Todd Cochrane Ramblings and Happenings

After 300 Plus homes and several false alarms I think we have found what both my wife and I consider to be an acceptable home. All I can say is thank goodness the hard part is over.

The house needs no work, we are pretty sure no termites and it will make a perfect place to entertain guest and not have to run the A/C 24/7 as it is at one of the highest points in Honolulu and is a corner single level home with 1600 square feet of space and I am pretty excited about moving.

Getting through escrow will be the fun part, the sooner the better

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well my Navy career is winding down, I have my papers in and am waiting for the formal approval to come back. I spent some time in NYC last week meeting with some media buyers to help drive the business of RawVoice along.

I am still busting out a degree and have 5 classes left which makes it nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Overall I guess life is pretty good. My mom is doing ok and my niece is on the mend from the accident that took my dad from us.

It is a truly a miracle that she is still alive. My grandparents on my moms side are not 98 and 96 respectfully and when I was home last week I set them down in front of a camera and recorded some family history starting in 1907 and getting through the mid 1950’s.

Those tapes are worth their weight in gold. Lots of interesting things going on almost to many to blog and some business stuff that I am pretty excited about as well.

We have decided to wait a while and hope that the housing prices here in Hawaii cool a little bit. A $4000.00 a month mortgage payment is so over the top I cannot even imagine writing the check for that amount each month.

I have neglected this space way to long but it is time to update it more often.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Shoko and I have been actively looking for a home here in Hawaii for about a month, and I will be honest with you. The situation here is absolutely out of control.

I have walked into absolute dumps that would be worth more burned to the ground listed for $650,000. I have walked into Town Homes that have less than 1100 square feet with three bedrooms for $600,000 with a monthly maintenance fee of $600.00. I have seen homes that were priced at a good value but in a school district that ranked at the absolute bottom of the scale.

I have walked through beautiful sub-divisions with model homes to die for that are listed at $550,000 yet the test drive to get to the main highway from the location averaged a hour plus an additional 45 minute commute. The distance travelled in one hour was less than 3 miles. Not to mention those homes are in another crappy school district.

Not to mention a Job market that absolutely does not support at estimated $4000.00 a month mortgage payment. Bankers are more than happy to finance you a home where they know you will be spending as much as 60% of your base salary on a mortgage payments.

Heck we have not even talked about Electric, Water, Sewer and Garbage. I’ll be honest with you, this is a housing market that is completely out of control and for the life of me I do not see how people are able to afford these type of mortgage payments based upon the economy.

So here I sit making a significant salary and completely demoralised that we are finding it near impossible in buying a home at our self imposed cap. Something has to give because if a guy like me that has significant resources is scared of the housing market then I cannot even imagine what others are thinking.

The state simply has to get off their ass and do something because as much as I love Hawaii the shitty schools and crazy home prices is making me look eastward and making me consider packing my suitcase and getting the hell out of of here.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In the past 24 months I have consulted with over 500 podcasters and more than 20 corporations. Many times these services were done over the phone, and nearly a dozen times people have flown out to Hawaii to spend a weekend to consult on a strategy for a new show or idea.

I have not advertised these services in the past as they have come primarily through referals, but now that I am ramping up to go full time in the space. I thought it was time to advertise publicly that I am available. While not usually necessary I am also available to travel worldwide.

Feel free to contact me if you are in need of expert help in getting your project off the ground or back on track. ceo@rawvoice.com

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Show 200 was to be a celebration of technology instead I have decided to talk about, and celebrate my father who was killed in an auto accident two weeks ago. The regular show will be back next Tuesday. I made a decision to share with all of you my families experiences over the past two weeks. I thank you for your indulgence in this podcast.

News Link:
Photos of Accident
News Story
News Story

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 7:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

First I want to thank the 3000 plus people who sent condolences e-mail, voice mail and private phone calls. The outpouring of support has been unbelievable. There will be no way I will ever be able to answer all the e-mails but I do want to say Thank You, your support has been incredible.

As an update we arrived at my mothers home on Tuesday morning. The number of people that were their supporting her was awe inspiring. We all quickly got to work taking care of arrangements, not only did we have a funeral to plan with the myriad of details that need to be dealt with we also had a surviving niece in Intensive Care 3 plus hours away that even tonight is not out of the woods with significant spine, head and abdominal injuries. So your thoughts and prayers towards her recovery is appreciated.

