Leigh and Tony. 16×12 Watercolor. Painted live at St. Mary’s Chapel in Raleigh, NC.

This is my latest wedding painting. I was working with Cara Zuehlke of A Southern Soiree. St. Mary’s Chapel is beautiful. It reminded me of All Saints Chapel where I had done a wedding painting earlier.The chapel was decorated beautifully, both inside and outside (if I had time, I would have painted outside as well!).

I arrived 90 minutes before the ceremony. The spot where I could setup my easel was between the last pew and the heating unit. I had to keep twisting for two hours to look at what I was painting and to reach my watercolor block and painting supplies! At this time of the season, it gets dark quickly. So, the only source of light was the overhead indoor lights: beautiful, but not bright enough for painting. Getting accurate tone and color temperature was not easy! But, that is the fun of painting on location!

When you look at any wedding scene, mere thought of painting so many details, and people can be terrifying. I like to plan ahead, say my prayers and then dive-in! I do my work with complete faith. At one point, I felt I was not going to have enough time to finish the painting. Talk about the stress! But, I am also a professional photographer (www.iwpphotography.com) and familiar with the stress! So, I kept on painting! I work quickly and the only thing important to me is capturing the romance of bride and groom uniting in front of their beloved family and friends.

I completed the painting few minutes after the ceremony was over. I photographed it, framed it and delivered to Cara in time for the reception. The reception was at Hotel Umstead.

If you are interested in commissioning me, please email me at: tesh_photo@yahoo.com You can see my work online at: www.teshparekh.com

- Tesh Parekh

www.teshparekh.com

www.facebook.com/teshparekh

www.iwpphotography.com

NC Policy Watch’s Clayton Henkel interviewed Jill Staton Bullard and Jason Boone of the Interfaith Food Shuttle about the recent increase in food insecurity in the Greater Triangle. You can listen to the interview here.

If you are in the market for a new home, you may still be able to claim the First-Time Homebuyer Credit.  Congress recently passed The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act Of 2009, extending the First-Time Homebuyer Credit and expanding who qualifies.

Here are the top 10 things the IRS wants you to know about the expanded credit and the qualifications you must meet in order to qualify for it:

1. You must buy – or enter into a binding contract to buy a principal residence – on or before April 30, 2010.
2. If you enter into a binding contract by April 30, 2010 you must close on the home on or before June 30, 2010.
3. For qualifying purchases in 2010, you will have the option of claiming the credit on either your 2009 or 2010 return.
4. A long-time resident of the same home can now qualify for a reduced credit. You can qualify for the credit if you’ve lived in the same principal residence for any five-consecutive year period during the eight-year period that ended on the date the new home is purchased and the settlement date is after November 6, 2009.
5. The maximum credit for long-time residents is $6,500. However, married individuals filing separately are limited to $3,250.
6. People with higher incomes can now qualify for the credit. The new law raises the income limits for homes purchased after November 6, 2009. The full credit is available to taxpayers with modified adjusted gross incomes up to $125,000, or $225,000 for joint filers.
7. The IRS will issue a December 2009 revision of Form 5405 to claim this credit. The December 2009 form must be used for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 – whether the credit is claimed for 2008 or for 2009 – and for all home purchases that are claimed on 2009 returns.
8. No credit is available if the purchase price of the home exceeds $800,000.
9. The purchaser must be at least 18 years old on the date of purchase. For a married couple, only one spouse must meet this age requirement.
10. A dependent is not eligible to claim the credit.  

For more information about the expanded First-Time Home Buyer Credit, visit www.IRS.gov/recovery.

These are wreaths that I have for sale to help make money to live on. I don’t do drugs, nor do I drink. I just have a lot of medical bills that drain every penny I do make.

I can make them in any color and with any type of scene you’d like (nativity, angels, birds, santa, gifts, toys, and so on.) Just tell me what you’d like. I sell them for $39.99 and shipping is only $10.00. Pick up is available if you live in the Raleigh/Durham areas of North Carolina.

