See, I told you

I knew it. I started this blog and have failed to update it for nearly three weeks. Well, a lot has happened in the last three weeks. Those of you that know me know that I am making a career change.

Last Friday, I accepted a position as a software/web developer with a local school district. This is a completely new direction for me, working in education, but to be completely honest, with the cut-throat business world burning me out, combined with the slumping economy - I feel like this is a great move.

My interest in getting into education has been gaining over the past couple of months. With Amber teaching, I feel like I am already there. My work with a corporate education initiative put me in schools around the state, and I always had a good feeling. Ever since the promotion took me away from this, I have been missing something.

Corporate world to public education. It's a good move all around.

Will history repeat itself?

Those of you that know me well know that I like history. I've always liked studying it, and looking at how it relates to current events.

With the economic crisis that our country is in, and it being an election year - I wanted to take a look at two similar elections. Although there are major differences (the incumbent president was running in both instances), I believe that you will find this interesting.

1932. This was the first election after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Herbert Hoover did not stand a chance. Democratic New York governor Franklin Roosevelt dominated the electoral college, 472-59.

As history would show us, FDR's socialist policies were popular in this time of crisis, and he went on to be re-elected in 1936 by a even greater margin.

FDR was re-elected in 1940 and 1944, but died in office shortly after the fourth re-election. And of course, the constitution was amended to limit presidential terms to just two.













1980. The first election that took place in my lifetime was in 1980, shortly after the 1979 energy crisis that left America crippled.

Jimmy Carter, perhaps America's worst president, was defeated handily by California governor Ronald Reagan, 489-49.

Reagan, like FDR, became immensely popular and easily won in 1984 and his vice president, George Bush, Sr., won the 1988 election handily.

So, fast forward to 2008. We are going through a similar economic crisis. The current president is not running, but Senator Obama has done a wonderful job linking John McCain to the current president, and unless something dramatic happens, we could see a similar result as the aforementioned elections. Real Clear Politics, the best pollster site out there, projects a 364-174 victory for Obama, another blowout win for the opposite party after an economic crisis.

It pays to pay attention in history class.

Today is one of those days ..

when I miss living in Nashville.

Tonight, the Music City takes the national stage with the second Presidential Debate.

The Titans are undefeated and lead the very competitive AFC South by 2 1/2 games.

The Predators begin their season in St. Louis Friday night and open the home season Saturday against the Stars. (Fun fact: We were season ticket holders)

Yes, living in a medium-sized city (Nashville isn't even the largest city in Tennessee, that designation belongs to Memphis) has its advantages. One of Nashville's advantages is this small hole in the wall in Germantown. The absolute best food I have ever had, hands down.

But each time I think about how much I miss living there, I remember those commutes on Lebanon Pike and Interstate 40 that took five times as long as they should have. Or those mornings that I left for work at 7:30 and got there at 9:30 ( I lived 12 miles away). See, Jackson does have its advantages.

Hey! It's A Blog. By Chad.

I've been meaning to do this for a while - enter the blog world, that is. So here I am - taking a stab at it. Will it last? I don't know. I'm going to try to blog about things that I am interested in - sports, technology, gadgets, history, politics, etc. I will not be blogging on fashion, global warming, or things that I am not interested in.

I probably won't end up on millions of blog rolls, just people that I know. But just in case - here's a rundown of who Chad is.

I'm 29 and live in Flowood, a suburb of the crime capital of the South - Jackson, Mississippi. Although I was born in Mississippi, I grew up in a very small town in Alabama, but made my way back to Mississippi when I attended Mississippi State University.

While at deal ol' State, lots of great things happened:
I met my future wife, Amber.
I majored in Communications.
Mississippi State Football won the SEC West, went to three bowl games and at one time held the nation's longest home winning streak. (Should I go back to college, State fans?)

Amber and I were married in May of 2003, and we began our married life where we met. I worked for a non-profit organization while she worked at MSU and obtained her master's degree.

Eventually, life carried us to Nashville, Tennessee where I worked for Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET, Ouch 401k.) and Amber worked at Vanderbilt University. We met some of our best friends those two years in the Music City and made some great memories.

An opportunity presented itself for us to return to Mississippi - and that's why we are here. I work in the technology field and Amber teaches at a private school. There is a ton more about us, but if I told you now, I wouldn't have anything to blog about. So here goes ...