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High Oxygen Social Networking - Creating Local Internet Marketing Results: Focus Locally for Internet Marketing Strategies

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Internet Marketing for Small Businesses - Discover Local Online Marketing

Internet Marketing for Small Businesses
Discover Local Online Marketing

by

Kendell Lang, New Media Consultant

When others are running for cover, trying to figure out how to lose less than their competitors, now is the perfect time to ramp up your marketing efforts and go grab market share.  In order to do that, you need a WorldClass Search Engine Optimization Strategy.  There has never been a better time to get involved in online marketing, especially from a local marketing perspective. Businesses both small and large are moving away from traditional marketing channels like TV, radio, newspapers and magazines and turning to the Internet. Why? Because worldclass internet marketing with a local focus, geographically specific to your target audience has a far more effective way of reaching your target audience.  A local internet marketing strategy can be much less costly than traditional alternatives.  Consider these statistics from Forrester Research:


Over 80% of internet traffic begins at the search engine
73% of users perform searches several times a week.
81% of users begin their internet experience at the search engine.

Search engines, if you have strategically positioned your website for locally optimized results, reach valuable, motivated, and ready customers who are within reach of your geographic location. To capitalize on search as a marketing tool, marketers should shift acquisition email and ad dollars to search and use an outsourcer firm with a proven track record and no setup fees.

Local Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing for an offline business is no different than proper, quality marketing in the offline world, just in a digital format. More than ever consumers are making online searches with a local geographical focus in order to locate a product or services. Local Search Marketing is a more powerful way to focus your online marketing efforts to reach people in your community or a specific geographical area. Search engine users prefer to buy and work with local companies to whom they can physically visit.

Even traditional printed Yellow Pages are shifting their focus to local online marketing.  If not for this new strategic direction they would be dying off as more people begin to use the internet and search engines to look for and find local goods and services. There are five primary search companies, Google, Yahoo! MSN, Ask and AOL.  Each of them has become much more aware of this transition and have developed specific tools for businesses to get discovered locally through online searches.

You Must Be Discovered Locally

I fully understand the incredible power of local search marketing and I have created a unique marketing approach to fit most budgets.  You can check out my website at http://www.kendelllang.com/ or email me at kendell.lang@gmail.com and you can also call me directly to schedule an appointment at 760.445.3315.

Why is Social Networking Important To Me?

Eye of the Hurricane II by Kendell Lang

EYE OF THE HURRICANE II

by

Kendell Lang, New Media Consultant

Back in September I wrote, "the Banking system is Under water; according to the FDIC website, we have already seen more than THREE times as many banks Fail this year, than the last 10 years put together.  Some industry analysts are predicting more than 200 bank failures in 2009. Does that seem like a reasonable number?"

When I wrote that article in September the list was 94 failed banks.  Anybody keeping track?  Guess what? Since that article 84 more banks failed!   CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ENTIRE LIST OF 178 BANKS CLOSED IN 2009.  We only have to see 22 more banks fail to hit the predictions and we are definitely on that pace.

Did you know:

• On Friday, November 6, 2009, the FDIC announced the closure of 5 banks.
• United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, CA was closed by the California Department of Financial Institutions, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Receiver.
• United Commercial Bank  was not just another local bank, it had total assets of $11.2 billion and total deposits of approximately $7.5 billion.
  
  
  
  
• Click the FDIC logo to go to the Press Release
• No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed. All deposit accounts, excluding certain brokered deposits, have been transferred to East West Bank, Pasadena, CA ("assuming institution") and will be available immediately. The former United Commercial Bank locations will reopen as branches of East West Bank.
• Gateway Bank of St. Louis, Prosperan Bank of MN, Home Federal Savings Bank of MI and United Security Bank of GA were also closed and taken over by the FDIC on Friday.

Here's why I believe regional banks are failing. While larger financial institutions have received aid from the federal government, local and regional banks have found themselves left adrift. Nothing has changed in the fundamentals. Like their larger counterparts, many of these banks made risky loans to individuals and real estate developers during the boom years and are now facing large numbers of defaults as the Second Great Depression drags on.

Rising unemployment (THE HIGHEST SINCE 1983) has made it difficult for many individuals to keep up with expenses, and businesses are feeling the crunch of consumers’ reduced spending power. As a result, regional banks are left holding loans their customers can’t repay.

Problem banks list LOOMS LARGE! The FDIC keeps a list of “problem banks,” though it does not disclose the names to the general public out of fear that depositors at those institutions may prompt a “run on the bank.”  In June, the agency said 416 banks were at risk of failure — the highest level in 15 years!

Federal coffers running dry. An average of 11 banks have failed per month this year, and the federal coffer is thinning under the massive strain. The fund now stands at $7.5 billion, down significantly from $45 billion a year ago.  Folks...this is UNSUSTAINABLE!!!

So is our media asleep at the wheel or what? Why aren't we hearing about the most recent bank closures? The FDIC is shutting banks every Friday as part of a recurring theme to shut them down after close of business on Friday, and then re-open them on the following Monday under the control of some other bank. The dirth of any decent news coverage is irresponsible. I am wondering how long the FDIC's funding can support the losses. What's happening to our economy is unnerving, and banks are at the center of the crisis. The problem is...through all the economic stimilus, the root problem has not been solved and the banks continue to operate (and fold) acting as if everything is "business as usual."

This is not business as usual and we will pay the piper.

Controlling Your Personal Brand - Managing Your Online Reputation

Personal Brand Management
by
Kendell Lang, New Media Consultant

I am going to outline the facets of your “personal brand” and that often overlooked aspect of our relationships with others, your reputation.  Does your reputation stand to scrutiny when you’re not around. What do people say about you when you aren’t around? Or more importantly, what does your boss, current (or future) client, or other key stakeholders and partners say about you when you aren’t around? In a compensation review meeting when promotions to key positions are being discussed are you being considered?


The things that people say about you when you are not around is usually called your reputation. The way people think about you is not something you can control.  What you can control is your conduct, including the information that people can find about you and on which they will form an opinion leading to their perception of your reputation. A better way to think about reputation is that it’s your "personal brand.” Personal Brand Management is one of the biggest factors in your ultimate success on the job, with clients and around your community. Here’s the good news: for the most part, YOU completely control the information flow! Here’s the challenge – to control it appropriately, you may need some essential business coaching, to learn some essential facets of personal brand marketing, reputation management and talent management (a.k.a. “human resource management”).


Three things make up your personal brand – your experience (i.e. what you’ve done in the past), your skills (i.e. what you are capable and comfortable doing), and your attitude (i.e. how you conduct yourself, particularly under stress). These are the things that others remember and discuss when the conversation becomes about you, without you. However, having a great personal brand may not be enough by itself – like any developing brand, marketing yourself is required. Key stakeholders need to know your skills, experiences, and attitudes…so check out your reputation by starting with evaluating your online personal brand. What does a search on Google for your name yield?  Is it correct, is it what you want other people to know about you, is it formatted the way you want to be viewed?

This sort of internal “reputation management and personal brand marketing” is essential in your career, especially if you’re seeking a career change or in fact re-entering the workforce from a layoff, as a Mom returning to work, or establishing new independent career goals. If in fact your career change results, like so many of these actually do, in reliance on decision makers and stakeholders you don’t actually know (for example future clients or employers learning about you on the Internet), your personal brand and reputation management actions require a degree of Internet Information Marketing and Management skills. This is to ensure you come across the way you desire when people search for you, or your services, on the Internet, in social media channels, or through business and information directories.