You can contact me at bradleyloris@yahoo.com for more information or to order one. I make these the day I recieve payment and I do accept Paypal

I had the opportunity to take a little painting trip to mountains this Thanksgiving. Our friends Karen and Richard Atkin were kind enough to be our host. They have a mountain cabin in Fleetwood, right on the New River. I did these three watercolor paintings Plein Air (outdoors) and couple of other sketches. What I will remember about these paintings is how cold it was when I was painting! Each painting took at least two hours, not to mention the time I spent walking around with my gear, looking for a good spot! And when you stand in one place painting, it does not help! When I was doing the last painting, it was really windy: I would hear the wind coming around bend in the river. It sounded like a train. Painting outdoors, the difficult time to paint, especially with watercolors, is when it is windy.

I absolutely love painting outdoors. For me, painting is all about the complete experience. It is like meeting someone in person. That is one of the reasons, I am learning to do portraits from life. Painting from reference materials is nice, but, it does not compare with painting from life.

When I got back to town, I had opening reception of my Plein Air exhibition at Cary Gallery of Artists. My Plain air work will be on display there for December. Yesterday, I did a live wedding painting at St. Mary’s Chapel in Raleigh. I will be posting that on my blog.

- Tesh Parekh

My art is online at: www.teshparekh.com

This image was featured in the article Pretty in Pink on Deviant Art.  I am sooooooo excited.  This has really just made my day.  Click here to take a look at it.

Oops: I’ve not written anything here for over three weeks.

Photo: Chris Blakeley on Flickr.

Which means you’ll all be wondering how my cycling training is going. Well, to be frank: November is no month for cycling. It’s cold, it’s dark, and it’s wet. Cold and dark I can cope with – but wet is simply no fun. And so I’ve not been on a proper training ride since the last one I wrote about.

I’ve still been cycling to work, of course, which is good discipline but hardly counts as training at less that two miles each way.

But there is news on my cycle ride. Firstly, fundraising has been going great so far. To date I’ve raised over £700 in sponsorship. I need to reach at least £1000, but the ride’s not till June so I’m more than confident that I’ll get there and hopeful that I’ll raise a lot more. In fact, if you’re reading this you really should donate right now.  Thanks.

And secondly, I’ve just taken up the offer of the loan of a bicycle. I was assuming I’d be riding London to Paris on my trusty Raleigh Apex. I bought it in 1992, and at the time remember thinking how amazingly lightweight it was. I guess it must have just been lighter than my previous bicycle, because by today’s standards it seems pretty heavy. It’s also designed as an off-road bike so has 26″ wheels, wide tyres, off road gearing, and so on. I’d planned to change the tyres for something slimmer and slicker, and take as much off as I could to cut down the weight, and it would have done me fine. But when a friend offered me the loan of a road bike, how could I resist?

So today I tried it out, and it seems to suit me fine. It’s a Jamis Citizen, a few years old. I’d not heard of the Jamis brand before this afternoon, but it seems to be pretty good to my novice eyes, and in any case it’s a more appropriate bicycle for a long road ride than my Raleigh. Bigger, slimmer wheels; higher gears; much lighter weight. I think it’ll go a lot faster.

It’s sitting in my garage now. As soon as I’ve made few adjustments, and fitted my cycle computer, I’m off for a ride.

As long as the rain stays off, that is.

Photo: eir@si on Flickr

Starting soon, North Carolina drivers who text behind the wheel will need to pull over to avoid fines.

Multiple media outlets report Saturday that the state’s ban on sending text messages while driving goes into effect Dec. 1. Violations could cost drivers $100 in fines.

The new law makes it illegal to text or read any e-mail or text message while driving, and fines are higher for school bus drivers caught in the act.

But the law only applies to the driver while the vehicle is moving, not when it’s stopped or parked. Police officers and other safety officials are also exempt.

More than a dozen states already ban texting while driving, and a South Carolina lawmaker has introduced similar legislation.

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An alternative means of conveyance my thirty eight year old Raleigh.

If your business needs a commercial and an editorial photographer or want to purchase a print, please contact James Radke at 417-569-7169 for information and pricing.

Prints are available to purchase at Global Fayre

The Ridgewood Turkey Trot would be my first 8k.  It would also be my first race in Raleigh, NC.  In the morning I ate my usual nutella, toast and aleve (yes, I take aleve before a race even though some runners and medical professional advise against it).  It was going to be 45 degrees at the race.   I thought how I felt through my 10 miler last week, and I felt great with long sleeve/mitten top and nike running pants. I decided to use my long sleeve/mitten top again (target doesn’t sell this anymore. boo!!!!) and capris.  At 7:00 am and 41 degrees, I felt fine.

