Hope you find this interesting.

October 12, 2009

For immediate release

Long-time Nashvillian and Tennessee native Sonata Stanton-Rayburn is proud to announce the opening of The Heels on Wheels, a personal shopping and courier service that covers everything from stocking groceries and household items to planning Baby's nursery to assisting in holiday shopping and gift selections.

Prior to starting Heels On Wheels, Rayburn worked in the music business at Progressive Global Agency, the Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association and most recently in economic development for the state of Tennessee. 

In her former positions, Rayburn has been most drawn to the parts of the job that required organizational and people skills. "When I asked myself what it is I most enjoyed day in and day out, it always came back to taking care of people," Rayburn says. "I've always been able to put employers, clients and consultants at ease with five simple words 'I'll take care of it' and that was the most gratifying."

"Sonata defines the word multi-tasking," says former employer Scott Clayton of CAA.  From maintaining databases, writing up contracts and most importantly keeping positive artist relations she did that and so much more every day with professionalism and a smile."

"Sonata is a joy to work with," says former co-worker Stacey Briggs, President and Executive Director of Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association. "She has the passion and creativity to solve any problem no matter how big or small."

Heels On Wheels will launch with an introductory party at Cabana Restaurant on Wednesday Oct 21 from 5:00pm-7:30pm. All are welcome.

Heels On Wheels is reliable, insured and bonded.  For more information:

Sonata Stanton-Rayburn
Heels On Wheels, LLC
615-585-6643

SOLD  -  SOLD  -  SOLD  -  SOLD  -  SOLD

1997 Ford F150 Truck FOR SALE!
4.6L Triton 8 Engine, Lariat Package, Stepside Style

I'm second owner and I bought it from a good friend so I know the history on it.  He used it as his primary vehicle and hauled landscape materials in it occasionally for his yard.  I did the same, and hauled my bicycle around in it.  This vehicle is in good condition and will make someone a great truck.

I'm selling it because Donna and I decided it was time for a new car.  And what I bought does not get that much better gas mileage!  This truck will get about 17MPG+ on the highway.

MORE PICTURES HERE

CONDITION:

• Used but not abused.  Scratches, but never wrecked.  See pictures for details.
• 106k miles (low for a 11 year old truck!)  I've been driving 9 miles max to work - just my normal car, not a work truck.
• High end tires, maybe 18 months old, plenty of tread
• Occasionally used to pull my old boat
• Ball joints replaced about a year ago

THE GOOD:

• Leather Seats
• Alloy Rims
• Power driver seat adjustments
• Cruise Control
• V8 Engine
• Sliding Rear Window
• Bed Liner

• The driver's side power adjust mirror intermittently works
• Sometimes the windshield squirter works intermittently
• 6-disc CD changer quit working about 3 years ago.
• Door speakers crackle on the low notes
• Has the standard squeak while steering when not moving.
• Some decent scratches on the front passenger wheel fender.  Tailgate significantly nicked from loading pea gravel.  This all caused by previous owner.
• Bedliner has one tiny crack in it, which was there when I bought it.
• Some paint discoloration around the squirters on the hood.

For the fourth year in a row, I'm riding 150 miles, with Monteagle in the middle, to help those who live with diabetes.

Of course, you'll find ways to sponsor me with your generous financial donation.  You know people with diabetes.  You know people that lose their vision or kidney functions to diabetes.  You know people that have lost limbs to diabetes.  You know people that have died from the complications of diabetes.  Help me help them.

READ MORE HERE

Someone sent me these amazing videos of this robot build by Boston Dynamics under a DARPA research grant. Truly amazing.

Here it is in its current form. You can see that it's pretty sophisticated.



But, it hasn't always been that way. Here is version 1. You can see they've come a very long way.



Long story short, keep working hard at something and you can go from 'stupid robot' to 'that thing kicks ass.'

Integrity - defined as "Adherence to a code of values; utter sincerity, honesty, candor; completeness." I believe it's doing what you say you're gonna do, even when it's difficult or even becomes inconvenient.

