Great article about my adoption and going back to my roots at St. Vincent's

http://www.catholiccharities-md.org/child-and-family-services/stories-CFS/st-vincent-s-former-adoptees-lend-their-support-to-current-residents.html

Lets Talk Bill Miller at Legg Mason for a minute. So I manage my own account and I know I am not certified broker, and don't know alot about the ins and outs on commodity trading, but really????

Bill Miller is noted for beating the street (specifically the S&P) for the last 15 years. Sure he is managing funds that dwarf my little nest egg, but aren't the principles the same?

I was up 45% over the S&P last year and I was up over the S&P for the past three years. I know I won't get the notoriety or the cash bonuses like a Bill Miller - but the biggest bonus is that I know I am making the right moves for my kids later in life.

Currently in 2010 the S&P are at 3% - I'm at 7% - so we will see how this shakes out but now I'm on a mission to beat Bill Miller at the Famed Legg Mason. Right here in good old Baltimore. So take that Bill Miller - the little guys can have streaks too!

*545 PEOPLE
*By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, *if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?*

Have you ever wondered why, *if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?*

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices, 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi.



She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ .

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or
"politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of theOrlando Sentinel Newspaper.

As the Under Armour stock still keeps eroding here are the stock sales on that dreaded day of November 1st when the Plank family took out over 200,000,000 in stock sale. With the stock deflating at $29 - it's time for the CEO to step up. Kevin's new digs at Sagamore Farms in Hunt Valley Maryland is nice but It didn't do stock holders any justice. I'm sure their employees are a little uneasy that the stock value is almost near the opening day price.


Plank J Scott Sale 765,000 59.00 – 59.00 2,521,840 $45.1 M
Plank J Scott Planned Sale 615,000 -- – -- -- $36.3 M
Plank Kevin A Sale 1,300,000 59.00 – 59.00 100 $76.7 M
Plank Kevin A Exercise of Options 550,000 0.00 – 0.00 100 $0.0
Plank Kevin A Planned Sale 750,000 -- – -- -- $44.3 M
Plank Kevin A Planned Sale 400,000 -- – -- -- $23.6 M
Kdp Trust 2 L L C Planned Sale 75,000 -- – -- -- $4.4 M
J Scott Plank Found... Planned Sale 85,000 -- – -- -- $5.0 M
Jsdm Family L L C Planned Sale 150,000 -- – -- -- $8.9 M

Father's Day 2008

I'm sitting here this Father's Day watching the closing minutes of Meet The Press as they do a special tribute to Tim Russert. He was a man that gave so much and he seemed like he had so much more to give. The show was hosted by good friend Tom Brokaw with a panel of close friends.

Doris Kearns Goodwin had stated it very clearly that Russert had lived a great life and in a conversation she recently had with Russert he stated, "that if he did die he had accomplished everything he wanted in his life. The only thing he wanted to see was his son get married and have Grand kids."

It's sad that a man so cherished and loved doesn't get his wish and his life ends early.

I reflect back to 1986 when my Dad was in the hospital from having a massive stroke. He had high blood pressure and didn't realize that his body was ticking time bomb that he didn't take care of.

My Dad was picking up a rent check from one of our tenants and started to stagger and the tenants called my mom and the ambulance. It was a long two days in the hospital and there was still no diagnosis. My dad was pretty much gone mentally from what the doctor's could tell. They had seen no signs of recovery and no movement on his part. He was 44 at the time, how could this happen to a man in his prime.

My mom wanted me not to see him for the first day because I was 16 and didn't think I could handle. Little did she know the strength I had and she tried to shelter that as she did with most of my childhood. It was day two and I wanted to see my dad. She prepared my visit by saying to me that my father hasn't moved in two days and is not responding. I can still hear her in my ear "David, you are going to speak to him but he will not move, you are going to see no motion and someone that cannot respond back." I was prepared for that but I didn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it.

