| |
Michigan Blog - Featuring Michigan Shopping, Travel, Business & People
Michigan Shopping, Deals and Coupons - People and community, Michigan Sports (as well as High School Sports), Traveling in the State of Michigan, Michigan Events and Michigan Business - all in one place.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Online Debate of Candidates from The Michigan Business Directory
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Michigan Business Directory.OVERVIEW: The Michigan Business Directory would like to start an open dialogue of Michiganders with opinions on the upcoming election. Keep it clean, and keep it relevant to the issues. THE CANDIDATES Barack Hussein Obama
Birthdate: August 4, 1961 (Honolulu, Hawaii) Hometown: Jakarta, Indonesia; Honolulu, Hawaii Spouse: Michelle Robinson Obama Children: Malia Ann Obama, Sasha Obama Religion: United Church of Christ EducationHarvard Law School, J.D., 1991 Occidential College/Columbia University, B.A. Punahou School Experience Businesses Owned, Past Careers, Board Memberships, Etc.: Center for Neighborhood and TechnologyChicago Annenberg Challenge Cook County Bar Cook County Bar Association Community Law Project Board Member, Joyce Foundation Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law Leadership for Quality Education Member, Trinity United Church of Christ Board Member, Woods Fund of Chicago Public Service / Elected Offices: Senator, United States Senate, 2005-present Senator, Illinois State Senate, 1997-2004 John Sidney McCain III
Birthdate: August 29, 1936 (Panama Canal Zone)
Hometown: Alexandria, Va.
Spouse: Cindy Hensley McCain
Children: Sydney McCain, Doug Shepp, Andy Shepp, Meghan McCain, John Sidney McCain IV, James McCain, Bridget McCain
Religion: Episcopal
Education
National War College, 1973
United States Naval Academy, 1958
Episcopal High School Military Service: - United States Navy 1958-1981 with service in Vietnam
- Prisoner of war in Vietnam, 1967-1973
- Awards: Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross
Businesses Owned, Past Careers, Board Memberships, Etc.:
- Member, American Dream Political Action Committee, 1997-present
- Member, Council on Foreign Relations, 1997-present
- Honorary Board Member, Hispanic Youth Foundation, 1997-present
- Honorary Board Member, The Leonard Cheshire Foundation, 1997-present
- Honorary Member, National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts Advisory Council, 1997-present
- Honorary Vice Chairman, New Majority Council, 1997-present
- Board of Trustees, Gallaudet University, 1995-present
- Founding Member, Pacific Council on International Policy, University of Southern California, 1995-present
- Board of Directors, Board of Directors Chair, International Republican Insitutute, 1992-present
- Life Member, Navy League, 1987-present
- Member, The Alfalfa Club
- Member, Air Force Sergeats Association
- Honorary Advisor Board, Arizonia Black Chamber of Commerce
- Honorary Co-chairman, Advisory Board of Directors, Arizona Cancer Research
Foundation - Honorary Member, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Complimentary Member, Association of the United States Army
- Honorary Member, Barry Goldwater Foundation
- Honorary Member, Fifty-Five Years and Up Incorporated
- Honorary Member, Board of Regents, Francis Scott Key Foundation
- Honorary Member, The John Goodwin Tower Center
- Honorary Board Member, Kids Voting Arizona
- Member, The Military Order of World Wars
- Honorary Member, Mo Udall Foundation
- Board of Directors, Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom
- Member, Purple Heart Association
- Member, The Retired Officers Association
- Member, Sons of the Revolution in the State of Virginia
- Member, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association
- Member of Board of Visitors, US Naval Academy
- Honorary Member, Board of Directors, Council of Notables, U.S.-Spain
Council - Member, Veterans of Foreign Wars
- Member, Vietnam Veterans Association
- Senate Navy Liaison, 1977-1981
- Pilot, Captain, United States Navy, Vietnam, 1958-1981
Public Service / Elected Offices: - Senator, United States Senate, 1987-present
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 1995-2001, 2003-2005
- Chair, Committee on Indian Affairs, 1995-1997, 2005-2007
- Representative, United States House of Representatives, 1983-1987
- Republican presidential candidate, 2000
START THE OPINIONS! Labels: Politics, Presidential Campaign
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Being a cat lover myself, I have to bring to your attention a great program that the Michigan Humane Society is promoting: According to the Michigan Humane Society website: http://www.michiganhumane.org/, you can adopt two cats for the price of one. For a limited time, when you adopt a feline friend, you can adopt a second cat or kitten with no additional adoption fee. With “cat” season in full swing and cat and kitten intakes at peak levels, the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) announces an exciting program that seeks more cats and kittens going home in twos! The “Purrfect in Pairs” program looks to double the number of cats being adopted by carefully matching pairs and charging only one adoption fee. In addition to placing more cats and kittens in loving homes, the added benefit of the program is that many cats do better in pairs by providing exercise, social interaction and mental stimulation for each other. Adopters will see that two really is twice as nice - and results in twice the love without twice the work. MHS will adopt together cats who are well-matched and have been selected for their suitability to the program. Placing two cats together will also help maximize the available cage space - which is critically needed this time of year.
