The Daily Bragger » Cleveland

Do I Miss Cleveland?

Tom Guard — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:59:47 +0000

In early 2010 I moved to South Florida. I basically packed up everything that could fit in a van and headed south. Usually every time I would make a move I would go backwards. (When I moved to NYC, I went backwards…when I moved back to Cleveland, I went backwards.)

But I was determined when I moved to Florida NOT TO GO BACKWARDS!

I was sick of having nothing. I would not accept it anymore. I would not be dragged down anymore. I would surround myself with positive people who empower me to be my best.

We’ll here in Florida I did just that. I got rid of the thorns that were dragging my ass down. I had to do a lot of ignoring, take a lot of abuse and put up with loud mouths spewing negativity.

The first 6 months of living down here were hard but I worked my ass off…in a mobile home with my ex-mother-in-law. There was no space for me to set up my computer and work unless it was on a hot porch. (Believe me the porch was hot…so hot my computer would overheat. )

When I moved here I got a job within a week. I was promised all kinds of benefits and riches by the owner of the company when I started. He even offered to “buy” my old business. (That was a joke. Another Story for another day. Yes, there is animosity, I wasted a year and half with this company. However I met some of the most amazing people in the world whom I am still very close friends with.)

Anyway, while working a job that couldn’t even pay rent at my apartment, I built website after website trying to earn more income.

After not being appreciated by my boss and not being compensated for my skill, I left. I will never work for that dude again. I’m going forward. I won’t even mention or link to their website.

Now I’m here in South Florida, West Palm Beach, building my empire. I work harder than I ever did, but I’m determined to never go backwards in life.

Oh…so where was I?

Yes, do I miss Cleveland?

First of all I do miss my Family. My mom, dad and brother are in Cleveland. I miss them a lot. I miss my other family up there. (Even the ones that get on my damn nerves about stuff and tell me that I’m chasing rainbows. )

The standard of living in Cleveland was amazingly cheap.

To the ones that said I’m chasing rainbows???

Taste this rainbow…

Other Posts by Tom Guard

Columbus Dispatch Orders YouTube To Take Down Golden Voice Video

Tom Guard — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 05:25:49 +0000

The Columbus Dispatch could learn a thing or two about social media.

The Columbus Dispatch filed a Copyright claim with YouTube and had the videos taken down that were posted about Ted Williams, the man with the Golden Voice. The video of Ted was actually shot about 6 weeks ago according the the reporter who shot the interview.

11 million views and the Columbus Dispatch just shut down their publicity. Survey says…..

However, it took a guy who like the story to extract the video and post it on YouTube.

Here are a few things that Columbus Dispatch should learn about social media.

Nobody would have heard about this story unless it was posted on YouTube.
Poor Ted Williams would still be on the side of the road begging for money if it weren’t for the guy who uploaded your video.
The Columbus Dispatch should pay the guy who uploaded the video a buck a view. (Not really.)
The Dispatch should have their own YouTube Channel.

They could have put a call-to-action overlay on the video and got advertising revenue from the video.
They could have put the hyperlink back to the original story in the description.

Now the Columbus Dispatch looks like the bad guys when they could have used social media properly.

No wonder Newspapers are going under…..they still don’t get it.

Kudos to the guy who posted the video on YouTube. If it weren’t for him….Ted Williams wouldn’t be where he is today.

Good luck to Ted. As for the Dispatch….I don’t think the paper will be around too much longer if they can’t bring traffic to their website via YouTube.

Other Posts by Tom Guard

Danny Greene Movie – Collinwood

Tom Guard — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 02:03:36 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

I wrote an article over a year ago about this movie. Finally the Danny Greene movie is scheduled to come out in 2011. Danny Greene was a folk hero sorts in my old neighborhood of Collinwood a rough-neck area of Cleveland.

Here is the movie trailer to the movie “Kill The Irishman.” I’m fascinated by this story because not only was Danny Greene from the neighborhood we both attended the same school St. Jeromes. (I didn’t know Danny Greene, he was before my time. But I do remember seeing the bomb markings on the buildings from where they tried to get him a few times.)

Other Posts by Tom Guard

A Clevelander’s Surival Guide To Florida

Tom Guard — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:26:10 +0000

I have been a lifelong Clevelander. (Except for a time when I lived in Brooklyn…that’s an entirely different article.)

If you are Clevelander and you want to come down to Florida there are a few things you will need to know before you head down here.

Bring sunscreen – duh. My precious Cleveland skin wasn’t used to the sun and the first day I was here I got these tiny blisters on my fingers. After getting them checked out, I found out that it was a type of eczema brought on by not being used to the sun..it’s called dihydrosis. Don’t worry it will go away or you can prevent it by using sunscreen on your hands.

Make sure the A/C in your car works. People will look at you funny if you have your car windows open in 90 degree weather. They will know you are not opening your car windows to get fresh air…it’s because you really didn’t make sure your air conditioner was charged before you left for Florida.

If you want to fit in, don’t wear shorts in 60 degree weather.

Learn how to pronounce words so they sound Spanish. Boca Raton should be pronounced Bow-ka Ra-tone. Clevelanders pronounce it Boca Ratan.

Pop is still pop down here unless you run into a New Yorker who will still call it Soda.

After an hour of watching TV you will see around 15 ads for lawyers. Personal injury lawyers. Tim Misney is not known here in South Florida.

In Cleveland the bars close at 2am. In some parts of South Florida…they don’t close. Especially Miami.

Watch the weather before you go into the Ocean. They usually give jellyfish warnings or warnings about the currents.

Be prepared to pay more for some things and less for others. Fruit is cheap. Razor blades are not.

