With a tear in his eye, and my son looking scared to death asked, “Mommy, will we have time to sell our house or will we be washed away in the big flood.” This is the question I was asked as my son watched Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”, winner of this years best documentary feature at the Academy Awards.

My eldest daughter asked as I was tucking her in bed tonight, “Mom, if I am successful in becoming an astronaut and I go up in space for a long time, when I return will I still be able to breathe the air that’s left on planet earth and will it smell awful?”

My middle one asked, “Mom, can we start doing more to recycle and save on electricity around the house?”

Al Gore … you are a genius in my book and a sincere man that truly has my family’s best interest at heart. Al is courageous, he is brilliant, he gathered a ton of scientific data, organized it in a simple way that even young children can relate to, and made old, set-in-their-way people like me want to stand up, fight and suddenly make a difference in life. He motivated me, and my family.

Hopefully Gore will NOW get the attention necessary to really change the world. Interestingly, my middle daughter just published a hardback book that her class researched, wrote, illustrated and published. They ACTUALLY sent the book to Al Gore. In her elementary school, they actually WATCHED Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” in the classroom. Thank God the public schools are beginning to educate our children on something useful (unlike the ridiculous FCAT preparations in Florida).

I was flabbergasted to hear the statistic that the United States contributes MORE than most other countries in total to carbon dioxide emissions. I didn’t realize how archaic we are, behind the times in manufacturing fuel efficient automobiles. Of course I’ve heard, but never was “awoken” like I was tonight. Actually, I was quite shaken up. I told my husband, “Dear, it’s time to sell our property we have on the water.” The images portraying the flooding which will occur in Florida, New York, California, Beijing, etc were alarming and scary – heck, our entire South Florida will be under water in 75 years if we don’t act now.

I highly recommend renting this movie and sharing it with ALL members of your family.

Hey, I have a great idea, hold a Global Warming Party and serve environmentally friendly food, drink and show the video.

Posted by Melody at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s pretty sad … less than 45 minutes away is the hottest, most gastronomically exhilarating culinary experience in the world ... the South Beach Food and Wine Festival ... and I'm STILL working on my QuickBooks integration project. My God, its Saturday night ... I should be out partying, drinking, eating, watching Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Eric Ripert and Alton Brown – ALL my FAVORITES!!!

Did I ever mention in my other blogs that I LOVE to cook and entertain. I'm probably one of the FEW women who really enjoy cooking. Yet what am I doing ... something I despise. Whoever said integration is painless and effortless really needs to have their head examined! Last week I mentioned my “little project”, it’s become a nightmare.

My neck hurts, I’ve broken 3 finger nails, and my carpel tunnel in my right hand is causing my wrist to be on fire.

Did I mention how much fun I’m having this Saturday night?

My only solace … a steaming hot bubble bath with a very tall glass of Merlot!

Posted by Melody at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Or just greed at work again?

Once again, the medical establishment has come up with a miracle. This time, a vaccine promises to protect women against the common HPV virus and ultimately, cervical cancer. Fueled by manufacturer Merck claims of safe, effective protection from a potentially deadly cancer-causing virus, several states have attempted to enact mandatory vaccinations of girls as young as 11. Parents are being urged to rush out and have their little girls vaccinated against this sexually transmitted disease as soon as possible.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE!

The average age for cervical cancer is 48 years of age, with over 20% of the cases occurring in women over 65 years of age, according to the American Cancer Society.

HPV can only be transmitted sexually

The vaccine, at best, only protects against a few strains of HPV.

And 90% of HPV cases go away, harmlessly, with NO treatment!

So what’s the rush? We have very little data on the possible side effects of this vaccine. And I doubt most parents believe their 11 year olds are sexually active (although sadly, a few are.) So why the big push to start so soon, so young, and without parental choice?

Once again, the almighty dollar is the most likely culprit. Merek stands to rake in $60 million dollars from the little girls in Texas alone if the currently proposed mandatory 6th grade vaccination rule goes into effect there. Multiply that by all the little girls in the other 49 states and Merek be rolling in the money. That would be welcome news for a company plagued by a 4th quarter of 2006 earnings drop of 58%, not to mention their on-going drain from Vioxx lawsuits.