To help get you started with Cat Supplies, a local Michigan pet supply company (GregRobert Pet Supplies) is offering a savings of $5.00 on all orders >$75 with coupon code: michbizAdopting two cats is beneficial to cats. Cats who live in a multi-cat household often do better, both physically and psychologically. - While many cats will show signs of jealousy around their human companions, when left alone in the house, these same cats with another cat in the household will often accept and learn to love and play with a newcomer cat or kitten. Given a little time.
- It is better to get both cats at the same time: A second cat should not be introduced into the household when the original cat is suffering from a serious illness or health problem, or seems to be heading toward the end of their golden time on earth.
- A two cat family often works best when there are two humans involved. Cats often gravitate more toward one human than the other, adopting that human as theirs while the other human is tolerable for feeding and for filling in when the favored human is unavailable.
Labels: Cat supplies, Michigan Humane Society
Sunday, September 21, 2008
 Now here is a controverial subject that you may be interested in hearing about. Michigan may be getting more serious about car pool lanes. Bills approved by the Legislature last week would authorize Michigan to have high-occupancy vehicle, or HOV, lanes. There already is one HOV lane in the state: a five-mile stretch of Michigan Avenue in Detroit near the Ambassador Bridge that coincides with the largest construction project in the history of the state Department of Transportation.
The lane opened in February as a pilot project, but legislative authority is needed so police can ticket violators. Use of HOV lanes is typically limited during certain hours to vehicles with two or more riders and to buses. Some states also allow solo drivers of hybrid vehicles to use car pool lanes.
"There's always been a love affair in Michigan with driving your own vehicle," MDOT spokesman Bill Shreck said. "But we can't build our way out of congestion. We're going to have to be more efficient. "HOV lanes exist or are planned in 46 metropolitan areas in 29 states and Canadian provinces, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Michigan has been slow to join that movement, and no specific plans for more HOV lanes are in the works. But transportation officials plan to look at whether it would make sense to add them while rebuilding the state's highways.
"We'll see how this works and start to see where else we can try," Shreck said of the pilot project. Personally, I am all for HOV lanes. The only way that we are going to get more people thinking about carpooling is to reward carpoolers. Too many people do not carpool ONLY because it is a mild inconvenience. They may not be able to leave the office exactly when they want or come in late when they want to catch a couple of extra Zzzz's. People who against carpool lanes have some interestina and valid points. They claim that the lanes are sometimes underutilized and they also claim that the taxpayers have already forked out the money for the lanes and now they can't use them. These definately reflect valid points. As a community, we have to get past "what is fair" and "what is mine" and start thinking about what is better for the future of Michigan, the future of our children and the future of our own lives and the quality of our lives. Carpools can prevent some accidents also. Let us know what you think. Labels: Michigan Traffic
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Social Shopping - the Best of the Best! A while back, I spent some time reviewing social article submission websites like DIGG, Squidoo and Newsvine. It was a fun but exhausting review process. You can view that article in one of my earlier blog posts. Social Networking, in general is here to stay and is a cornerstone of the world of Web 2.0. It is not just a passing phase. - So get started, create a few accounts and start sharing, reviewing, asking and answering as you browse your interests online. This week, I spent my time reviewing Social Shopping sites - a new breed of Social Networking. Here are a few of the top Social Shopping sites that I reviewed: - Recommendr - This was one of my favorite sites -but I noticed that it must be very new. I have a feeling that it will take off. I liked the Q and A format. I liked the ease of adding a product that I liked and most of all, I like the fact that I could give a "description" and "comment" right when I entered a product. Recommendr tops my list in functionality - but lacks the traffic at this point in time. Hey, if anyone from Recommendr reads this - a good way to get traffic is to allow merchants to post a button on eCommerce websites. (similar to Kaboodle, ThisNext and ILikeTotallyLoveIt)
 Kaboodle - the grand-daddy of Social Shopping. Kaboodle is refined. It seems to have already gotten alot of the kinks out of social shopping. Buttons for merchants, friends, lists, nice layouts. Kaboodle topped my list. It's a keeper!