Adventure Integrity - sometimes you get in a conversation with an adventurous friend.  A conversation comes up about a really interesting but challenging bike ride or hike.  OK, you're sold, and you agree that it's something you're going to train for, prepare and do.  It's not an "I'll think about it" or a "Let's talk about this later."  It's not necessarily a decision on commitment clouded by alcohol.   All of those kinds of things are not what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about "Yes, that sounds challenging and fun.  Let's do it!  Count me in."

• 3 State 3 Mountain 2005 - I wasn't ready for a ride like that.  But I signed up for the ride, told everyone I was going to do it, and I trained like crazy all winter.  In the spring, I rode every hill I could find, repeatedly.
• Bearwaller Gap Hike, January 2006 - forecast for rain, temps just above freezing.  Yes, it would have been easy on that Friday to call it off, but I went ahead with it.  What a great trip too!  We had to hike out in the rain.  And the cold rain makes for a whole different environment.  When I'm home and it rains in the winter, I think about that trip.
• Russell Field Hike, Smokies, February 2006 - another hike, forecast for snow/mix, single digit temps.  We car camped Friday night, and temps dropped easily into the 20's.  As we hiked up the mountain on Saturday, we found snow higher in the mountains.  Temps kept dropping.  It snowed 8" that night, and it was so cold.  But that morning, the scenery was unbelievable.  If I hadn't had Adventure Integrity, I would have never had such an amazing experience.
• Country Music Half Marathon 2008 - this is a work-in-progress.  And, this commitment was over a few beers around the campfire.  I'm still training, and I absolutely HATE running.  But I made the commitment, and I have to uphold my Adventure Integrity.  This has to be the suckiest commitment I've made thus far.  Did I mention that I hate running?

1. 911 or other major acts of terrorism.
2. Injury to required body part, that further overuse may destroy other Adventure Integrity opportunities due to further injury.  "I broke my kneecap doing a double backflip off the cliff at Percy Priest."
   
3. Significant Illness - bad diarrhea, food poisoning, bad flu.  Sniffles are not an excuse.
4. Death in the family, or other significant family emergency.  "My daughter broke up with her boyfriend" is not an excuse.
   
5. "I don't have a backpack."  Waaaah.  Rent or borrow one.

I hired Gabriel's Tree Service to remove most of the bamboo from my back yard in preparation for a fence. I wanted to mention the positive things from the experience.

I found Gabriel on craigslist.org. Seemed like he said the right stuff in his ad, so I called. 615-582-2623. He came over and left me a very competitive quote, later started the work.

Bamboo is probably one of the worst materials to remove for tree people. The roots are covered with dirt, and the silicon embedded in the material is very hard, so it's tough on the chipper. Gabriel had a problem with the way some of the dead bamboo splintered. It caused the output chute on the chipper to clog up. They worked through the problem.

After removing the bamboo, Gabriel used a stump grinder and sweeped the whole area, grinding the bamboo roots, and the stumps up, leaving the whole area ready for grass. This wasn't discussed upfront, but he said that's what needed to be done. No extra charge. Other services wanted to charge me upwards of $1000 for that same grinding.

One of Gabriel's marketing strategies is "Ask About Free Tree Removal". It turns out that in churches, parks, or other areas, he'll remove large dead limbs (widow makers), or maybe the whole tree, to make the area safer for kids. That's an admirable idea, and goes a long way towards spreading a good word about his company.

Long story short, I'd use him again for work that I can't handle with my own chainsaw!

I got to see these in Dallas this year (2007) at the Moving Forward Film Festival. They were so moving, I just have to pass them on. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. You'll need to read more to see the videos. Definitely worth it if you're helping to end the devastating effects of Multiple Sclerosis.

Greenpeace is holding an online poll to "name the whale"! Go vote for Mister Splashy Pants!
UPDATE:  Mr Splashy Pants did actually win!  Now you can go buy t-shirts, hats and coffee mugs!

LOOK HERE

OK, once and for all, I'm kind of tired of all the questions:

• You're a vegetarian?
• How long have you been doing that?
• That's weird!  Why the hell would you want to do that?
• Why did you quit eating meat? ("you big dummy" or "weirdo" implied with the non-verbals)