Justin D Reed's: justin-reed.com blog!

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

The Odds of a White Christmas

The odds of a white Christmas


Probability of at least one inch of snow on the ground Christmas Day.
Note: This is not a forecast.
(National Climatic Data Center map.
)

Meteorologists can't forecast more than three or four days ahead of time whether a particular place is likely to have snow on the ground on Christmas Day.

U.S. weather records averaged over a 30-year period show that only five places with long-term weather records are practically guaranteed to have a white Christmas. They are Marquette and Sault Ste Marie in Michigan, Hibbing and International Falls in Minnesota, and Stampede Pass in Washington.

As the map shows, wide areas of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, much of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and western mountains including the Cascades of Washington and Oregon, California's Sierra, and the Rockies from Montana and Idaho south into southern Colorado have a better than 90% chance of snow on the ground at Christmas.

Most ski areas, of course, are likely to have snow on the ground on Christmas, even if they have to make it. (Related resource: USATODAY.com Ski Guide)

Weather.com also has a page about the probabilities of a white Christmas. Here's the original white Christmas paper from the National Climatic Data Center (PDF).

For more on the odds of where and when snow is likely, you can check the NCDC's U.S. Snow Climatology section.

Mistake: Not Getting HELP & the Adonis Effect

(taken from Weapons of Mass Influence – the Adonis Effect)

This is by FAR the biggest mistake of all.

Just as men loathe getting directions when we're lost, most men will never ask someone to help them get this part of our lives together.

adonis effect

Our egos prevent it… like asking for help reduces our manhood… or makes us look weak or helpless

This is the mistake that keeps most men from EVER having the kind of success that we truly want out of life.

Hey, I've been there myself.

But, let me tell you a little something about me that I think you'll be able to apply to your life.

About 4 years ago, I simply became frustrated with my lack in progress in life. After all, I have an engineering degree and was getting great marketing experience… I'm not bad looking and my body wasn't in god awful shape (just skinny).

Let's just say that frustrated is an understatement at this point… maybe you're feeling that way RIGHT NOW.

What I figured out was this, and I learned it because one smart man that I respect a bunch told me this when I asked him what he thought my problem was.

He said, "… your problem is that you're a loner."

"WHAT!" (I didn't know what to think)

"Your problem is that you try to do ALL the research, ALL the work, ALL the figuring out of things from scratch… but guess what… all of this stuff has ALREADY been figured out.

Your ego is making you take the HARD ROAD and you don't even realize it. You think you’re being honorable by "earning your stripes" but the simple fact is that instead of standing on the shoulders of those that have come before you or those that have already figured this stuff out… you're reducing yourself to mediocrity while everyone else passes you by."

Do you want to talk about a slap in the face… man… I felt it deep in my gut, and I knew that he was right.

It all made sense.

He went on to tell me that long ago, he quit worrying about what other people thought of him. If he didn't know something or wanted a desired result, he went and found the people that ALREADY knew how to get this desired result and one way or another… got the information… and therefore the result… that he was looking for.

And that, my friend, was the #1 key to his success.

Once I seriously grasped that… things started to RAPIDLY change in my life. My body improved, my finances improved, my love life improved.

Did I have challenges? You bet.

But I stopped trying to do everything myself. I learned to find the PEOPLE that could help me and leverage their results and expertise to get my results FAR FASTER than if I tried to do it on my own.

It has been a very rewarding experience.

I no longer feel that sick, insecure feeling… when I need to have an answer to a challenge because I KNOW that asking questions and going to the BEST PEOPLE is in my best interest.

And that comes from getting results… period.

With no results… there's no competence. Without competence… there's no confidence.

I know that without a doubt, I can find the answer to virtually any challenge that I have by finding the right expert to help me FAR FASTER than if I trying to do my own research, or search the INTERNET on any given topic.

So that's what I've done.

Ebook: Weapons of Mass Influence – the Adonis Effect

The Top 10 Most Innovative Viral Video Ads of 2009

2009’s crop of top viral video advertisements show us that people are willing to embrace a host of creative approaches on the social video Web, from beguiling mini-films, to user-generated advocacy, to YouTube celebrity endorsers, to elaborate commercial-grade productions. That’s good news for creators.

Regardless of the approach, the key for marketers is a solid understanding of what a brand is, who is the brand’s audience, and what moves them. Strangely enough, this formula sounds like traditional advertising. This year’s Top 10 is certainly a glimpse of how the viral video ad business is evolving, and as marketers, what we can learn from that evolution.

View the videos on Mashable

Even Mr. Monopoly is Having Troubles with the Economy

Recessions affect everybody, from Baltic to Broadway. 

Mr Monopoly

Origionally at collegehumor.com