I walked up to that hospital bed and held my dad's hand and spoke to him gently and asked how he was. He didn't respond. He didn't move. I told him how things were going in school and that I missed him and I wanted him to come home. I told him that mom said that he wasn't going to respond and I told him that he had to prove her wrong.

I remember vividly as he laid there with wires and tubes and all over this was the man who got up every morning to make me breakfast and take me to the bus stop by 6:45 AM. Never Quitting - Never Giving Up. I told him now was not the time to give up. It was time to fight. He was going to have the toughest fight of his life, but he had to do it for me and my brother Mike.

"Dad I want you to see me graduate - I want you to see me get married - Dad I want you to see your Grand kids. You can't give up, you need to come back to us. Do you understand?" He started to move his head in what i could tell was a nod and in agreement. "Dad - can you hear me?" He nodded again with greater movement and motion this time.

He reached his hand out and then squeezed mine and I cried as I kissed his hand. This was the father I knew, one who would do anything for his son.

It took him two long years of rehabilitation and perseverance and determination with the help of my mom. He came back and now twenty two years later he stops by every other Sunday to see his grand kids. His and my dream came true and he had a second chance.

I feel for Tim Russert's son who will never have that chance to have his dad play tee ball, or just go to the movies with the kids.

I am pretty lucky and I guess so is my dad (not to mention my kids)

Happy Father's Day Dad!

So Google has been doing some major updates lately and I noticed that I was knocked out of My number one position for David Carberry. Now for Dave Carberry I was still ranked number one and I think that's primarily because of the Blogspot URL having my name in it.

Although this overall page probably never gets read I'm sure the total traffic from blogspot helps - not to mention it's a Google product.

I was trumped by a press release announcing the appointment of David Carberry to a larger role. Every time a Press Release floods the market it gives the URL or Keyword a boost - but it's never permanent. The Press Release if written correctly and being highly optimized will help but it comes down to overall links and simple SEO Basics.

So if David Carberry isn't in the title tag or the URL it might not stay up in that leading position.

It will be interesting to see what happens as Universal Search becomes more prevalent so if the other David Carberry is getting more reviews and links and recommendations then who knows but for now whether it Dave Carberry or David Carberry I'm still ranking.

We'll See

I didn't have the opportunity to make the click fraud session at SES but I did find this nugget of information. I reflect back on the old Dunkin Donuts commercial and the donut maker getting out of bed and disliking every second of it. Do you think that's what the engine makers like Google and Yahoo are doing? Waking up every morning and saying, "time to monitor the click fraud?" NAH - they are so happy seeing the cash registers ring that Google’s paying out a $90,000,000 settlement is a drop in the bucket.

So I applaud Jeffrey Rohrs "Sausage Manifesto”. The whole logistical problems the engines will wrangler with are having to hire additional help for all of the charge backs businesses will demand. If click fraud represents 25%-30% of actual clicks http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/060309-001743, then how many billions of dollars would come out of Google's coffers annually?

In the media world TV stations are still in an archaic situation where media buyers post back on a rating point if the television station doesn't hit that targeted rating point as promised in the previous rating book. Do you think that same media buyer will ever pay extra for higher ratings achieved and improved performance - Hell No! Televisions have complete control of this nonsense and they still allow this to happen….Why? – BECAUSE THEY STILL ARE GETTING THE LION’S SHARE and the media buyers feel they have control!!

As the Internet grows and if click fraud is not reigned in the Engines have the final say and that is to their and their stockholders advantage. They probably have witness what traditional media has done and they aren't allowing this to happen to their model.

The difference is we have the technology to see the clicks and results and it would be in the best interest of the Engines to provide this data back to the buyer. It will take years for the Internet to catch up to the Media spend on television, but with the video portals coming into play this might give the Internet a leg up. Except for the fact of CLICK FRAUD yet again. Traditional advertisers will see the advantage of paying for the reach and knowing they get a guaranteed rating.