I wasn’t sure how I would approach this race. I’m really indecisive when it comes to short races.   I usually try to run through 5k races but I was unsure about this one.   I secretly hoped to finish under 50 minutes but I haven’t ran a sub 10 min/mile pace since the Pumpkin 5k Race in October of 2008, so I wouldn’t be terribly disappointed if I didn’t make it under 50 minutes this first time. I roamed around the parking lot until the race started. There were some really big turkeys around. (Yes, that was a pun. And, no, I’m not sorry.)  I bumped into a few girls I met through the Raleigh Galloway group. I hung out with them for a bit to warm up.

We made our way to the start line but we didn’t see where it was.  The gun went off and we started walking in hopes of running over the start line but it never showed up.  I didn’t know where the start was so I started my watch about 1 minute into our run. I started off slow because I heard this course was flat and straight for the first 2 miles. I decided that I was going to run and walk through the water stations. I walked to the first 1st water stop at 1.5 miles. We turned into the neighborhood (it’s beautiful one at that too!) after mile 2. It was really nice. According to my watch I was at 19:28. It felt good with that time. I started to struggle at mile 2.5 after a big hill,  so I walked for 1 minute. I saw some Galloway folks and chatting with them for a bit. I hate talking during short races but it was nice see a friendly face on a cold morning.

There were several little uphills in this neighborhood but they weren’t long or horribly steep. There were just a lot of them. I walked around mile 3 for 30 seconds. I heard a young lady saying they were going at 10:15 pace. I tried to stick with them but  then I started to walk through water station #2 at 3.5 miles. I got tired again because we ended up going up this long but not steep hill. I decided I need to include hills in my training right then because this was getting ridiculous. I haven’t ran more than 4 miles for my weekday runs. At this point (walk break #4),  I wish I started off with 5:1 intervals because I felt I stopped just as many times as I would have if I had done intervals and I wouldn’t have been as tired. I saw the last stop light before our finish turn so  I decided to keep running.

Finally I saw the last turn before the finish line. I high tailed it in. It was purely mental will that pushed my legs through and allowed me to pass several people.  I stopped my watch as soon as I crossed the finish line at 49:53. I was so thrilled at that time!    But I knew because I didn’t know where the start that it might be off.
I saw my time a few hours later online. So I finished my first race in Raleigh and the official time was 51:20. A 10:33 min/mile pace. That’s not bad for a 5 mile race but I know I could better. I’m really proud of myself for getting out there and racing today.  I am treating myself to a big dinner at Irregardless Cafe and of course dessert.  I’m learning my way around my new home and I’m slowly learning that hills are my friend.

Thanksgiving is a strange holiday. First of all, it’s built a fairy tale. It is true that there were a few people who gathered together to share a meal, but this is only a small account that was later turned into a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln.

Go here for story.

I tend to despise Thanksgiving due to the fact that it portrays a picture of pilgrims and Native American’s getting along. This becomes indoctrinated into our minds at a very young age, and sticks with us in our adulthood. We need to remember the true bloodshed experienced by the Native people.

The other part of me thinks that thanksgiving is a great day where we can express what we are thankful for. I don’t think this is done enough in our society. I love that we can all sit down and have a meal and share what’s important in our lives and all that God has done for us.

We need to reclaim this holiday for what it should be. We should take out everything out of it that involves pilgrims and native americans (or just mourn for their lose of life). We should just eat turkey (or tofurkey) and be thankful. I think it would be an even better idea to spend this holiday with those in need: those without a family or without food.

Loving this scan taken out of a magazine that’s title and date escapes me.

I do however have all of the scans of this making it a full readable article so if anyone wants to read about Steve Hegg’s $40.000 Olympic monster just shout me a holla and I will post… or maybe I’ll just email to you as they don’t really make great viewing, you know being a bunch of scanned words and all that!

