Last night I was having a hell of a time with my internet connection. I don't know what it is that Bellsouth AT&T does but ever since Bellsouth and AT&T became one big happy family again, my internet connection has been spotty as all heck.

I knew it was coming. I mentioned it back in October. As soon as AT&T got their hands on my little DSL modem's neck, all heck was going to break loose and it seems to have done just that. The problem I have with internet providers is the same problem I have with television providers. I have limited choices.

Cable does not run down my street. Why? I have no idea. I bet, if Charter Communications ran the cable down our street on a Monday, they would get 30 subscribers before Friday. But they wont, at least they say they wont. Heck, if someone selling satellite internet walked door to door on our street, they would probably pick up more than their fair share too.

My only options for internet access are dialup (via AT&T), DSL (via AT&T) and high speed satellite internet. I actually looked into HughesNet back in October, but I even with AT&T's crappy service, I could not justify the extra expense.

Satellite internet access has certainly come a long way in the past five years. Every time I think about it, I see all these bits of computer data streaming from the roof of my house up to the stars. I know, I am weird.

Tab Thacker, an NCAA championship wrestler who appeared in two "Police Academy" films and other Hollywood movies, has died after a long illness complicated by diabetes, according to North Carolina State University. He was 45.

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After his Hollywood stint, Thacker returned to Raleigh and opened a remodeling business and Heavyweight Bail Bonds.

He is survived by his three children Tahj, Raven and T.J.

Rest In Peace, Tab.

My grandfather died eight years ago, in fact, the anniversary of his death was just 11 days ago. I still miss him.

Before he died he was trying to teach me all about the stock market, long and short-term trading, and the advantages to having a very diverse portfolio. I never really "caught the fever" so to speak, because it was all Greek to me.

He was a great person and a very smart man, I wish now that I would have listened to him. I wish I would have paid attention and actually allowed him to mentor me when it came to the market. There are so many different types of investments to make, different ways you can trade stocks, like position trading, and so many different things to keep your eye on, I don't know if I will ever catch on, but I am trying.

I realize now, more than eight years later, the importance of making your money work for you, whether you invest it all for the long term, or whether you want to get into swing trading stocks.

He used to tell me that once I got my money working for me, I'd do okay. Now pardon me while I go do the dishes. My money says it can't do that yet either.

I've always been somewhat of an introvert. Except for a brief period of about five years, I have always felt more secure in a small close-knit group rather than in a large crowd of people. Blogging has brought out a lot in me, in the fact that I now feel comfortable enough to share with people, even if it is not face to face.

During that five years though, I was quite a character. I toyed with many different ideas and kept all my career options open. At one point I wanted to work in radio, or even doing voice overs, but once reality sunk in and I realized that many, many people would hear me, I would get nervous and rethink my idea.

I think I would have been good at voice overs, but not now. The field is very competitive for voice over talent and I don't think I would stand a chance. Plus, I love doing our weekly podcast, and I am looking forward to returning with my Test Pattern videos real soon.

When I think of voice talent, I can hear some of the more famous voices in my head. No, I do not hear these voices all the time, only when I am thinking of the talented people who do the voice overs.

I bet you're hearing one of them right now.

While promotional products have been my greatest tool for spreading the word about my blogs, my wife's greatest asset has been the brochures that she placed in local businesses over the course of the past year.

She first got the idea for Brochure Printing when she was in a local fabric store and noticed a few index cards and brochures for custom sewing on their back wall. She knew then that she needed to do something like that to help build her business, and it worked.

Within a week or so she had a basic concept of what she was looking for and set her sights on finding a company that specialized in Cheap Brochure Printing. BY the end of the next week she had the first box of 250 brochures to start handing out.

She placed several at the local fabric stores, and a few in the hobby and craft sections of other stores she would frequent. She received quite a few calls based on those brochures and within a month she made enough money to justify the cost of getting them all printed. All 1000 of them.

Getting the word out by using printing services really worked out for her, and the word of mouth from satisfied customers has kept people coming back ever since.