101 Things in 1001 Days

101 Things in 1001 Days is the brainchild of Michael Green, a blogger and developer from NZ. He created a list of tasks to achieve within a defined period, and the idea quickly spread around the web as a tool for helping people accomplish their goals.  

 

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

 

 

 I restroactively decided to begin this challenge on January 1st 2009. This means that my finishing date will be Thursday, September 29, 2011

I'll be tracking my progress as I go along

I have found myself singing this song all day today.  I heard it on 92.3 this morning on the way to...

I have found myself singing this song all day today.  I heard it on 92.3 this morning on the way to work so that’s the main reason, but I also watched Dan in Real Life recently (I enjoyed the movie) which featured this song.  I’ve included the Steve Carell and Dane Cook version of the song from the movie

Dodgeball tourney raises $1,000; Money raised given to Casey Sparling Scholarship

The Wabash Plain Dealer Online Ten teams took the hardwood at Northfield High School Saturday for the first dodgeball tournament, presented by Wasted Talent, the dodgeball team that participated in the World Championships in Las Vegas last fall.

All proceeds from the event, right at $1,000, were donated to the Casey Sparling Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Team Caucasian Invasion cruised through the competition, posting wins over team World Champs and the Sophs.

In the semi-finals of the winner's bracket, The Invasion posted a win over the Jaundice-Stricken Jaguars to advance to the championship game in the double-elimination tournament.

Pre-tourney favorite, the Coaches, benefactors of a first-round bye, were sent to the loser's bracket by the Miller's.

The Miller's posted a win over Off Constantly in the opener.

The Sophs had an opening round win over Dodge Caravan (with front side airbags) before the loss.

The Divas (the all female team) were handed two straight losses as were the World Champs.

The Miller's and Coaches both battled through the loser's bracket before the Miller's claimed the upset win.

With the Jaguars lying in wait, the Miller's were stalked and eliminated.

The Jaguars then went on to beat the Invasion twice in the championship series.

Several individual awards were handed out on the day.

The Human Bullseye went easily to David Price. Price was the first one out nearly every match the Caravan played in.

Ty Mills took home the Laser-Rocket Arm award while Andrew Glasscock was the Artful Dodger winner.

Glasscock was crafty all day, and even eliminated Coach Tony Uggen in a one-on-one showdown to place the Miller's in the semi-finals of the loser's bracket.

Levi Allen took home the Best Hands certificate, coming up with numerous putouts via the catch.

The Dodge Caravans (with frontside airbags) won the Clark Fork Wampus Cats best team name award.

The Jaguars went on to beat a depleated Wasted Talent team.

After that was the free-for-all last-man standing contest.

Nate Dunn was the victor, outlasting the field.

Finally, Jared Tackett took home the Casey Sparling Memorial Dodgeball Tournament Sportsmanship Award for his etiquette on the day.

The works are in progress for a fall tournament next year.

Measuring Up

From the Wall Street JournalSource: Dorman Farrell LLC

Age___Savings to Income___Debt to Income 30___________0.1_____________1.70 35___________0.9_____________1.50 40___________1.8_____________1.25 45___________3.0_____________1.00 50___________4.5_____________0.75 55___________6.5_____________0.50 60___________8.9_____________0.20 65___________12.0_____________0.00

An example: If you are age 50 earning $100,000, you should have $450,000 in savings and $75,000 of debt.

Awesome Parody - Save a Joke, Write a Song

Click here for the link to the lyrics at Galleywinter It's a parody of Big & Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowyboy" It was done by Brad

or

Save a Joke, Write a Song

(intro) We are DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DE-DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DAA-DAAAAA Yes, we are DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DE-DUM-DE-DE-DUM, DE-DAA-DAA-DAA-DAA-DAAAA!

