I'm Hunting Wabbits

And by wabbits, I mean a new job.

I'm still working, but I feel the chemistry isn't as strong as it used to be at my current workplace.

We're going in two separate directions.

It's not you, it's me.

While I like who I work with and what I do, I don't see this being a long-term, 'let's rule the world together' career anymore.  I feel I can do better, and find greener pastures.

So the hunt is on.  Feelers are out.  I'm talking with people, and may leverage a job-change with an environment-change as well.  We'll see.

But the fun question:  When I find my 'greener grass,' how should I give my notice?

I can't exactly write a 'fuck you' sign and post it at my company.  That, and again, I like most of the people I work for.  This is a 'it's not you, it's me (but it's really mostly you)' situation, so I'd like to not burn the bridge.

And since I'm 600 miles from my actual home office, I have 1 of 2 ways:

I can email them a traditional 'thank you, but BUH BYE' 2-week notice.

Or I could deliver something to them.  Like a cake.

The man who founded mrcake.co.uk gave his notice by showing off his cake-making skills.  It was respectful, funny, memorable, and got him a lot of good PR since this picture has been passed around and around the internet.

But I have no cakemaking skills.

And, although I love Mr. Cake's style, I'm not going to get a cake delivered all the way from the UK to the Western US.

So what do I do?

Can I go to Costco and ask for a strawberry-filled cake in the shape of a large middle-finger?

Or should I get a Mrs. Field's giant cookie, with my two-week notice scrawled on the top?

Finally, I found this picture:

I love this, and I could time my 'official' notice to arrive (via email) 5 minutes after the delivery arrives.

And I bet, no matter how the cake actually tastes, this cake will be so so sweet.

Have any of you ever quit in a creative way?  If so, please share with a comment below!

This Rage is Sponsored by Nestle Purina Pet Foods

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, I started watching an interesting show about cats on National Geographic.  It talks about animal behaviors, ancestry and health.

With just a few words, they summed up cat nutrition really well.  As someone who has been feeding pets for 11 years, this statement made me happy:

Ten thousand years ago, humans domesticated cats.  We became farmers and started storing grains.  Storing grains brought mice and vermin, and we used cats to kill the mice.  They ate the mice, not the grain.

But wait!  Cut to commercial, and I see nothing but Purina commercials.  Dog Chow, Cat Chow, Pro Plan, etc.

A company famous for using grains grains grains in their food.

Nowadays, nutritionists vets and pet owners know cats are obligate carnivores.  This means they need meat to live.  Meat = nutrition, grain = waste.

Non-meat ingredients do serve a purpose, however.  Cranberries are great for raising pH and eliminating UTIs and other bladder-related issues.  Some roughage (rice, vegetables, etc) is needed for fiber, but very little.  Essentially, since cats are natural predators, any bits of grain or fruits/veggies you'd normally find in a bird's or mouse's gut will do.

That's it.

But wait!  Let's look at the first few ingredients in Purina Cat Chow:

Poultry by-product meal, corn meal, corn gluten meal (so corny it's in there twice!), ground whole wheat, brewers rice, soy flour, animal fat.  The list goes on, click the link above to read the rest.

Sounds yummy, doesn't it?  Now, when you hear by-products there are many types:  The by-products you'd find in hot dogs, and carcass waste.  Guess which one is often used for pets, since the other one is used for people?

(Translating their ingredients into people food, Cat Chow is nothing but Tortilla Chips, Bread, Tofu, and bits of 'meat' you yourself would never eat.  This is my opinion, but the ingredients speak for themselves.)

My mom used to feed Cat Chow to our pets when I was a child.  They all had radioactive-orange poop that would make the litterbox REEK.  Now that I know nutrition, I don't let my friends and family do this to their pets.

Long story short, don't let commercials and flashy ads fool you.  Odds are, if you see it on TV it's probably not a good brand to feed your pet.  Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

A Musician Needs a Piano (Just Because)

One of the benefits of being a musician in a new home is the fact I have room to spare right now, and am looking to fill it in fun ways.

I primarily play the flute, but have always enjoyed other instruments.  One I've never fully mastered was the piano.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a virtuoso on the piano... as long as I can play one hand at a time.  Left hand, right hand, just not both.

