Get Your CRAP Picked Up FREE, courtesy of Fayetteville

Everybody has seen the TV show Hoarders, so you all know how appalling hoarding can lead ones lifestyle to become.  People who allow the collection of things in their residence to make a negative impact on their livelihoods are troubled, but there is a little hoarder in many of us.  You may have the luxury of hanging onto junk that you will "probably" never make use of, but it's just not a good idea.  Mini storage owners everywhere hate the idea of letting go of excess "stuff" but you should save money and lighten your load.  

I must admit that I have a tendency to hang on to tickets to ball games/concerts/tournaments or used shopping bags that "have potential" or maybe even a program from last weeks church service.  I like knick-nacks and relatively pointless momentos and I try to keep myself from going overboard and letting my tendency to "collect" create issues.  Two things made me think about this topic today.  First I was moving a large load of junk out of my parents house onto the road to be disposed of (Bravo Mom, keep letting stuff go).  This "large load" was of various things that have been in the garage/basement for a long while and would never be taken seriously ever again, even by her grandkids' grandkids.  Second is when I was pulling out my battalion of sweaters and couldn't bring myself to throw away ones with permanent stains and "minor" holes.  Even with a small hole or stain, these particular sweaters had character (and cashmere and silk aint cheap).

I'm not suggesting that you just throw stuff away.  Recycle it, give it to someone who wants it, donate it to a charity or even sell the stuff yourself (ebay, yard sale, bartering with flea marketers).  But don't let all kinds of pointless erroneous crap that you don't need share your living space just sitting there forever.  People all over the place would love turning your second hand stuff into their new home additions.  Tons of less fortunate and/or kooky folks would probably think that your hideous lamp or questionable pottery would go perfectly on their bedside table.  Many churches have yard sales that will turn the stuff you don't want into $$$ to support their ministry (namely Haymount UMC on Ft. Bragg Rd.) and the Salvation Army and GoodWill will gladly take the second hand clothes/bedding/miscellaneous items that you have no use for to support their cause.  

If you do have stuff that is beyond repair or just needs to be thrown away, all you have to do is call the CITY and they'll come pick it up, FREE of charge.  Just put it on your curb and they'll come haul it away, FREE.  You need to call 910.433.1329 and follow the instructions to Bulk Item Pick-Up to schedule a pick-up.  There are some materials that they will not pick-up FREE (solid concrete blocks, construction materials, glass or mirrors, etc) but most of your average "junk" is fair game.  -furniture -appliances -old junk -you name it

Do yourself, your parents, your kids, your grandparents, your neighbor or your spouse a favor and get rid of some junk.  You all deserve a lighter load- and maybe even something new and improved.   Call the City of Fayetteville @ 910.433.1329 and politely ask them to come to your curb and pick up the junk that needs to go.  

Oh My Guyyy

Hate To Get The Seats In The Benz Wet

"I'm from the 'Ville where they bang for the money, carry four 5's like its change for a twenty."
With 7 homicides in Fayetteville in the past 2 weeks, this lyric rings true.

Fayetteville, NC product Jermaine Cole has made it to the big leagues of hip hop and recently released a debut album on Jay-Z's newest label, Roc Nation.  I don't really want to open Pandora's box on the merits and sanctity of American Hip-Hop culture, but let me tell you this:

I don't really KNOW Jermaine Cole.  The last two times I saw him he didn't have time to chat and catch up on the old days kickin' it in the halls of Terry Sanford, where we both graduated high school.  On the other hand, he was busy performing at UNC-P last time I saw him, and the time before that he was shopping at WalMart on Skibo.  We are friends on Facebook, though.

When the average sophisticated American thinks about hip-hop they probably think bling-bling, degrading, vulgar, idiotic and offensive.  Cole's resume breaks the mold of you're average rapper.  He attended St. Johns on an academic scholarship after a strong academic career and a laundry list of athletic and extracurricular activities in high school.  He graduated with honors from the NYC on schedule while continuing to pursue his dream of making music for a living.  After a few crucial mix tapes, he got a once in a lifetime break of catching Jay-Z's attention.  Now he is rumored to have had repeated intimate relations with Rihanna, he enjoys eating cheese, eggs and potatoes on the beaches of Barbados and he even parties with Hova & Steve Stoute.