This tragic event happened at the busiest time of the year for of my parents business, (they are produce brokers) with two coolers full of produce. The largest cooler is 64ft by 32ft and 18ft high and is nearly full of peaches, apples and pears which were all scheduled for delivery this week. With the largest delivery truck destroyed in the accident and with their operation having been a 2 man show, we now have a monumental task ahead of us in the coming days as we try to get the product delivered before it spoils in the bins and get cooler cleared before a 1000 bushels of fresh picked peaches arrive Tuesday.

As we have dealt with this loss as so many others have I must say I was nearly brought to my knees on Thursday when we had almost a 1000 friends, family, customers and of course family show up during the visitation period, it was an experience that I will never forget everyone waited for hours to talk to immediate family members. It really helped in the grieving process and reaffirmed what I already knew about my father.

As I close this out for now as we have a very long weekend ahead of us I again want to say thanks again for all the support and kind words. Hold your children tight and make sure that you make the best of every day that is given to you.

Todd...

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 6:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

If the guy depicted in the linked video is indeed a Marine trying to escape duty in Afghanistan he needs to be brought up under charges under the UCMJ. This makes me really angry. The military is a volunteer force, and I have proudly served for 23 years, to see this makes my stomach turn. This is a insult to the 100's of thousands of service members that live by the motto, Honor, Courage, Commitment. I hope the Marine Corps finds this guy and throws the book at him. [video.google.com]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Life is beyond busy with all the things I have going on in the podcasting space, I really need an assistant hopefully that will possible soon. We have added to our team at RawVoice and that group has become a well oiled machine. Everything is still ship shape at Podcast Connect and between the two companies I am on track to do a significant amount of business this year. Sponsorships for the Podcast Awards fell in place early and we are moving that site to better hardware to make sure we can handle the load. This is all the while still doing my day job in the Navy. Retirement is about a year away and I am also going to school again to refresh the old skills. As I have said for many years Sleep is for the Weak.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 10:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today my book on Podcasting was presented to some of the most influential media buyers in the United States, in a exclusive media presentation in New York. I was happy to forward copies to those in attendance, and hope that it helps the education process in the realizing the potential of this new media evolution we are experiencing.

If you are a media buyer and represent a major firm you can send me a e-mail at podcast@podcastconnect.com with your name, agency and companies you represent along with and address and contact number and I will send you a free copy of my book to help you understand the power of the medium.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Amazon has named my book Podcasting the Do it Yourseld guide a "Best book of 2005" as chosen by the editors of Amazon.com Called a Editor's Pick, In talking with an Amazon Representative yesterday I am honored in having my book picked as a "Best Book of 2005" [Amazon]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 5:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I am at the Consumer Electronics show or better known as CES and am bringing daily podcast to the masses on the coverage their at my main site Geek News Central

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am pretty proud that my book Podcasting The Do It Yourself Guide made the New York Times list of most blogged books of 2005. Was on the list at number 19, if you look at the other books in the list I would say that it faired pretty well. Big thanks to all those bloggers and podcasters that did reviews and talked about the book on their blogs.
[Most Blogged-About Books of 2005 New York Times]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am trying to collect as many pictures as I can of the Podcast Awards Ceremony if you have any please point me at them as the photographers had trouble as the crowd was so close to the podium.. Please e-mail to podcast@podcastconnect.com

Thanks Todd

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Microphone we awarded to Adam Curry and Leo Laporte was the Heil PR40, both Adam and Leo have praised the sound quality. This microphone won a cool stuff award at the NAB

I wanted to pick something really special and my friend Paul Figgiani over at Podcastrigs.com sold me on the purchase. It is a great dynamic mike for under $400.00 we purchased the mount for them also which was another $75.00

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Podcast Connect Inc my company was the organizer for the 2005 People's Choice Podcast Awards. Our Platinum Sponsor StreetIQ.com representative Andrew Coffey was on hand to present.

Other sponsors included KYOURadio.com, Wiley Publishing, TNC Media and host of other companies that gave prizes and cash.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dawn and Drew accepting their Podcast Award!

