What would you do if you could not fail?

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Saw this question of Facebook. Here are a few answers folks shared:

• You only fail if you stop trying.
• Become an artist.
• Find a cure for cancer.
• Dance on Broadway.
• Run a horse farm and train horses.
• Help others to succeed.
• Move to Fiji and open up a bakery.
• Shoot an 18 on 18 holes of golf

I love the diversity represented in these comments! I think that the answers reflect our dreams and wishes.

• A golfer wants to golf better. 
• An artist and a dancer want to fulfill creative dreams. 
• Some want to fulfill entrepreneurial aspirations. 
• A few do not want to answer preferring to give advise instead. 
• And some want to help others realize their dreams.

These answers really make me think! Before reading them, I think that I would have said something about healing diseases. In truth I want that because my wife has a disabling neurological disease. Now I am wondering if my answer should be a bit less narcissistic. How would you answer the question? Please let me know.

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National Anthem Poll

Saw this poll in Parade magazine today and thought that I might ask you the same question.
I love the "God shed his grace on thee" refrain in that song but think that the current anthem should be retained. What do you think? Should we replace The Star Spangled Banner with America the Beautiful as our anthem?

The Need for Speed

I clipped this image from the front page of USA Today. The image came with this poll:

"How Would You Describe Your Driving?"

1. Hard-core speeder
2. Sometimes speeder
3. Speed-law observer
4. Not sure

Once upon a time (when I was single) I think that I would have answered 1.2.. not sure that I was hard-core but I did speed a lot. I remember how difficult it was to stay under 70mph when I lived in Texas and Mexico.. all that desert and no one to be seen for miles and miles.. once I did get pulled over in Mexico doing 90mph.. and was decelerating at the time.

In my middle-years I think that my poll answer would have been 2.. especially when I was on a long trip to see my family back east. I think that my driving habits back then were reflective of my Type-A personality.. I always had my watch set 5 minutes ahead back then.. I had places to go and people to see.. and I was so important.

These days I think that I would answer the poll with a 2.9. I usually observe the speed limit but occasionally catch myself going a few miles over the posted limit. I guess I am just not in that much of a hurry to get where I am going.

How would you have answered the poll? Have you slowed down since your youth?

Favorite President Poll Results

Thanks to the twenty-four folks that took my favorite recent president poll. Here are a few observations that I took away from it:

• You all are so politically diverse. The vote was dead even between the democratic and republican presidents given that I voted for the first President Bush.
• Neither President Bush was popular when compared to President Reagan. 
• Republican nostalgia seemed a bit present.. even I pine for those good old Reagan days.
• President Obama is the most popular among democrats but not in the same way that President Reagan is among republicans. Maybe he will be in a few years?

I do wonder how Independents voted. I think of myself as one of those indie folks - but I did vote for the GOP candidate in most of the last nine presidential elections. Maybe I am only an IINO but I don't think that I have ever been a RINO.

What are your thoughts about the poll? Any surprises? Want to change your vote?

Please take my new First Lady poll on my sidebar.. seems like an appropriate way to honor first moms on Mother's Day.

Vote for My New Answering Machine Message

A few suggestions from this funny site.. please vote for one of these messages and I might change my message.. if my wife gives me permission.

1. Hello. I'm Bob's answering machine.
   What are you?
2. Bob here. I'm home right now, I'm just screening my calls. So start talking and if you're someone I want to speak with I'll pick up the phone. Otherwise, well, what can I say?
3. Hi, this is Bob. I'm sorry I can't answer the phone right now. Leave a message, and then wait by your phone until I call you back.
4. I'm only here in spirit at the moment, but if you'll leave your name and number, I will get back to you as soon as I'm here in person. 
5. You have reached the number you have dialed. Please leave a message after the beep.
6. Hello. You are talking to a machine. I am capable of receiving messages. My owners do not need siding, windows, or a hot tub, and their carpets are clean. They give to charity through the office and don't need their picture taken. If you're still with me, leave your name and number and they will get back to you.
7. You have reached 555-5555. We picked this machine up at a garage sale in "as-is" condition. You can try to leave a message on it, but we are not sure it will be recorded. If we don't return your call, it means the machine did not work. 
8. Thank you for calling 555-5555. If you wish to speak to Tim, push 1 on your touch tone phone now. If you wish to speak to Lynn, push 2 on your touch tone phone now. If you have a wrong number, push 3 on your touch tone phone now. All of this button pushing doesn't do anything, but it is a good way to work off anger, and it makes us feel like we have a big time phone system.
9. The President is not in his office at this time. Please leave your name, phone number, the name of the country you wish to invade, and the secret password.
10. You know what I hate about answering machine messages? They go on and on, wasting your time. I mean, all they really need to say is, "We aren't in, leave a message." That's why I've decided to keep mine simple and short. I pledge to you, my caller, that you will never have to suffer through another long answering machine message when you call me.

