THE REGULATORY MIX AND BLOG ARTICLES

When I was 10, my dad's dream of owning a place in the country came true when we moved to Christmas, FL. Yes, the name of the town is really Christmas, and it is located about 20 miles east of Orlando. It rarely snows, but festive nonetheless with Santa Claus and a decorated tree that remains year round. This time of year is bustling with activity as people come from miles around to the post office to have their holiday cards postmarked "Christmas, FL."The community was originally called Fort Christmas, named after the fort built around Christmas time in 1837 during the Seminole Indian War. A replica stands on a 25-acre park, a fun place to visit and picnic with the family.

Much is made this time of year for the need to express what we are thankful for. That proposition is a bit like asking people, “Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty person?” My question is why must there be a glass or fullness involved? Why is everything reduced to measurements of a physical equation involving mass and volume? Is it useful or fair to reduce emotions, attitudes, and one’s circumstances to such equations? Perhaps not, but in the days of Smartphones, Twitter, Facebook, and multi media outlets to share the oddest aspects of ourselves with everyone, it is hard to remember if we have ever had an unexpressed thought or digital emotion. So much is spilled through these channels daily that we have become hardened to real expressions of passion and enthusiasm and deem those emotions as false or too impossible to be real.

The Discovery Channel features “Shark Week” each year that allows viewers to witness the migration and eating behaviors of frightening sea creatures via our television screens, smart phones, and other electronic devices. However, that carnage has nothing on the Thanksgiving Potluck Luncheon that we put together every year at Technologies Management, Inc.!

 

I am a horror movie addict! There I said it! They say the first step to realizing you have a problem is actually admitting to it. Every year I go to horror movie conventions, film festivals, Halloween horror nights at Universal Studios Florida, etc. If it is scary, I will be there with bells on. Whenever I tell people I am obsessed with horror movies, I am almost always given the same look; someone’s head tilts to the side and their eyes squint like they are trying to “figure me out.” I guess in their mind, someone who would be obsessed with the genre would be perceived as odd, scary, or the making of a future psychopath. Let me explain, when I was growing up I would get together with my cousins and watch nothing but horror movies. All of us huddling together gave us a sense of security and brought us closer together. I have nothing but fond memories of my cousins, and now we often will get together and re-watch the same movies we grew up on together. A few years ago, I had an incredibly horrific day at work and began to stress eat. I turned on the most recent Texas Chainsaw Massacre flick and the scene that played made me drop my food on my plate. My stomach turned in disgust; the very thought of eating after watching that made me sick. I couldn’t eat, or think about my daily life for the duration of the movie, I was terrified and shocked at what I had just witnessed. That night, I had a nightmare where I was running through a basement and “Leather face” was running after me with a chainsaw. I woke up in a cold sweat, scared and grateful to be warm in my bed. As if that wasn’t enough, the following night I dreamt that I was running through the same house and Freddy Krueger was chasing me in a cowboy outfit. Yes, you read that right, a cowboy outfit. Why a cowboy outfit? Who knows, your guess is as good as mine. But I realized that night, that my life was not that bad!!! I began to see the world in a different light. Whenever I would watch horror movies, whether they are based on true events or not, it got me thinking about my current situation in life, and forgive me but I hardly believe that anyone’s problems including my own are remotely close to what the victims are experiencing in that movie or life story. For me, its approximately 90 minutes of very inexpensive therapy, I am completely engulfed in that world and when I leave I feel just a little bit better about whatever wrong is occurring in my own reality. Not to mention, the creative genius that goes into these movies. Think about the special effects that are used to trick your eye into thinking its real. Or even the amazing acting abilities of the person on screen pretending to be in fear for their lives. I truly enjoy watching makeup artists transform a normal person in to The Walking Dead.

 

You know the Humane Society commercial with Sarah McLachlan's lyrics playing in the back ground and those adorable animal faces with their eyes that reach deep into your soul?  Sure you do.  Many of my co-workers, including myself, have adopted rescue pets.  I rescue Collies.  You know, the ones that look like Lassie?  I have had three (3) Collies in the past 30 years, two (2) of them were rescued from local Orlando rescue leagues.  My first two Collies lived to the ripe old age of 14 years old.  We rescued our current Collie when he was three years old and he is now seven.  We are hoping he also reaches a ripe old age.  You can't find a sweeter, more good natured dog. 

Technologies Management, Inc. is pleased to announce that David J. Malfara, Sr., President and CEO of the ETC Group, LLC, will be providing a series of guest blog articles for TMI subscribers this fall. We are very excited to have Dave’s unique business, technology, and engineering perspectives in this timely commentary. We are confident that our blog readers will find the information that he shares extremely valuable.

Take a look at the terrific line up we have for our FREE 1/2 Day VoIP Workshop at COMPTEL PLUS on Thursday, September 26, 2013, in Orlando.

This colorful basket featured on our third banner is an Imbenge Basket, a creation of the Zenzulu Hardwire Weaving Group of South Africa. The artist is Nokuthula Zulu.

We are very excited to announce not only a new website, but also a brand new Technologies Management Blog.