1. Invest in Proportion to the Problem
"Warranted or not, a lot of us have a sneaking suspicion that you pocket more money from invalid clicks (including third-party click fraud) than you invest in its prevention. ... If your data shows that click fraud is actually in the single digits, then please invest at least that much in its prevention."
2. Acknowledge that Tracking Alone Is Not the Answer
"We understand that conversion tracking is our responsibility to implement and monitor. However, even if we’re watching our conversion rates, please understand that we may not be able to identify fraudulent clicks due to market realities."

Give the added control back to the buying community. The engines could just build in the best click monitoring software and integrate it with their do it yourself platform. It’s seems so easy to spend money on the engines, but not so easy to save. In the short term they’ll generate more ad dollars than Outdoor and Radio but if they want to reach TV and Newspaper Spend they need to wake up every morning and say – TIME TO MAKE THE SAUSAGE AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S IN IT!!!

It's Official - Well actually it was official on December 25th, 2007.

I'm just getting around to posting this. Where Was I? is now trademarked! If only I could get paid for every time someone said - hmm now where was I? It's a little more standard in the English Language than "Let's Get Ready to Rumble."But...You never know -

So I was in Miami/Del Ray last weekend with a few friends and had a blast. Straight men fair warning... stay far away from the Townhouse rooftop deck. Whoa - nuff said.

So the SuperBowl spot for Under Armour rocked - hopefully that drive a bit more momentum. $25 2 weeks ago - what a time to grab more. It's going up.

That whole comment about being a big fan of Under Armour - not as big of a fan anymore. I actually think they have a great product but wow - Kevin Plank...not a big fan. Mr. Plank recently decided to sell a boat load of shares 1.5 million and the stock went tumbling. Jim Cramer blasted the company and his word is golden to his investors - I think they followed suit.

So hence my fondness of the product is still there but I saw Mr. Plank in the hall two times last week and I wanted to tell him he blew it. Ehh what do I know he's the one that just cashed in $90 million of stock.... I'm sure he'd laugh at me on his way to the bank.

We'll see what happens in the next earnings call.

Under Armor Conference Call

So this morning I decided to listen to the Under Armor Conference Call on 3rd Quarter results. I am a proud Under Armor Stock holder and I wanted to see where their corporate direction was heading for Q4 and 2008. I'm a huge fan - not only because they are in Baltimore and their office is above Advertising.com's, but they are huge growing brand. Just watch TV and you'll see actors and sports figures all over wearing the gear.

I am a novice investor and opened up my Etrade extended pricing with real time quotes. I'm still baffled but happy at the same time.

The stock closed yesterday at $58.73 - The earning announcement occurred at 8:30 and there must have been a huge sell off as the stock plummetted before open at 53.50 and I was able to grab a additional shares at $54. That being said it's 9:22 and the con call is still happening and the stock is now up to $61.35 before open.

I don't get. I was able to make a nice profit early this morning by buying the additional shares at the extended hours and if I would have missed the call. I would have checked my stocks and been none the wiser. Happy with the growth - Happy with the result. I'm baffled I was so worried that the stock would fall lower than the $54 early this am and now I can't believe it's at 61. I'm glad I don't do this for a living.

Now I realize that brokers I worked with before - didn't work hard enough for my money. If you are patient there are always sellers and always buyers. As Jim Cramer says - never buy at the Market.

Happy Halloween and Go Under Armor Go. Just to support the cause I'm buying some under gear for the kiddies to trick or treat in!

Number 1 Ranking for David Carberry on Google.

Okay I have to say I need to start writing more about my industry instead of my personal life.
So that being said - I have held the top spot for myself after starting this blog.
It was a tough challenge (kind of) to beat out the David Carberry in the flying fruit circus, and well the international soccer phenom David Carberry.

It's me - so now if I can only get some love from the SEO community in an article like this http://www.searchengineguide.com/degeyter/010561.html.

It's a pretty interesting spin on how Search Engine Marketers get ranked. Poor Shari Thurow didn't realize the industry took this that seriously.