I can say that if I planed this right, I could have been there. I would probably have had my most successful call up of all time since they are calling up by the heaviest person. That sounds like my kind of race. I plan on going out to this race next year, so we will see if I can bring home the gold. Nats’ Clydesdale Championships Details Released

Speaking of gold, I am in the process of building my Raleigh High Life cyclocross bike. I have been drooling ove this bike since I saw the Ranier brewery bikes from last season. I jumped at the chance to pick this bike up and paid a bit more than my usual employee price calls for, but this bike was worth every penny.  I am still in the process of building her up. I am going to race her this weekend, but she will probably not live with the same parts that are on it now. I will keep updating to let you know how she looks as we go along.

Here is a preview…

Gold Frog Legs go great with the over all look of the bike.

Image via Wikipedia

Here’s what happens when elected officials overthink things. In the annual holiday parade, held in our state capital of Raleigh, Mrs. Claus has been banned. Why? Because City Council member John Odom thinks that it will be “confusing” to children to have two people in the parade wearing red and white suits.

Because apparently, young children can’t tell the difference between men and women. And they don’t know Santa is married. (They don’t?)

To give the local newspaper credit, they presented a fair and balanced report on the issue, citing that it was unclear whether this confusion would actually occur and what harm, if any, it would cause. A pediatrician is quoted as saying that children as young as 3 can usually distinguish between the genders. I think the N&O has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek for once.

The story has been picked up by national news outlets and garnered “Outrage of the Week” on Free Range Kids, where some commenters have taken the opportunity to denigrate all North Carolinians based on Mr. Odom’s example. I assure you that most of us in the general public do know and respect the esteemed Mrs. Claus, and do not share Mr. Odom’s view that her presence in the Christmas parade is confusing, as can be seen from the comments in support of Mrs. Claus here. I myself will be boycotting the parade in protest (although I wasn’t planning to go, anyway).

P.S. Thanks, Mr. Odom, for making North Carolinians look like ultra-politically correct idiots.

With the extension of the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit, the housing industry has seen a rush of interested people looking to take advantage.  Per an article in USA Today, the National Monthly home sales volume is up 21.4% from one year ago. With this huge increase, I have seen a larger number of people needing assistance with their credit in order to qualify for a home loan. I talked to Jeff Harris, a credit consultant in Raleigh, NC and asked him a few questions.  

Me: What do you see is the biggest misconception when it comes to credit (i.e. “I don’t have to pay that off because it falls of my credit report in 7 years”)?

Jeff: The biggest misconception that I see is that individuals don’t realize how much one slip or one mistake can damage one’s credit scores.  Even an individual with a perfect credit history can see his credit score drop anywhere from 75 to 100 points as a result of one late payment or one small collection account reporting.

Me:  What is the most common issue you see on credit reports?

Jeff: There are two issues that I most commonly see that negatively affect credit scores.  One is sporadic pay histories.  A lot of individuals do not realize how much late payments detrimentally affect scores and how long the recovery period will be.  Another major issue is individuals carrying high balances on their credit card accounts.  Fewer realize how much “maxing out” one’s credit lines hurt their scores.

Me:  Does paying off collections and/or judgments raise scores?

Jeff:  Typically, no.  Paying off collections and/or judgments usually have very little affect on one’s scores.  The majority of an individual’s credit scores come from the reported information related to their open, active accounts.

Me:  How long do collections and late payments stay on a credit report?

Jeff: All negative information can stay on a credit report for seven years from the last date of activity of the account.  In most states, public records such as bankruptcy, tax liens, and judgments can stay on the report for 10 years from the filing date.

Me:  What is the best way to check your credit scores?

Jeff: The new Fair Credit Reporting Act allows individuals to get a free copy of their credit report once a year directly from the credit bureaus.  Anyone can get a free copy of their credit directly from Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union by visiting the following government web-site:  https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp.  Unfortunately, obtaining your credit score is not free.  But once you get a copy of your credit from the credit bureaus, typically they will allow you to purchase your scores as well for about $10.

Me: With all the credit repair providers out there, what is the best advice you can give someone in need of help?

Jeff:  In the past, there was a brisk business for agencies that would promise to eliminate legitimate collection accounts and negative information from individuals’ credit reports by knowingly and repetitively disputing this information on their clients’ behalf.  In many instances, they were largely successful.  As more and more of these companies developed, the credit bureaus and creditors realized the issue was becoming a major problem.  The advent of new laws, technology, and automated verification systems, these tactics are now antiquated. There is no substitute for an accredited credit consultant who is familiar with how credit scoring works and can give sound advice to their clients on how to legitimately improve their credit scores and handle past credit issues.