If one needs to treat ones self on the web as a brand, then how do I manage my Brand, reputation, build a trusted profile, keep it alive?  You need professional assistance to do Career Management, Personal Brand Managemnt, Reputation Management. Are you prepared to manage twitter, facebook, flickr, delicious, linkedin, tweety, blog and do your job?

There is a streamlined approach to dealing with all this, so for more information regarding personal online marketing, personal brand management and reputation management, please contact Kendell Lang at 760.445.3315 or kendell.lang@gmail.com.

Book Proposal Query Letter - Copyrighted Author Submission

Query Letter Book Proposal

(c) Copyright 2009, Kendell Lang, All Rights Reserved

Dear Publisher:

I am ready to submit a detailed book proposal for "Gardner's of Eden: Quest for the God Particle" so I look forward to hearing back from you once you've had a chance to review this proposal.

BOOK TITLE                                                                                     

Gardner's of Eden: Quest for the God Particle

BOOK SUMMARY                                                                           

Logline: All secret societies have a beginning. This is the original secret society from which all others were born.

Before the Seven Society, the Skull and Bones or Scroll and Key, before the Japanese Yakuza, the Italian or Russian Mafia, before the Priory of Sion, the Illuminati, Opus Dei, the Knights Templar or the Free Mason Society, and...even before the Nine Unknown, a more ancient secret society had been formed.

The Gardner's of Eden.

This is the predecessor to all secret societies. Initiated shortly after the birth of creation itself, this group was genetically programmed to protect and hide a world-changing secret.

Many prophecies talk about world-ending scenarios, but this secret holds the key to the beginning of eternity. A secret that God himself did not want revealed.

Throughout the ages a select group of guardians has been tasked to protect the Garden of Eden and to keep secret the location of the sacred Tree of Life. Unlike Ponce de León's quest for the Fountain of Youth, historical documentation and current scientific research point to the existence of the ultimate fountain of youth. The facts being revealed in this story are historically validated, independently researched and independently verifiable.

THE PROBLEM: Programmed Cell Death ("PCD")                             

Let's put this first into a simple context to which everyone can relate. Salmon. Everyone knows what happens to salmon...they live for 4 years in the ocean, find their way back up to the stream where they were spawned, lay their eggs and die. They die from programmed cell death...PCD. If you catch salmon right after they spawn... you find they have huge adrenal glands, peptic ulcers, and kidney lesions, their immune systems have collapsed... and they have stupendously high glucocorticoid concentrations in their bloodstreams. When salmon spawn, regulation of their glucocorticoid secretion breaks down... But is the glucocorticoid excess really responsible for their death? Yep. Take a salmon right after spawning, remove its adrenals, and it will live for a year afterward.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? Not quite so. Human beings go through a much more complex programmed cell death, but this too has been the subject of much research. For those who believe in the Bible it provides both an answer to human death, and eternal life...if you eat from the Tree of Life, you live forever. Something in the fruit of the tree of life reverses the curse of death.

There is a genetic code that triggers PCD and a theoretical equal and opposite genetic code that switches off PCD. It is the potential to reverse the genetic code of PCD that has led to the quest for the "God particle."

From a scientific perspective Programmed Cell Death ("PCD") - is the deliberate suicide of an unwanted cell in a multicellular organism, also known as Phenoptosis (pheno - showing or displaying a type, ptosis - programmed death) signifies the programmed death of an organism, ie that its biology includes features that under certain circumstances will cause it to degenerate and die off. Phenoptosis is a common feature of living beings, whose ramifications for humans is still being explored. What was once thought to be a simplistic linear genetic pathway to cellular death has now evolved into a much more highly evolved understanding of an intertwined complex systems structure, with the ultimate code still yet to be unlocked.

Billions of dollars have been spent searching for the key to unlock this mystery, and the public presentation of what is being done from a research perspective is a very different story from the reality of the lengths and depths that corporate profiteers will go to gain control of the secret.

THE QUEST: Search for God Particle                                                

Two parallel tubes one hundred meters below Geneva's western suburbs carry high-energy particles, protons, in opposite directions around the tunnel at close to the speed of light. In a dimly lit tunnel that runs in a circle for 27km (17 miles), at the foot of the Jura Mountains, where Switzerland meets France, is a laboratory so vast it boggles the mind. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is an impossibly complicated machine that smashes atomic particles together at super-fast speeds.

The belief is that this science has the potential to unlock the secrets of the Universe. By recreating the searing-hot conditions believed to have been necessary to have accounted for the Big Bang, Jacard Rouseau intends to disprove the existence of the "God particle." What he is about to discover... gives new dimensions to science that could unravel the very framework of organized religion.

Zachariah Madison was very clear about the implications for the value of his stock in Viagitas. If there truly is a fruit which contains a formula by which PCD can be forever wiped out, think about the ramifications! The economic value for this formula would dwarf the current value of the top 1000 wealthiest pharmaceutical companies, and in fact would likely wipe them off the map in terms of why they would even need to exist any longer. Could the existence of this fruit be true? The scientific community is driving research at a level that is making astonishing strides towards understanding the mechanisms of PCD, and ultimately how to retard and potentially reverse or eliminate PCD altogether. Man becomes god and reverses the curse of death, that's what they're really after. The Quest for Immortality. But what if this offer of access to this fabled tree of life is for real? Is it possible that Jake really found it?

The public debate about stem cell research and cloning is just a shadow of the real debate and the real battles going on far below the public radar screen. This truly is a question about eternity, regardless of your fundamental belief system...and people are killing to control it.

THE CONSPIRACY                                                                        

This secret society, the Gardner's, is convinced that man, regardless of advances in science and technology should not be allowed to succeed in discovering the formula to eradicate PCD. They believe there is a spiritual destiny where God is in control of the finite lifespan of Mother Earth, and that until God's ultimate plan to forever solve the battle between good and evil, the search for the fountain of youth or the cure to PCD will be ongoing. They believe that God has tasked them with keeping secret the location of the Garden of Eden and its' precious grove containing the Tree of Life, and that the very success of God's ultimate plan rests on their ability to protect this secret.

Jake Backster is convinced that his years of investment in Life Science companies have been for naught. Although fame and fortune have come his way because of his success in a variety of biotechnology innovations, he just can't let go of the idea that there's something very simple that he's missed all these years. Even though Jake is an avowed Agnostic, he has uncovered a mystery which has led him to the conclusion that there is no other possibility than that the Garden of Eden exists and the Tree of Life inside that Garden holds the key for which he's been searching. Jake is the master of alliances and double cross. His ability to enlist what would otherwise be mortal enemies is part of his chameleon character. He also possesses a unique ability to move through political networks which give him access to resources not usually available. He is going to have to work fast to pull off the perfect plan.

Given enough time and enough diligence, every conspiracy can be uncovered, and that has been the quest on which Jake now finds himself. To uncover the hidden location of the Garden of Eden and find the Tree of Life. The Gardner's of Eden have been protecting that location since the beginning of recorded time. This secret society has been tasked with protecting the hidden location of the Garden of Eden, and to keep safe the location of the tree of life.

THE HEROINE: Archeologist Heroine                                                

As a staunch believer in the historical validity of the Bible, Michelle is convinced that the Garden of Eden still exists. Her theology is now on a collision course with her profession.