Which is why I want one.

I don't have the room for a grand, but an upright piano would be perfect for the new house.  I'm not sure if I want to outright buy one or find a good rental company, but I definitely want to get one in the house so I can practice more.  I may check out some Piano Price Guides to see what range I'd be looking at.

Besides, I still have this idea of wanting my kids to learn a musical instrument and follow in their dad's footsteps.  If you start with piano, it's easy to transition to other instruments... but not the other way around.

Flute, trumpet, oboe, the fingers go up and down.  They don't move.  Piano is different, and hard to learn when you're used to fingers staying in one place.

Are there any pianists out there?  Do you have any tips to impart?

At Least I'm Not in Arizona

Idaho bugs me in some ways.  The culture-clash of living in Eastern Idaho and being the minority because I'm not Mormon is one of the biggest reasons, but there are more.

Incredibly red state, which isn't a bad thing, but Idaho seems to have more of the dumb "dey took our jerbs" Republicans than the intellectual moderates or conservatives.  They hate blue, and that's enough for them.

Also, there's nothing out here.  Which isn't a bad thing, but I'm still a city boy true and true.  I'm 3 hours from Salt Lake, 4 hours from Boise, and those are both half-assed cities anyway.  Give me Chicago.  Give me Boston.  San Diego.

But at least I don't live in Arizona.  I'll take Idaho any day.

My paternal side of the family lives about an hour north of Phoenix.  While the median age for someone living in Idaho Falls is about 57, the median age in Prescott / Prescott Valley seems to be 120.  ALL old people, ALL the time.

If their population is 100,000 right now, in 10 years it'll be 35,000.  It's that bad.

And they're ALL horrible drivers.  Driving too slow, swerving, wide turns, not looking... you feel like you're going to die, even if they're in a Geo and you're in a Hummer.

I had one instance where I was driving down the main street, maybe going 5 over the speed limit.  An old dude 500 feet ahead moved from the next lane to right in front of me, then started slowing down.  When I tried to move over to pass, he moved over as well.  After a little do-see-do, I finally got around him.  He shook his fist at me and yelled for me to slow down.  I think he called me a 'crazy Mexican' too...

Unbelievable.

Also, Prescott Valley has speed cameras EVERYWHERE.  Cops even have camera cars they park in random locations.  Going 26 in a 25 zone?  Expect to see a flash from the car, and getting a ticket in the mail.

The old people don't mind, since they are always 10-20 below the limit.  After all, then they had Flintstones cars, that's as fast as their feet could pedal...

So Idaho has its faults, but they're not nearly as bad as Arizona.  I'll take outsider-fearing Mormons over death-defying old people any day of the week.

No Deposit Poker Sites to Play and Practice Poker

There is only one way to master the art of playing any variant of Poker, and that is of course to get in as much practice as you possibly can, you can read as many books or watch as many Poker training videos as you can find, however at the end of the day you are only going to truly pick up the inner workings of Poker by sitting down and playing it.

However you are probably going to have to spend a small fortune playing Poker online in a real money environment once you begin your Poker playing career, for it is not a game that you will pick up and get to know how to play it perfectly in just a few hours.

So to help you get as much Poker playing experience under your belt, but without the need to spend a penny or cent, then below you will find a collection of Poker sites where they will let you sit down and play Poker, with other real players, but without the need to deposit and can therefore play poker for free.

Free Poker Sites

The online poker room reviews that are listed below offer plenty of open no deposit Poker tables and free play Poker tables where you are able to play Poker alongside other Poker players but in a completely free format.  You can find the top 10 no deposit poker sites list written by poker player Adrian Sterne from this website. 

We have listed the sites based on where exactly it is in the world you are currently living, so feel free to check out the free Poker site that will accept and allow you to play at the respective Poker site based on your current country of residence:

No Deposit American Poker Site – The one Poker site where you are never going to have any problems playing free Poker games is at the Bovada Poker site. They are a completely US Poker player focused site and as such they have the necessary experience in serving all American Poker players.