A beautiful owners’ manual from an old Raleigh. The information in it is actually good too, unlike modern bike owners’ manuals. More photos after the jump.

For some reason, it’s not easy for us to get over to Raleigh. On the weekends, it seems we’re either bunkering up in the vicinity of Saxapahaw to enjoy great bike rides, and goat burgers from the General Store, or we’re escaping very far away, like last week’s trip to the Bay area. Raleigh, the dominant city in the region, seems to exist an uninteresting nomansland between near and far. It doesn’t have much to offer that Orange and Alamance Counties don’t already have, so if we’re going to make the effort to get over there, we may as well head straight to RDU and fly away.

Unless we’re talking tandems. There’s no shortage of great bicycle shops and experts in North Carolina – probably a testament to the diverse and extensive conditions for riding across the state – any state that can claim “mountains to the sea” deserves a leg up over the top tube. However, Raleigh seems to be the locus for tandem riding. Raleigh is home to the southern cuisine-themed riding club GRITS (Greater Raleigh Intrepid Tandem Society). The focus for the locus is All Star Bikes at Quail Corners. I’m still re-acquainting myself with my re-adopted state of NC, and while researching dealers to find the kind of high-end tandem we’re looking for for our wedding registry, I found out that All Star Bikes is the closest by a long shot. A trip to Raleigh finally seemed necessary.

The store location in a non-descript suburban strip mall in the uneasy mishmash of business and neighborhood developments of fast-growing north Raleigh is more a comment on the realities of Raleigh city planning than the shop itself. While there, we got to chat with their expert wrench Terry, and long-time sales guys Jeff and Neil. They sell Santana and Co-Motion, which is exactly what you’re hoping for when you’re looking for the highest quality production tandems.

We got to test ride a Co-Motion Speedster, which is only the exact tandem make and model I’ve pinned my dreams on since my first ride on a tandem (a Co-Motion Big Al) back in 2000. The differences between the good ol’ Burley Duet and the Speedster are just about night and day. First the similarities: they’re both steel; both handmade in Eugene, OR; both are tandems. There the similarities basically end. I’ve always enjoyed the functionality, serviceability, and smart details of the Burley. It’s handling is predictable, and even though on the chubby side, I’ve often felt its weight lends it an impressive gravity – when the road starts to point downhill, the momentum it generates makes it feel like a muscular train steaming across the vast expanses of the continent. What I didn’t realize is that I could feel the same confidence in a tandem, and still feel nimbleness similar to a quality single bike.

This is so with the CoMo Speedster. We got to test ride the tandem along residential streets that actually offered a couple of decent hills by which to gain a sense of its climbing prowess and the feel as it picked up speed downhill. We also got the blah attention-demanding surburban experience of dodging cars exiting driveways and sucking exhaust and debris belched from noxious leaf-blowers. The CoMo handled these challenges and grievances as easily as Gatsby navigates a cocktail party. The Speedster seriously is about 15lbs skinnier than the Duet, but gives nothing up in rigidity or surety. The handling is much sportier, turning with the ease of a Panamian drug-running boat, as opposed to a container ship turning miles in advance of an iceberg. Sure, components that are 15 years newer are also a nice upgrade, but the real advancement is the slick handling and smooth riding. A high performance machine, the steel Speedster is also ready for self-supported touring, with all the right rack and fender mounts. Alas, the only thing missing is a pump peg.