If the Garden truly exists, does her professional responsibility take a back seat to her personal beliefs? Should the existence of the Garden be revealed? What does she know about the Garden of Eden? The only thing she can glean from the Bible concerning the Garden of Eden's location is found in Genesis 2:10-14;

"A river watering the garden flowed from Eden;
from there it was separated into four headwaters.

The name of the first is the Pishon;
it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where

there is gold...The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through

the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris;

it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."

The exact identities of the Pishon and Havilah rivers is unknown, but the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are well known. If the Tigris and Euphrates mentioned there are the same rivers by those names today, that would put the Garden of Eden somewhere in the middle east, likely in Iraq.

People have searched for the Garden of Eden for centuries to no avail. There are various locations that people claim to be the original location of the Garden of Eden, but one thing Michelle is sure about, they haven't found it yet.

What happened to the Garden of Eden? The Bible does not specifically say. If it exists, do the cherubim's still guard and protect access to the tree of life? Who are the cherubim's and are they truly the guardian's of this eternal secret? The existence of Cherubims has been documented throughout the ages, including during the time of Noah, Moses and at the crucifixion of Christ. All through Israel's history of the Temple in Jerusalem and the Tabernacle, two giant Cherubims guarded the holiest of holies containing the Ark of the Covenant.

Michelle is at the right place at the wrong time...Iraq is not the place to be for a brunette, tiger-eyed female who looks like she just finished a photo shoot for the next Laura Croft movie. The dichotomy of a sexy archeologist would be trouble on any continent, but Michelle's about to find out what Shiria law is all about.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR                                                                    

What Qualifies Me? I am a technical entrepreneur with deep industry knowledge providing verifiable science and research to give validity to my writings. I have been published in numerous industry and trade association publications and technical white papers. I am currently writing two other books, non-fiction titled "HyperDistribution: How to Market to Young Adults" and another titled "Journey of a Lifetime: Young Adult Travel Adventures". I am a subject matter expert in software development, online marketing and have obtained industry recognition for Search Engine Optimization, including having written extensively about search engine ranking. I am credited with coining the phrase "hyperdistribution" which is a new online method of marketing which is described in detail in my proposal and the subject of one of my other non-fiction books. I have authored numerous internal company publications, dozens of business plans, executive summaries for successful investor offerings and numerous policy manuals. I have written for numerous websites, including writing the website www.pattilang.com, a six year journey chronicling my late wife's battle against brain cancer. I have also written the website content for www.JourneyofaLifetime.com. I am a published author for a cookbook titled, "Cicciotti's Kitchen" Italian Family Favorites, featuring Gaetano Cicciotti.

One of the key elements to consider when evaluating whether to represent me and this book is the subject matter expertise I bring to the table. As a seasoned entrepreneur with direct industry experience in the areas covered by this book, I bring credibility to the information provided. The immersive style of scientific detail and a penchant for facts which can all be independently verified gives an unusually reality that stands up to the most critical reader. There is also the considerable momentum the author can contribute to the overall marketing of the book through a comprehensive distribution strategy which supports and enhances all the traditional book distribution opportunities. In addition to developing traditional and interesting publicity hooks and novel selling approaches, the author is uniquely qualified to bring about a new distribution method for this guidebook, including;

• HyperDistribution (peer-to-peer platform networking)
• DVD Distribution
• Broadband and Viral Distribution
• Search Engine Distribution

TARGET AUDIENCE                                                                           

The market for action adventure fiction novels is mature and sophisticated. Finding a quality piece of work that can pass the test of this discerning audience is certainly the opportunity.

The reader's of New York Times Best-Selling adventure authors is a highly prized demographic.

Angels and Demons meets Tom Clancy meets Doomsday thriller where biblical myths collide with biotechnology and scientific advances, where a normal guy superhero stands between special ops supermen and their limitless funders who provide more high tech weapons than a Chronicles of Riddick flick.

The audience is going to find a premise that is simultaneously plausible, historically and scientifically valid and yet edge-of-the-seat thriller fantastic.

COMPETING TITLES                                                                        

This list of titles and authors in the action adventure novel and intelligence thrillers arena is long and distinguished. This adventure thriller is characterized by action, fast pace, plot twists and a resourceful heroine who must overcome overwhelming odds to outwit more-powerful and better-equipped villains. My writing includes suspense, red herrings and cliffhangers used to keep readers engaged. This story winds through a fascinatingly complex transformation through a dramatic rendering of reality, science, psychology, and political intrigue all woven together in new ways for a sensory-starved audience.

The Gardner's of Eden is different because the author is different. The story is honed from personal experience, personal knowledge and from personal tragedy. Each chapter weaves a plausible, unique and compelling story, all immersively tied to the visual anchors of validating almost every component of the story easily navigated by searching the web. For those reader's who were mesmerized by the likes of Tom Clancy, James Rollins, Michael Crichton, Nelson DeMille, Dan Brown or James Clavell, the Gardner's of Eden will insure that a new and vibrant writer has joined the ranks of this celebrated list.

The Gardner's of Eden is part of an emerging genre of web-supported reality novels where readers can visit actual locations, confirm scientific reports and verify corporate investments in life science technologies that are current and compelling. There are signs of this emerging market trend to focus on reality-based novels, for example:

• Tom Clancy - the Hunt for Red October (shockingly detailed and accurate with what was supposed to be classified information at the time), Red Storm Rising, Debt of Honor, Clear and Present Danger, Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears.
• James Rollins - the Sigma Series (Sandstorm, Map of Bones, Black Order, The Judas Strain, The Last Oracle and The Doomsday Key), and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
• Dan Brown - Digital Fortress, Angels & Demons, Deception Point, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol.
• Nelson DeMille - By the Rivers of Babylon, Mayday, Cathedral, The Talbot Odyssey, Word of Honor, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, The General's Daughter, Plum Island, The Lion's Game, Up Country, Night Fall, Wild Fire and The Gate House.

Yet none of these authors have fully delivered on the online integration of story elements. While there was illustrated version of the Da Vinci Code, and an illustrated coffee table guidebook to the locations and artworks, it really didn't hit the high mark of total online integration. This is more than just a special movie tie-in version of the novel. What I am proposing to deliver is essentially a digital online book that has almost every major piece of technical or scientific information hyper-linked for easy and immediate resourcing.

SPECIAL MARKETING                                                                   

Embedded Advertising is becoming more and more sophisticated. Theatrical release of the most recent James Bond movie embedded everything from Omega watch advertising to Ford. The restaurant chain Cheesecake Factory now embeds advertising from sponsors in their menus! I am proposing a novel approach to partner with our publisher and to obtain upfront embedded advertising from select Product Sponsors.

Because this is a global thriller encouraging travel and accommodations, seven main Product Sponsorship areas of focus (not including ancillary product placements) are priorities for this book: Airlines, Hotels, Rental Cars, Search Engines, Computers, Beverages and Clothing. Please see the Product Partners section for more details about each of these opportunities.

In addition to the Product Sponsorship, we are working with a highly specialized Media Services organization which is helping us prepare a sophisticated and comprehensive viral and hyper distribution marketing strategy.