Well, I walk into the room Queer like $2 bills And it kills and it thrills like my little midget friend Phil And I get thrown out the bar upside down And now you’ve got a frown Because country music’s never gonna be the same

(Chorus:) Cause I sold out my soul and I got signed to a label Tried to make good music But I just wasn’t able Homeless men down on Broadway And an old one named Leroy They all say Save a joke, write a song Everybody says Save a joke, write a song

Well I don’t know how to sang or do nothing But be stupid, hey at least that’s something While the crowd is all Walking out! Just like I told ol Leroy I’ll be the grand marshall or drum major for your freak parade We’re the only Mili Vanilli left in this town

Repeat Chorus: Cause I sold out my soul and I got signed to a label Tried to make good music But I just wasn’t able Homeless men down on Broadway And an old one named Leroy They all say Save a joke, write a song Everybody says Save a joke, write a song

  (Spoken:) I'm extremely inbred that's what my mom said conceived in my dad’s truck bed As they were getting drunk Out on some back country road. My IQ’s not very high School yard rhymes and marketing have the clock ticking on our 15 min fame time And we’re goin just about as far as the public will let us go And people’s evaluation of our crappy reputation and our misrepresentations are all dead on So I’m telling you now I’m real sorry That I introduced our act to the country And sang y’all every terrible song that I wrote And yes we are dumb!

Cause I sold out my soul and I got signed to a label Tried to make good music But I just wasn’t able Homeless men down on Broadway And an old one named Leroy They all say Save a joke, write a song Everybody says Save a joke, write a song

New feature of The Bever Dam

I've added a Moblog to my site. (click on the word moblog for a definition). Even though I do not have a cell phone capable of taking pictures yet, this will allow me to take pictures and just email them to my textamerica.com account instead of setting up a gallery. To go to my textamerica account, just click on the picture under moblog on the left of this site. (this will always display the most recent addition to my moblog).

You can go directly there by clicking the link below.

MarcBever.com Moblog

The OTHER Marc Bever

The OTHER Marc BeverBidding Marc Bever, co-owner of Bever Livestock Auction, looks at the auctioneer as he points to a bidder during an auction a week ago Saturday.

Link to story about Bever Livestock Auction

"The Central Point auction was owned by Bud Bever. The Wilbur auction is owned by his son, Marc.

"I've pretty much been in the business my whole life," Marc Bever said.

Bever, 36, remembers coming to the Roseburg area for the auction as a child. Now he's running the show, along with wife, Amber, and teenage sons, Marc Jr. and Matthew."

:twilight zome music:

WILBUR -- One couple drove two hours to buy sheep, but departed with nothing.

Another man left the Bever Livestock Auction with a truck carrying 14 goats.

That's the way the bidding can go at the newly opened auction yard in Wilbur.

For some, the reopening of the livestock auction, on the site of the former Roseburg Livestock Auction Inc., is nothing short of a blessing.

"There is a need in this area for a sale," said Clyde Gauger of Riddle, who brought three, 750-pound heifers to sell.

Local livestock auctions appear to be dying off in rural communities. However, 100 or so people filled the auction arena in Wilbur on a recent murky Saturday morning.

They came from as far away as Cave Junction and Coquille to buy and sell livestock. The closest alternatives are in Eugene, Klamath Falls or even Northern California.

"We had one in Central Point, but they closed it down, so we had to come all the way here," said Jay Gould, who traveled more than 90 miles from Selma and purchased the 14 goats.

The Central Point auction was owned by Bud Bever. The Wilbur auction is owned by his son, Marc.

"I've pretty much been in the business my whole life," Marc Bever said.

Bever, 36, remembers coming to the Roseburg area for the auction as a child. Now he's running the show, along with wife, Amber, and teenage sons, Marc Jr. and Matthew.

While Bever says he's both surprised and pleased that people are coming from many miles away every Saturday, his family relocated to the area because "I want to take care of the people up here."

At the same time, he understands out-of-town buyers and sellers will probably be what sustains the business.

"The main thing is getting the word out," he said.