Please vote on one of these, the other 80 messages here or suggest one of your own.

Presidential Supreme Court Justice

If you are one of the 8 brave souls who took the poll that I have been running or just want to know the answer to the question click here and let me know if you were wrong or right.. some of you were.

Do you think Bill Clinton will be the second president to sit on the high court?

What is America's Longest War?

If you are one of the 15 brave souls who took the poll that I have been running or just want to know the answer to the question click here and let me know if you were wrong or right.. some of you were.

Where Do You Get Your News?

These are the results of a lifehacker poll asking the question in my title.

Gotta admit that most of my news these days comes from a mix of online RSS feeds and some cable news programs (which wasn't listed in their poll).

My wife would probably answer the poll with Primarily Print and TV news programs.

How would you answer the question?

Best Browser Poll

I voted for Chrome. 

Which browser
do you favor?

Click the chart to
see current results.

Identity Theft Poll

My answer is "Some of the above".

I do infrequently check my credit report.. usually check my financial statements.. do shred stuff.. and limit my credit cards.. I also have Identity Theft insurance.

How would you answer this poll?

Grading Obama

I think that this poll, with almost 1.4 million folks voting, is a very interesting one. I think that it speaks to the polarization that is prevalent in our country.. I mean really.. how many of your employers would give you an "A" or an "F" when you were on the job just a few months. You can vote here.

Ebenezer Scrooge or George Bailey?

 

This is a rough one for me.. I love the way that Scrooge is transformed in A Christmas Carol but I think that George Bailey's realization in It's a Wonderful Life is hard to beat.
Which would have voted for?

Smartphones

I voted with the 41% and will probably never do a dumbphone again. I have had my $50 Motorola Q since April of last year and find it to be very useful when I am away from my computer to:

• Read the bible.. I have several versions on it;
• Surf the internet.. use the mobile Bloglines reader to read blogs;
• Read my email.. gmail has a very nice mobile presentation;
• Listen to music using the media player;
• Pass the time playing one of the games on it;
  
• And just look cool.. hey I don't have much of a cool factor.
  

My cellphone deal is up in the spring and I have to admit that I tried the iPhone a few weeks ago and really liked it.. too bad Sprint doesn't carry it.

How about you? How would you have answered the poll? Do you have a smartphone? Do you like it? Would you buy another one? If not, what would it take for you to buy one?

Surprising Poll Results

For the record - I voted with the 2%

The Politics of Prayer

Here is the prayer from last night:

8/23: Donald Miller is probably best known (by me anyway) for writing
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality.. and apparently 28% of Christianity Today's online readership doesn't know who he is.. wonder how they would have voted if the pray-er was someone more well known like Franklin Graham?

I voted with the 20% but could have voted with the 19%. I was happy that.. if you discount the 28%.. most people think that it is okay for Miller to pray at the Democratic National Convention.

How would you have voted? Do you think that evangelicals should only pray with Republicans or maybe we should let other religous folks pray? Or maybe people shouldn't pray at political conventions? Please let me know what you think.

Faith and the Candidates

I voted with the 31% - I think that the media, and people in general, have given McCain a pass.. they have focused on Obama's faith, church and pastor but don't feel obligated to say anything about those corresponding aspects of McCain's life.. seems a bit too one-sided for me.

Oprah Opinion

Yeah, I voted with the 75%. I probably wouldn't have voted that way if she stayed with entertainment and away from spirituality.. of course I haven't watched her in years.. but knowledge.. or a lack of it.. never has stopped me from having an opinion. How would you have voted?

Blog Music Poll

I recently got some feedback from a friend that the music on my blog's playlist was a bit distracting.. I consequently turned off the autostart feature. It got me to wondering.. so I thought that I'd take a poll and get your opinions:



Please vote.. and leave a comment as well.. if not for me do it for the sake of bloggers all over the world :)

CT Candidate Poll: No Majority

One might perceive from this poll that John McCain is the Christian favorite.. to those folks I have to say that even on this heavily evangelical (online) publication he still didn't get a majority.. I think that there is more here than meets the eye.

Quitting Church

Count me in with the 41%. I know it seems like a lot of people are quitting traditional church venues these days but this poll seems to indicate that the majority have stayed and not left. How would you have voted?