We are approaching the ninth anniversary of Mom passing away. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. I miss her dearly.

There are a great many things that remind me of her. They come from all over the place and at the most random times. Recently, her name popped up in a strange place: my Google Analytics. Starting on May 15, 2009, there have been a small number of visitors that have come to my site after searching for “”faith beckwith” stockton” in Google. Not a lot of hits, but a small number nearly every day since mid-May.

I have no idea who is searching the web for things about Mom but it made my day to see that someone did. If you knew her, I’m sure you miss her, too. We all do.

Family is forever.

I’m really starting to think I’m getting old. I’m not feeling old. It’s just that all these kids around me keep getting older. Today we drove down to Modesto to Beverly’s graduation party. I have known Bev since she was a lil’ tike and can’t believe she’s now 18.



Becky & Tom threw an awesome party. It was wonderful seeing them and their family again. It was also great seeing Tina, Ken and (most of) their kids again. I couldn’t help but comment all night on how much all of these kids had grown.

Congratulations Beverly on graduating from high school... we love you and are proud of you. See you all again real soon!

I only took 185 pictures, mostly because I had a lot of willing subjects. I have pared them down to 82 of my favorites... check out the pics here.

I had a conversation with Dawn tonight about “networking” and using LinkedIn. My wife, with her wonderful honesty, reminded me I have some pretty strong opinions about this subject. Our conversation reminded of me of my own axiom: just because you're on LinkedIn doesn't mean you're building your network or even "networking".    

I have been on LinkedIn for a couple of years now and have found it to be a very helpful tool to keep track of all of the career movement out there. When I am looking to hire someone, or want to make a referral to a hiring manager or recruiter, LinkedIn is often the first place I visit. On many occasions, I have also been able to connect with people of whom I had lost track.

LinkedIn is a tool for gathering your contacts' info. It is not, however, the only one.  I use an application on my Mac that has proven to be a great tool for maintaining contact info.  Nothing high tech here. It's called Address Book and comes, with little fanfare, on every Mac.  For those on Windows machines, I guess you could use Outlook or build your own in Excel or Access. I maintain my address book with religious devotion. People are, after all, how and why the world works. I treasure my family, my friends, my colleagues and people in general. I keep up to date contact details and reach out to everyone I know every few months or so. It is a practice that has given me great joy through the years.

I take great pride in maintaing my personal and professional networks. Staying in contact with people has proven valuable many times. Add to that the fact that most would call me a pretty “social” person; I genuinely enjoy meeting and spending time with people. Every success I have had in my career is thanks to lessons I have learned from other people. Learning new things and growing starts with building and maintaining a strong network.


To help you build your network, here are my 5 tips for using LinkedIn:

1. Share your contact information. I am happy to share my work and personal e-mail addresses, work, home and cell phone numbers with anyone in my network. If you are not willing to share all of your contact details with someone, you have no business sending them an invite on LinkedIn.

2. Don’t discriminate. LinkedIn represents only a small percentage of what would be considered my professional network. I believe in building my professional network indiscriminately; I don’t just focus on those that are on LinkedIn, thus my reason for using Address Book. As a rule, I never send a “join LinkedIn” invite to people that I know that aren’t on LinkedIn. Chances are, they know about it already and I don’t need LinkedIn to stay in touch with them.

3. Personalize your introduction and invitation request. “Because you are a person I trust...” and “I'd like to add you to my professional network...” is code word for “You’re not important enough to me to take the time to write a personal note.” Okay, I admit, that’s a bit much, but is it really that hard to customize that message? If you get a link request from me I promise you’ll get a customized note, and my contact info!

4. Building meaningful relationships starts by adding value.  Your professional network is not there for you to feed on. Look for ways you can contribute to others.  Check in with people, ask how you can help. Make meeting new people a priority. And please, when you do, stick your hand out and introduce yourself.

5. Stay in contact. My Mother, being in business for herself most of her life, planted the seeds for this practice early in my life. She taught me that staying in contact is the most important rule in building relationships. Make a point to reach out to your contacts regularly. My goal is to reach out to everyone every 3 months. Admittedly, I fall a little behind from time to time but would never dream of letting 6 months or more go without sending out a quick e-mail, phone call or card (yes, hand written cards rock). If you value your relationships, stay in contact. My trick: schedule time on your calendar to follow up. After years of doing this, it comes natural and the rewards are immense.

Networking, as a term, gets a bad rap. Building relationships is about sharing and adding value. Need help building your network? Check out the Manager Tools podcast episode on the subject. This podcast has fundamentally changed my effectiveness in my career and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

If you want to link with me, you know where to find me.

Three weeks ago, while I was at work, I got the call I’ll never forget. My wife’s voice was shaky as she told me that our home was burglarized. I immediately hung up and raced home.

Someone hopped our back fence, pried open our back door and helped themselves to our G4 PowerBook, new Canon S5-IS digital camera, Zoom H2 recorder, Makenzy’s Nintendo DS, Emily’s cash, most of Dawn and Emily’s jewelry and a few other small things. The thief also stole our sense of security and comfort in our own home. My 24” iMac was ripped from all the cables it was connected to but it was left behind. The crook thrashed nearly every room, including Emily’s but must not have seen her iMac sitting on her desk as it was never touched.