I’m always suspicious when a company who stands to make money off of a medicine or vaccine is the one doing the studies and promoting its introduction into so many lives. Especially since one of the loudest voices promoting mandatory vaccination is Texas governor Perry - whose Texas Chief of State is a Merek lobbyist. The Christian right objects that the vaccine encourages early teens to become sexually active. That is certainly a risk when you require 11 year olds to be treated for something they can only catch through sexual intercourse. But my concern is one of basic safety. By preventing one thing, are we risking other as yet unknown but possibly even more widespread harm?

Sure, preventing cancer is great. But injecting millions of little girls with something that has limited effectiveness and limited long term testing to prevent a disease that they may or may not get in 30 years or more is something that should make any parent nervous.

For more information, the New York Times just posted another informative article.

Posted by Melody at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I’m driving to work, listening to Mancow (though I typically would not want to admit to this) and hearing for the first time about how James Goldstein invented vodka infused with caffeine and taurine. What a brilliant idea. Think of the applications! Think of the market! . Imagine what college student, cramming for exams and needing to stay awake, yet still wanting a buzz. Think of the millionsand millions of dollars he will probably make from something so simple.

Goldstein’s a genius… First he launched Hpnotiq - the first premium blue blend of Cognac and Vodka. Then he launched Everglo - the first liqueur with a bottle that glows in the dark. Now, with deep pockets Goldstein launches V2 “the first super-premium vodka infused with caffeine and taurine (found in Energy drinks like Red Bull® and Rockstar®) without the sugar and artificial flavors, making V2 is the ultimate substitute for a Vodka and Redbull. The smooth taste and clean finish of V2 is comparable to other premium spirits like Grey Goose® or Ketel One® .

According to the International Herald Tribune, the global vodka market is worth $12 billion in annual sales. And the United States is the world's fastest-growing vodka market and accounts for $724 million.

My prediction ... Goldstein's got a winner. Where was this drink when I was in school?

Posted by Melody at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

#1: Throw away your dust mite infected sheets! For decades, allergists have been telling us that “a clean sleeping environment with natural linens relieves allergy suffering.”

#2: Throw away your chimically treated mattress. A typical mattress is stuffed with polyurethane foam and other materials that may have been treated with flame-retardants and covered with material treated with water or stain resistant chemicals. These, along with chemicals emitted from polyurethane foam, such as toluene, can contribute to indoor air pollution. If you replace your mattress with one made of natural or organic cotton, natural latex, organic wool, then add an organic cotton pad or wool mattress topper, organic cotton or 100% all natural cotton sheets, an organic cotton duvet cover and a hypoallergenic natural latex pillow, you'll avoid the toxins and won’t be up at 4 a.m. like me!

#3: Throw out the dirty diapers and the toxins. Baby's fragile immune systems are most affected by toxins. That's why organic baby bedding is so important to your baby's health. Buy only natural baby bedding, including organic cotton sheets, organic wool bedding and bumpers, and safe and supportive organic mattresses.

#4: Throw out your infested teddy bears. Get a huge HEFTY black garbage bag and pack away every dust-mite infested, toxin ridden stuffed animal you buy at Wal-mart or Target for $10.99. Babies and kids do NOT need 25 stuffed animals. Replace with a few special sweet bears made from all natural materials, constructed using only unprocessed cotton fibers and all-natural organic dyes.

#5: Throw out your old excercies & work-out clothes. I bet you that 99% of your underwear, bras and work-out clothes are ridden with insecticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers used to grow the cotton that you are wearing next to your skin. Replace your yoga, Pilates and other workout attire with pure organic clothing in natural cotton or naturally antimicrobial soy and cotton blends.

According to Organic Exchange, a nonprofit committed to expanding the use of organically grown fibers, global retail sales of organic cotton products increased from $245 million in 2001 to $583 million in 2005. The problem with traditional cotton--by far the most used clothing fabric in the world, constituting a $300 billion global market--is that producers use liberal amounts of insecticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers to grow it.

Analysts estimate that cotton crops use about one quarter of all the agricultural insecticides applied globally each year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seven of the top 15 pesticides used on U.S. cotton crops are potential or known human carcinogens. Given such problems, choosing organically grown alternatives may be one of the best things consumers can do to help the environment.

In my opinion, Larry West sums it up very very well, “Protecting and preserving our natural environment is a matter of life and death for every creature on Earth and all future generations. Our ability to use resources without depleting them, to function as part of a sustainable ecosystem, and to serve as responsible environmental stewards is critical.”

Below are some great companies that sell organic products:

The Clean Bedroom – organic mattresses & matress pads, organic sheets, compfortors and pillos. Get 10% Off all orders! Enter the code - CAT10 - in the offer code box during online checkout on The Clean Bedroom website and your disount will be applied automatically.