Most 18-year-old students, our Digital Youth, entering the graduating class of 2010 this fall were born in 1990. They grew up with a cell phone in one hand, a mouse in the other and a computer screen as part of their worldview. They learned to surf the internet as they learned to read. While they were still in their cribs, the 20th century started to close as the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet bloc disintegrated, and frequent traditional wars in Latin America gave way to the uncontrolled terrors of the Middle East. For them: Billy Carter, Lucille Ball, Gilda Radner, Billy Martin, Andy Gibb, and Secretariat have always been dead. This year's entering students form a generation that has always been 'connected' and is used to things happening in 'real time,' like live satellite coverage of revolutions and wars, instant messaging and movies on demand. They expect solutions for every problem, from baldness to diseased organs. To the chagrin of traditional media outlets, they've developed their own generational means of communication. If you don't know how to reach this audience through podcasting or webisodes, you'll never understand how this next generation of readers is going to find and read works of interest.

HyperDistribution: a distribution channel utilizing a variety of peer-to-peer technologies which is even more efficient at reaching a target audience than any single method of channel distribution such as print, email, video, social networking, direct mail, network and online broadcasting. If you don't know what HyperDistribution is, then you don't know about YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. If you've never checked out online content forums and social media sites like Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us and Newsvine, then you'll need to explore those to understand what's going on.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this Book Proposal.



I wait in eager anticipation for your call.


Best personal regards,


Kendell Lang

"THE MAN IS BECOME AS ONE OF US ... now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat and live forever: ... he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life"...."And on either side of the river there was the Tree of Life which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations...Blessed are they that do His Commandments that they might have right to the Tree of Life and may enter in through the gates into the City," Genesis 3:22,24; Revelation 22:2,14.

Fountain of Eternal Youth

CONCLUSION IS AN ILLUSION

CONCLUSION IS AN ILLUSION

If there could be such a thing as a good day to die, this would be it. Particularly for someone so full of life, always a ray of sunshine…the counter statement of the heavens to open the tear ducts of the angels and pour forth their sorrow to see a sister in Christ lay down her life without angst or anger, but in peace amid the storm. It is befitting that the soul of Mother Nature would become gray and mourns the passing of one of her sweetest inhabitants. The world is full of people passing time, and people die every day, but this day is different because this person is different. Because we know our rewards will be different in heaven, it’s logical to assume that special lives deserve special note and will not pass without reverberations through the fabric of our lives.

How did it come to this? Where in the world would you go to prepare yourself for something like this? For all the marvels of modern medicine, and despite the compassion and caring concern of Hospice workers, going through this has been worse than being on death row. Without committing any crime, without deserving such an unjust end, the sentence of death is not even accompanied by a date certain for closure. Even death row inmates are at least given the courtesy of a last meal and a date when they will transition to the afterlife. The cruelty of the death sentence imposed by cancer can only be described as horrific. To endure such a fate without complaint is a testimony to my wife’s faith and trust in her Lord and Savior.

I do not understand the necessity for someone to go through what she is enduring. How does this shape her character? How does this bring her closer to Christ? What is it in this experience that glorifies God? All of a sudden the attraction of why people would contact Kevorkian to assist in transition becomes crystal clear. It is an unfathomable option until you yourself sit by the bedside of your spouse and watch day after day as her body eats in on itself. But then you see her going through all this without one complaint, without anger, absent any questions of “why me?” and you start to understand the depth of her trust in God. Not some untested hypothetical book knowledge, but deeply honed love, trust and faith which is carrying her through this trial. This is her cross and this is her test which qualifies her to hear those sweet words of welcome which don’t even need to be written.

There are definitions for some things which you just shouldn’t have to learn, like terminal agitation or terminal secretions…hideous words from which you only cringe more when you actually understand the definition.

The beauty of the human condition and our ability to experience the greatest depth of relationships in life is dependent upon our willingness to experience the wretched despair and indescribable grief of losing the love of your life. The experience of my wife being taken out of this life is equally opposite in dark magnitude as was the radiance of her love expressions during our sweetest times together. I chose to remember the sweetness.

Throughout this tapestry of chaos and pain in losing the love of my life, there is an amazing thread being woven in God's amazing plan, an incredible symmetry of balance and purpose where we are given glimpses of the nature of God. Beautiful and simple, majestic and complex; just a pure revelation for me tonight which was both perfect in timing and substance. What an amazing thing this conversation was that I just had. Before I share the details of this gift, you need to have just a little more background.

Angie (name changed)...what a project she was. She was on my daughter Kjersti's soccer team a few years back, a talented athlete. We had the opportunity to get to know her and her family through our association on the soccer field. What started out as rides to soccer games turned into a friendship that revealed a dark and tormented young soul. Someone hiding behind gothic rage to try and blend in with the youth of today. So tormented that her mother didn't know what to do with her. Her friends were afraid for her, and Kjersti worried for her. Small signs turned into huge warning flags...long sleeve sweatshirts in the dead heat of summer, when lifted would reveal the scars of self-cutting. Angie hated herself so much and hated her life so much that she would cut herself just so she would know whether she was alive or not. Her senses so deadened that she didn't know whether her emotional pain was real or not, so she had to inflict physical pain on herself to create some sense of reality. A latchkey kid from a divorced family, an older sister who was an over-achiever, vegetarian going to Berkeley and seemingly had her act together. Angie struggled with the simplest things, and yet wrestled in very obvious ways with some of the most profound issues of life; why am I here...what is my purpose, does my life matter, what does it matter whether I live or die, will anyone notice if I'm gone?

In the midst of this turmoil God placed our family with a plan in mind. Kjersti was a teammate and friend to Angie. Patti and I coached, mentored and encouraged Kjersti to pray for Angie, be a friend to Angie and help Angie realize there was a purpose for her life. More than anyone, Patti prayed for Angie, prayed for her situation, prayed for her mother, prayed for her father and prayed that Kjersti would be used by God to reach Angie. We reached out to Angie on many occasions, letting her know we were there for her in whatever way we could be. We invited her to our home, Kjersti invited her to attend church...Patti reached out to her Mom. Patti never judged, she just let Angie's Mom know she was available...and several times Angie's Mom would call Patti at wits end, crying and at a loss, not knowing what to do or how to deal with Angie. Patti was always there, always listened, always encouraged...and always prayed.

We lost touch with Angie for some time...until tonight. I get a phone call, and a shaky voice on the other end of the phone asks, "is Mrs. Lang there?" I wasn't quite sure, but I thought I recognized Angie's voice. I told her this was Mr. Lang and asked her what I could do for her. She proceeded to tell me that she was Angie, that she used to play soccer with Kjersti and she wasn't sure whether I remembered her or not. I assured her that I did remember her and knew exactly who she was. Angie said she was just wondering if she could talk with Mrs. Lang. I thought for a moment, and wasn't sure exactly what to do, so I just told her the truth. "Angie honey...I'm so sorry you hadn't heard the news, but my wife, Patti, Mrs. Lang...passed away six weeks ago. I'm so sorry to tell you this on the phone, I know that has to be such a shock, I'm sorry." Crying on the other end of the phone. "Mr. Lang, I'm so sorry, I had no idea." I say, "it's alright Angie, you had no way to know, I'm just sorry you had to hear from me this way." Angie says, "I'm so sorry for Kjersti, how is she doing?" I let her know, "Kjersti is doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances, it's really hard to lose your Mom. She has a strong faith and she knows where her Mom is."

Angie says, "I always knew that about your family. You were always so kind to me, and I'm going through a program right now that I wanted you to know about. I'm in a Christian school program that is really helping me, and I wanted to know if it would be okay if I came to visit you when I'm done with the program in about five months or so?" I told her we'd love to see her, and that we'd continue praying for her. "Mr. Lang, I'm a Christian now and as part of my program I was encouraged to contact people who influenced my life, and that is why I called to talk with Patti. I just love your family and want to thank you for being there for me. I just always knew you were strong Christians and I really want to stay in touch with you."