Cole does not shy away from hip hops tendency to use some racy lyrics and his songs include a vernacular that seemingly degrades women in various ways.  The first time I listened to "Cole World:  The Sideline Story" I was slightly bothered by the usage of the N word.  I don't include the word in my vocabulary- so I was kinda ticked off by the prevalence of the off limits word.  How can I drop every song of the album verbatim on unsuspecting friends and strangers if I have to omit a half dozen words from each song??  As the most famous person who originated from Fayetteville in the world today, Jermaine Cole REPS THE VILLE as hard as you could possibly imagine.  He is proud of where he came from, and it's nice to see an eloquent and insightful player climbing the entertainment ladder.  I will be nodding my head to the tunes of Mr. Cole for the foreseeable future.  You should check out his vibes.

"I let you feel like you the shit, but boy you can't outfart me"  -J Cole

Idiot Del Rio

If you throw your Offensive Coordinator under the bus in a press conference following a loss, chances are you will be fired in pretty short order.  Things aren't looking good for Jack Del Rio's future at the helm of the Jacksonville Jaguars coming off another loss at 3-7 (1-5 on the road).  The ballsy move of cutting his better than ok QB David Garrard (and ECU alum) right before the season started raising eyebrows back in August, but I didn't think it would be a surrender flag.   Andy Reid would never throw one of his guys under the bus, and Jack Del Rio has got to be able to straighten up his play caller.

Chalking up the loss to a rookie QB is an easy way out, but I'm not buying anything less than JDR is doing a lackluster job coaching the team.  It's a common problem throughout the NFL, as you always have a half dozen or so teams on the market looking for a new coach at the end of every season.  This year the Jaguars will get in line with the other teams looking for good leader, I'm just glad the Panthers and Colts won't be in line with em.

In other news, the Panthers and Colts will be playing in Indianapolis next week.  My two favorite NFL teams will fight for a rare victory as both are having serious issues while being QB'd by a back-up and a rookie.  Colts looking for their first win and the Panthers trying to figure out how to play football in the second half.  Additionally, blood brothers John and Jim Harbaugh will meet on opposing sidelines next week in a big matchup of seemingly playoff teams.  Their dad must be proud to watch gainfully employed head ball coaches doing it big on Sundys.  Ravens vs. 49ers will be a good one to watch in another fabulous week of NFL football.

Go Heels  Go America   .com
and check out: thrownawaytoworthy.com if you want another good read.  Stiverson knows way more than I do about sports.

Big Ol' Stock Market Dump

Cash is King, and in the first 2 weeks of August keeping your assets in Benjamins' is looking really smart.  The fact that the market is down over 10% in the last 2 weeks makes it easy to see how volatile investing in public companies can be.  Quick Bucks while the Stock Market goes up and Free Falls when it's going down:  plunges like these are not for the faint of heart.  The experts say the leaders in the clubhouse causing the markets free fall are European debt, American credit scores, government weakness/debt and more crappy debt.

Good debt is how financial institutions used to make their fortune and once upon a time DEBT was used "as needed" and very carefully.  In recent decades, debt became so readily available in such a myriad of ways that people acquired "credit" faster than Charlie Sheen acquires prescriptions.  American culture/politics/business somehow missed the boat in heading off the overwhelming popularity of debt-heads (ie, crack-heads), many of them even made it into Congress and the White House.  Lingering financial worries are largely a result of debt that should not have been lent- and America leads the pack on borrowing.  It doesn't help that Average Joe likely doesn't understand what an "interest rate" is.

CAN YOU AFFORD IT? unfortunately turned into CAN YOU FINANCE IT? and hopefully we're heading back in the right direction.  Cold hard cash is a good thing to have under the mattress and will help a whole lot if your debt creeps up on you.  Don't be caught waiting on next weeks paycheck and by golly please don't borrow from Peter to pay Paul, Luke & the mortgage.

UNC Football: Not Defending Holden, but....