I didn’t keep a lot of files on that laptop but we did have our website files for mattbeckwith.com and pizzagohere.com. Luckily, we had a back up on DVD stored out of the house. Now that we have replaced the laptop (new 13” aluminum MacBook... I decided I didn’t need the 15”... and this thing is so fast compared to that 4 year old PowerBook) we can finally start publishing again.

Although it’s never a good time to be victimized by this sort of crime, the timing of this was especially tough on me. I had been working on a new project since January: a podcast about all the great things in Stockton. Although I was expecting some of my out-of-town friends to make “only in Stockton” comments, no one did. And of course, this doesn’t happen only in Stockton. Burglaries happen everywhere. The support of friends, family and neighbors kept me going and I was able to publish Podcast Stockton on schedule.

We have started replacing some of the material things that were taken from us and even though she sometimes makes a mess while we’re away at work, our dog Sashi no longer spends the day in the garage. Other than that, we’re moving on with our lives. We’re still angry but we are thankful that no one was hurt.

This is dedicated to all of my friends and former colleagues who have recently been given lay off notices. They are a great number of wickedly talented people and I wish them all the best.

On the US jobs front, this has been an ugly week, and it's only Tuesday.  So, here are three things I believe to be true:

1. Unemployment is high.
2. The economy is in the the tank.
3. There are jobs out there!

Yesterday, 7 companies announced a total of 71,400 job cuts.  Today, another 11,500 were lost.  With over 218,000 announced layoffs since January 1 this is shaping up to be a very tough year.  In the financial services industry alone, there have been over 230,000 jobs lost since November 2008.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the national unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent. California had the highest increase (9.3 percent in December) while Michigan had the highest overall (10.6 percent).

I could have become one of those unemployed.

Read More...

Today, as we’ve done in America many times before over the past 300 years, we ushered in a new President. The peaceful transition of power is an important piece to the government of our nation. Perhaps it was the hype over the new administration or the prevalence of coverage on the internet but I don’t ever remember following past Presidential inaugurations as closely as I did this one. It was a very interesting day and I don’t mind admitting that I totally got caught up in the spectacle of it all. Besides the actual event, I really enjoyed learning about the traditions associated with the inauguration.

Regardless of your political affiliation or opinion, I hope you took the time to observe the changing of the guard today.

Steve Jobs's (temporary, perhaps) absence from Apple, Inc. will be just a blip on the radar.
 
In an e-mail to Apple employees, Steve Jobs announced he would be taking a medical leave from the company until June.  Saying that his “ health-related issues are more complex” than he originally thought. He told employees that Tim Cook would lead the organization during his leave and that he looked forward to seeing them again “this summer”.
 
Rumors about his declining health have been flying around as furiously as iPhones off store shelves.  Ever since it was announced that he had pancreatic cancer in 2004, we have heard from analysts, critics and bloggers that have predicted the end of Apple’s market dominance if Steve Jobs were to depart.
  Read More...

Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne, the genius duo behind Manager Tools, have introduced Career Tools.

For those readers that are not familiar with Manager Tools, it is one of the greatest resource for Managers. Actually, it is THE source for managers to learn how to become more effective at work. Their training, delivered through podcasts and conferences, focuses on the nuts and bolts that we can do immediately to be stronger managers.

With Career Tools, they bring the same dedication and expertise they bring to their weekly Manager Tools podcast. These are challenging times in the workforce across the nation and, as many of my friends and former colleagues recently discovered, improving one’s career management and career search toolkit is essential.

If you are looking for work, or will ever be looking for work, you owe it to your self to check out Career Tools. Being prepared is key. If you don’t need help today, you may someday, and the time to improve your skills is now.

Although our family website is not the place to discuss our political views, I did want to comment on tonight’s final Presidential debate. I watched the entire debate, just as I did the last two and the VP debate. The winner of this final debate? Joe the Plumber, of course!

Here’s the video:


And here’s what some on Twitter are saying about Joe the Plumber:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=Plumber


joetheplumber2008.com

After more than a decade, we got together this weekend with Van and his lovely wife, Christine and their adorable little boy, Evan (although the nickname “mini-Van” fits him well). The Saukams were out in California this week from Colorado so we just had to get together like we did back in the day.



We had an awesome time reminiscing about our high school days as we all took turns telling Christine about all of the crazy times we had. It was great seeing our friend Van again and getting to know his wife and son. We did finally get around to playing a little music and, as no surprise, Van has not lost any ability to sing!

Hanging out with Mike, Shauna, Shawn, Shane and Van (and all the kids that go along with this group) reminded us all that life is about the people we share it with. Great times, great friends.

I posted a few pictures here.

I spent the week in Chicago for work and actually had some fun as well. I got to catch a Cubs game at Wrigley Field, go to the top of the Hancock building and see the enormous Chicago skyline and have real Chicago pizza with Greg, Tonya, Nikolai and Caleb.







Check out the rest of the pics here.

Recently, on Dancing with Elephants, I heard about a man trying to whittle his personal belongings down to 100 items. Greg and Tonya asked their audience to write in with what 10 things they couldn’t live without. That got me thinking: as a self-professed, but improving, pack-rat, could there be only 10 things with which I couldn’t live?

So, to start, I did a rough inventory of the Outback. For those of you that are new here, that’s the name of our home office / recording studio. Our first home had a separate room in the back yard, which was the whole reason I wanted to buy that house, that served as an office and studio. When my oldest brother, Ken, saw it he instantly christened it the Outback. On a somewhat unrelated note, it was also Ken that gave Emily the nickname she uses today, Emo, the day she was born.

