Gun Advocates: Your Country Needs You (To Be Responsible)

The Newtown, Ct. shooting has robbed babies of their futures, and has adults wondering "why?"  One side says guns are the cause of this horrible event while the other side argues a teacher or officer with a gun could have prevented it.  Both sides have their points, but neither can undo the damage done.  Guns are amazing tools that have been part of tragedies, but they have also helped people provide for their families, enforced the law, and liberated countries.
There are many things that cause harm and take lives: airplanes, cars, alcohol, cigarettes, etc, but nothing causes more fear or debate than guns.  Those who fear them, hate them; those who want them cite the 2nd Amendment on a loop.  Where is the responsible middle that can bring the two sides together? 
I have not found a person yet who can justify the need for the personal ownership of: assault rifles, armor piercing bullets, and high capacity magazines.  You are a hunter. Fine, you do not need an assault rifle; there will be nothing to bring home.  You want to defend your home. We all do: handguns are very hard to control, get yourself a shotgun. 
Gun advocates need to mandate iron clad background checks and constant training.  If you have nothing to hide, I want to look (or know the right people did), and if you want to defend yourself, you must be trained and practice so you can perform at the moment of truth. 
Some of my fondest childhood memories are target shooting with rifles and trap shooting with shotguns.  I am not a hunter; I have grown up with guns, learned to respect them, and NEVER thought of using one to settle a problem.  Guns are not in my house, nor do I believe I need to carry one to protect myself, but as a responsible, law abiding citizen, it is my right and one that should never be taken away.
I look forward to and respect your comments.
Cheers,
Toby

Merry Christmas - an invitation

Now that December is upon us, so is the Christmas season; my favorite time of the year. People seem to want to treat one another better and there is a lift in people's spirits. Those who called my house were welcomed by my Mom saying "Merry Christmas" as she answered the phone.
I believe in inviting people to share my holiday with me so I say Merry Christmas. Just like inviting you to share my table, I invite you to my home to enjoy a great meal.
"Merry Christmas" is not to offend; it is a friendly invitation.
Cheers,
Toby

11 Years Ago

Where were you and what were you doing when you heard?
If you were a parent, how tightly did you hug your child(ren) that night?
How did you feel?
Do you still remember?

I remember as clear as yesterday:
A co-worker's husband called her and reported the first crash. The internet, streaming video, servers were nothing like they are now and there was not the access to information. I was calling friends in NYC, but no one's cell would work - for days.
Everyone walked around in a fog wondering what would/could happen next. The nights seemed so dark.
As a father, I was so angry about the suddenly orphaned children and tried to imagine what the fathers on flight 93 were thinking.
I will NEVER forget.

Remembering,
Toby

Sports, Sportsmanship, and the Scoreboad

I am gearing up for a new hockey season.  While getting together rosters, putting together drills, and thinking about tournaments I started thinking about the big picture.
The scoreboard shows "Home" and "Guest" not the names of who scored the goal and who made the assist. The scoreboard reflects the performance of the team, not the achievements of its individual members.
The score sheet does not tell the entire story either. It shows who scored, who assisted, and the saves made by the goalie - so much is missing.
When watching your next game look for these things: the back check, clearing the puck out of the defensive zone, the hug or highfive of encouragement, the hustle of the weaker player who never gives up.
Herb Brooks said it best: "When you pull on that jersey, you remember one thing, the name on the front it a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back."

Thank you parents for all the support; it means the world to the coaches as well as your sons and daughters.

Please share this with other coaches and those who love the game.

Cheers,

Toby

Twitter My Way

If you believe twitter is for telling others you are “sitting on the patio,” get ready to learn something. These are 4 ways I use my 140 characters.

Learn
We all love to consume information and the internet provides a most awesome buffet. By following authors, columnists, bloggers, public figures, etc – the content comes to you and is always updating in real time. In short, twitter can be your personal library or newsstand. All this data is difficult to manage: utilize hashtags and lists to search and sort information quickly. Dashboards like Hootsuite and TweetDeck allow you to digest the data by sorting it into multiple columns. Your dashboard gives you a snapshot of data: who is talking about you, who is talking about your company, what are the latest news stories, etc – all continuously and immediately updated.  

Share
It is as easy to share data as it is to consume it via twitter; don’t keep all the good stuff to yourself. If you read a tweet you find interesting, retweet so your followers can enjoy it too. Maybe you visit a website or wish to share your latest blog, take the URL and tweet it. Tools like bitly shorten that URL so it can fit within the 140 character limit and help you track the activity on your link. Seesmic’s dashboard will shorten the link for you.  

Engage
This is the best part of Social – engagement. The days of pushing information without conversation are gone. Twitter gives your customers an in-road to you, don’t be afraid of it: listen to what they say and respond. A TweetChat allows you to engage and listen to many people at once while documenting the conversations. Idea-share, focus groups, and feedback sessions: it’s all about conversation. This blog by one of my Social mentors, Janet Fouts, shows you how to set up your own TweetChat.  

Promote
Sharing information or engaging others promotes yourself and your organization. People can see who shares what and the twitterverse responds favorably to those they like; if your followers find your content interesting, they may also research what company employs such an interesting person.

I hope you were able to take away something new – I look forward to your comments & feedback. Cheers Toby