You won't find me speaking up in favor of the one and only genius, Mr. Holden Thorp's decision to dismiss Butch Davis as the Head Ball Coach of UNC-Chapel Hill recently.  The timing was awful, their was no "smoking gun" and things just did not go as they should in any well-run program.  Don't hold one stance for over 10 months and then do a 180 degree change without legitimate, late-breaking news.

I only think it is best for UNC-Football, and UNC Athletics as a whole- to make this MOUNTAIN of a screw up (screw up = everything from Marvin Alstons tweets, to tutors help with studying, to Butch's hiring idiot asst. coach, to a little casual plagiarism) into a molehill.  I really think we have plenty of reason to look towards the future of our program with optimism and, you guessed it....HOPE.  Everett Withers is a highly capable ball coach and the boys on our roster aren't going to hang up their cleats for an encouraging and likeable coach- as well as a nation of quality supporters who want to see the Tar Heels succeed AND SCORE TOUCHDOWNS!!

This year will be fine, maybe even great in Kenan-Flagler stadium.   If our fans can simply be good fans it will help a ton, but that will not be easy.  We really haven't had a devoted and loyal football fanbase at Carolina since the mid 90s- if we even did then.  (we oftentimes have questionable basketball fans *see: wine and cheese & questioning Roy's coaching abilities)  Regardless of the Coach on the sideline or the Chancellor in the boardroom- we must support the Boys in Blue on the Gridiron.  Cheer hard, be reasonable, cheer harder, be loyal and forget about the unfortunate 12 months that have fallen on our shoulders this past year.  We've got a team full of athletes who can win a bunch of football games as long as we win the turnover game, play solid special teams and can run the ball fairly well.  A little luck is bound to be on our side this year- given the recent bad luck.  Go Heels, Go America.com!!!

*more to come on NCAA Violations and the perilously flawed culture of major college sports...

Representin'?

Do you know the 12 points of the Boy Scout Law?  You should definitely know them and at least try to fulfill them in your daily life.  Try as I might- I'll always have points of The Law to improve upon and I hope to get better every day.  I will never forget learning the 12 points of the scout law to the "Macarena" tune in cub scouts- before we even graduated to the ranks of khaki uniforms and sweet green neckerchiefs. Panther Patrol stand up...

Just imagine, to the tune of the infamous "best dance ever", the MACARENA!!!

A scout is Trustworthy, Loyal and Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.  Heyyyyyyy we're the Weblos.
Don't be afraid to call me a big ol dork.

If I had to pick one point of the scout law that I value the most in people, it would probably be:  Trustworthy, the first point.  If you can't trust, you really can't get past square one.  Sure there are different degrees of trust, and circumstances dictate the situation- but being worthy of Trust is not something that you just get.  You have to earn it.  Not everyone can be an Eagle Scout, but we can all live in accordance to the Boy Scout Law.  

Publicity Matters

Volumes of books have been written on Advertising, PR and Marketing- but all of the authorities don't necessarily agree.  The old adage "All publicity is good publicity" is often heard and it may be true occasionally; it helps to manage any and all publicity wisely when possible.  Lady Gaga, for instance, probably digs every time her name is uttered; whether talking about her being a lunatic, a gifted musician or in the process of spinning off the planet.  She'll probably sell 5 more songs online as a result of this blog post.  As long as people are talking about her, she and her publicists are happy.  The worlds of pop-culture and business might be polar opposites, so if you expect to maintain maximum credibility and peoples trust it makes sense to monitor your image and the word on the street.  Clearly this is the gospel truth, because hoards of professionals make high-on-the-hog living's out of managing the image, communication and existence of those not fit to do it themselves.

Until the Earth melts society will get a kick out of gossiping, spreading rumors and bad-mouthing whatever topics, people and organizations come to mind and unfortunately whether their information is driven by facts or riddled with self-serving slants happens to be beside the point.  Our internet driven world makes this problem even more complex.  Complex to the point that it almost makes sense to plead the 5th, bite your tongue and just say no in any potentially controversial circumstance.  I have a knack for an opinion that is not squarely PC and at the same time avoid offending anybody and everybody at all costs.  Given my disposition, as in most facets of life, finding that fine and straight forward line is a challenge and an art.  So I always carry a straight edged ruler, a moral compass and try to be perfectly frank.  I use these tools to avoid misunderstandings.