"Angie, I can't tell you how happy that makes me" I say as the tears are streaming down my face. "Really, it may not sound like it, but I'm really quite happy that you called and I know it would mean a lot to Patti to know you called because you thought of her. It is very special to me to know you thought about her, and I'll be sure to let Kjersti know." Angie says, "Mr. Lang, I do daily devs now...so I'll pray for you and Kjersti."

After making sure Angie promised to keep in touch and let us know when she'd finished her program, I hung up the phone and just wept. I wept because I miss my Patti, but more than that I wept because God knew I needed a boost, something to let me know there was more purpose in her life than I could possible imagine...something tangible for me to hang on to that let me know she had been used for His glory beyond what I could currently know. Just one life...just one young woman who was touched for the Kingdom. You never know who, where, when or why...but in this instance I thank God for giving me this glimpse, just one slice into the pie of heaven we are one day going to experience when all the Angie stories of our lives will fall into place. Patti touched many lives, most of all mine, but God knew I needed to hear this story tonight.

Chapter 7 - THE PLANNING

THE PLANNING

Plan the work…work the plan.

The First Law of Outcomes is quickly followed by the Second Law of Outcomes.

Chapter 6 - THE FORMULA

THE FORMULA

Every result happens because it was determined by some formula. This is one of those absolutes, like the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, immutable. In this situation, the logic of the formula is so simple as to be considered improbable. But in simplicity lies a certain perfection. Simplicity in the logic says; results come from choices made… based upon decisions influenced by our emotions… which come from feelings backed by our passions and convictions… which are underpinned by our beliefs… which are shaped by our thoughts… which are influenced by our inputs.

Said in reverse, you arrive at the formula for the First Law of Outcomes;

Inputs --> Thoughts --> Beliefs --> Convictions --> Emotions --> Decisions --> Results

Just as the First Law of Thermodynamics simply states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, the First Law of Outcomes describes that every human interaction can be explained by, or reduced to identifiable root causes. There is not an encounter that you or I have experienced that cannot be mapped to the First Law of Outcomes. Every successful psychological evaluation, every self-help guru, every talk show host, every third grade bully and every Nobel Prize winner can be evaluated and understood by this First Law of Outcomes.

Every conflict in the history of time follows the formula. The Crusades were conducted all in the context of the inputs that a few men in power received, how they thought about that input, how they formulated their beliefs about those thoughts, what convictions they developed based on those beliefs, what emotions drove them forward to the decisions they reached, which led to the results that changed the face of the planet forever.

Chapter 5 - THE PLAYERS

THE PLAYERS

Relationships are what people are all about. Good, bad or indifferent, the players in our lives shape the history of our time on this planet.

more to come....stay tuned!

Chapter 4 - THE SETUP

THE SETUP

The perfect setup is the one where no one, not politicians, not lobbyists, not lawyers or human rights activists…no one, can imagine that the perfect set of circumstances will be brought into play where all the elements of the perfect plan will be played out with such precision that it would defy explanation. It would appear too grand, too contrived, too spectacular for any single person or entity to have orchestrated the perfect setup. Think about some of the great events that have marked time and space. The Cuban missile crisis, the falling of the Berlin wall, the implosion of the Savings and Loan Associations, the Stock Market crash, the Patriot Act, Sarbanes-Oxley. All seem to be driven by a confluence of factors that would defy control or influence by one individual. Yet that is the perfect setup. To have an event at the magnitude of a perfect economic storm, something that affects everyone, yet seems uncontrollable by the power of men. Just like a perfect storm, the perfect setup combines forces that are propelling and buffeting the outcome just like a series of interrelated and interconnected weather systems. The perfect setup will bring about seemingly unrelated disturbances, swift and global. As the clouds gather and the wind stiffens, the world sails onward in oblivion, with no apparent adjustment in course, full steam ahead. All without realizing that they’ve just experienced the perfect setup. While many are willing to imagine in detail what a perfect economic storm would look like, virtually none will forecast precisely when - or if - it will start. And so it remains a vague and distant possibility. Precisely the environment that supports the ability to achieve the perfect setup.

Chapter 3 - THE BACKGROUND

Chapter 3

THE BACKGROUND

To lay out the perfect plan, you have to understand a few things. First, it is all about relationships. Everything in life, no matter how you frame it, boils down to relationships. If you could take human nature out of whatever equation you’re dealing with, you could do it perfect every time. I could have been a multi-billionaire several times if it weren’t for human nature. Unfortunately, that’s not the world in which we live, so you have to deal with people. The beauty of the perfect plan is that I did it completely in isolation. If you bring one other person into the equation, it won’t be perfect. If you tell anyone about it, it will be foiled. One of the keys to the perfect plan is to create a vacuum from which it can be launched without any dependency on another human being.


That isn’t to say the perfect plan can’t include people, it just has to be done without them knowing about it. How perfect is that? Using peoples time, skills and motivations to help me accomplish the perfect plan. All without them knowing they are accomplishing a piece in a fabric of events woven together in a way that they fulfill their part of the plan just by going about their daily routine.

In my life, there have been many instances where human nature has failed me. I’m not interested in going down any path of psycho-babble analysis of my life, but it is interesting to see how various individuals have helped shape the perfect plan. The culmination of our character is significantly shaped by external influences, in most cases that is contact with other people. The contacts that most influenced my development of the perfect plan are an interesting sample of the broad spectrum of characters.

I find human nature fascinating, probably from the earliest experiences of seeing human failures and being impacted by poor choices. The perfect plan assumes that you can’t be impacted by other peoples choices, good or bad, so you have to anticipate at a level of 5th dimensional chess what possible alternatives could come from various influences. The beauty of the perfect plan is that it anticipates the incongruities of human nature and the absolute certainty that people will screw up.

Chapter 2 - THE MOTIVATIONS

THE MOTIVATIONS

The reason I can write this is because it was the perfect plan. Perfection is an interesting word, subject to definition. The perfect plan. You’ve always dreamed of it. The idea that sparks the imagination of probably every human being at one time or another. The single plan that if perfectly planned and perfectly executed would bring fame and fortune to the author. Probably every tree-fort gathering or slumber party conversation at some point or another has gotten around to talking about the perfect plan.

What is really interesting is the first place your mind went as your imagination was triggered from the paragraph above. You may have thought about it in the context of a great business idea or novel invention – the next pet rock. But the reality is most people went immediately to thinking about the perfect crime. There was no reference to anything positive or negative, just the perfect plan. What motivates the direction of our thinking is really the underlying story behind this story. The story I’m about to share is really about motivations and what drove me to conceive of the perfect plan, which put my path on an intersection with history.

What would drive a forty-two year old father of two great kids to spend time thinking about the perfect plan? By a normal worldview, I have achieved “success”. I have been married to a beautiful wife for 19 years. I have a beautiful home in one of the greatest cities in the United States. We have the obligatory two dogs, both with personalities that make them part of the family. We have a circle of friends with whom we have long and deep relationships, honed by years of both fun and crisis. We have a large back yard, swimming pool, and a home that lends itself to entertaining. Our kids attend a private Christian school in a beach town. My bank account has a few zeros at the end of a few numbers. I have established a reputation as a seasoned technology professional and have a backlog of organizations wanting me to help them design their strategic technology plans. We take great vacations to exotic places around the globe. Yet, there was something driving me to conceive the perfect plan. What would move someone who seemingly has everything to spend time and energy devising something that may or may not be possible? You might think it was finally coming to grips with mortality, going through a life-and-death situation can motivate you to think differently, but that wasn’t it. You might think it was wanting to leave a legacy, something that would mark my existence on this planet, but that wasn’t it. You might think it was finding my destiny, accomplishing something with purpose, but that wasn’t it.

