Entry #1: What Not to Do in Public

If nothing else, readers of The Great Blog of Kéto come to us for knowledge, opinions & advice. Because you can never have enough good advice, we present "What Not to Do in Public". Watch this awesome video of an Asian woman getting hysterical after missing her Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco. She acts like someone just made off with her favorite puppy or something. I just can't believe she was able to keep up this energy for over 3 minutes! Truly a viral video, the Youtube wonder had over 400,000 views this morning and now is at over 1.3 million views as of 3:30pm.

The doors to the woman's flight had already closed, so Cathay Pacific wouldn't let her board. As a result she threw a three-minute tantrum screaming, "I want to go, I want to go" in Cantonese. Her original flight was bound for San Francisco, the airline said it put her on a later flight to Los Angeles.

Picture of the Day, 1/12/09

And so...after a brief hiatus, we continue the "Picture of the Day" series. Today's winners are courtesy of my firm's IT department. You do have a little bit of IT knowledge to appreciate the humour, but I'll notate each picture to make things a little clearer.

Problem Solving Flowsheet


Well actually, I'm not going to explain this one, but it demonstrates the thought process flowchart for problem solving in many IT (information technology) departments and projects. Like they say, if I have to explain it...

Linux Symposium Statistics: T-Shirt Size

There's always the joke expressed via stereotype that IT people are not the most fit specimens. Say "computer guy" and average Joe thinks of a nerdy, balding guy with glasses who lives in his parent's basement, wears ratty jeans with pocket protector, and couldn't score a date to save his life, but mostly the imagery that comes to mind is that of a fat middle aged man. In this case, reality reflected perception. There are annual technical conventions for users of Linux, an open-source operating system that rivals Microsoft's Windows. For one such convention, organizers kept track of how many shirts attendees ordered of each size (S, M, L, XL, XXL) from 1999-2008. It's apparent by the bar graph that attendees went from mostly wearing small to medium shirts to wearing large and extra large shirts nine years later. Well it's sad but true.

The Holidays Are a Time for Rest & Reflection (And Happy New Year!)

Whether you and your family celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Eid or another traditional holiday, this blogger would like to wish all of our wonderful readers a very Happy Holiday Season and New Year. This is the time of year that we reflect on the achievements as well as the disappointments of the past year and resolve to grow more spiritually, socially, financially, and family-wise in the upcoming year. Yes, this is the time of year best spent in celebration and introspection as we Thank God for blessing us to see another day. Tomorrow is not promised, so let's spend our time on Earth doing something positive, something fulfilling, and living out our life's purpose.

If you want to continue your education this year, then DO IT by researching the professional training, technical program, certificate, community college, Bachelors degree, graduate school, etc. and enrolling! If you're passionate about a hobby or interest and want to pass on your knowledge or love of that thing to others, then START YOUR OWN BUSINESS or BLOG/WEBSITE! Whatever you're passionate about may very well be the reason you were put on this Earth, so why not explore it? You have nothing to lose. If you've been dying to travel to a vacation hotspot, a tourist attraction, to visit relatives, or even to leave your state for the first time, then BOOK YOUR TRAVEL TODAY! No matter which of these things you want to do, The Great Blog of Kéto encourages you to live your dreams!

DON'T JUST EXIST, LIVE LIFE WITHOUT REGRETS!

If You Don't Know Me By Now...

I consider myself not only a social blogger--often I editorialize on poverty, politics, political campaigns, education, religion, etc.--but also a reality blogger in that I may from time to time share things that are going on in my life whether serious or humorous. A relative of mine and I were conversing via email, and she stated that she had some problems with the kind of person I am in that she feels I am selfish and inconsiderate. She said this in a way that I would not be offended, but that was fine, because I am not offended by honest opinion. I took it as an opportunity to inform of what I am all about, since she has not known me for too long.

You are 100% right when you say that I am selfish and inconsiderate at times. I wouldn't argue that. Now, I was raised to be kind, generous, polite, giving, honest, loyal to friends, and show Christian love and friendship. This is why I've been blessed to make friends with many many other good people, and because of those traits as well as gifts that God has blessed me to develop since my childhood, I have had the fortune to do many things that others in my position have not had the chance to do. In addition, I count myself privileged that thousands of people in the Tampa area and elsewhere look to me as someone who has integrity, a young leader in community service, and someone that is dependable and can be trusted to keep my word.