- ThisNext - I really like ThisNext too, but it took me longer to catch on. Not sure why .. maybe I am more right brained and the site is built more for left-brainers? You got me, but once I got going, I got it. ThisNext has over 3 million pages indexed on Google, compared to 4 million or so of Kaboodle's pages. They need more variety on the merchant buttons :)
- ILikeTotallyLoveIt - I like totally love this site :) Good social shopping site. The feel of the website is simpler, cleaner than the bigboys. It's building, I am betting on this one too. Hey - good job on having some buttons available to merchants. There are still a few bugs, php errors, that type of thing - but it looks like a promising network
- Wists - Wists is simpler and a bit more personal. Not as much interfacing with other shoppers. If you like to shop alone .. but keep track of where you found things, try Wists. It is a cross between a social bookmarking site and a social shopping site.
- CrowdStorm - Crowdstorm is limited. They only have a dozen or so categories and I couldn't figure out how to add a product that did not already exist on the website. Maybe I did something wrong .. but I could get nowhere with crowdstorm
 StyleHive - It is interesting how fast my StyleHive profile got indexed on Google. It was indexed within 8 hours. Stylehive is more of a HIP Social shopping site in my opinion. Most of the posters have pictures of themselves; the products are high end. I like this site - but it won't be my main Shopping gig.
- StyleFeeder - StyleFeeder could be considered one of the big boys in the social shopping world. I liked StyleFeeder alot .. but once again, I believe that merchants should have the option to encourage bookmarks by pasting a button or link on their websites. I could not find this functionality. All in all, StyleFeeder is a keeper.
In a nutshell - social shopping comprises of social bookmarking, social networking and comparison shopping. There are a few social shopping websites that have got the key - but many of the other ones are lacking one piece of the pie or even a couple pieces. If you are aware of a social shopping site that I missed in this review - please comment and I will take the time to review it.
Shop until your fingers drop :) Labels: social networking, social Shopping reviews
Thursday, September 11, 2008
When our calendars open today and we get a quick glance of the date, there is not a sole in America that doesn't think back and reflect or pray on that fateful day seven years ago. (If you were old enough at the time to remember) A moment of silence please.Throughout Michigan organized events help us remember - but truly our hearts will never forget - especially if a friend or relative was involved, hurt or even possibly passed on. Patriot Day Ceremony in Lake Orion will be on 9-11-08 at 7:00PM in the evening
at The Orion Veterans Memorial (312 S. Broadway Lake Orion, MI 48362 Phone:
(248) 693-6636) http://orionveteransmemorial.com/Remembering%209-11_Orion_Veterans_Memorial_Lake_Orion_MI.html
Ann Arbor songwriter Kitty Donohoe is headed to Washington, D.C., to
perform her award-winning "There Are No Words" this evening at the
unveiling ceremony of the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial.