There is absolutely no good reason for me to spend time crafting the perfect plan, but that is part of why it’s perfect. I didn’t need to do. I really didn’t have any motivation, so it couldn’t be traced back to me. It wouldn’t fit and therefore couldn’t be brought back to my doorstep. Most of what I’ve learned about institutions or organizations that try to protect their wealth or their constituents do so under the assumption that everyone has a motivation. For those in an organization trying to protect either their assets or their people, they rely on human nature to be predictable. They rely on the majority of the population being bound by some code of conduct, those over-arching boundaries that keep most of society within acceptable conduct. It is only the exceptions for which they can plan. They can only hope to anticipate the plan of their enemies by anticipating their motivations. They have to assume that human behavior is repeatable and predictable. They have to assume that profiling is a science that actually works, and they have to assume that the criminal intent is motivated by something that will ultimately cause it to be foiled, discovered or caught. Most criminals are stupid. There are very few criminals in the history of the world who demonstrated brilliance at their craft. They were generally always motivated by something that ultimately caused their demise. Something that caused their plan to be imperfect.

The beauty of the perfect plan is that none of those assumptions apply. I’m not motivated by money, I’ve got that. I’m not motivated by power, which holds no fascination. I’m not stupid, as you’ll discover. What is intriguing about the perfect plan is that it can’t be discovered, it can’t be thwarted and you’d never knew it happened unless I told you about it in this story. It is also really amazing to think that the perfect plan doesn’t have any repercussions. No one is hurt, now law is broken and nothing in my life changes. The only outcome of the perfect plan that you’re aware of is that I did it because I’m telling you about it.

Chapter 1 - PERFECTION

Chapter 1

PERFECTION

Perfection is an interesting word, conjuring up many thought images, and subject to a variety of intriguing interpretations. The very notion of perfection is classic: Ancient Greece considered perfection as something stable, achieved, and not subject to change. There is perfection in being all powerful; some would argue this as God, in whatever manner you chose to believe in a Supreme Being. There is perfection in being all knowing; from the context of a divine nature, as opposed to those who profess to be all knowing but fall markedly short. There is perfection in being everywhere; only possible if you believe in an all-powerful entity. There is perfection in being all good; although the conundrum of evil has motivated arguments that an omnipotent God could not possess this perfection. There is a strange perfection of being all evil; although the conundrum of good has motivated arguments that God could not possess this perfection. There is perfection of not being anywhere; an ability that so far has eluded me. There is the perfection of being all things to all people; a trait to which my wife aspires, or more succinctly to which she would have me aspire.

The perfection in anything, in any one, should be measured by the Laws of Nature, which are marked off by certain definite boundaries. In the case of virtue, a character trait assumed to be part of perfection, we have learned from history that its limit of perfection is the fact that it has no limit. It is impossible to attain perfection since perfection is not marked off by limits. When you come up against the limit of virtue…which is the absence of a limit, how then can one argue for the perfection of human nature? Perhaps the answer lies in its very growth in goodness, something my father once told me about “the process” of perfection.

The perfect Father

The role of our parents; father and mother….arguably the most influential roles in the shaping of our characters, defines to a large extent our definition and therefore the possibility of perfection. In trying to evaluate the attributes of the perfect father, you can expect that a perfect father is one who teaches their son how to become young man, their young man how to become an adult man and their adult man how to be a good father and husband. Along the way, they are supposed to also teach their daughter how a real man is supposed to be, and how a husband is really supposed to treat a wife. Father’s dispense sage advice to their children on all the issues that arise during their growth from the time they are infants until they are adults. Along the way fathers help guide their children through the tough decisions and the life challenges that arise. Father’s treat the mothers of their children properly and give them respect, again modeling correct behavior for their children. While modeling this behavior a father must still assure their wife of her value, beauty and constant wonder.

As far as I can ascertain, this world has yet to produce a man who has been a perfect father, husband, leader, provider etc, so when we examine the majority of fathers we find a collection of men with lives full of broken relationships, failed attempts, should have/could have/would have, and inconsistent actions. Due to divorce, abandonment (both literal and emotional), lack of concern, and general apathy, today’s world is rarely comprised of ideal marriages, complete families and solid relationships. So, we have to realize that no father is perfect. A part of evaluating perfection must include some reflections on how our relationship with our fathers, and how a father’s relationship with his family, could or should be better and different. A good father is really simply a man trying to be a better, more responsible man today then he was yesterday, while maintaining or improving the quality of the relationships that already exist in his life.

The belief that there should be a perfect father has moved some to seek a role model of “the perfect father” which can be filled by an influential man in our lives. Those influential men may be teachers, coaches, friends fathers, street thugs, or hoods. We must always remind ourselves that not all influences are good influences, just a substitute for desired perfection that doesn’t exist. My point here is that a man may become a surrogate father for people without officially getting the title, or without having the actual character traits desired by the one seeking that perfect father. This implies a duty of all men to be a good influence in the lives of anyone, rightly or wrongly, who may cleave to them.

The real question is that no matter how far a man may be from the ideal father, or role model, is there a perfect father? Is the ideal that there is always someone to whom you can always go to for direction, reassurance, and support? Is there truly an ideal father? Is there a good father? Is there a father that sacrifices and gives his all?

The perfect Home

The beauty about the innocence of childhood is the ability to hold on to the notion that the home in which you were raised was perfect. The perfect father, the perfect mother, the perfect home. Three bedrooms, two baths, 2.5 kids and all the amenities that constitute the accommodations for the perfect Nielson Ratings Home.

The perfect diamond

This whole thing started with just a little diamond. And finding that diamond was a process in itself. Pliny, the early Roman historian, said, "A damas (diamond) is the most valuable -- not only of precious stones, but of all things in the world." Diamonds are probably the most controlled precious stones in the world. Now, I have been around diamonds for a number of years. And I can tell you that my friends who have this insane passion for the incredibly boring game of baseball will tell you that a “perfect” diamond is 90 feet by 90 feet. But, for the type of diamond I was looking for, my baseball knowledge didn’t help me. I was in a whole new league. When I first began to look for the perfect diamond, I was a diamond rookie. Fifteen years of research later, I was a veteran.

As some of you may know, when you look for a diamond, you become quickly educated. Immediately, you will learn about the four C’s: carat, cut, clarity, and color. Personally, I like to add an extra C, which stands for cost. I was looking for the perfect diamond with just the right combination of the four C’s and, of course, the perfect diamond would also be the most costly.

When I went on my first research expedition, I told my guide that I was looking for the “perfect” diamond. And his response surprised me. He said, “You don’t really want the ‘perfect’ diamond.” I replied, “Yes, I do! I want a diamond that is perfect.” He said, “Well if you find a perfect diamond, then it would be best to lock it up and put it in a safety deposit box.” And then he explained to me, “‘perfect diamonds are too precious to be out in the open. They should not be exposed to the elements where they could get banged up or damaged. A “perfect” diamond is to be locked up and kept in a safe place.”