Having said that, at some point in my recent life in the last few years, I got sick and tired of my kindness and my laid-back nature being taken for granted and the good things that I was trying to do being stepped on continuously. These things caused me to realize that no matter what I did, there would always be a critic, who was upset about that action. I then resolved myself that I would no longer bend over backwards to please everyone and make everyone happy all the time. I learned how to say, "No" sometimes instead of running around crazy because I felt an irrational need to make sure everyone else was happy. I have one life to live, and I decided that--you know what--I would serve God to the best of my ability, keep giving to those who couldn't give back to me through community service, and only worry about being happy with the kind of person that I am instead of trying to be everything to everyone. Also, as a married man, according to what I study in the Bible, my first responsibility is to love God, my second responsibility is to care for my wife and family, and make sure they have everything they need including my time, money, love, and devotion. Everything else including work, Mother, family, etc. all come later on the list.

That is why I say exactly what is on my mind. I don't think anyone can say that I am not honest with them. If I have a problem with something someone says, I'm not going to hide behind my wife or family and sulk and be mad. I'm not going to tell my wife, "Tell so and so that I'm mad with them". No! I'm going to address it right then, because life is too short to walk around being hurt all the time. Life is also to short to walk on pins and needles wondering if the next thing you say is going to offend someone. At the same time, my intention is not to do this with a mean or hateful attitude at all. The Bible says that if we have a problem with our brother, that we are to go directly to them and get the problem straight. Often arguments and disagreements between friends and family are based on simple misunderstanding.

Well, as you said, I am all the things you think I am. In the final analysis, I don't make excuses for anything, and I believe that my positives far outweigh my negatives.

For more about me, check out other previous posts of The Great Blog of Kéto:

• How to Do Business in Haiti by Kéto Nord Hodges
• My Homeowners' Association Sucks
• Why This Blogger Will Not Be Shopping on Black Friday
• A Day in the Life of an Obama Campaign Volunteer, 11
• Apologetics with No Apology from a Progressive, Part 2
• Apologetics with No Apology from a Progressive, Part 1
• Early Voting with the Family
• (Still) Crazy in Love! Shirre & Kéto Celebrate 1 Year!

Picture of the Day, 12/14/08

This news story was just too good not to make The Great Blog of Kéto's "Picture of the Day" feature. Though some pictures are worth a thousand words, the one of an Iraqi journalist throwing a shoe at George W. Bush below is worth about a million. To most Westerners, a thrown shoe is certainly an unfriendly gesture and in the eyes of the law may be prosecuted as assault and battery. However, to those in the Middle East and other parts of the world, shaking your shoe at someone or showing the sole of your shoe is the ultimate insult, just as giving the thumbs up sign, showing the palm of your hand, or making the "OK" sign is highly insulting in other parts of the world. It is a shameful thing and is pretty much read as that person really, really, really despises AND hates you, and you'd better watch your back. Muthathar al Zaidi said, "This is a goodbye kiss, you dog," and in so doing, he spoke for the whole world. Thank you, al Zaidi, and good night from Tampa Bay!



MSNBC Video Al Baghdadia TV Journalist Throws Shoes at Bush:

The Great Blog of Kéto Celebrates & Thanks 1,000+ Readers!

This week, The Great Blog of Kéto (TGBoK) celebrated a pretty cool milestone! On Wednesday, we reached and then passed 1,000 readers from around the globe. So this blog is just a little note to thank my readers from all over the world, who have made this blogging adventure worthwhile for me. I started this blog on Google's Blogger on August 20, 2008 for the love of writing, and can say that it is now one of my favorite past times. At this point, I'm not doing this for money, but I believe I have something to say particularly on politics and social issues in our modern world. Thanks to those who continue to logon from South America to China and of course those who leave comments, forward TGBoK to friends, and link to The Great Blog of Kéto on their websites.

As a part of my day-to-day professional work for Claris Law, LLC and InjuryBoard.com I train hundreds of attorneys (primarily personal injury) around the United States including Alaska and Hawaii on how to use blogging to strategically enhance marketing of their firms. So one day I figured, "Hey if I can teach this stuff, and I'm being told I do a pretty good job of getting many un-tech savvy professionals to understand this Web 2.0 technology, then why shouldn't I do it myself?"

