New Cambria Suites Hotels Opening!

There is a new Cambria Suites hotel opening on Tuesday, September 2nd.

If you’re heading to Fort Collins, Colorado anytime soon, be sure to keep your eye open for a new hotel. The Cambria Suites Luxury Hotel in Fort Collins will open it’s doors to the public on September 2nd of this year to gear up for the holiday travel. It is minutes away from Colorado State University and historic downtown. The hotel has already been accepting reservations for stays on September 2nd and beyond.

More Apple News – September 9th is Rumored as Apple’s New iPod Launch

September 9th is only a couple of weeks away, but it is a day to mark your calendars and set reminders for yourself to get to the nearest Apple Store to take a look at the new iPod. Gadget blogs all over the web have have picked up on “leaked” news that Apple has a new 4G iPod nano. The new iPod nano supposedly has a larger screen to make it more video-freindly. Kevin Rose, the founder of the social-networking site Digg has also hinted at a less expensive iPod touch as well as the new iTunes 8 which are both also set to go out on September 9th.

A Macbook and a Free iPod – Back to school promotion from Apple

I’ve been in the market for a new notebook for a few months now and as I was shopping around and checking out some specs on a few machines, Apple has suddenly taken a substantial lead on the competition. I was debating between the traditional PC notebook and a Macbook. I have heard great things about the Apple laptop but my concerns with the Mac were compatibility and the new Leopard OS. I’m not used to Macs and I didn’t know how it would turn out but like I said, I’ve heard great things and people have been telling me that the Mac OS is more user-friendly than Windows. Now that was good news.

But here is the kicker…right now, if you buy a Macbook, Apple will throw in an iPod as a part of their Back to School Promotion. And sincy my girlfriend works for the University of Phoenix she is eligible for the promotion. Now that is very persuading. Since I hardly ever listen to my own MP3 player though, I would get the iPod touch with my Mac and give it to my girl. We have played with it and the free wi-fi for the iPod make it a pretty solid accessory. So she’ll hook me up, but in essence, she’ll be hooking herself up. I guess the reason why this promo is such a big deal is because I think the iPod will make my girl really happy and what’s more important than that right? After all, the price of my notebook will be the same, but a free iPod touch for your girl, now that’s a deal.

Eight Essential Reasons to Begin Meditating

This has been widely seen by many Westerners as a waste of time. It is hard for many people to grasp because we live in an age where we want results and we want them now. Mediation does not offer that kind of benefit. The benefits from meditation stem much deeper and last much longer. It requires discipline and mind-control.

Many people associate meditation with the Shaolin Temple and they see monks as the supreme martial artists who transcribe Buddhist text and meditate on a regular basis. I would say though, that Shaolin monks are more known today for their Shaolin Kung Fu than they are for their meditation in the eyes of Westerners. What many people don’t know though, is the reason why the monks began their martial arts training.

Over 1500 years ago, the monks at the Shaolin Temple were only tasked with transcribing text and performing meditation practices in an attempt to become one with the universe. The problem was that many monks became tired and although they tried to push their mental energy towards the exercise of mediation, they would often fall asleep. That was until, they were introduced to Kung Fu training.

The monks adopted this area of training and realized they could transform their bodies and do the unimaginable. They had a secondary focus to develop a self-defense system that pushed their bodies to the limits in order to understand human capability, but the main focus of the Shaolin monks was to train so they could meditate for longer periods of time.

Meditation is an attempt to expand our consciousness and be aware of our sense of being. For those that have discovered meditation, the benefits have become astounding. Tai Chi meditation is taught to elders in retirement homes to prevent careless slips and falls which may result in a hip injury. Awareness as well as happiness are increased while depression falls in meditation practitioners. You do not need to be a Buddhist or a Taoist to practice mediation. I am Catholic yet I have been practicing meditation for three years now and I believe it has helped me to enjoy my life more.

Seeing as how the number ‘8′ is good luck in Chinese culture, I decided to list the eight biggest reasons to begin daily meditation practice. The benefits are far greater than what will be listed, but the ones that are discussed may be the biggest ones in our world today.