I was shocked. It seemed like such a waste that a diamond like that is so perfect, so pure, and so holy, that it could not interact with the world. You see in the Jewelry industry, perfect diamonds are too holy to be exposed to the world. In the context of the perfect plan, how interesting that the perfect diamond would be, for all intents-and-purposes, out of circulation.

A flawless diamond, not to be confused with the perfect diamond, contains no tiny cracks, pinpoints of carbon, foreign bits of other minerals, nor impurities of any kind which will reduce the cost of a diamond. Flawless stones are far from common, but they are not impossible to obtain. A quality jewelry store may have a good selection of flawless diamonds of various sizes and colors, but a perfect diamond is much more elusive.

The perfect thief

Kazuo is an expert professional safecracker, trained in numerous martial arts and the ancient study of the Samurai Warrior. He specializes in high-profile diamond jobs. After having spent many years in a Korean prison, he has a very concrete picture of what he wants out of life - including a showpiece wife (blonde of course), a custom home fully adorned with Winchester bronze statues and all things cowboy, and probably a few kids to complete the package. His is a contradiction in culture clash, not sure whether to maintain the roots of his Samurai heart, align himself with the lines of the Cosa Nostra, or give in to the guttural belching of the Western movie heroes who make up so much of his perception about the perfect life in the U.S. “I wear the finest Italian suits when I’m not wearing my blue jeans. I wear the best X-metal shades money can buy. I own cars in towns were it’s not even practical to drive. I'm a thief! You got a problem with that?" As soon as he is able to assemble the pieces of this perfect life, by means of his chosen profession, he intends to retire and become a model citizen. In an effort to accelerate this process, he signs on to take down a huge score for a big-time Yakuza boss. Unfortunately, Kazuo's obsession for his version of the American Dream allows him to overlook his natural wariness and mistrust, when making the deal for his final job. None of the participants in this sub-plot realizes the piece they play in the perfect plan.

The perfect world

Whatever your perception is about the perfect world…one thing I know for sure, this ain’t it. This world is about as far from perfect as one could imagine. So how could you begin to fit the concept of a perfect world in the perfect plan? The reality is that everyone, in their heart of hearts, believes there has got to be more to life than just this world. What would be the point if there wasn’t something better to look forward to? To understand the possibility of a perfect world, you have to have a frame of reference, some context within which the realm of possibility can be constructed to hold a set of ideals which plausibly allow you to formulate beliefs about why we are here. In order to put context around this story, you have to come to grips with the duality of a supreme force. Yin and Yang, Beginning and End, Good and Evil. Before the Japanese Yakuza, the Italian or Russian Mafia, before the Free Mason Society, the Illuminati or the Knights Templar…a more ancient society had been born. At the very birth of creation itself, one group had been destined to search throughout the ages and discover the secret location to the sacred Tree of Life. Unlike Ponce de León’s quest for the Fountain of Youth, historical documentation and current scientific research point to the existence of the ultimate fountain of youth. Whether you believe in the Bible or not, the facts are historical indisputable and independently verifiable. Everything you are about to read can be independently researched and validated.

The perfect Christian

In order to find God, perfection in itself, soul must purify itself of all foreign elements (Plato) and thus come to resemble or imitate the divine archetype. develops the original insight that perfection lies in progress itself, but in reality the concept of a perfect Christian is as oxymoronic as military intelligence or...

PROLOGUE - LIFE IS...Full of strange moments in time.

Prologue


LIFE IS…

Full of strange moments in time. Moments which become suspended in time, slowed down to almost exaggerate the intensity of what you’re about to experience. Moments which are similar to the dreams where you are trying to run but can’t get your legs to move. That brief second before the accident where the whole scene goes frozen for an instant, silent and you think to yourself, this is going to be bad. Then everything goes into fast forward and the crunching sound of metal spinning through the air as the truck flips over and all you see is the ground rushing up to collapse the hood of the cab before it crushes down on top of you, spitting you out the side and onto the ground. As you stare at the ground in disbelief about what you just survived, you are strangely focused on the gravel. Why am I just staring at the gravel? Get up!

So I survived, somewhat broken, but alive. Thanking God that I had been spared. Crazy, uncontrollable body shakes as the body releases the adrenaline dumped into the system, as if I’d just come out of an ice bath. But none of these kinds of life moments could have prepared me for what was about to happen.

We were having an early gift opening for our family Christmas before leaving on a ski vacation, just the four of us. My wife, Patti, my teenage son Kamden, my teenage daughter Kjersti and myself. Sitting around a warm fire, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the brief quiet before the storm of finishing our packing. The kids are all excited about opening their gifts, but more excited about leaving in the morning for a winter adventure. I ask my wife a question, and I think I mishear her answer. I ask again, and I get the same strange response which makes no sense. I shake my head, look at the kids and they are as puzzled as I am. I cock my head a bit to the left like our little white bijon friche who tries desperately to understand what we’re saying, but just can’t seem to get it. The kids and I both think she is making a joke or kidding around with us, but when it happens again I get an immediate knot in my stomach. I know something is wrong…I just didn’t know how wrong. I call my sister, an orthopedic surgeon, and describe what we’ve just experienced. She tries to keep me calm, but I quickly grasp the gravity of the situation. After asking my wife who the current President is, and with a straight face as serious as can be, she disgustedly tells me, “geessh, purple cows can’t so there’s why I can tell you the President.” After randomly sampling the responses from a few other questions, my sister tells me that my wife is having some kind of brain attack and to get her to the Emergency Room…immediately.

It was one of those times when all of sudden everyone knows something is terribly wrong. The kids begin to cry in fear, not knowing what’s happening to their mom. We quickly load everyone into the car and drive a few short miles to the local ER. My wife is objecting the whole time, half the time making sense and arguing that she’ll be fine, the other half talking gibberish. The intake nurse is quick to recognize the urgency of the situation and immediately gets my wife on a gurney and back into the ER. I sit the kids down and make sure they are situated. Then I join the group of doctors working on my wife back in the triage area. As they start to do testing and asking her questions, I see a blank stare come over her eyes and she stops responding. Like a tidal wave rolling in, the gran mal seizure starts as her eyes roll up into her eye sockets and her body becomes overwhelmed with what’s going on inside her brain. The doctors immediately recognize the onset of the seizure and do their best to assure me that they know what they are doing. How can you know what to do for something as awful as this? The doctors are amazed that we were lucky enough to get her to the ER before the seizure began, as most victims usually lose consciousness and fall down. The first few seconds of the seizure are marked by complete rigidity in every muscle in her body. She stops breathing completely. I cannot fully describe the grotesque contortion that happens to the body when it goes into this state where every limb is seemingly completely hyper-extended, but yet in total constriction. Shortly after the complete rigidity comes the convulsion, violent and rhythmic. All of her extremities are slapping wildly against the gurney, pretty much like Darryl Hannah having a death seizure in one of my all time favorite movies, the Blade Runner with Harrison Ford. I will never be able to watch that movie in the same way ever again. The experts can only watch and make sure her airway is open and that she doesn’t bite her tongue. This is when it hits me that this is why they call it “practicing” medicine, as they have no solution for this. The seizure lasts for what feels like an eternity, but in reality is probably about 3 minutes. The convulsion weakens and just like a submerged diver coming up for air, her respiration starts again with a huge gasp as she gulps for fresh air.