Big thanks to readers from all of the beautiful world who continue to check out this blog. These readers come from the following list of countries (list current as of 12/4/08):
United States (US)--The majority of TGBoK readers are from the US. | Canada (CA) | Germany (DE) | France (FR) | United Kingdom (GB) | Jamaica (JM) | Brazil (BR) | Finland (FI) | Netherlands (NL) | Portugal (PT)--Portugal was the first country to logon following the U.S.! | India (IN) | Poland (PL) | Slovenia (SI) | Australia (AU) | Indonesia (ID) | Spain (ES)--Oh man, I just missed the chance to study abroad in Spain, France & Wales during my MBA studies. I hope to make it to those places some day. | Israel (IL) | Belgium (BE) | Philippines (PH) | Italy (IT) | Slovakia (SK) | Latvia (LV) | Sweden (SE) | Ireland (IE) | Turkey (TR) | Europe (EU) | Switzerland | (CH) | Romania (RO) | Pakistan (PK)--Wow, it's pretty cool to have readers in Pakistan! | Cote D'Ivoire (CI)--I earned my MBA with fellow French-speaking students who now live in Ivory Coast. | Sri Lanka (LK) | Trinidad and Tobago (TT)--The Caribbean definitely represents! | Malaysia (MY) | Uganda (UG) | Chile (CL) | Tanzania, United Republic of (TZ) | Djibouti (DJ) | Thailand (TH)--one of my friends, model & reality TV star is waiting to go back home to Siam. | China (CN)--Certainly the largest country to check out TGBoK. Thank you! | Malta (MT) | Korea, Republic of (KR) | Algeria (DZ) | Bahrain (BH) | Dominica (DM) | Dominican Republic (DO)--Nice to see the next door neighbor of my home country of Haiti! | Greece (GR).

Here are a couple more places where you can check out more information on The Great Blog of Kéto:

• Facebook Groups: The Facebook Group I launched to promote TGBoK to my FB friends. I update it frequently with pictures and a link to each blog post. A good number of friends have joined this page and it allows for interacting by uploading pictures, posing discussion topics, and communicating with this blogger and other group members.
• Facebook Blog Networks: A Facebook Blog I started in September to promote TGBoK to other FB bloggers and members. I update this page weekly with new posts, but the fb app only allows 3 blog post feeds per week, so it's usefulness is somewhat limited.
• Twitter: Combined tweeting for Kéto & TGBoK
• Technorati: One of the best known Internet blog directories. Allows exposure for TGBoK to millions of bloggers and readers the world over. A good place to list and burn one's blog feed.
• BlogCatalog: One of my preferred Internet blog directories which lists feeds from TGBoK. Also a great place to keep up with my communities such as what's happening with me on last.fm, del.icio.us, youtube, and more.
• Other directories: You can also navigate the left panel of The Great Blog of Kéto for other directories and listings such as Syndic8 which I ping regularly as I update TGBoK.

Picture of the Day, 12/3/08

This awesome cartoon courtesy of one of my favorite political cartoonists, Pat Oliphant!

big 3: ALMS for the love of BIG THREE! ALMS for BIG THREE!

the American taxpayer: Jeez, How MUCH NOW?

big 3: OH...I'D SAY 25 BILLION ORTA DO IT. NO. NO. NO!
34 BILLION IS MORE LIKE IT. WE HAVE COSTS.
34 BILLION IT IS!

the American taxpayer: OK, IF I GIVE YOU THAT MUCH, DO I THEN OWN PART OF YOUR COMPANIES?

big 3: LISTEN TO HIM! ARE WE IN THE CHARITY BUSINESS??
SOME NERVE! JUST BECAUSE YOU PAY FOR SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN YOU OWN IT!
NOW WOULD YOU HURRY IT UP--WE HAVE A TEE TIME.

the American taxpayer: TEA? WHY OF COURSE--ANYTHING ELSE?

little guy walking away: SO BEGGARS CAN BE CHOOSERS.

Wal-Mart Employee Killed on Black Friday 2008

In a previous post, "Why This Blogger Will Not Be Shopping on Black Friday" I decried the commercialization of the Christmas holiday especially as well as the collective selfishness and idiocy of fellow Americans who seem to almost literally go crazy on Black Friday every year while rushing to bargain hunt at retailers around the country. Well, I could say "I told you so," but that would seem to pat myself on the back--something that this blogger is not averse to doing. Anyway, I told you so.