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Leo Laporte accepting his Podcast Award from Andrew.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Can I first of all say it has been a hell of a year. First the book deal "Podcasting The Do it Yourself Guide" happily it has sold a boat load of copies and still selling well five months later. A huge year at Techpodcasts.com with meeting my motto Podcasters do the Work Podcasters get paid being managed by Podcast Connect.

To top it off 5 months of hard work and the team at RawVoice launch Podcaster News Network. Pretty busy year and the year is not finished yet.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I did the announcing while our Platinum Sponsor StreeetIQ.com handed out the prizes. Adam was great said a few words and he loves the microphone that he was given.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Podcast Awards which I dreamed up, and ran this year came down to handing out about $4500.00 in cash and prizes. This picture does not show everything that was on the table. But I think between checks, trophies, visa gift cards, microphones we handed about $4000.00 worth of stuff out in about 20 minutes. Lots of fun and the fund raising for next year starts shortly

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Make sure you visit Geek News Central this is were you will find techology information. It is also the home of Todd's show and the Geek News Central Podcast.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A Year ago I was laying in a hospital bed overseas having just come out of surgery that resulted in some stainless steel in my back with 4 wicked screws, and a severely damaged vertebrae. This would be the start of 13 days in the hospital, being fit with a full body cast, then graduating to a clam shell device that cost my insurance company 7k, and a heavily medicated patient for 8 weeks following the surgery.

The day I quit my pain meds I went cold turkey on a Friday, told my Doctor on Tuesday after having a very agonizing 3 days, and nights. I obviously needed the pain meds early on, and having remembered laying on a hospital emergency room bed screaming for about the first 9 hours because the morphin they gave me didn't really help I was reluctant to go down that road again.

I returned to work after 8 weeks off and within a week, was back in a Airplane on a 6 week business trip. My Doctor lost his mind but hey when it was time to get back to work you have to dive back in. The hardest part for the 3 months was the clam shell was not being able to pick my kid up.

Finally in Feb of this year, I was given the green light to start light exercising. I podcasted my hospital experience and you can find the audio clip on this post you can take a look at the hardware I carry around here.

I am not complaining, as I am very blessed to be walking, and even though I live in a constant state of low level pain life is good. The wife had expected me to be rolled off the airplane as the initial prognosis was really bad and instead I walked off.

One thing though because I flew back from the middle east only 15 days after being injured, I had to lay flat as much as possible so I enjoyed 1st class on 3 consecutive flights and enjoyed the food but had to decline the liquor, as the Roxicet and the Oxycodone I was prescribed was enough bad stuff in my blood stream.

Thus having spent my 40th birthday in that hospital bed contemplating life, and having really looked forward to 2004 being in my rear view mirror the road ahead is a bright one and I am happy to be have faired as well as I have. So their may be times when I get excited about stuff and jump in with both feet but the reason for that is simple I was given a second chance to make profound changes in my families and people I come in contact withs life.

My Wife, and Kids were champions and my extended family and friends prayed and took care of my wife when I was half a world away. Thank you for being here during the past year also it has been and amazing ride.

Todd..

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My Wife arrived back from Japan and everytime she goes she has the kids pictures taken their at a local Japanese Studio wearing authentic traditional japanese kimono. I am sure you realize that men in Japan were Kimono's also. Isn't this the nicest picture you ever saw. I have a wall of these types of pics and like any father I am pretty damn proud.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I do not plan on putting up a regular podcast for this site but promised to produce one on my injury. Hope you enjoy it. [Injury Podcast]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's hard to believe that 4 months ago I was coping with a spine/vertebrae injury in which I was one of only 10% of the population to not suffer any paralysis. My recovery has been good considering the hardware in my back and having had to deal with a body brace for 3 months. Don't get me wrong I am absolutely not complaining. When I was able to get online after my injury and read everything I could find on it, I knew life would have been much different if that bone spur that displaced my spinal cord by 60% had been sharp versus dull.

