Minutes by Minute

Jamaica is famous for Sandy beaches. That meant an entirely different thing for the island when hurricane Sandy barreled through on the eastern side of the island during the middle of last week. Unfortunately, one elderly man lost his life in the storm. I have not heard of other fatalities in Jamaica tied to Hurricane Sandy. However, the damage reported in three parishes (St. Mary, Portland, and St. Thomas) is extensive.  I have talked with a pastor who lives in St. Andrew, north of Kingston. Even there the damage is very bad. Many residents in that area rely on public transportation to take them on a 45 minute ride down into the city for work. Since Wednesday last week they've been stranded without power or running water. The road is blocked to the city still and they don't expect power to return for at least another week. This pastor shared with me that his church buildings are safe and undamaged, but that many of his church members lost roofs in the storm. The loss of ro...

I'm an ideas guy. I love new ideas and I love improving ways of doing things. The idea of making something simpler, creating a new product or service, or improving on a process excites me. I'm also a fan of cool TV shows. One of my favorite shows from the past few years is called Shark Tank. It's on ABC on Friday nights and is followed by one of my other favorite shows called What Would You Do? The concept of Shark Tank is simple. A panel of wealthy investors welcome entrepreneurs who present their product or service to the sharks. The sharks listen to the presentations, drill the entrepreneurs with questions and attempt to poke holes through their concepts while analyzing the prospect of a successful investment in their companies. Inventors and small business owners come to the sharks with ideas ranging from bakeries to workout videos, from new pickup truck bed products to concierge services. The idea is awesome, educational, and exciting to watch. One lesson I tak...

Currently I'm sitting in a Caribou in Spring Lake Park, MN, not far from my home in Blaine, MN. Actually, I'm about a mile from where our old PPM office used to be and my car is in the same parking lot where our old office used to be. That's because I got to know a guy a few doors down when our office was located there who was doing some small business car sales and repairs. Turns out he persevered and continued his hard work and he now has like 5 or 6 other employees and a booming business of used car sales and a mechanic shop in the same lot where our old office is. I've stayed in touch with him and he's my go-to guy when it comes to car trouble or car buying!  My 2001 Buick Regal is in the shop. It's getting a bit old. I got it in 2007 after my 1995 Oldsmobile 88 died while I was on a trip to Minnesota during college. I've driven my Buick for five years now. My goal is seven years, meaning I need to keep it going until 2014. I drove my previous car for ...