On Black Friday, a Long Island, New York Wal-Mart store opened it's doors early in the Black Friday retailer tradition. Over 2,000 waiting shoppers outside stormed the door upon it's being opened by employee Jdimytai Damour. Amazingly, it was reported that some shoppers became irate when told that the store was closing following the trampling death of the Wal-Mart employee. Frankly I hope law enforcement scours the surveillance video tapes and succesfully prosecutes these killers. I see no difference between these low-lifes and any other criminal who negligently or purposely takes away innocent life. The Canadian news website, CTV.ca provided more details on the savages who trampled and destroyed the front door and nearly trampled other employees who were struggling to rescue their co-worker.

Police were reviewing video from surveillance cameras in an attempt to identify who trampled to death a Wal-Mart worker after a crowd of post-Thanksgiving shoppers burst through the doors at a suburban store and knocked him down.

Criminal charges were possible, but identifying individual shoppers in Friday's video may prove difficult, said Detective Lt. Michael Fleming, a Nassau County police spokesman.

Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers stepped over him and became irate when officials said the store was closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.

At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries. The store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the Wal-Mart doors before its 5 a.m. opening at a mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the employee, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

"This crowd was out of control," Fleming said. He described the scene as "utter chaos," and said the store didn't have enough security.

Dozens of store employees trying to fight their way out to help Damour were also getting trampled by the crowd, Fleming said. Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store.

Damour, 34, of Queens, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 6 a.m., police said. The exact cause of death has not been determined.

There were competing tales of stupidity and foolishness on this day such as the brief of two California men who pulled out guns and killed each other at a Toys-R-Us.

Why This Blogger Will Not Be Shopping on Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving, and a restful and joyous holiday season to the readers of The Great Blog of Kéto! I do not plan on shopping this Friday after Thanksgiving. I feel that the holidays have become so over-commercialized that the joy has been taken out of the true meaning of America's religious and traditional holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc even though according to almanacs and historical records Jesus was not born on December 25. (Being that Palestine is extremely cold in the Winter months, shepherds were NOT caring for sheep in the fields in December (Luke 2:8-12). They only do that from March-October when the weather is bearable.) Last week, my monthly community forum, Wide aWoke Wednesday's hosted a debate, "Holidays, Holy Days & Pagan Days" which discussed the origins and history of major US holidays such as Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.

Now there is nothing wrong with shopping on "Black Friday", as it is called, especially as there are quite a few bargains on holiday staples such as clothing, electronics, toys & games, appliances, and more. However, it is the spirit of so many people participating in these shopping experiences that concerns me. I remember several times in the last few years watching news footage of grown adults camping out in front of the major department stores in Philadelphia, Michigan, and other places before dawn and then trampling each other like wild animals once the doors open (See video below).

My wife and I approach holiday shopping differently than many families because we believe that we should show love and appreciation for our loved ones year-around, not just at Christmas time. We also believe in volunteering with homeless feeding programs, food and clothing drives, and more through community organizations and our church to those who cannot give back in return. We believe that as Jesus stated when we do something for the least person who cannot pay us back (Matthew 25:33-40), God honors our giving. Now I'm not saying that YOU shouldn't go shopping and bargain hunting on Black Friday. I'm just saying that we all need to remember the original purpose of Thanksgiving which was to offer thanks to God for our prosperity and of Christmas which was to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who came to the Earth to give. Everyone talks about "remembering the reason for the season," but few people actually do remember why we celebrate these occasions.

The Son of Man will put the sheep (good people) on his right and the goats (bad people) on his left. "Then the king will say to those good people on his right, 'Come. My Father has given you great blessings. Come and get the kingdom God promised you. That kingdom has been prepared for you since the world was made. You can have this kingdom, because I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you invited me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me.' "Then the good people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you alone and away from home and invite you into our home? When did we see you without clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and care for you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you did for any of my people here, you also did for me.' "Then the king will say to those bad people on his left, 'Go away from me. God has already decided that you will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever. That fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. You must go away, because I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. I was alone and away from home, and you did not invite me into your home. I was without clothes, and you gave me nothing to wear. I was sick and in prison, and you did not care for me.' "Then those people will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?' "Then the king will answer, 'I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.'"Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever. But the good people will go and have life forever. (Easy to Read Version)"