1. Contribute to Better Health – Proper meditation practice will reduces stress levels and alleviate anxiety. When we are worried about the little things in life, we miss out on the important ones. Meditation helps to put things into perspective and allows you to brush off the things that should be less important in a humans life, this in turn, leads to a healthier lifestyle.

2. Make Your Brain Grow – A study done by Live Science was posted on the MSNBC website discussing how Meditation can boost your gray matter in your brain. Regular meditation leads to an increased thickness in cortical regions related to sensory, auditory and visual perception, as well as internal perception. The internal perception of a person is what performs the automatic monitoring of our body functions such as breathing and regulating our heart rate. This leads into our next reason.

3. Increase Knowledge of Yourself – Through meditation we can gain a better understanding of ourselves from the inside out. As the understanding of our inner-self grows, our priorities begin to shift and things that shouldn’t matter in life anymore, don’t.

4. Increase Your Alertness – Studies have shown that regular meditation is more effective than naps, exercise or caffeine in increasing alertness. In a perfect world, it is preferred that those who meditate, also exercise in order to supplement your body and the yin-yang balance. People who meditate and exercise regularly have also been known to sleep less compared to the rest of the population.

5. Increase Mind-Control – Do you ever find yourself making negative thoughts in your head about your or another person? These negative thoughts come through and are visible to the world around you. Meditation teaches us to control our breath and our minds. This creates peace in our thoughts and enables us to become the people we want to be.

6. Better Concentration and Focus – If any of you are writers or have been tasked with producing some content around a report one way or another, then you know and understand the difficulties with writer’s block. With constant meditation, people begin to develop a clear mind and a clear mind in turn makes you more productive. This is true with any discipline, a clear mind will always be more productive.

7. It Can be Fun – Certain types of meditation such as Tai Chi Chuan or Pa Kua Chang not only improve our mind and our physical well-being, but it can also be entertaining. Training with class-mates and interacting with others livens up the spirit and allows you to learn from each other. Tai Chi has a martial aspect to it and with self-defense skills come confidence. It is said that rock sharpens itself on another rock. In much of the same light, a student sharpens their skills with the help of another student.

8. Live More Care-Free – I am always intrigued by dogs and their attitude. My dogs at home are complete zen-masters. They are not pre-occupied with the past, or the future. They live in the moment. Humans on the other hand, never stop thinking about what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. When people spend their energy focusing on the past and the future, they cover up our natural spontaneity and creativity. Meditate, live in the moment and realize your potential so that you may be able to unlock your creativity and enjoy life to the fullest.

I guarantee you that any practice in meditation will change your life but it won’t come quick. It takes discipline, effort and proper practice. If you have any doubts about meditation at all, I challenge you to just try it. Give it a shot for a month minimum. A month should be a short enough time-frame to see results in how you feel throughout the day. Seek out a school or an instructor and start today.

Google Olympic Logo

As the days go by for the Olympics, Google as well as Yahoo have had daily logos appropriately set to the Olympic theme. I enjoy the Google ones personally. Google has had a dragon with a basketball, a pole-vaulter, and many other things that are very enjoyable. My favorite (with the basketball one coming in to a close second-place) is today’s Google logo. It is a martial arts themed picture:

2008 Olympics in Beijing

On a couple of other great notes, Bryan Clay of The United States Claims Gold in the Decathlon and the Men’s US Beach Volleyball Team Won Gold allowing the United States to become the first country to win both gold medals for both the men’s and women’s team.

New Metallica Single! – The Day That Never Comes

Here is the link to the new Metallica single called “The Day That Never Comes.” The song is pretty cool and very diverse as it starts off with a simple slow tune and then it builds up to some metal mayhem. Metallica is reaching back into it’s roots with an eight minute song, much like the old days of Master of Puppets and And Justice for All. Kirk is still shreddin’ with some pretty top-notch solos. I’m so glad they incorporated those back into their songs. I was a fan of St. Anger, but the lack of solos kind of put a damper on the album. Nonetheless, the preview of the new Metallica album is very satisfactory!