Free Canadian Poker Site – There is one online Poker site which stands heads above all other in regards to servicing Canadian based online Poker players, and this site is the mighty Party Poker site, not only are you going to find plenty of practice free play tables open whenever you log in to play, but you will find plenty of freeroll Poker tournaments also on offer.

No Deposit UK Poker Site – The William Hill Poker site is where we suggest you visit if you are a UK based Poker player wanting to play nonstop free and no deposit required Poker games. They are one of the biggest Poker sites online and as such there is never a shortage of players to sit down and play against!

Free Poker Site – We are more than happy to introduce to all of our European based Poker players who fancy playing Poker for free to allow them to tone up their Poker playing skills to the bwin poker review site, they know Poker players want to practice and their free play Poker tables are where you will be able to do just that!

New Jersey Licensed to Accept Real Money Online Poker

One of the very first US States whose Gaming Authorities have now got a framework in place that will allow them to license and regulated online Poker sites is New Jersey. This very well regarded and experienced Gaming Authority have been inviting applicants to apply and show their interest in obtaining one of their new online Poker licenses and as such many such Poker sites have been doing just that. As published in this article by Tim Glocks you can find the list of poker sites that has New Jersey poker license.

It is a brave new and very exciting environment the online Poker world, and it has taken an absolute age for New Jersey to have the necessary checks and double checks in place to allow them to be able to furnish an online Poker license and regulatory framework to companies seeking one of them.

Many online Poker sites have been linking up with land based gaming groups who are already license holders for their respective land based operations in New Jersey as this has allowed them to merge their online operations with some of the most recognisable and well known established and more importantly trusted land based gambling groups

Poker Sites Applying for a New Jersey Online Poker License

Below you will find a group of online Poker sites who have shown an interest in applying for a online Poker license from the US State of New Jersey, as you will see as you look through this list these are some of the longest established online Poker sites who have the experience to guarantee US based online Poker players are going to have no problems what so every playing Poker in a real money environment at their respective Poker sites.

Poker Stars – Whilst Poker Stars have been always a forward thinking company, they did have to do a deal with the US Authorities recently in regards to their previous form in regards to allowing US based players to play at their Poker site. However they have now had the slate wiped clean and as far as the US Government are concerned they are good to go in regards to applying for any US State online Poker license, the first one of which they have applied for is one from New Jersey!

B Win – Another huge online based gambling company who are hoping to offer more and more US based Poker players the ultimate Poker playing experience thanks to them being granted a New Jersey online Poker license is Bwin. Having obtained gambling licenses in many different licensing jurisdictions throughout the world, they truly know what players look for and demand from an online Poker site and always deliver the goods.

Certified Gaming – It is probably no surprise to many online Poker players to discover that Ultimate Gaming have put in an application and have shown a real desire to become one of the very first holders of a New Jersey online Poker license. Their online Poker platform has proved to be very reliable and robust and it is to be expected that they breeze through the licensing process and will soon be offering more and more US based Poker players a place where they can have an unsurpassed online Poker playing experience.

Making Road Trips More Tolerable

I work too hard, and drive too much.  I drove 57,000 miles for work last year, and I am on pace this year to hit about 62,000.

That's over 1,000 miles a week, yo.  I'm not a long-distance truck driver, I'm a salesman.  Which means driving, stopping, seeing accounts, then driving some more.

I'm away from home a lot, and the fatigue adds up.  It's both a physically and mentally draining job, but I still love what I do.

Recently I was gone for 10 days straight.  I had a trade show in Las Vegas, and bookended the trip with visits to see my kids in California, and my dad's side of the family in Arizona.  It made for a LONG trip.

But wifey to the rescue.

In my suitcase, I found a pile of cards with specific instructions.  "Open this Monday afternoon."  "Open this anytime you need a smile or a pick-me-up."

Each card had something hand-crafted from her, with either an "I love you" message or something uplifting to keep my spirits up.

I had a great time with my boys.  I had a good workweek.  Overall the trip was fun but it was very exhausting.  Her cards kept me smiling and kept me moving forward.

This is why she rocks.

Eleven cards in total, all different, all planned to push me through my trip.  Needless to say, she was thanked when I finally got home.

Do you ever do things like this for your better half?  It's so easy to just send flowers.  To put something creative and unique like this together is better than any bouquet out there.