My family has a good friend and he has been paralyzed for over 35 years and when he told my mom told him of my injury and the pain that I endured he said take comfort in the pain because when I was propelled from my motorcycle and landed there was no pain. If that doesn't make you sit back and appreciate life nothing will. Overall I am a inch shorter and physical therapy has been good. I can tie my shoes without grunting anymore and can actually almost touch my ankles.

My Cousin died a number of years ago from complications of her paralysis. With today's news of Christopher Reeve death it makes me more than determined to do things to the best of my ability and to appreciate the small things like being able to tie my shoes.

I may do a personal Podcast and put it up on the net I have gotten pretty good at telling the story. Seems Doc Searls had a scare today also and you must think out all of your actions. [Doc Searls]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Those of you that where reading the site in June know I was severely injured in an accident overseas. I have spent the last 3 months in a body brace that has immobilized my spine and caused me great discomfort during the summer here in Hawaii. On Sept 1st the brace came off part time and life has been much better. My upper body strength is terrible and I have been visiting the physical therapist and he has been living up to the reputation that most PT have. I can't bitch though as I could have been paralyzed. My recovery is on track and my doctor who is keeping track of my progress is predicting between March and June of next year before I am back a 100%. But I will tell you this it is nice to get out of the brace part time and I am looking forward to putting it away permanently in a couple of weeks. [Burst compression Fractures] [My Hardware]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In June while I was in recovery from my Spinal injury I hired a Web Designer to help us clean up the code on Geek News Central to optimize it for MT version 3 and to develop a skin for this site. I paid a $280.00 advance on work to be completed. To make a long story short the web developer cleaned this site up and then provided me some images of what he had in mind for a skin for the other site. I approved one of the images and he then promised to get it chopped up into CSS and put up on the website.

Make a long story short he quit before he finished. I think it may have had something to do with the political views on the other site but if my views where not obvious in the beginning he must have been blind. At this point I am awaiting a return of 1/2 of the money I paid him. I am sure I will get it but this guy is struggling "Artist" in New York and it will probably be a long time before I will see it.

I think the thing that pisses me off the most is this. At the time the developer was out of work I figured hey he needs some work and I have a small project and this could work out for both of us he earns some money while unemployed and I get a skin from someone that appears capable of doing original work. He gets a real job during the design of the skin and quits working on the project and then claims he has no time when he is already 90% finished.

Meanwhile I have a site that still needs a skin and I am very gun shy now on who I will hire. So are you a web designer that finishes what you start?

I highly recommend that you avoid AnziDesign as this supposed designer/artist cannot be relied upon to complete a project that he has agreed to start.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 3:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the skin we went with fearing this was the best he could come up with. This was as far as he got when he welched on the job.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the first design my so called Artist web designer came up with. Obviously he was trying to be funny as I rejected it after 3 seconds of looking at it.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am awaiting a refund on some of the money I used to pay a web designer to build a skin for this site and fix some issues on Geek News. Thus I am in the market for a web designer again. If you are a good web designer I have some JPG's of the ideas that the old developer put forth before he quit that I would like put to use. Let me know as soon as possible if you would like to do that and only contact me if you can complete the work.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Went to see my Neurology doctor today, and after him asking me about 50 questions, taping on my knee's and various other places and sending me to Radiology for 3 separate x-rays and over to the Brace shop to order me what's called a LCL which supposedly cost about $5000.00 he gave me the thumbs up to return to work tomorrow.

I am a bit apprehensive as I still cannot sit straight up for long periods. Guess I will be taking frequent breaks. Hopefully I can keep up with the pace my job demands. I am not looking forward to spending 6 more weeks in the brace but hey it could have been much worse. Supposedly the LCL will be more comfortable. The attendant that measured me said I will loose about 10 pounds during the first month sounds good to me already lost 10 in the first brace and the wife is jealous. Physical Therapy will be lite for the first 6 weeks then he is going to cut them loose on me.. Oh boy!

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Site Notices for the Dense:

* This site is NOT fair and balanced, nor does it purport to be. It's owner is obviously a bit right of center and clearly thinks the far left are off their collective rockers (just kidding maybe). This should be readily apparent to anyone who has read more than one post here.