Gaiam – clothes, underwear, bras, pajamas and work-out attire. Only .99 cent Shipping on orders of $25 or more!

FAO Schwarz – organic sleeping horse, bears and linens

Posted by Melody at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It’s 3:27 am and I can’t sleep. Concerned and worried. It’s been 10 long years of incubation. No one ever fully explained to me the slow and painful truth … integrating 10 years worth of data from QuickBooks into a “new” system would be so trying. And after working the ENTIRE day on this project, we’re still not even half way there.

Will it be worth it? I believe so (or at least hope it will). Huge corporations surely must have perfected the ability to create hundreds (even thousands) of invoices in one fell sweep, taking data from their sequel server. Surely there must be a better way than manually processing hundreds of credit card transactions. It is mind boggling to think that QuickBooks doesn’t have the function or capability to process credit cards in one batch if the amounts change each month. At least, this is what I’ve been told by several QuickBooks’s tech people, “We’re working on it, and expect that this coming summer we will have the capability to batch in a variety of ways.” Again, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

The guys at BQE Software have been great. Lot’s of handholding, explaining and reassuring me that my baby (my project) will be worth this effort.

Posted by Melody at 03:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Middle aged! My tennis coach called me a middle-aged woman! And my game sucked! It wasn't about my age -- it was all about my sweats. Let me explain…

I played tennis this morning at 7:30 am. Yeah, you might think it’s crazy to play so early, but once the kids are at the bus stop, I have time to get a good match in before heading to the office. I played with my girlfriend and a professional tennis coach – Jovica. He’s around 55 years old, from Croatia, and you can tell he definitely likes his female students. I wore a very short white tennis skirt.

I must admit, several girlfriends have told me that I have sexy thin legs and a perfect tush. I bring this up because all it takes is for 1 or 2 men to “take notice” and suddenly … your tennis game improves. You start trying a bit harder to position yourself for the back hand shot, you try extra hard not to miss the volley, and when serving … watch out! How embarrassing would it be to not get the ball over the net?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happily married and definitely NOT looking to attract men. But at my age, I’ll take all the extra admiring glances I can get. I am CONVINCED SHORT TENNIS SKIRTS HELP WIN THE GAME!

Last week I wore baggy sweat pants and a t-shirt (definitely NOT proper tennis attire.) I played like crap. My partner played awful too. It was so bad that the tennis coach called us up to the net and said, “Ladies, look, you are starting to give ME a bad reputation. I don’t want other potential students looking at you and wondering why Jovica can’t coach these middle aged women better.

So today, I went for the short skirt, the admiring looks and WON! Advertisers have known for years that sex sells. Apparently, on the tennis court, sex wins too! Middle-aged – hah!

Posted by Melody at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I hate accounting. I think I’ve mentioned this before. Had it not been for my total inept ability to understand and grasp the concept of debits and credits, I would never have found my husband in college. You see, he had the Accounting 101 textbook open; I was cramming for a test, totally confused about everything. Panic stricken at flunking my first big business school accounting test, I surveyed the library quickly. And then I spotted him (not really, I spotted the textbook first, and then decided to look at the guy reading it).

Thank God, he was cute! The perfect line … “Hi, can you explain this accounting theory?”

It’s pretty scary to think that with my hatred for accounting, I handle all the books and investing and finance for Catalogs.com (as well as our personal lives). So when it recently became clear to me that there IS a better way to manage QuickBooks and all the manual data entry of thousand and thousands of invoices … I decided to look into the project.

I’ve been quite busy interviewing consultants, accountants and software engineers. Do I hire consultants to create the “perfect” integration between my QuickBooks files and our SQL server which stores all the data required to bill? Or do I investigate existing software which will act as a go-between? After hours and hours of discussion, I chose to hire and purchase from BQE Software an existing programming.

Tomorrow is the big day … the total integration of my 10 years worth of accounting data merging with the new software. Ask me how nervous I am! If it fails, I will feel like weeks of lost time spent. If it works, I’ll be popping the bubbly and toasting to our success.

I’ll keep you posted!

Posted by Melody at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is a story I will NOT share with my daughter who aspires to become an astronaut. After years of space camp, astronomy clubs and space themed birthday parties … the recent arrest of Captain Lisa Marie Nowak, a NASA astronaut who was charged with doing “serious bodily injury or death” to another captain in the Air Force. This is a tragic example of how feelings, jealousy and rage can shade even the most educated, analytical and trained professionals.