Back to the story. These days, the Outback is inside but still serves, in addition to a home office and recording studio, as my personal junk drawer. While I was up late recently I started counting and cataloging nearly everything in the Outback. Here’s what I came up with so far:

87 shot glasses
9 century patches

Read More...

Last week I had the privilege of joining the Manager Tools Effective Manager Conference as an associate of Manager Tools. As a long-time listener and premium member since day one, I was honored that Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne gave me the nod to working with them in San Francisco.

After their first conference last year I considered it the most valuable conference I have ever attended. This time, as part of the Manager Tools team for two days, it was absolutely the highlight of my professional life.

My role was to interject with my thoughts as Mark, Mike and Michael presented on effectively using one on ones, feedback, coaching and delegation. It was my goal to talk about the successes and challenges I’ve had in, and after, the implementation of one on ones, feedback, coaching and delegation. Just the same as last April, the conference was high energy with over 100 other managers who were all passionate about becoming better. At no other conference have I ever seen attendees stay for two hours after the formal close of the conference, digesting more content.
Read More...

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to my iPhone
Happy birthday to you

Of course, everyone knows that the iPhone turned 1 today. I still love my iPhone as much as I did the day I brought it home and am proud of the fact that even though I have dropped it several times it still works fine (except that the vibe doesn’t work).

Stockton, the city that recently topped the rest of the nation with the highest foreclosure rates, is now atop another list.

The Record ran a story today about gas prices. I know, that is not a big deal. What caught my eye was that Stockton has the highest prices in the nationwide survey.

Actually, this did not surprise me. Every morning, on the news, I hear the national, state and Sacramento area averages, which are always lower than what I see in Stockton. Yikes, maybe I should start riding my bike to work more often.

So, what am I doing to save gas? For starters, since I commute over 100 miles per day, I am trying to not drive at all on the weekend, unless I absolutely have to. For normal errands, I will either ride my bike, walk, or wait until I going to or from work. Besides that, I have been driving slower on the freeway. By driving the speed limit (which often requires me to stay in the right lane) I am getting a 10% bump in my MPG.

Wow, a 74 cent increase from 4/9/08 to 6/2/08 (in Tracy and Lathrop, respectively... I try to not buy gas in Stockton).


Check out my other gas price pics on Flickr.

(story also appeared here on MSNBC)

I am an REI virgin no more. I only heard of REI a couple of years ago but hadn't been inside one until the Stockton one opened. Emily and I went on grand opening weekend and were impressed with all of the bike and camping stuff. Although I had heard of REI I had no idea that they sold bikes and bike accessories.



Tonight, I needed to get a new pair of arm warmers. After a few years, mine dissapeared. I was so happy that they actually had a few different styles, all sizes and plenty of each in stock. After grabbing a pair and a new water bottle, the Store Manager approached me and asked if I needed help. I told him that I thought they might put one of the other bike stores in town out of business. His response was noble. "We don't want to put any bike shop out of business." He added that they just want to encourage more people to ride. Then he said something brilliant. "We want to put BestBuy out of business. Our mission is to get people outside."

Brilliant.

I am now an REI member.

If you follow me on Twitter, feel free to ignore this entry; this information is not new to you.



If you have no idea what Twitter is, please keep reading. Many friends, family and other readers to this site have asked what is all this Twitter about? Before we get started, let me just say that Twitter is not new. In fact, there were more than 14 million other people that discovered Twitter before me (courtesy of Twitterholic).

Wikipedia defines Twitter as, "... a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service (SMS), instant messaging, or a third-party application..."

In short, Twitter is like text-messages you can follow online or via text message to your cell phone. The first person I started "following" on Twitter was David from the FredCast (the internet's premiere cycling podcast). With a quick text page of 'follow FredCast to 40404 I was getting text page updates from David. Besides getting updates on my cell phone, I can also go to the internet and read his updates there http://twitter.com/fredcast.

I now find myself following a handful of my podcast friends, other cyclists, writers, technology gurus, the three leading presidential candidates, and a guy I went to high school with among others. Twitter loads especially easy on my iPhone so I check it often throughout the day.

I also track keywords in the public Twitter via text message. By sending a text message of 'track beckwith' to 40404 I get updates to my cell phone any time someone in the Twitterverse uses the word 'beckwith'. What else am I tracking?

The name of the company where I work. Because I work for a large corporation with millions of customers it is very interesting to see what the Twitterverse thinks of us. Mostly negative, some positive, but still a interesting angle on the voice of the customer.

Where I live, where I ride, where I work. I track Stockton, Lodi, Pleasanton, Livermore. I also track 580 and 205 which helps when there is a traffic issue.

Still confused? Well, don't be. The fine folks at Common Craft have done it again with a great video explanation of Twitter. Check it out here.


Also, in case you always wanted to know what a podcast was, Common Craft has a great video explanation of that, too. After you watch that, hop on over to Pizza Go Here and subscribe to our podcast.

So, now you know all about Twitter. Sign up and follow me. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

When Mike and I found out that Deal or No Deal auditions were coming to the Sacramento area we knew exactly what we had to do. So, I believe, for the first time in our adult life, we dressed alike (just like twins do) and headed up the Folsom.