It's a Cole, Cole World & Fayetteville is an All-America place.
J. Cole will soon be Fayetteville's most famous native, possibly of all time, for good reason.

Making $$$ on Checking Accounts

In a fairly tough environment to get safe returns, particularly without risk and no commitment, I am slightly proud of making $48/month on my checking accounts.  Keep in mind the money I have saved as a result of a low-expense lifestyle makes the free monies possible and I play 2 checking accounts in my favor.  Always running checking transactions as CREDIT and never entering PIN #'s is a requirement of making my checking accounts profitable.  Sure there are some stipulations and requirements to the arrangements, but they are easy to satisfy without much effort.  I feel a little bit better about not being a coupon clipper as a result of getting $48 free dollars between checking accounts with Capital and First Citizens Banks.  I am a very happy customer of both banks and very pleased with the customer service.

Keep in mind some of the arrangements that allow for me to get some free money are prone to change in the near future as a result of checking accounts regulations changing.  Banks are not able to automatically make customers eligible for the Overdraft option, so the $34 insufficient funds charges have shrunk enormously, or at least thats my understanding.  If I can make $600 a year on checking accounts, I'll feel pretty good about that.  Let me know if you would like further details about how I make this happen.  It could happen to you~

Three Bankin' Golfers and a Head Scratcher

Golfers Bank, Bankers Golf and too many kids are banking on golf to pay the bills in the future.  I hit the links yesterday with 3 bankers,  all of which worked for extended periods of time in the golf business.  They reflect on their time working at golf courses in slightly different lights, but the fact that they abandoned the "line of leisure" to work for banks is telling.  I even worked one long summer in the golf business, largely because it allowed me to play free golf, and 3 months at the Governor's Club gave me a look into the working world of golf courses.  I have spent many hours contemplating getting into Banking, so spending 4 hours with 3 bankers was a funny experience, but we tried not to discuss the 9-5's between 1 and 18.  We will always need banks, in some form or fashion, and while the public's opinion of banks is talked about endlessly I fully respect the line of work.  We may not always NEED to have golf courses, but they will always be around, and I hope to be on one of them most every weekend.

As an avid and ambitious golfer I enjoy getting a glimpse into the culture of golf courses that I am lucky enough to play.  On a recent trip to the Charleston area, I was unlucky enough to play at Charleston's Municipal course and came to absolutely abhor the culture that was evident throughout their organization.  I would use some adjectives to describe the experience if could do so eloquently- but I'm opting out.  It was a disaster and the time spent playing the seven holes we got in made me question my passion for the game.   I'll soon explain the laundry list of reasons why we could only fathom 7 holes, because I want to start a campaign against similar circumstance occurring in the future.  For the love of the game and my own sanity,  because sometimes my zen finding cannot overcome; but I'll be better suited next time.   QDB

Fayetteville Beautiful: Tornados in NC: etc.