Don’t say “Where is this rain coming from? – when it’s sunny. It even rains while the sun is shining.

If it rains wait 5 minutes. It will probably stop.

If you are a man, bring condoms.

If you are a woman bring condoms.

If you are a condom….you’re screwed.

If you are married, you are single.

If you are single, you are one lucky bastard.

I’m sure there is more to come to this Clevelander’s Survival Guide to Florida.

Other Posts by Tom Guard

I’m not in Cleveland anymore.

Tom Guard — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:08:48 +0000

I haven’t really wrote a personal post in a while. Most of you know that I have been a lifelong Clevelander. About a month ago, my family and I moved to South Florida. I liquidated everything and only packed what could fit in a minivan.

Image Via Wikipedia

I’m in South Florida because my last September, my father-in-law passed, he was killed by a drunk driver. We came down here to help my mother-in-law adjust. They were married for 41 years so there is a big adjustment period.

So I’m here in South Florida trying to adjust too.

The bugs are huge. They have these bugs called Palmetto Bugs…I Googled them and it turns out they are American Cockroaches. I guess the fancy name “Palmetto Bug” is just to soften the blow. To me…they are enormous cockroaches. AND THEY FLY LIKE RESCUE HELICOPTERS.

The other thing that I’m trying to get used to is the heat and humidity. My hands got tiny blisters within a week of arriving here. I Googled these blisters and it is a from of Eczema brought out from people that aren’t used to the sun. It’s called dihydrosis. In my entire life I have never had eczema. It must be that my skin has to get acclimated to the rays of sun here.

I do miss my friends, and all other things Cleveland. I especially miss the cheaper living. Gas is a few dimes more down here in South Florida.

If you want to enjoy the nightlife in South Florida, you better have a few more dollars out here than in Cleveland. I bought 3 drinks at a bar in West Palm Beach and the price was 30 dollars. (About 100% more than the price in Cleveland.)

Back to the gas prices…I don’t why they would be higher here, the Gulf of Mexico is not that far away and it’s where they pump all that black gold.

There are some things here in South Florida that are cheaper. FRUITS. Fruit is so cheap here because so many people have fruit trees in their yards. Plus, Florida is the citrus capitol of the United States.

Now that I traded an occasional tornado for an occasional hurricane, how do I feel about hurricanes? I know that if there is a hurricane warning down here…I’ll be the first to start driving to Cleveland.

…..to be continued.

Other Posts by Tom Guard

Buying a Domain Name

Tom Guard — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:10:36 +0000

Buying a Domain Name

There are literally thousands of places you can buy a domain name. There are three companies that I have bought domain names from. Some of the cheapest domain names I have bought were at GoDaddy. Not does GoDaddy have lower prices than most companies, they have superior customer service. I personally have never had a problem with GoDaddy.

Even GoDaddy’s webhosting plans are affordable.

If you are starting a blog or website, I would highly recommend using GoDaddy. If you want to install WordPress on your website, the easiest way to install WordPress is to get a GoDaddy account and with one click you can have WordPress installed on your server without any trouble.

I have tried to install WordPress on a Yahoo webhosting account but there were too many problems.

You can compare GoDaddy to other domain registrars below.

Other Posts by Tom Guard

Brooklyn Ohio Shutting Down American Greetings

Tom Guard — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:21:30 +0000

Brooklyn Ohio is a money grubbing city. I know this from personal experience. I got two tickets in one year from this city.

One ticket was for driving while on a cell phone. The other ticket was for turning left into Giant Eagle from Biddulph road. The “No Left Turn” sign isn’t visible until you start making the turn. There were also painted arrows on the road indicating that a left turn was okay. To this day, I avoid driving thru Brooklyn, Ohio. I won’t even patronize businesses in the city.

Now the city of Brooklyn, Ohio pimped slapped local business and everyone is going to have to pay for it.

Brooklyn, Ohio raised the payroll tax on business in the city. Now American Greetings may want to leave the city to save money.

Read more about Brooklyn’s plans in an article by Plain Dealer Reporter Janet Cho. She’s one of my favorite business reporters in Cleveland.

(Corrections)

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List of Celebrities on Twitter

Tom Guard — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:15:08 +0000

: Al Gore via last.fm

This is an updated list of Celebrities on Twitter courtesy of Twitterrazzi. You can see their live streams just by clicking on each link.

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Imperial Avenue Cleveland Murders – Google Street View

Tom Guard — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:32:03 +0000

I was looking up Imperial Avenue in Cleveland on Google Maps due to the overwhelming news about the bodies being discovered on that street. When I did a Google street view of the house on Imperial Avenue, I saw this picture. It’s some person flipping off the Google Car that took the picture. You can check it out yourself here. Or just click the picture to enlarge it.

Imperial Ave Cleveland

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Cleveland Casino – Has A Nice Ring To It

Tom Guard — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:41:42 +0000

Ohio hit a royal flush at the polls. They approved casino gambling in 4 locations across Ohio. The gambling issue has been on the ballot a few times before and failed. Now that Ohio has hit rock bottom with high unemployment and the state and local municipalities trying to balance budgets, Ohio will get some much needed tax revenue.

Of course Casinos will create jobs for Ohioans. Not just Casino jobs but jobs around the casinos. Vendors from the food service industry to electricians will be needed to keep the casinos running.

: Image via Wikipedia

As for the naysayers that say a casino will bring crime, drugs and prostitution to the area…Well, Cleveland has never had a casino and there is plenty of of crime, drugs and prostitution in the area. Revenue from casinos in Ohio will put more police on the streets.

There is no time to waste. Stick the shovel in the ground and start building this Cleveland Casino today.

See you at the penny slots.

Other Posts by Tom Guard