What a true tragedy … years and years of incredibly difficult training, competition and perseverance … all out the window with one moment of uncontrolled emotions.

This reminds me of Romeo and Juliet … in the end everyone looses!

For more details, the New York Times has loads of details.

Posted by Melody at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Before I had a sip of hot coffee this morning, I got an earful from a very upset Catalogs.com employee ...

"Picture this: It’s cold. Well, cold for South Florida – around 65 degrees. And pouring rain. It’s Superbowl Sunday morning, and all around you, people are scrambling to get ready for the crowds. Vendors, entertainers, security people, housekeeping, groundskeepers and shuttle drivers. Everyone is in a Superbowl jacket of some kind. Except one very noticeable group. The Superbowl Host Committee volunteers."

Lynn, in our office, was a volunteer at yesterday's game. And she didn't come back from the event of the year happy. Here's her story from last Sunday:

"The men and women who have been there at every special event, every Superbowl Host Hotel and all three regional airports volunteering their time and talents to make sure Superbowl XVI is the best ever, are shivering in their mandated short-sleeved guaberras, many of them far from shelter, food or drink in parking lot booths where the rain is blowing in through the two open sides. Other have been handed plastic arrow signs and are being asked to stand out in the parking lot, in the rain, directing cars to available $50 a piece parking spots.

For months, these people went to meetings, training sessions, special events, and local venues. They completed security background paperwork, and application paperwork and countless other forms. They have driven all over South Florida to staff events and fill VIP bags, media kits and training packets. They have purchased required trousers and fanny packs and shoes and hats at their own expense. And they did it all without receiving a dollar in pay. They did it for the love of the game, or the pride in their local community. And they continued to do it even when promises were broken or schedules changed without warning or patrons were rude. So why are the only people not being paid for all their hard work also the only ones without jackets or sweaters or sweatshirts? And why are they being placed in the worst locations on the property?

The answer is simple. Because the Host Committee and the NFL don’t care. Because it’s easy to promise people that all their hard work and hours of free labor are going to result in a few perks on game day. A chance to see part of the game. A spot indoors to help patrons with their questions. A jacket. And it’s just as easy to forget about all the promises when the big day comes and it’s too late to take back all those hours of free staffing and sorting and stuffing. The work is done. The profits are pouring in.

Why worry about them now? And if you can squeeze out a little more unpaid work without giving them so much as a dollar-store poncho or a cup of coffee, all the better.

The entire Superbowl event would crumble without the tens of thousands of volunteer hours Superbowl Ambassadors put forth. The concerts, the parties, the NFL Experience and the game day itself all depend on thousands of volunteers who show up and give their very best for free. And yet when the
rain came and the temperatures dropped, the volunteers were literally left out – wet, cold, and jacketless.

When the Superbowl returns to South Florida in 2010, would-be volunteers might want to re-think their investment in time and travel and money as an Ambassador. Volunteering is one thing. Signing up for broken promises and pneumonia is another."

Posted by Melody at 05:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

NO NO, NO ... How many different times do I have to say it?

Why is it that kids can’t grasp this concept?

Why is it that parents must repeat themselves 4x? We recently called a “Family Meeting” at the suggestion of my best friend. Our house has been out-of-control, chaos, misery, misbehaving, arguing, fighting … did the moon suddenly not align with the stars?

A Family Meeting is intended to get the whole family together, typically in the living room, and everyone takes turns discussing what’s on their mind. Typical a parent leads the discussion, explaining the main reason or idea as to what issue has prompted this meeting. Acording to Parenting Toolbox, there are definite rules:

1. Meet on a regular basis.
2. Everyone gets a chance to talk.
3. Everyone gets treated with respect and has an equal say (but parents have veto power for harmful or unhealthy decisions).
4. Stay with the real issues and don't get sidetracked.
5. Keep the meetings short and stick to a schedule.
6. Focus on members strengths and not their weaknesses.
7. Keep a record of the family meeting and post where everyone can see it.
8. Remember to plan for fun.

On my own, I added #9: Establish a secret “CODE” word that will remind family members to think back on the discussion.

I can’t say that it’s worked great so far. We’ve only had 1 meeting, and all discussions and goals flew out the window with an overheated argument, just 1 day later. But, at least, I can say our code word “COOL IT” and I get some attention.

Posted by Melody at 01:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)