FAMILY LABOR The Central Point auction, called the Rogue Valley Livestock Auction, operated since the 1940s, originally by Marc Bever's grandfather, Bob.

It sold for "a lot of money" to a developer and closed in May. It was located in a growing area where, "everybody was subdividing," Bever said.

Roseburg Livestock Auction Inc., which operated for around 50 years, closed in May 2002. Between 1994 and that time, however, the yard sat idle for several years and went through a number of managers.

The Bevers then purchased the property and the first auction was last month.

"It still needs a lot of improvements, but it's up and going and going good," Bever said.

While it's tough to gauge the overall interest thus far, Bever said 150 head of cattle and 50 to 60 goats have, on average, passed through each week. Horses, rabbits, pigs and even llamas have been sold.

Amber Bever works the registration counter on auction day while Marc displays the animals for bidding. Their sons are also in on it all, making sure the animals are where they need to be.

Marc Bever said he hopes his sons will follow him in the family tradition -- a tradition that includes a lot of work.

"It's pretty hard to take a couple of days off," he said. "We might get a half-day off here or there, but it's pretty much a seven-days-a-week job. You've got to love the business."

AUCTION SPEAK Canyonville auctioneer Bob Brown handles the selling. His rapid-fire delivery offering up each livestock lot doesn't quite sound like English to those who aren't auction-savvy.

To bidders, who shot their hand up for every animal that came through the door, his words were obviously making sense.

"Wait till Christmas, it's going to cost you a hell of a lot more than four and a quarter," he said about a horse on the auction block. It sold for $500.

While Brown rattles off his own auctioneer language with a booming tone, often over the shrieking of animals on display, Bever keeps a keen eye on the crowd, pointing out bidders who throw their hands in the air.

Several times, he pointed at Tom and Kristy Rollins of Cave Junction.

The couple bought two horses, one for their grandchildren, some turkeys, a sheep and some ranch rope. They've been to the Bever auction four times already.

They take in numerous animals, often times hard-luck cases, usually to rehabilitate and relocate them to a good home.

"They'll have a donkey for $5, (then) she'll buy a donkey," Tom Rollins said of his wife.

One Coquille couple wasn't so lucky. Ron and Sabra Regel were disappointed in their first trip to the area's auction yard.

They drove two hours to buy sheep, but drove two more hours home with nothing. They said they probably won't be back until next summer.

"We came all the way here and there was only four sheep," Sabra Regel said.

The auction isn't just about the animals, however.

"It's a good social outing for old people," Kristy Rollins said with a laugh. "We just always have a good time."

MAKING IT WORK Tom and Kristy Rollins plan to be back and hope there will be an auction yard for them to return to.

Their only other reasonable options, they say, are traveling to Klamath Falls or driving over the Siskiyous to Cottonwood, Calif.

When Roseburg Livestock Auction Inc. closed more than two years ago, its owners said there weren't enough animals coming in to support the business. Today, there are other competing factors, including satellite bidding for livestock on television.

The Bever Livestock Auction manages to provide a comfortable atmosphere, according to Kristy Rollins. An auction is also better for her than buying and selling through advertisements.

"A lot of people, and that's me included, don't like dealing with the paper because you have to give people your address," she said.

Even with that advantage, Marc Bever knows it's going to take a lot of work to make just a little.

Bever gets a commission on each sale, which, for example, is 5 percent on cattle.

"You can't get rich at it, but it's kind of fun -- and a good challenge," he said.

The auction yard itself is small compared to setups in Eugene and Klamath Falls, Bever admits, but it does have room to expand. Bever would even like to one day feature an auction with furniture and other inanimate items.

For now, the auction is geared toward helping the "little guys," independent farmers and ranchers. Large-scale producers don't require an auction, Bever said, but many others need a place to deal their animals in order to make a living.

"Everybody's got a chance to bid on them," he said. "Most of the time, they're bringing more money than what you could on the ranch."