No Moon Over Beason Street

So I woke up this AM and got a chance to see the Moon completely disappear. With the Domino Sugar Plant in the background, I was able to see the shadow of the Earth eclipse the Moon at approx 5:30 AM. Woke up at 4am - I wish I would have planned it a wee bit better, otherwise it was pretty fascinating to watch if you have never seen an eclipse. Here's the link in case you missed it.

http://wjz.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_239062748.html

Pac Man Crop Circles - Weird sighting while flying Southwest Airlines back from Oakland. I'm still trying to find Inky.....No Luck

LuLu versus Lulu

So Advertising.com had a client cocktail party at Lulu in San Francisco on Wednesday night I attended http://www.restaurantlulu.com/LuLu_about.html. The Brick Oven was burning and I met some interesting and knowledgeable people from the industry. I was telling people at the party that I had published a book at lulu.com and told them the story of lulu as I had read about it.

Bob Young the founder of Red Hat was trying to publish a book and his manuscript was rejected. Trust me I know the feeling and that's why I am glad I found Lulu.com by reading Business 2.0. Here's the Article that lead me to Lulu http://www.scribd.com/doc/16572/Freedom-Of-The-Press-Lulu-com

ABOUT LULU.COM: Lulu, the world's fastest-growing source of print-on- demand books, lets you publish your own books, ebooks, calendars, images, music and videos at no advance cost. Lulu was founded by Bob Young, who previously co-founded the software company, Red Hat.

I recently completed my first children's book. Where Was I? New York! and it's for sale on Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/content/541219

It's the first in a series of books that I am writing dedicated to my kids and to the millions of parents that travel for their career. I have been to so many of the greatest cities across the country and there are hardly any good kids picture books focusing on travel explaining where mom or dad went. It's no problem finding a shot glass or an ash tray with the famed city, but not appropriate for kids.

Where Was I? New York! features Devon, a smart girl heroine narrator, and her adventurous brother, DJ, – as they journey from city to city. Kids inspiring kids – positive role models! The stories are fast-paced, kid-centric, and fun.

The National Geographic Society has declared children’s geographic apathy “a cultural crisis.” Less than half of all children under age eighteen can identify the states of New York or Ohio on a map! According to the National Geographic Society’s 2006 Geographic Literacy Study, American kids rank next to last in terms of geographic literacy compared with their counterparts in nine other countries. kids have to U.S. Geography The National Geographic Society has declared children’s geographic apathy “a cultural crisis.” Less than half of all children under age eighteen can identify the states of New York or Ohio on a map! According to the National Geographic Society’s 2006 Geographic Literacy Study, American kids rank next to last in terms of geographic literacy compared with their counterparts in nine other countries.

Hopefully this series of books will help. You can also check out my website at www.wherekids.com - and pick up some fun Where Was I? Merchandise.

Where Was I? Washington D.C. is the next in the series and is almost fully illustrated and on it's way.

Geographically Yours,

Dave Carberry

Viral - Vigorous and Potent

That's G. Gordon Liddy and me
We have matching hair - At least
his moustache and my full head of hair.

Mr. Liddy has lectured extensively, from Berkley to The Oxford Union. He is an actor in motion pictures and television including co-starring roles in Miami Vice, Airwolf, MacGyver, Feds, Perry Mason and 18 Wheels of Justice.

Mr. Liddy also was our featured personality at Y2K day in Baltimore. I was the Sales Manager at the 1300AM WJFK and conceived the idea to have a full day event to ease concerns of the pending Y2K effect on computers. We ran commercials three to four weeks prior to the event and Mr. Liddy voiced the commercial. The best part was he closed the commercial with contact Dave Carberry. I was pretty stoked to have G. Gordon mention me. I should add the audio file if I can find it. If you want some intense reading - pick up his book "Will"

Happy Valentine's Day!

“World’s tardiest blogger” here again. I have assumed the title quasi-blogger. I just can’t seem to grasp the fact that I should do this weekly at the least. It’s supposed to have regularity as an ongoing update, but I imagine since I am still updating it must be ongoing. Regularity is in the eye of the beholder – nuff said about my lack of type.