Extended Stay Hotels

So what is an extended stay hotel and what is the difference between those and “regular” hotels. To be honest, I had no idea. I grew up in a small town with a teeny population and I didn’t realize there were different classes of hotels designed for different types of travelers. I just recently found out that the main difference was between those types of accommodations and a more traditional hotel. With the word “hotel” you generally think about a weekend vacation spot with nightly rates and such. Now if you were doing some training for work and you needed to be away from home in some city or town for an extended period of time, say, I don’t know, 1 to 2 weeks, those nightly rates would add up to a hefty sum in a traditional hotel. Now luckily, there are extended stay hotels which are designed and built for such occasions. The business model for an extended stay is actually designed to make money for weekly rates. These weekly rates are available when needed and make the cost much cheaper for the occupant.

I’ve also known a few people who graduated from Arizona State with me and they decided to pursue a career in another state. That is very cool and I respect that a lot but I remember they had to drop some extra cash before they even received their first paycheck. The way it was set-up was they had a start date at their job at the end of the month, and their apartment wasn’t going to be ready for them to move into until the beginning of the next month. The cost for lodging for these few extra nights wasn’t overly expensive, but if they would have known better, they would have stayed at an extended stay hotel to save the extra cash. Now I’m sure they know about it now because most extended stay places cater to business travelers so that’s a plus. I know where I’ll be turning if I’m ever in a situation where I’ll be on the road for an extended period of time.

Keep Your Head Up Greg. We Can’t Wait to Have You Home

This might be kind of random but I just had a brother give me a call from Iraq. My childhood friend Greg Cullison is in the Army infantry and was recently deployed to Iraq. We met quite sometime ago, I’d say about…18-19 years ago. His mom was a server at my parents’ restaurant and Greg and I have been buddies ever since. We have actually grown to tell everyone that we are brothers. We used to enjoy getting into trouble with each other. Whether it was lying about spending the night at each other’s houses and staying out all night or going out and seeing how many things we could light on fire, we always had a knack for mischief.

We graduated high school together and he immediately joined the service while I attended school. I graduated, and he re-enlisted. I just saw him a few months ago in Phoenix as he was on leave and visiting family before flying out. He was staying at an extended stay hotel in Phoenix near the Metro Center Mall and the crappy thing was that he was only here for a night. I made the most of it jetting right to the place after work and staying as late as I could without depriving him of rest. It’s crazy how things are different now. We’re not as carefree because times have changed and responsibility has grown particularly on his part. He’s in Iraq with equipped with a firearm virtually every second. It’s hard not to worry but man, I just can’t wait to see him. My hat is off not only to Greg and all of those serving the military, but also to the families of those involved. God bless the United States of America.

Vintage Rock Group in Arizona

If you live in Phoenix and you enjoy live music, you need to check out the premier Classic Rock Cover Band in Arizona. The band jams out on cover songs from the late 60s, 70s, 80s and songs of today. They have a show coming up at the end of the month on Saturday, August 30th, at Cafe’ Portabello in North Scottsdale. If you don’t have any plans that night, I recommend you check out the show and you’ll be sure to have a good time.

Killer Whales

As if you couldn’t tell by my constant blabbering about how much I love Sea World and their most famous inhabitant Shamu the Killer Whale, the Orca is my favorite animal ever in the history of…well…ever in the history of earth. I am always so mesmerized by their grace as they float and glide effortlessly through the water. But amidst the elegance is a power unmatched in the sea. The Orca has no predators and that in itself says a lot.

Orca in the sea

One thing I have to do before I die is see one in the wild. I always love my experiences at Sea World and those will never lose their luster, but seeing a Killer Whale jumping in the wild will be a dream come true. I won’t be able to get as close to the Orca, but the majestic movements will make up for the distance. A few places that I have thought about going to do some whale watching were in the Oregon area off of the coast and even more likely, Alaska. Alaska would be great because I could see many other animals that dwell up there. I also had a friend move up to Anchorage so he could show me around. Here is another place to add to my list of vacation spots. I’ve heard good things about Alaska and I don’t think finding a hotel in Anchorage would be a problem. Ideally, this would be a week long trip so I could spend some time in the city with my buddy and travel around other parts of Alaska, namely, the parts where you could go whale watching.