After nearly seven hours in live, we finally got our 15 seconds to sell ourselves. We did enough to get past the second round, which afforded us the opportunity to wait for another hour or so for a second round of interviews - again another 15 seconds to shine. Although our presentation was pretty good, our audition ended there with a "don't call us, we'll call you".

Our sister was also there and was give three interviews. She already promised us that we'd get to be her supporters if she gets on the show. Good luck Missy!

At least we got to round two!



Click here for the pictures.

I should clarify. I find humor in signs that display grammatical or spelling errors. I'm no Mignon Fogarty but I do recognize errors when they are blatant. So, today, while walking down the Miracle Mile, I got quite the chuckle when I saw a sign in the window of a salon that had this word in it.



What exactly did the sign say? Click here to check out the rest of the picture on Flickr. While you're there, or should I say, while your their, check out the rest of the pictures posted in the Grammar Girl pool.

In our house, American Idol is a big deal. Every year, we watch it as a family but rarely agree on who we think will win the competition. This season, we all have our own favorites but can all agree on one thing: Amanda Overmyer is the long lost daughter of W.A.S.P. front man Blackie Lawless.

Look at the evidence and decide for yourself.



Oh, and in case you're interested, my pick for the top four are David Cook, Chikezie, Carly Smithson and Brooke White.

I like The Simpsons. Ok, I really like The Simpsons. I've watched the show since the very beginning, I own a couple of seasons on DVD and, of course, I own The Simpsons Movie. I also drive a Ford Five Hundred. I like my car. Ok, I really like my car. It has been perfectly dependable during its first 100,000 miles. I like the name Five Hundred and even like the fact that they re-named the car to Taurus - which is all a bit confusing if you ask me.




So what do the Simpsons have to do with my car? Well, during a recent speech, Ford's head of global product development Derrick Kuzak likened the Five Hundred to Homer Simpson. Not Homer's car, but Homer himself. The Five Hundred was called a failure and an updated model was promised for the future.

A failure? Homer Simpson a failure? I don't think so! I'm proud to drive a Homer Simpson.

Drum roll, please.

Merriam-Webster gave the honor to 'w00t'. American Dialect Society gave it to 'subprime'. Locavore earned the dubious honor from Oxford.

Not one to shy away from popular fads on the internet, I wanted to play along. After careful consideration and some deliberation with Dawn, I have chosen the mattbeckwith.com word of the year: podcast.



Ok, so some of you might catch me on the technicality here. Oxford named 'podcast' their word of the year in 2005. I started listening to podcasts in 2005 and in the time since I have all but given up terrestial radio. Driving nearly three hours a day, I used to be an NPR junky. Nowadays, I might just need to pull out the owner's manual for my car stereo to figure out how to turn on the radio.

I subscribe, and listen, to 67 podcasts. Most are weekly, some are daily, some are between monthly and weekly. I listen to shows on technology, news, management and couple-casts, among others. So, is 'podcast' the word of the year because I spend so much time listening? There must be more to it than that, right?

Of course. 2007 brought so many great podcast moments. Some highlights:

September - Podcast and New Media Expo
May - Pizza Go Here is born
April - Beckwith Family Podcast is launched
April - Manager Tools conference
April - My Mostly Trivial "appearance"
February - Tour of California
January - Macworld / Mac podcast meet-up
January - I started writing for Typical Mac User

Through podcasting, we have met some great people, in the real-world and in the podosphere. I've had the chance to spend some time with some of the brightest, most interesting people I have ever met, way too many to list. We are grateful for the amazing people all over the world that have allowed us into their amazing lives.

Podcast.

If you have a computer and a pulse, there is a podcast for you. You don't need an iPod. Download iTunes, go to the podcast directory and take a look. While you're there, check out our show, Pizza Go Here.


Me and Victor Cajiao, one of the kings of podcasting.

Podcast.

Welcome to California... we have earthquakes. Tonight, as we were sitting in the family room I felt some shaking. I actually thought it was Sashi (our dog) bumping my chair. I was the only one in the house that felt it but we got calls from Dawn's mom and Mike saying they both felt it.



Check out the USGS site or the local news story.

Halloween is almost here... so what better time to cut into the gourds!

Mike, Shauna, Rachel and Chris joined in the fun and brought their pumpkins over to carve as well. Any guesses which one is mine?



Want to see last year's pumpkins? Check them out here.

Check out the pics here.

Happy Anniversary to us! Lucky #13... yippee! Last night, Dawn and I went to downtown Stockton to have dinner and catch a movie. Recently, the city of Stockton put out the call for street performers. I wasn't sure how that would work until last night when we saw a great mime performance. This guy was very talented and got a lot of attention. The downtown plaza is a cool place and having performers like that really enhances the environment.

Check out Mime Video 1 | Mime Video 2



We also watched a local punk-turned-bluegrass band, Lonesome Valley Shiners, perform a couple of songs as participants in the Music in the Square. They started late, a little after 7:30, which made for some not so happy people in the audience. Right before they went on, a volunteer downtown guide gave the band 5 minutes to start playing or they'd have to leave. The music was great; I can't wait to see what other acts are playing for the rest of the summer. Hey, I've got an idea, get The Grape down there!

After the entertainment we saw I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry... very, very funny!

Check out pics here.