So I had mentioned more about my Thanksgiving Day Feast. Well this was one of the most difficult days in my life. It was the first year that I didn’t have Thanksgiving with my family. Now family defined is my wife of 12 years (14 total Turkey Days) my kids age eight and four and both my wife’s family and mine combined. Years of comfort, years of joy, years of normality now to be thrown into a blender and stirred up to make ONE over-emotional cocktail.

I ended up traveling to Georgetown, Delaware to be with my extended family The Johnson’s. The Matriarch – Joyce, The Patriarch – Chet, and their Children - Jeff, Shelagh, Keven and his wife Sylvia (along with their 2 kids). Wow I was out of place, but felt at home as they welcomed me in for what was a difficult day. Halloween was the worst day in 2006 (but yet another story for me to blog about.)

Dinner was amazing both Joyce and Chet prepared dinner as the kids hung out and watched football games, as well as watching Enico and Amaya making fart noises all throughout the house. It’s was a very not so peaceful and not so graceful Thanksgiving – perfect for my state of mind. I watched over Joyce and Chet as they cooked as I was cooking the next day for what I called T2. My birth mom was flying into town for the weekend and I planned to prepare dinner for her, my kids and my parents (adoptive). I had to say I did an awesome job for doing Thanksgiving dinner myself.

So a brief background on the kids Jeff works for the Department of Education in Washington DC, Shelagh works in Portland Oregon, and Keven is a tattoo artist in Spain. I had always wanted Keven to give me a tattoo and it was the perfect day for a tattoo. A new Thanksgiving experience, a new thanksgiving family, and a new life. So before I went to the Johnson’s I had made up my mind to get ONE.

I went on line and looked up some Kanji symbols, I am amazed by the beauty they represent and that someone can actually read a language so complex. I thought about my life and decisions and that I am the only one who can make a difference. It’s up to me – you have ONE Life – you need to live the best way you can for yourself and those around you. I also am a huge fan of U2 and Bono’s call to action for aids and the website ONE.org and their song empower me.

So I thought – ONE what a great meaning and symbol of life – So I looked online and wouldn’t you know it the Kanji symbol for one is a straight line down just like the numeric one we know. How boring – someone would think it was an ink stain, back to the drawing board. Not to mention it’s not just about me – It’s so much more, stop being selfish.

Then I thought ONE Love (nah didn’t have that anymore) ONE LIFE– yes I am still alive and need to make the most of it. The decisions in your LIFE not only affect you it affects everyone around you. Oddly enough the Kanji symbol for LIFE looks like a house – “That Was It!” That’s what I wanted etched on my body for the rest of my LIFE.

When I told Keven – I don’t think he believed me. It took me three times to tell him and then he finally went online and looked up the symbol. It was incredible. I wanted on my chest so that I realize the decisions in my LIFE are close to my heart.

After dinner instead of watching football the family gathered around the family room and watched Keven prick my body with his tools. (okay sorry for that visual). It burned a bit, but wasn’t too bad. The awkwardness was laying on the hassock and everyone drinking a fine scotch watching me while Keven was hovering.

I am very happy and proud of my tattoo and would never want to get rid of it for the multitude of meaning it has behind it. Love, loss of love, having family that welcomes you in difficult time, emptiness, security, insecurity, sadness, the farting noise that you just have to laugh at – That’s what LIFE means to me. I am excited to share my LIFE and the story of my LIFE with others.

As I sit on the plane writing this to add later – I am drinking a Nestle product – “Pure LIFE” and I worry about another LIFE as my dad was just put in the hospital due to a heart attack. “LIFE is a gift” and that’s coming from a child that was adopted. I am glad to be here because I really wasn’t meant to be. To be continued.

So here I am (AKA the Harry Potter look) at age 18. I was working at WPOC the country radio station in Baltimore. I was a promotion assistant and was backstage at one of our events. The hot older woman here is none other than Patty Loveless. This picture is a crack up.

It reminds me of a caption contest. So go ahead what's your caption?