Donohoe said she wrote the song on the day of the terrorist attacks seven years ago as a response to the horror that was unfolding by the hour. After performing it a few nights later at a public gathering, she was urged to record it and give the CD singles away, hundreds of which were sent out around the world.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered flags lowered to half-staff today to remember those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Freedom walk in Sterling Heights Veterans groups are sponsoring a Freedom Walk today at Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights. It begins with a motorcycle ride from the American Legion Post 4, 401 N. Groesbeck in Mt. Clemens, to the park. Motorcyclists are to line up beginning at 5 p.m. and leave for the park at 7 p.m. Detroit's police and fire departments will hold a memorial service to honor victims of the attacks at 11 a.m. today at Campus Martius in downtown Detroit.
Your turn now - do any of our loyal readers have a connection to the happenings in New York or at the Pentagon on 9-11-01?? Please post and let us know. Labels: 9-11 Memorial Events
Monday, September 8, 2008
 Choosing the right wild bird foods does make a difference in the kinds of birds you attract and can make a big difference on how expensive your bird-feeding hobby becomes. There are some items that you can cut costs on, but watch out when buying non-brand name birdfeed and getting too "good of a deal". Some people may wonder why you would pay more for wild bird seed from a specialty catalog or a specialty store when you can get the same thing cheaper at the corner store?
If it was truly the same thing, than the question would be valid, but unfortunately, it is not the same thing. Cheap bird seed is often full of sticks and other harvesting debris. In most cases, it contains a lot of “filler” seeds that many birds won’t eat, such as milo, wheat, and millet. These seeds are okay for some types of wild birds, but you don’t want them to predominate in the bird seed mix because they only appeal to a few types of wild birds. It only makes sense not to pay for sticks, debis and seeds that most birds don’t like. Premium seed will actually give you more edible seed per pound.
Pure, black oil sunflower seed wins the award for "Top of the List" bird seed because attracts the widest variety of birds. It’s economical and all seed eating birds love it. Black Oil Sunflower Seed is rich in nutritious oils and the thin shells are easy for all size birds to crack. It should b a staple in most bird feeding plans. Sunflower hearts are a real favorite too. Gray striped sunflower seeds are larger than black-oil, and have a harder shell. They're fine for heavy-billed birds such as grosbeaks, jays, goldfinches and cardinals.
Bird suet, either plain, peanut butter or fruit flavored, or mixed with seeds is a food that attracts a variety of birds - more than just seed eaters. If you can only feed one other food besides black oil sunflower seed, make it bird suet. Wrens, catbirds, bluebirds and mockingbirds are a few of the insect eaters that will come to a suet feeder, along with chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches and titmice to name a few. Suet is a high fat bird food that provides birds with lots of energy for winter survival, spring nesting, and also helps them load up on the extra fat needed for migration.
Wild Bird Suet is a year round food, not just for winter feeding! Suet is technically beef fat, but any foods that supply fat in quantity can also be used, such as vegetable shortening and peanut butter. Suet cakes are a convenient way to offer suet, needing only an inexpensive suet basket to place them in. You can purchase No-Melt suet for hot climates. Labels: wild birds
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
This year’s Labor Day signaled much more than just sending the kids off to school and putting away the patio furniture. It seems there is much more to think about as we move into the "business New Year". I tend to look at Labor Day as a New Year in terms of the business climate. We roll up our sleeves and concentrate on making the last few months of the year really make a difference. This year, Labor Day seems to have grown in importance. The challenges and issues festering -- as we enter the new school year are much more of a concern to our long term futures and our children’s futures. - A historic presidential election with a woman on the Republican ticket as the Vice President candidate
- A very tight economy in Michigan with a wobbly stock market to boot.
- The problems in the mortgage industry (need I say more here?)
- Resolution at long last of Detroit's Mayor’s fate so that Detroit can get out of the muck and start to move forward again as a city and a region.
And the list goes on!
Labor Day has come and gone. Time to spring back into action. It promises to be an unusually interesting, incredibly busy and intensely important late Summer and Fall. Our futures as individuals, as a state and as a nation are at stake!
This weekend: Has anyone heard the wonderful Radio commercials that Michigan.org has put together? You can hear them here: http://www.themedc.org/...Default.aspx My favorite: "It begins with a slow dance of turning leaves, and crescendos in a trillion trees aflame. Experience an entire state in its annual blaze of glory. Find out what a Pure Michigan fall feels like." Enjoy! Labels: Labor Day
|
|
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
|
|