So, do you have some time to kill? If you're like us (well, most of us) and love the Simpsons, then you have to check out the Simpsonizeme site. Then, rush out and go watch the Simpsons Movie!

Here we are, Simpsonized.


Check out the rest of our Simpsons pictures here.

Emily and Makenzy enjoyed their last day of school today. While Mak will be attending the same school next year, Emily and her friends said goodbye to junior high school and began the countdown to high school. Dawn and I officially feel old!



Check out pics here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1:16 a.m. PDT, May 13, 2007

STOCKTON, California (AP) - The Beckwith Family - Matt, Dawn, Emily and Makenzy, have announced the grand opening of their newest website, Pizza Go Here - a family podcast.  Nearly 10 years after they started sharing family news and pictures on the world wide web they have jumped on the podcast bandwagon.

"We are so excited to be podcasters" said 8 year old Makenzy.  A sentiment that was echoed by her older sister Emily.   

Matt said, "The name, Pizza Go Here, came from a famous slip-up my Mom uttered years ago so we thought it fitting to make our announcement on Mother's Day."

Pizza Go Here has already received praise from the handful of select friends, family and other podcasters that were given a recent sneak preview.

The show will feature Emily's joke and video of the week, Mak's Mac tip as well as other random thoughts.  The podcast will also feature their "Would You Rather" question.  

"We hope that all our friends and family subscribe to the podcast and we hope to get some new listeners as well" said Dawn. 

For years you've had MattBeckwith.com and BeckwithWeb.com.  Pizza Go Here is a new way to experience this whacky family from California's heartland.  "It's like pizza for your ears!" proclaimed Matt.

Visit Pizza Go Here online at pizzagohere.com.  If you have no idea what a podcast is or need help subscribing, send an e-mail to help@pizzagohere.com or call the Pizza Go Here listener line at 206-309-1631.

Download the show promo here.

I arrived at my hotel in Dulles, Virginia a little while ago. I am here this week attending the Manager Tools Effective Manager Conference. I have been listening to M-T for a year and a half or so and am very excited to be here for this event.



If you are a manager (or hope to be one soon) I highly recommend listening to Manager Tools. Putting their teachings into practice will absolutely have a tremendously positive effect on your career (as well as those on your team).


4/20/07 update



What a great two days. Without question, the most valuable conference I have ever attended. Mark and Mike, along with Michael, Cathy, Travis and Laura perfectly planned every detail of this entire event. Mark and Mike took us through the details of the management trinity and spent countless hours allowing the 100 attendees to pick their brains.

I met a lot of other managers from a vast array of industries and from all over the world. It was great to see that no matter what the background, industry or continent, management is management is management.

Before heading back out to Texas, JR, Megan, Wynter and Audrey came over and hung out with us, Mike & Shauna and Shawn.


JR and Mike... showin' the love!

Check out our pics here.

I am a self-professed podcast junky. One of my favorite podcasts is Mostly Trivial, with your host Johnee Bee. After doing some research on the penny-farthing bike I bought recently, I decided to pitch some trivia questions to the show. I was driving home from work, listening to podcasts, and Mostly Trivial started to play. I was blown away when Johnee Bee introduced the category as 'bicycles'. I'm practically famous! Finally, I knew all of the questions.

If you haven't listened to Mostly Trivial, give it a try. It is a short, very well produced weekly show.

Check out the episode I contributed to here.

Click here for Mostly Trivial on iTunes.

Well, Naughty Nicks closed with little fanfare (see Times, they are a changin' and Recordnet article). Mike and I never made it for a ceremonial game of snooker but when we heard they would be auctioning everything away on February 24th we knew we had to be there.



We got there early in the morning, registered, got our bidder numbers and made it in to the building to inspect the hundreds of items that would be sold before heading back outside to wait for the auctioneer to begin. Pool tables, video games, pinball machines and tons of little nick knacks (no pun intended) were tightly packed in to the back half of the building. On my list was a couple of the Ms. Pac Man cabaret and cocktail table games, the famous table #9 - the 6x12 snooker table where we learned to play the game, and of course two very specific items: that crazy old-fashioned bike and the big wall clock.

The videos games went quickly and were very overpriced. The pool tables started to go dirt cheap so I called Dawn to tell her I might be bringing home a snooker table. I ended up losing table #9 but had a couple of bids that forced the winner to pay a hefty premium for it.

Then, as the weather worsened, everyone moved inside and we got closer and closer to the two remaining items I was hoping to take home. I could live without a game or a pool table but I really wanted that bike and that clock. There didn't seem to be that much interest for the bike but a lot of people were looking to bring that clock home.

The pictures below tell the rest of the story. I got the bike and the clock! Sure, I could have found a replica boneshaker / penny-farthing bike at any number of places and I'm sure that 42" wall clocks are easy to come by, but I wanted these particular ones.

After getting the handle bar reattached (thanks Fred) I have tried to ride the bike but have not been able to reach the pedals. I'm still looking for a taller volunteer to take it on a test ride. Ron said it is ridable... not sure about that though.



It took us some time to find a place in the living room to hang the clock and then to get the right hardware to do it safely. Finally, this past weekend, we did it. I can't get over the fact that the Naughty Nicks clock is hanging up in my living room.