Wal-Mart Shoppers in Grand Rapids, Michigan Trampled & Injured on Black Friday

Jesus Ate Fig Bars So We Should Too (Suggested Blog Topic)

Last week, I was in my IT department's big room of cool things talking with our IT manager, who apparently things this blogger is pretty good. The guys are readers of The Great Blog of Kéto and especially had fun with posts like, "Dear John McCain, The Surge IS Working". So off the cuff, he and our IT developers came up with a few blogging topics which they thought might be hilarious (at least from a technology standpoint)--sort of like things that Dilbert might talk about if he blogged. One of these suggested blog topics was "Jesus Ate Fig Bars So We Should Too". We have a sort of snack cupboard filled with all sorts of tasty snacks for the hard-working adult. Different items and food groups make their way in and out of this place of love and warmth including malta, crackers (the subject of a future post), jerky, Sam's Trail Mix, pop tarts, Fig Newtons (or "fig bars" as I call them), Special K® Strawberry Bars, and more!

Anyhow, Josh remarked that you know what some of our snacks just weren't healthy! (Josh works out all the time). Take for example the Fig Newtons sitting on the shelf. Sure they taste great, but did we know that Fig Newtons are high in calories with over 50 calories per cookie? Well, I responded that since Jesus ate figs according to Mark 11:12-14 of the New Testament, then I would continue eating figs as well in the memory of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus was passing by a tree with his disciples, and Jesus cursed the fig tree for not producing figs during it's season as was expected. Boy he must have been pretty mad!

Obama Campaign for Change Election Day Advice

Received this morning from the Barack Obama campaign. Let's go out and make history today! The Great Blog of Kéto

	VOLUNTEER: Help get out the vote. Sign up for a volunteer shift near you. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: Learn about your voting rights and some common rumors: http://fl.barackobama.com/FLvoterprotection Here are some tips to help you make sure Election Day in Florida goes smoothly: Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Even if you're in line at 7:00 p.m., you still have the right to vote. You will be asked to show an approved form of ID when you arrive at the polls. Bring your Florida driver's license or other acceptable ID with your photo and signature. The address on your ID does NOT need to match your present address. To find your polling location, call 1-877-2FLOBAMA (1-877-235-6226) or go to FL.VoteForChange.com.

Still Rambling by Dexter Brockman

One of my good friends, Dexter Brockman, who I met when I first transferred to University of South Florida as a Jr. in 1999 now owns a publishing company, DBrockman Publishing. I'm happy that he asked me to share some of his socially conscious poetry with you, the readers of The Great Blog of Kéto. If you enjoy his poetry or are interested in publishing a book, make sure to e-mail Dexter today! KNH

Still Rambling

It’s been seven years since 9-11 when they ran into our Trade Centers with those airplanes.
It’s been eight years of struggles in our Nation with the President with a familiar last name.

We have an experience candidate that may give us four more years of the same thang.
Then there is Barack Obama on the other side saying it time for America to see a change.

Ups and downs the Country has seen, the newest thing on Capitol Hill is a Financial Sell-Out.
I mean, if anything needs to be saved is our troops over seas we need to pull them and call it a U.S.A Bail-Out.

Leslie Lynch King Jr, known as our 38th President Gerald Ford, passed in December 2006.
Our country overcame a worst deficit and didn’t Bail-Out them banks in Texas in the 80’s with a fix.

Michael Moore tried to warn America back in 2004 that our next four years wouldn’t be right.
For two elections Florida was at fault, George as Pres. Jeb as Gov. what you expect it to be like.

Yea our citizens haven’t been Saints, we all know the story about the fraud from the company Enron.
But fruit don’t fall that far from the tree; remember all the taxpayer money spent on the escort by Gov. Spitzer for fun.

Kanye told America that Bush don’t like black people, and we supported him one hundred percent.
But that’s the same Negro charged a church $30,000 for three songs saw him differently every since.

Companies laying off, sending jobs overseas, but everyone is afraid to say that we are in a recession.
Oh, but now when Wall Street need the same help as normal citizen now it’s a congressional discretion.

For God so loved in John 3:16, Prepared a table in the presence of our enemy in the book of Psalms.
Please excuse the grammatical and the errors, I had to get this off my chest and I wont even edit this poem.

You want to make a change, VOTE!

dexter brockman sr. 2008