Back at the shop, we absorbed some good tips from Neil, a dedicated tandem-rider (owning a carbon Calfee), veteran racer, and salesman for 25 years. Here’s some new things we’re thinking about:
-Cornering technique: the stoker should slightly elevate off the saddle, lean into the turn, and keep weight on the lowered pedal on the outside of the turn (the pedal opposite the turn) to achieve the lowest center of gravity. Our first experience with this is that this move has to be smooth, natural, and unconscious, as the concerted effort by the stoker to force weight down on the pedal is more upsetting than we usually experience.
-Disc brakes versus drum brake on the tandem: disc brakes offer an upgrade in stopping power over rim brakes, but when it comes to long, steep downhills, they’ll fade out. I’m thinking rim brakes are the most sensible to run, adding a drum brake set up to drag with a friction shifter for the rides in the mountains.
-Contrary to popular thought, it doesn’t matter whether the heavier person is in the front (usually considered best practice) or the rear. I was thinking it makes sense to have the heavier person up front since that’s the fulcrum of steering. But our whippy salesperson Neil, who’s “130lbs soaking wet” claimed to have no problem riding with a 300lb stoker. As long as the stoker is a smooth pedaler and leans with the captain, it doesn’t matter at all.
-There’s two ways to start off on a tandem. This is news to me, since I have always done this by having the stoker mount the rear and push off and start pedaling at the same time as me. The other technique, supposedly to be used for less experienced stokers, is to have the stoker sit on the rear with both feet on the pedals while the captain balances the weight up front and pushes off himself when ready to go. Even though the later is supposedly good for inexperienced riders, I can’t imagine doing it like that. Stopping at a stop light and balancing the stoker who doesn’t put a leg down seems unlikely to me. Of course, on tandem, you do just about all you can to avoid ever having to stop and put a leg down.
-Take “butt breaks.” Who doesn’t like the sound of that?
-Cut-up old inner tubes are better than bungees cords.

The field trip to Raleigh was eye-opening for lots of reasons. Not the least of which, of course, is that we have identified the bike dealer for our dreamed-of wedding tandem. We also got some good tips on rides around North Carolina. As great as Saxapahaw is, it’s good to get out from time to time.

The following post comes from a reflection on Globalization for an Urban Studies course I’m taking at Eastern University:

We live in a global age. This is the tragic result of capitalism. We often believe here in the United States that we are becoming wealthier and wealthier and that our standard of living keeps rising. We isolate this from the fact that this causes degradation in other parts of the world. We are not consciously connected with the people who make our material ‘goods’ yet we are physically connected to them intimately. We deprive them of a meaningful and valuable life. We dehumanize them.

We connect globally in many different ways. Some of the ways in which I connect globally are:

1) Internet communication
2) The food I eat
3) Things that I purchase

I believe these all have negative effects on people around the world. I want to start off by claiming that I believe internet communication devalues face-to-face contact and gives us an informal, impersonal way to connect with each other. In this, we forget the meaning reconnection with people we haven’t seen in a long time, our social groups grow larger which results in a thinner interconnectedness, our culture also gets swallowed up by the technological machine which causes us to loose things that once made us unique.

I am guilty of purchasing food that effects people all over the world. Many people (myself included) cannot afford food that is organic and local. Shopping at co-ops can deplete our pocket books. this means that we acquire food nationally and even globally. If we check the packages on our food, we would be surprised to find how much food is imported. I wish to someday buy food exclusively from supermarkets that support fair wages. Trader Joe’s relatively inexpensive compared to places like whole foods and coops, yet still out of my range.

Our purchases can have a large impact on the world around us. I try to buy all of my clothing second hand in order to avoid the ungodly textile industry. The Hidden Face of Globalization is a video that shows the unimaginable conditions of factories and their workers. It showed them working 14, 16, even 20 hours a day, 7 days a week with little breaks and next to no pay. If we start buying our clothes from places that are fair trade, or from thrift stores, we can in some part avoid being contributers towards this type of injustice. I am still guilty of buying a majority of my possessions first hand rather than second hand, but I am working on trying to buy everything second hand or fair trade to remove myself from participation in the global economy.

There are many ways in which we can contribute positively towards reducing the negative effects of globalization.

1) Increase awareness
2) Join with missional groups who are making positive change in areas around the world
3) Pray for people all around the world.
4) Love our neighbor and our enemies

Increasing awareness can have a large impact on people around us as well as the world at large. It’s easy to become self-righteous  if we shop at thrift stores and whole foods. We need to understand that the effect of these personal lifestyle changes is extremely small compared the impact unveiling injustice at large can have. Modern media buries the real important issues that are going around in the world for the exchange of entertainment. We need to expose them of their half truths and deceit. We need to align ourselves with alternative forms of news and information sharing.