This weekend was marked by some incredibly noteworthy occasions in addition to the regularly scheduled golf outing and seemingly weekly wedding season festivities.  Everybody's working for the weekend and accordingly a large majority of fond memories are made between Friday and Sunday.  This weekend was unlike any other for a few good reasons.
Fayetteville Beautiful is a citywide campaign, led by City Councilman Bobby Hurst, to make a dent in the litter index of our city.  A group of around 1500 volunteers joined forces wielding gloves and trashbags to take on trash in Fayetteville's roadways and thoroughfares.  Fayetteville Young Professionals (FYP) put together a group of about a dozen people willing to make our city cleaner.  We were assigned two stretches of busy road; Ramsey Street leading into downtown and Bragg Boulevard east of Eutaw.  We spent a few good hours picking up all sorts of trash.  In the stretch I was on it seemed clear that consumers of beer, fast food and the lottery happen to be avid litterers.  No suprise there.  I know for a fact that the efforts put forth on Saturday April 16th were tremendous in the progress of making Fayetteville even more Beautiful.  Our town, like most others, certainly has a its rough patches.  The efforts of any army of volunteers made those patches and many more miles of roadways a lot easier on the eyes.  No one could have imagined that later the same day a storm would rip through our region scattering debris at a level never seen before, in my lifetime at least.    
Tornados should be isolated to the MidWest and American's flat heartlands, or at least thats what common knowledge tells us.  Not this weekend, as an emphatic storm rumbled through 9 states on the east coast leaving houses destroyed, electric utilities tattered and numerous lives lost.  It shouldn't take more than a few days to restore power to most all residences still standing, but the folks affected by the natural disaster will never forget the panic of tornado alley Saturday afternoon on the east coast.  The country focused its attention on our area as one of the hardest hit, even Sam Champion was just down the road in Sanford.  Each of our hearts goes out to the people crowding shelters, missing school and putting together lives after the unbelievable winds turned pine trees deadly and ripped homes apart.  The devastation will bring our area closer as everyone lends a hand and we will emerge stronger than ever. 
On a high note, an engagement party for good friends Adam and Mandy was one heck of a time.  Great friends, good food and a wonderful place made for an ideal occasion to celebrate the impending matrimony of two great people.  The hosts opened their farm to crowd of friends and family who chowed down on BBQ, chicken, fixins and more delicious desserts than any stick could be shook.  A great time, thanks to everyone who helped put it on! 
My golf game continued to struggle this weekend as I continue my inability to get and keep my head in the game.  I spent much of the day helping my roommate Ben with his fledgling golf game.  He is making progress and well on his way to enjoying the wonderful game of golf.  I coordinated a group of 10 at Baywood and we hit the tee Sunday morning around 10:45.  I think a good time was had by all.    A better time will be had next outing when there are more birdies and pars to go around.  Thats it and thats all.  Until next time, folks. 
 

Downtown Fayetteville: Marketing

A meeting was held yesterday by the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) to figure out how to best use $75,000 for a unified marketing push to get more people to downtown Fayetteville and some of its primary attractions.  As I understand it, the three $25,000 alotments are to center around the Airborne and Special Operations Museum, the New Veterans Park (currently under construction) and Downton Fayetteville.  The meeting solicited insights and suggestions from Downtown stakeholders, business owners and other agencies tied to community growth, economic development, etc.  I attended the event both as a Fayettevillian, CityView employee, and supporter of downtown Fay. 

-Airborne and Special Operations Museum
-Veterans Park
-Downtown Fayetteville

In figuring out how to best use an alotment of $$$ to promote the categories listed above, it is clear there is plenty of common ground.  Ideally, anyone who enjoys one of the above will wind up getting at least a taste of all 3.  In addition to ASOM and the Veterans Park being right beside each other and obvious military themed attractions, they are both Downtown.  Check, Check, Check.  Now on to the question of how to best use, say...$75,000 to promote and publicize them to help Downtown thrive, as a whole.   

Non-profit employees, real estate managers, Newspaper publishers, videographers, tatoo artists, city employees and sales reps among many others filled the room and chimed in with their opinions, but they really need to hear from onlookers to see how to make inroads towards effectively using this money.  So what do you think....

- What media source or advertising means could best improve Fayetteville (specifically downtown) as a tourist destination?
-  What will it take for you to visit Fayetteville? 
- What is the most appealing thing about downtown Fayetteville?
-  Why don't you go downtown to spend time and money more often?
- Who should be in charge of marketing Downtown Fayetteville?
- Do you plan to visit ASOM or the Veterans park in the next year?

Please offer any thoughts on this subject.  A lot of people need to hear what you have to say!     

Dean Dome Pick-Up BBall. UNC Tarheels

We played pick up in the Dean Dome and it was a little bit of fun.  Eric Montross' coaching style was hands off.  Danny and I both got a little bit nasty.  Thank you Nationwide Insurance. 

2011 Ramblin

Two days of nasty wintery weather have resulted in less than maximum work production so far this week.  In a profession that requires businesses to be excited about their participation in our magazine, days like today are not prone to be blockbusters.  Manufactured excitement is about as cool as roughing the kicker so  I try not to push any envelope too hard.  This might be a tough hurdle in the world of sales- so I'm working on easing into it.  I can't be non-stop, and as far as I'm concerned- buying into it will help me sell it.  The team aspect is a top priority to me and I want to drink KoolAid like a pro.  What flavor KoolAid are you serving?