alley celebrated its 3 year Anniversary in November!! More on that soon, but I am honored to have served the podcasting community for so long as the first directory and community in podcasting history.

Alright… that is a good start for now. Lots more to come, but if feels good to be getting my head up and looking around again!

Tim would hate it if he knew I was writing this, but I can’t possibly tell all our friends and family about the experience I shared with his family today. It all started this morning, November 9, 2007 at 9am.

I woke up early to prepare for Tim McGoverns funeral and the sun was shining bright through the windows. I stepped out the front door and felt the cool, crisp air take over my body and instantly had flashbacks of Tim and my early morning workouts at Purdue. A smile came to my face as I heard Tims voice in my mind bellowing cadences to get us through the last few miles.

As I approached the church I saw what looked to be around 30 motorcycle riders, in full gear, at the church entry way. They were the Patriot Guard Riders (Tims riders page). They attend funerals of fallen soldiers with two goals: to show their respect and to shield the family from unwanted interruptions. They stood in silence, lining the entry to the church and holding flags.

I entered the church and found many familiar faces and organ music playing. At 9:30am the organ stopped, the church went silent and a bell started to ring. Long, slow, a few dozen times. The only thing that broke the silence was the sound of an army officer giving orders and his soldiers marching in step, bringing Tims casket into the church. Tims dog tag was hanging from the end of the casket. The ceremony continued (in full Catholic style) and the priest delivered a very heart touching homily for Tim. If you know Tim, you know that he was a born leader. The homily communicated this with the priest talking about Tims leadership with his troops. “In the Army”, the priest started, “Tim would have been the one who had to tell the family that someone had died, but no one under Tims command ever died”. At the end of the ceremony, 6 soldiers covered his casket in an American flag and loaded it for transport. The next part of the story is the most amazing piece for me.

Tim was on his way to be buried back in the town he grew up in, Idaville, Indiana. It’s about 6 miles outside where the funeral was. From the second the precession started from the church it was an experience I will never forget. We were lead, and followed, by the Patriot Guard Riders. All vehicles not with us for the entire 6 miles were pulled over and many drivers were out standing next to they cars. They saluted or covered their hearts while we all drove by. For a majority of the trip, flags lined both sides of the streets… every 10 feet. People left their homes and business and were standing next to the road, showing their support. Representatives of every branch of the military as well as police and fire men lined the streets in packs.

As we approached the final stretch of road there are a few key elements that stick in my mind. The ladder trucks from the fire department had raised a giant 30 foot flag between them that we all drove under. What seemed like the entire Idaville community lined the streets holding flags and signs reading, “God Bless You Tim” and “Thank You”. And as we arrived the Patriot Guard Riders were there again, holding flags on either side of the entry way as we all passed by.

The final moments were some of the hardest for me. As we all stood around, the Army soldiers did their thing. The man in charge ordered a 3 volley salute and 3 shots fired off over the casket from the soldiers. I hadn’t noticed but off in the distance was a lone soldier who started to play taps on his trumpet. 6 soldiers then removed, folded, inspected and presented the American flag that covered Tims casket to Tims family.

I have the honor of having known Tim and having him be part of my life. A good friend of mine had the following to offer recently when we were talking about Tim, which I thought I would share — “You will remember him forever young and powerful (as you grow older and weaker). Keep smiling. He went doing what he loved. I wish on all of us to go that way”.

Thank you to the McGovern family for allowing me to share this experience with you. Tim was my brother, and will be missed.

Those who knew Tim will remember him for his loyalty, his devotion to his country and for his friendship. Our friend, Tim McGovern was killed while on duty, defending our country in Iraq on October 31, 2007.

I grew up with Tim and roomed with him for 3 years in college. I wouldn’t change the time we spent together for anything. The memories I have from the years I spent at Purdue mostly contain the things he and I did together. Mountain climbing, early morning training, experiencing college life together and eventually, meeting my wife Amy. Our hearts are broken because of his passing. But we can continue to smile and be proud thinking back on all of the memories of the time we shared together and knowing he has made our country a better and more safe place. Tim “Fatness” McGovern will be in our hearts forever.

Arrangements are still being finalized. More information will be available on their website.

• Full Story
• Obituary
• Funeral Home Guest Book

Well, it has been a relaxing 9 days. Tomorrow is my last day in Nashville and then it is back to the grind in San Francisco starting Tuesday morning. I would like to say it was an action-packed and eventful holiday but quite honestly, it wasn’t. And that was the intention.

Here is a run down of what I did while on leave:

• Migrating 26 websites to a new server (non work related)
• Relaxed  in the hammock
• Trimmed the trees (got poison ivy)
• Watched Transformers at the theater
• Caught up on blog reading
• Spent more time in the hammock
• Reviewed a number of online startups
• Walked around downtown Nashville
• Entered all my financial information into www.mint.com
• More time in the hammock
• Visited my parents in Knoxville
• Road through the Smoky Mountains and walked through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
• Visited the Harley Davidson Dealer (just for fun)
• Reviewed some new t-shirt designs
• More hammock time

That’s right folks. Nothing to see here. Go on about your business.

It’s Not That Nashville is Country but where else can you drive to a cinema showing 12 good movies and be the only ones there? Granted it was a Thursday evening at 10pm, but on the way into the theater I counted 8 cars in the parking lot… and that included the employees! Considering these 12 movies show 4 or 5 times a day, it would not be far fetched for there to be a lot more cars there!  But the best was still to come.

We paid our $6 a piece for tickets (Amy had a discount) to go see Transformers. We got there 25 minutes early thinking it may be busy. We have become so used to the city and the fact that if you are not there early, you will not get 2 seats together, that we always show up early. We ended up sitting in a theater built for about 50 people all alone. We watched Transformers all alone. But the best is still to come.

As we exited the building, no other shows were playing. No concessions were being served. No attendant was in the lobby. The lights were turned down and the place had already been cleaned. We were the only people in the building. We let ourselves out and noticed we were the only car in the lot… so we made sure to push the door shut and locked.

We proceeded to our car and did a lap around the building where we found one other car in the lot. We thought that we may have been the last ones out, but most likely a high school kid would follow us out and shut the building down for the night.

So it’s not that Nashville is country… it’s just a lot smaller than we remember, and obviously shuts down a lot earlier as well. I grew up in a town where you could go to the theater for $1.50. That was country. But the theaters were still always packed. Sorry, no photos. I did not know it was going to be an adventure.