There are many great global organizations that have a positive impact on the world. I’m a fan of amnesty international and the Mennonite Central Committee. I think both organizations work hard to expose injustice and help people around the world. If we are blessed with the money to do so, we can visit poor nations and help out in a way that positively effects their lives. Meeting the basic needs of people is a large task, but I believe that Jesus calls us to take care of the oppressed; and in today’s terms, this means we need to take care of those who are affected by the countless injustices perpetuated by globalization.

We need to not underestimate the power of prayer. We now see images of people from all around the world who are living in abysmal conditions. We can see their faces. We can almost feel their pain. We can pray that people in power will become aware of the affect that they have on the world, and redirect their position of power and wealth for the common good of humanity and the earth that God created. We can pray for the people who work endlessly just so we can enjoy having a car and having a bunch of stuff that we don’t need.

We need to love our neighbor. If we truly learn to love our neighbor and love our enemies, how can there be any injustice in the world. This profound love that Jesus calls us to can change the world. Where love is absent, we see hierarchical structure and an uneven distribution of wealth. God’s economy is all about sharing, equality and freedom. We can work towards God’s kingdom just by the simple action of loving our neighbor.

You will be in Control

——————————————————————————–

So let’s look to see if you have first base covered in finally becoming in control of your work and financial destiny.

Firstly, let’s take a page out of the Playbook of Warren Buffet.

“Invest in what you use”

Secondly, let’s assume that you are going to treat your new business like an investment and will be fully responsible for its performance.

Thirdly, it must be a business that matches your style. That way you already know a lot about the customers because they are like you. To put it another way if you are ill equipped to manage people from all walks of life, don’t have a people intensive business. If you are an extrovert and passionate, find a product or service which you can evangelize.

Lastly, be prudent about your investment as part of your portfolio. What percentage of your funds are you willing to put totally at risk on your effort? Is your partner fully confident of you and supportive? Insurance will take care of disability for you as owner, it will take care of your family and business if the worst happens. Insurance minimizes your personal risk. But you have to have insurance.

Types of Franchises

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Often people assume that Franchises are only a retail storefront, perhaps restaurants, coffee shops or card shops. Decide if you want to work in your franchise or have others do the day to day management and service delivery. The reality is that there is a very large variety of the 63 categories we represent here are a few:

Accounting
Automotive
Beauty and Personal Care
Child Care
Cleaning (Maid Service and janitorial)
Delivery
Manufacturing
Medical and Related
Pest Control
Telephone Related

Top 3 Franchise Questions

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How do I decide if I want to buy a franchise?
Franchises have a proven business system. what that means is that for the right person in the right market you can get the highest success rates and the lowest failure rates of any business. When you purchase a franchise you will receive on-going support for the life of the franchise. By on-going I mean, marketing, training and management support guaranteed by your agreement with the franchisor. When it comes time to sell and retire, a proven and organized franchise gets a higher multiple.

Why should I pay royalties?
Would you hire the best management consultant in the industry of choice to help you be successful? You should get economies of scale for supplies, services and access to customers not otherwise available. Your peers and the franchisor should stop you from making the errors that they made, and your success will be from standing on the shoulders of giants.

How much money can I make?
Investors make more money in buying a franchise than those seeking to replace a job.

It is a matter of attitude. Research the franchise, learn how others have made money, and if this fits with your style and you have the capital reserves, then take the step of due-diligence. The choice of franchise and history of other franchisees profits can be an indication of what you could achieve. It is not, however, a guarantee.

Many franchisors have printed earnings claims in their UFOC documents but they will still insist that all interested buyers call the franchises and get the “real answers”.

Next Steps
Email me and I’ll send you an overview of the process to decide for yourself if you are more suited to a franchise or an existing business.

Or:

Download from Windows Live

g.crispin@murphybusiness.com

Soo…9 days without Facebook. What have I been doing with myself? Mowing the lawn, taking long walks outside, working on projects for work and school; I’ve also been revisiting the various social networks and micro-networks I’ve joined over the last several years…and I’ve joined a coupla more. Presented here, for my benefit and yours, are the places I’m connected to online – and why I’m on a particular network. This doesn’t count email discussion groups I’m part of; I suppose that’d be a whole ‘nother post!

General/Meta

Twitter – @zoecarnate

FriendFeed – FriendFeed is awesome; let’s hope Facebook buying them doesn’t screw it up.