Air Jordan Six Ring Shoe Pics

Here is a continuation of my previous post about the Air Jordan Six Ring Shoe. These shoes are so tight. As I mentioned before, they are a hybrid of all of the shoes that MJ wore during his championship seasons, hence the name “Six Rings.” I’ve heard rumors of an Olympic version dropping soon so keep your eye out for that. Go Team USA!!!

Front View of The Air Jordan Six Rings Shoe

Air Jordan Six Rings Basketball Shoes

The Jumpman

Top view of the Air Jordan Six Rings Shoe

And of course, the picture that would revolutionize the world for years to come…

The man...The Legend

Just thought I’d throw that last one in there for the heck of it.

The Air Jordan Six Ring Shoe

This was a brilliant concept that has been nothing less of spectacular for Nike. They made hybrid Jordan’s mixing some of the more popular Air Jordan designs into one shoe. They have made successful models in the past and this last one delivered as expected. On August 16th, Nike unveiled the brand new Air Jordan Six Rings Basketball Shoe which meshes together all of the shoes that MJ wore during his championship years with the Chicago Bulls. They nearly sold out in at the Chandler Fashion Center mall in Arizona with only three pairs left in the entire place on the morning of the 17th. I just bought my pair but I had to fish for mine online.

The Air Jordan Six Rings Shoe

History has been made! Eight gold medals in Beijing

Wow. That’s all I can say…wow! Eight for eight with gold medals and breaking seven world records along the way seems impossible to achieve, but Michael Phelps made history in the Olympics. His final event was the 4 x 100 meter relay and they defeated their rivals, the Australians to write the final chapter in Phelp’s amazing Olympic career. The anchor for the US team said afterwards that he glanced up in the stands and saw Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in the stands and he didn’t want to let down the greatest basketball players on earth. I think he did his part in representing for Kobe, LeBron, the United States, and perhaps most importantly, Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympics history.

“He doesn’t swim – he flies”…

…said the Sports Daily Ole in Argentina. They are referring to that one swimmer you may have heard of, ya know, that one that is participating in a few of the events in this years Olympic games in Beijing. I’m talking about man-child Michael Phelps. That man is a beast. So far, as of August 15th, 2008 at 2:41pm Mountain Standard Time, he has raced in six events and won a gold medal each time. As if that wasn’t impressive in itself, he also set six world records in the process. My buddy Greg Temple used to swim in college at Missouri State University and he told me about his workout regimen. There is no way I could hang with you swimmers. My props to you guys, and big ups to the peeps in China representin!

Earn Triple Airline Rewards When You Stay at Cambria Suites

So at times like these it seems like we need more of an incentive to travel. If you’re traveling for work, you need extra perks to make up for the rising gas prices and shaky economy. Well I love to travel and I think I may have found something to give you a bit more of a push to take that well deserved vacation before the year is out. Right now, when you stay at any Cambria Suites property, you can earn triple airline rewards from any of the 12 airline partners with Choice Hotels. The special offer is valid for any stays from now until December 31st, 2008 so book your trip now while you still have time, you’ll be glad you did!

Each Cambria Suites property is an all-suite hotel and 100% non-smoking so that all of the guests can enjoy the environment and ambiance that the new brand offers. The people at Choice Hotels have worked to ensure that each room in every Cambria Suties hotel is functional and stylish to cater to every traveler, whether its the visitor attending an important business meeting, or its the family enjoying a relaxing weekend away from home. Every Cambria Suites property offers the latest in technology, including a 52-inch television in the open, airy two-story lobby and each suite includes two flat-screen LCD televisions, a CD/DVD player, and MP3 jacks, not to mention an indoor pool and a fitness center.

For more information and to book your reservations to take advantage of this special offer, visit the Cambria Suites Luxury Hotel website today and just present your frequent flyer number upon check-in. Not a bad find for a hopeful Shaolin Guru in Arizona huh? Enjoy your trip!