I was lamenting with a good friend recently (one with whom I spent a lot of time with at Naughty Nicks) and he reminded me, "...the memories of the past places that I hung out as a teen are not nearly as precious and memorable or valuable as the people that graced my time and being then...". I agree! And I'm still a sentimental ol' sap and think of the great friends I had and have every time I see the Naughty Nicks clock.

Well, the Deckos are on the move (most of them anyway). While Cwissy stays back to settle things in Stockton, Twon and the kids have busted out of dodge in favor of the gorgeous, wide-open land up north. There goes the neighborhood... as the Deckos start moving in to "The Property"... just wait for the first brotherhood party... we can't wait!







reeeeeb

Wow! Talk about a chilly winter... it's even snowin' in Fort Worth, Texas... check out the great pictures Megan sent!

Stay warm you guys... and drive safe!

I made a mistake with the comments and accidently deleted a lot of them. If you've commented on our site lately and your comment is gone, sorry about that. Please feel free to comment now, I promise not to delete them.

and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?

Happy New Year! We all rang in the new year at F&F's (although not as much confetti as the last couple of years). As we always do when we celebrate at F&F's, we did a shrimp-boil (with crab, too). And by "we" I mean a lot of people except for me ate the shrimp and crab; I picked around it to the saugages, potatoes and pearl onions. Santa brought Fred a new drum set so I brought the guitar and bass and everyone took turns rockin' out.



Pictures are up, check 'em out.

When we were young, growing up in north Stockton meant a lot of time at Tower Records, Hammer Skate and Naughty Nicks. I bought my last album (Animalize by KISS) and my first cassette tape (Not of this Earth by Joe Satriani) at Tower Records... we spent many a Friday and Saturday nights at Hammer Skate and there's no telling how much money we wasted playing 9-ball and snooker at Naughty Nicks... and now they are no more.

Hammer Skate announced its closure earlier this year and now sits vacant waiting for (I assume) it's demolition before it becomes a new Walgreens (no word on if the Walgreens that sits one mile down Hammer Lane will close in favor of this location or if Walgreens is employing the Stabucks, put-one-on-every-corner, method). No three words strike up old memories quite like "all-night skate"... more than two decades later and that subject still comes up every now and then. I guess our kids will not know how much fun a skating rink can be... ok, maybe this is a good thing.





Across the street from it's current location, Naughty Nick's was originally Tiptons, which sat in a little shop. When we were young we would go in and try to hustle the younger kids in to playing pool for their arcade money. When they opened up Nick's across the street it quickly became the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights. We all learned to play 9-ball and snooker and learned how to really talk smack. Naughty Nick's will close it's doors soon in favor of The Cameo Club. Again, out with the old and in the with the new. The draw (no pun intended) of poker and the popularity of hold-em was so great that Stockton could not justify a billiard place that size. Everyone knew they made more money on parties than renting out pool tables but even that business seems to have slowed down lately.




I guess iPods, iTunes and Napster finally won... not to mention the $19 they were charging for a CD! Even though it's sad to see Tower go, I must admit that I haven't bought anything there since 11/18/03 when I made our first iTunes purchase - "Remember When" by Alan Jackson.




So, times are sure changing. Is there anyway to say that without sounding (or feeling) old? But with our kids getting older by the day I wonder where it will be that they will hang out on weekends. Hell, even Golfland is gone!

Recently, we received an e-mail from an anonymous web surfer.

Your Name: A random web surfer
Your Email: anonymous
Subject: Photos of Emo

Message: Hello Matt! Just thought you might be interested to know--the word, "Emo" in pop-culture slang refers to a genre of music somewhere between punk-rock and emotionally charged alternative music, as well as a life style and look centered around dark clothes and excessive teen angst. Many teenagers embrace this, but just as many hate it, mock them, and spread phrases such as the very well known, "cry emo, cry!" along with malicious pictures mocking their subculture throughout the internet. Why am I telling you this? Because a Yahoo image search on the word, "Emo" which I can guess thousands of kids do everyday, evidently brings up numerous pictures of what I assume is your daughter on the first dozen pages of links. I would like to point out that the Internet has a history of taking things which are innocent or random, and photoshopping them or otherwise transforming them into something meant to be funny and famous, but ultimately is simply hurtful to the person it's focussed on. There's also just the point that this is potentially a very easy way for people who know your daughter as well as a large number of people you don't know simply finding their way to these photos and your blog, which, if it were me, would be rather troubling. I would guess Yahoo should be able to remove them from their search results if you were to ask, but if not, I would suggest at the very least changing the names to the images.

Aloha and happy holidays!
A friendly web surfer



Well, Web Surfer, let me say this. Yours is not the first comment like this we have received, and it surely won't be last. Actually, yours was the most friendly as most say things like, "I was searching for 'emo haircut' and got your site, you suck". We first discovered this genre a few years ago when we were searching the 'net for clothes that said "emo" on them. Since then, the term seems to have crept up more and more in pop-culture. That doesn't change the fact our daughter is also Emo. We shared your comments with Emo and asked what she would like us to do. She said, in her normal spirit, "I'm Emo and I'm not changing the nickname I've been called since the day I was born" (it was her uncle Ken that awarded her the nickname when he first saw her at the hospital).

That got us thinking, what else does Emo mean?

A gas station! A brand of binoculars! Some place in Italy! In fact there are even other people that go by Emo and let's not forget about the one that most consider the original Emo... Emo Philips!