LinkedIn – my business, my biz-nass.

LibraryThing – my library, cataloged. A super-fun social network for book geeks.

Myspace – because sometimes I’m nostalgic for 2003.

Plaxo – does anyone remember what Plaxo is for?

YouTube – my vids, vids, vids.

Futurist

ShapingTomorrow – a large global community; primarily devoted to environmental scanning and trend analysis

The New Futurists – a younger crop of futurists, centered primarily in the northeast United States.

Faith

TransFORM – there’s more than meets the eye here.

Christiarchy! – Christian anarchists and Anabaptists (is there a difference?)

Christian Mysticism & Contemplative Spirituality – what it says. Contemplate that.

Missional Tribe – this one had a strong start but I think WordPress infrastructure, while great for blogs, isn’t great for supporting social networks.

Recovering Evangelical – hee-hee.

Metro Atlanta Emergent Cohort – my once and future cohort.

The Hyphenateds:

Anglimergent – I’m not Episcopalian, but I’m inspired by ‘em…especially St Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco.

Baptimergent – I’m not Baptist, but I used to be! And I’m inspired by New Community Church in Raleigh.

Cathlimergent – A brand new network started by my friend John Sylvest of ChristianNonduality

Emerging Leaders Network – aka Luthermergent. I’m not Lutheran, but…you see where this is going? Mad props to House For All in Denver.

The Common Root – formerly Submergent; an awesome group of Anabaptist-minded peeps.

QuakerQuaker – aka Convergent Friends.

House Church Homies

Simple Church

Organic Church Today

Healing Communities

Bleeding-Edge Creatives

Love Is Concrete – you can actually draw stuff in this network.

Wisefire – a great group of people.

iEvolve: Global Practice Community – Integral peeps.

Mr. Spoke and I started our day off by riding our bikes to the farmers’ market at the Ferry Building — it was a glorious blue-sky day for riding and for the market.  Mr. Spoke rode his gorgeous red 1941 Schwinn DX single-speed cruiser instead of his daily Raleigh Professional, and I rode my Novara Pulse (my only bike – at least for now!).  I savored the relative peacefulness of riding on Market Street on a Saturday.  When we arrived at the market, several folks noticed the Schwinn.  I had to hold myself back when one dude wouldn’t stop commenting on how “sexy” he thought it was.  I wanted to run up and tell him to stop hitting on my hubby, but hey – it was a sunny Saturday so I let it go.  Besides, I had Primavera chilaquiles (ohhhhhhh) to get to.

After polishing off our chilaquiles (and turning my fingers orange in the process – small price to pay for such deliciousness), we picked up some New York Special apples for the tart I’m planning to make for Thanksgiving, a bag of brown rice from Massa Organics (the best!), and a small chicken from Norm, who sells fantastic poultry at various farmers’ markets around here.

Mr. Spoke's new 1973 Raleigh Super Course.

After the farmers’ market, we made a beeline to the San Francisco Bike Expo at Cow Palace.  Mr. Spoke was looking for a project, and he found one: a 1973 Raleigh Super Course in a lovely bronze color, for a song.  We also picked up a Raleigh crankset, pedals, and seatpost for it, so now we’re just looking for a saddle (probably a Brooks B17?), some albatross handlebars, and a few other odds and ends (bottom bracket?  wheels, perhaps?).

The Bike Expo was pretty fun, all in all.  There were lots of cool bikes to look at, including a gorgeous old Hetchins frame like they don’t make anymore, as well as a tiny little orange Italian road bike with what looked to be 24-inch wheels — even smaller than mine!  There was even a guy who was making bicycle-powered smoothies.  And I finally picked up some bicycle shorts from Sheila Moon, a local bicycle clothing designer, for longer weekend rides.

The only problem with the Bike Expo was that the only food there was of the entirely unappetizing hot-dog-oriented stadium-concession variety.  So we eventually high-tailed it out of there and grabbed an early dinner at our favorite Singaporean restaurant, in the Inner Sunset.  It shall remain unnamed in this blog to keep the masses at bay (given the hordes (i.e. 1 or 2, if you include myself) of people who are reading this), but suffice it to say that we sated ourselves on fantastical Singaporean chili crab and curry noodles – a great end to a great day.