As she stabilizes, they wheel her off for X-rays, CT scan and PET (positron emission tomography) scans. I learn later that PET is a major diagnostic imaging modality used predominantly in determining the presence and severity of cancers. It is currently the most effective way to check for cancer recurrences and it offers significant advantages over other forms of imaging such as CT or MRI scans in detecting disease in many patients. Being an engineer and always wanting to understand root cause, I learn that for the PET scan she is given a radiopharmaceutical, such as FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose), which includes both sugar (glucose) and a radionuclide (a radioactive element) that gives off signals. She is injected with these contrast elements, and the emissions given off are measured by a PET scanner. A PET scanner consists of an array of detectors that surround the patient. Using the gamma ray signals given off by the injected radionuclide, PET measures the amount of metabolic activity at a site in the body and a computer reassembles the signals into images. Cancer cells have higher metabolic rates than normal cells, so they show up as denser areas on a PET scan.

I will never forget when the radiologist and medical oncologist called me into a small room lined with little white light boxes all around the walls. They turned off all the lights in the room except the light boxes and then jammed the slides up into the metal clips to hold the scans. This is when it happened again, that out of body slow motion experience just like the accident. I was literally floating up in the corner of the room, watching this bizarre scene unfold in front of me. I looked down at these two lab-coated geeks and said to myself, that poor bastard is going to get some really bad news. As I said that to myself, it hadn’t even hit me yet that the dude was me. When I realized that was when everything went into fast forward high speed mode. It was like my whole life flashed before me and all I could do was sit there in shocked silence. I vaguely remember hearing the doctors talk to me, sort of like how the adults talk to Charlie Brown or the other kids in Peanuts with a “wa-waa-waaa” muffled voice sound, but not intelligible. I do remember crystal clear the sentence, “You see that little black node in her frontal lobe? That is a brain tumor. You need to put your wife’s affairs in order because she will not be here in a year.”

You cold-hearted bastards! Didn’t anyone teach you bedside manner in medical school? Are you such a social retard that you have lost the ability to have any compassion whatsoever? What ever happened to just the politeness of saying, “I’m really sorry, I’ve got some bad news which is going to be really hard to understand. Would you like anyone to be here with you as we talk about this?” This was like these guys were the purveyors of bad news as sport, just trying to see how callous they could be. I knew a guy like these guys before, a forensic pathologist who dealt with death all day long. A life that was tainted by the gore of seeing every imaginable type of death and figuring out how to survive without being scarred for life. The reality was that dude was twisted by his profession. How could you not be affected when you’re the person pulling body parts out of the plane, train and auto wreck or trying to figure out how a man could kill himself using a trapeze hung above his bed and a sharpened fence pole nailed to the wall and impaled up his rectum? That is some twisted stuff. But to be fair to this pair of dumb and dumber, I’m sure it was just a reflection of their own badly honed coping skills, or more realistically their denial of having to interact with real human beings. How could someone survive in a profession where every day you are telling people their loved ones have cancer and are going to die? It’s no excuse for these idiots, but at least I can rationalize why they were such moronic communicators.

Keeping San Diego safe through high-tech surveillance

Keeping San Diego safe through high-tech surveillance



By ELIZABETH MALLOY, The Daily Transcript

Friday, October 31
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It's late at night in a dark apartment complex. A hooded figure walks up to a wall and pulls out a spray can. Just as he's about to paint the building with graffiti, a voice booms from a speaker over head.

"Stop what you are doing. You are on camera, and the police have been called."

This scene is becoming a reality in neighborhoods all over San Diego and far beyond with the technology created by Carlsbad company SensorWave. Established in 2003, SensorWave makes surveillance cameras that are not only monitored by offsite technicians at all times, but are also equipped with a speaker system that allows a monitor to speak to people on camera from anywhere in the world.

"The mission is creating safer communities," said Kendell Lang, chief executive officer of SensorWave. "If you take the premise that we can actually change behaviors through our proactive security solutions, we can dramatically change environments."

SensorWave's "Virtual Patrol" product is a surveillance camera system designed to go above and beyond typical cameras. They are generally placed on top of a 30-foot pole, making them very hard to tamper with. The cameras are made of bulletproof and bullet-resistant materials, are able to zoom in and, in some cases, swivel 360 degrees to capture everything from faces to license plates.

Unlike other video cameras, they can be programmed to only focus on a very specific field of site, such as one company's parking lot. This saves time and effort for the people monitoring the cameras.

Kendell Lang is chief executive officer of Carlsbad-based SensorWave. Photo: J. Kat Woronowicz

They are monitored, at all times, by crews in one of four locations: One in Carlsbad, one in Framingham, Mass., one in Thailand and one in India. Since the monitors, who are mostly trained in law enforcement, are looking at a very limited field of view, they can monitor up to 160 cameras per person at one time.

The monitors are also helped by the fact that SensorWave's software alerts them if suspicious activity is occurring. For instance, if a car pulls into the parking lot of a company that's closed for the weekend, that camera's field of view will begin flashing on the monitor's computer screen. He or she can then look and see if there appears to be a crime happening, or if it's just someone making a U-turn.

Lang said that SensorWave's technology is changing three industries: Camera manufacturers, central monitoring and guarding.

Guarding in particular is getting a boost, and that includes law enforcement. One of the biggest expenditures for police and fire officials every year is false alarms, and Virtual Patrol can help reduce those. Right now, SensorWave is largely working with public/private partnerships, meaning a private company will buy the equipment, which costs $75 per camera, per month, and allow local law enforcement access to it for no charge.

Most of SensorWave's customers are companies who want to protect their buildings, but there are a number of housing projects that use them. One in San Diego's Logan Heights neighborhood, Sea Breeze Gardens, has seen a crime rate go from one crime reported every day and a half, to one crime every five days.

"The police call us a force multiplier," Lang said. "It's not only the quantity but it's the quality of the calls. The incidents that are occurring are less severe."

The founder of SensorWave is a man named Mo Bjornestad. Bjornestad grew up in the inner city and was once abducted as a child. He wanted to create a product that would make neighborhoods safer. He came up with SensorWave's camera systems, and Lang, who joined the company last year, helped improve the software, allowing for the "talk-down" voice software, among other advancements in the product.

While SensorWave does sell systems to clients, the company also utilizes channel partners, meaning existing guarding and alarm companies can purchase SensorWave's technology. Asked if this could lead some day to a major alarm company like ADT purchasing SensorWave, Lang said it's possible, but probably not likely in the near future.

"I really want to get probably three years out in terms of growing our own organic revenues before we're in a position that I think we would get the price that Mo and I would accept to sell the company," he said.

One issue that is a constant concern for SensorWave, and especially the company's attorneys, is privacy. Lang said he thinks people are generally accustomed to security cameras these days, but acknowledged that the added abilities of SensorWave's technology can make for thorny legal situations.

"We are using talk-down, but we don't listen," Lang said. "There's a specific legal reason why we don't do that, because anything that we would listen to constitutes a warrantless wire-tap."

The monitors who watch SensorWave's camera's are also under constant surveillance so the company can see if they use the cameras or the talk-down capability inappropriately.

"We have researched and looked at all the legal ramifications and are very comfortable that our position as a service provider is very well protected from a liability standpoint," Lang said.

Lang said that there are plenty of sociological studies that suggest surveillance is a strong deterrent against crime, and ultimately, that's what SensorWave is trying to accomplish.

"We have a lot of great customer testimonials about how (this) technology is changing lives," he said.