A search on Yahoo! images for "emo" returned over 300,000 items... and only a few hundred or so are from my sites.

So, to all of you worried kids, thank you for your concern but, if you happen across our site looking for other emo stuff, sorry to have diverted your attention.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there (well, except this unlucky bird).

Check out the pics here.

Thanks to Larry Johnson and the Chiefs... even though I only got to watch the last 2 minutes on TV... it was a great game... now we're tied for second place... bring on the playoffs!

Pew Internet & American Life Project released it's study on podcast downloading today, 12% of internet users have downloaded a podcast, but only 1% do so on a typical day (check out the study results here).

I am part of that 1%. Lately, I spend more time listening to my favorite podcasts than I do the radio. Nearly everyone I know uses the internet; all but a few friends or family members have an active e-mail address and some, like me, have personal web pages. But podcasts? Nope. Besides my twin brother Mike, I don't know anyone who even knows what a podcast is. I have a feeling that the number is actually lower than 1%.

So, who's downloading podcasts? I have a theory. First, let's assume there are two types of podcasts. There are those that are produced professionally (or excerpted from radio shows) and then there are the rest: the mutlitude of 'casts that are done in living rooms and basements in Anytown, USA. This population, the Mom and Pops of podcasting, are the very ones most likely to regularly subscribe to and download podcasts. That's the great thing about podcasting: anyone can do it, and so many actually are. So who's downloading podcasts? Podcasters, and me.

I openly admit that I am a self-professed podcast junkie. I like podcasts because anyone with a computer and a microphone can publish a show. I enjoy podcasts because they are a welcome break from mainstream, overly politically correct, radio. I enjoy podcasts because, given that the audiences are so small, regular people can actually participate with the shows. It's the intimacy of the format that is the cause of it's growing popularity, and the reason that it's mostly podcasters that are downloading podcasts.

Some of my favorite podcasts:

Diggnation
Chicken Fried Radio
Manager Tools
NPR: Sunday Puzzle
NPR: Motley Fool Profiles
Mostly Trivial
For What It's Worth
Productive Talk on 43 Folders
The Typical Mac User Podcast
MacCast
Mac Attack
Mac Tips Daily
iTunes New Music Tuesday
One Minute Tip
Business Week Cover Stories
Technorama
Mac OS Ken

OJ's guilty and he is finally bold enough to admit it... or close enough to it. How in the world this guy can go on like he has, without butting a bullet in his head is beyond me. Perhaps his new book, "If I Did It", and interview are his way of getting on with his life. Either way... I'm not interested!


visit dontpayoj.com

Man you're old!



check out the pictures here

The best part about Caesars Palace in Las Vegas? The Elton John store!



After donating some cash Caesars and the Bellagio... I figured it would be best if I just spent some time in the Elton John store... well some time... and some more cash!

What does Faith Hill have in common with Kayne West or John Kerry? Well, if you were watching the CMA Award show last night it was apparent that she has stolen the playbook of one of them.

As we watched the announcement of the female vocalist of the year (I already knew it was Carrie Underwood because I cheated and looked online) it was very clear that Faith Hill blew up when her name wasn't called for the award.

Now, in the aftermath, her manager is saying that it was all a joke. A joke? Like Kerry's recent blunder about "getting stuck in Iraq", she should leave the jokes to the professionals (just as MarkDayComedy said in a recent YouTube spot).

So, was she really ticked about Carrie winning? If so, I would have liked to see a good ol' fashioned cat fight on TV... at least then there wouldn't be a debate about how she really felt.

If you've not seen the clip from last night's show, check out these videos and give me your verdict.

video#1 (the best view)
video#2
video#3

Can you guess who did which pumpkin?

Check out the pics.

Due to overwhelming fan outcry, I have finally posted the video for Hopes & Prayers on YouTube (check it out here). Ok, so there are really no fans... but I thought I'd post it anyway. The song was recorded in early 2003 in The Outback. Jason wrote the song, played all of the instruments and sang lead vocals; Rich and Tish sang background vocals and I got to put the whole thing together. I have always thought this was the coolest song I ever worked on... in fact, it is so cool, it needed a video. Enjoy!

You can also view the full quality version of the video here.

I got a chance to visit with Bubba and Megan and the girls last week... what a blast. Check out the pics here. I also took a few videos... check them out here.

We finally started copying some old videos to DVD for Grace. Here are a couple of highlights from the first tape.

Now, this is a total coincidence that I happened across this shot but the next time someone asks the bros where we learned to do the crazy things we do we can say we learned it from Ma.

Picture 1 - from the top: Hope, Ma, KW, KW's dad (I believe)
Picture 2 - from the top: Kenny Jr., Emily, Me, KW


Another observation... Hope (Jo Jo) was always dancing!

Click here for a quick video of the Jo Jo dance.


The quality on these old home movies isn't all that great but wow... how cool is it to see Papa, Mimi, Ma, Grace, Hope and KW from 45 years ago!

I remember the day well... back in 1989... I got a beep on my pager, yes, I said pager, from KW saying that the baby was finally on her way. By the time I arrived at the hospital my first niece was born. 17 years later... I feel old!



What better way to say Happy Birthday then to head to the Havens house to go swimming! And you know what that means.... pictures! Click here to see the pics.

In case you didn't notice, we are busy adding archives from the past several years. Some of our entries from mattbeckwith.com, pizzagohere.com, familyisforever.com and even our old AOL webpages might show up. Some of the links may not be working (especially those to picture pages which have moved). We are trying to clean them up but aren't making any promises.

Thanks for stopping by... stay a while... enjoy your visit... drop us a line.

With the start of Emily's and Makenzy's soccer season set to begin in less than 6 hours I have finally got most of the recent pics posted. I used a couple of different formats... let me know which you prefer. Good night!

We ran into Mike and the kids at Target looking for Mentos... you know the ones, the Fresh-Maker! He said that if you put some in a two liter bottle of diet coke you will get a soda rocket! I didn't believe him... until I saw it for myself. Shauna took that great picture and I took the video (check it out on Mike's YouTube).

Wrong, wrong and wrong. I can't believe how lame I was... I left the original alt text on that file!

That picture was taken in Arlington, Texas in December 2001.

What is there to do now that 24 is over and that AI will picks it winner (Taylor) on Wednesday? Well, hopefully, we can finish converting all of our old home movies from VHS, 8MM and even some old film format, to DV. This one has a little of everyone, Ma, Mike, Jerry, Joe, Hope, Mimi, Rene, Grace, Chris, Bob and Dale. I did have to size it down to keep it reasonable for most. Coming soon... Christopher, Christopher and more Christopher.



Check out the video here (click to play or right click and save).

I have read a few stories online about how my iPod earbuds can cause me to lose my hearing. Sorry, I didn't hear you. Somewhere I came across 20-30 minutes per day as an acceptable amount of time to use earbuds, 3-4 days per week. Well, that just aint gonna work for me! I need another solution...
Thank goodness for Bose!

These bad boys rock!

Goodbye Party for Frank & Lee / Dinner & Swimming at the Costa's - pics here

So, when Mike asked if I wanted to catch a 6 am flight to Salt Lake City and then help him drive a UHaul back to Stockton I couldn't pass it up! Well, I didn't realize it was a 30 foot, diesel, manual transmission, POS truck! Driving through the salt flats of Utah we drove past this.... what the heck is this??!?!?!?

Merry Christmas from the Beckwith Family

Sashi Noir

Well... the girls saw this dog at the adoption event and fell in love.  When they took me to see her I told them that I would just look but that we wouldn't be getting a puppy that day.  Well... I fell in love, too!

Well we are finally in the new house! After a very stressful couple of months we are happily (almost) all moved in.  
Thanks to the movin' Dawgs - Mike, JR, Twon, KW, Fred, Bob and Jammin' Jerry D for all of your help! Also, thanx to Jack and Rita for lettin' us shack up while we were between escrows.
Dawn has been busy in the new pad re-arranging things and making our house our home.  She has already busted out with a little bit of Martha Stewart by painting Mak's room.

Okay, I have rarely used our site to air a gripe and most visitors would say that I avoid confrontation but now I would like to get on my soapbox.
The anniversary of 9/11 is coming soon and there has been a lot of talk and hype about how we will mark - not celebrate - the day.  The History Channel is running a special for which the advertisement says, “A year we will always mark as September to September” – very poignant and very true.  The attention to this date, in my opinion, is well deserved.  The plethora of e-mails I get everyday suggesting what to do on that day, however, is not. 
September 11, 2001 – my “day that will live in infamy”, certainly changed my perceptions, my feelings, my patriotism and so many aspects of my life.  Nearly everyone I know agrees that the events of that day had a profound impact on his or her life. 
Since the last week in June I have received a ton of e-mails asking me to do a variety of things on September 11th, such as:

Drive with my headlights on during the day
Light a candle
Honk my horn at a certain time
Wear all red, white and blue
Carry a flag all day
Sit on my porch all night
Walk to work
Don't buy gas

I am not suggesting that any of these things are crazy; I think a lot of us are searching for a way to commemorate 9/11 – after all, we Americans sure are infatuated with dates, aren’t we?  I would, however, like to make my own suggestions for crazy, off-the-wall things to do on this fast-approaching September 11th.  Brace yourself, these are definitely radical ideas, but I am going to risk my reputation and just go for it! 

Volunteer at a local senior center
Hug your kids real, real tight
Get to know your neighbors
Buy lunch for a stranger
Send your wife flowers
Write your Senator
Register to vote
Learn CPR

Okay folks, I am sure you now understand my perspective, but just in case you missed it… I’ll explain it.  On 9/11/01 our nation, our way of life, was attacked by a bunch of idiots who hate America and what we stand for.  I think that the best way to honor our country is to keep living life in honor of those that died protecting our lifestyle and those that perished last year. Solidarity will not be gained by everyone doing the exact same thing at the exact same thing but, in fact, just the opposite.
Well, to commemorate that horrible Tuesday last year I would like to take this opportunity to say that in the last year I have seen some great examples of patriotism and have seen some genuine jack-asses. From the overpass flag-wavers and the sudden outburst of our national anthem to impatient airline passengers, that's what this country is all about.  So, what ever you do... be original!

Well, anyone that knows me knows that I take my camera with me almost everywhere.  So, today, as I approached the top of the Altamont Pass, I couldn't pass on the opportunity to click a shot when my '98 Chevy truck hit 100,000 miles.   Above are actual shots of my odometer and where I was when it hit 100k.  I know this is really strange but I couldn't resist.