* This is a PERSONAL site. It is not representative of any media entity, therefore the words posted here are opinions, for the most part. As an independent quasi-journalist, the owner of this site is not beholden to any rules or ethics that demand fairness in reporting. Thus, you will see a lot of posts supporting the owner's ideals and opinions, and not so many - probably none - supporting yours.

* The owner of this site is not a paid journalist and you are not his boss/editor. Therefore, he is under no obligation to write about the things you think he should be writing about. There are no editorial meetings held with his readers every morning to go over the day's stories. This site is not run by a democratic process; the stories that get covered are the stories the owner feels like writing about that day. This site is run on whim and personal preferences.

* However, should you feel that you have some sort of right to determine what should and shouldn't be printed here, you can feel free to supply a monthly (bi-weekly works as well) check made out to the owner of the site, making you his boss and securing an agreement that he will answer to you and allow you to make editorial decisions. The check would have to be a sufficient amount that would be worth the owner of this site giving up his personal freedom to post what he wants, when he wants. In other words, keep your editorial comments to yourself.

* Once again, the owner of this site would like to reiterate that this site is totally, completely biased and makes no apologies for it, nor should he. He pays the pays for the bandwidth, He pays for the hosting fees, he does this all on his spare time for free and if you really want to complain about free ice cream, he suggests that you can take that ice cream and - to put it nicely - fornicate yourself with it.

Thank you, and have a pleasant tomorrow.

I could not resist posting this thanks to asmallvictory a great daily read for you conservatives out there

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In Hawaii parking can be a bear at times. When we go downtown sometimes we park in a parking lot several miles from downtown and ride the bus the rest of the way in. I have a couple of spots that the tourist usually don't find and if another local hasn't parked their I get lucky.

To get on with the crux of the story check out what happened when this guy had his parking spot snagged. [Pacific Beach]

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 10:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have received a handful or header images today and they where all great. I replied to the designer and gave him a green light to proceed so I would imagine that we will have a new skin at some point in the neat future.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I hate laying around it just does not fit my personality. But I am getting quite a few things done I have been putting off for awhile.
Going to raid the fridge and see what is lurking and feed my face.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been searching for a website designer to do some work for quite awhile and had a fast response from a gentleman today. Hopefully we can get this site and a couple of others looking better with some customization and better graphics.

I am using MT version 3 on this site as I used a canned template but the Geek News site has to be cleaned up before I can roll it over and use the new version and from what I have read on the developers site he looks like he is the perfect candidate to do the job.

I also have registered a couple of domain names that I will keep under wraps for now but they are Navy Centric and will revolve around being a Chief Petty Officer (my perspective). I will have to be careful with what I say on the new site and have to come up with some personal posting guidelines. I am still active duty and what you say can hurt you so I will need to keep that in perspective.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well I arrived home on the 15th and went to see my Neurosurgeon on the 16th he is pretty happy with what they did overseas and has put me on 30 days bed rest at home. Being not the type that likes to stay still this has me distressed a bit and I am sure after being home for the next month my wife is going to go stir crazy with me here.

My work is being great and the good thing about my job is it involves a great deal of computer work and I can do a lot at home. I spent 4-5 hours on the phone Thursday covering some issues so it is not like I am totally helpless.

But it is great to be back home with the kids and wife getting plenty of TLC. I told my daughter she could be my nurse and will make some extra allowance for helping dad around the house. Amazing what kids can do even when they are her age.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 1:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been getting a lot of e-mail from Family and Friends wanting more details here is what I sent my wife and mom and hopefully it will suffice.

There was some confusion my Injury was located at L1 and the fusion is between d12 to l2 I had compression-burst fracture and from what I have been reading I need to thank the lord for watching out for me as the majority of people that suffer this injury do not walk away. What is even more amazing is the bone fragments I had pushing against my spinal cord did not cut the spinal cord truly a miracle.

Spine Info

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1434.htmlhttp://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article927.html
http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1394.html
http://www.tcspine.com/education/burstfractures.asp
http://www.vh.org/adult/provider/anatomy/AnatomicVariants/NervousSystem/Images/30.html

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 5:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am hoping that I am on a flight home tommorow accomodations for me with the condition my back is in is not that great at this local. Hopefully the plane tickets will come thru and I will have a seat that can accomodate me. I tell you it sure is great to walk around 12 days in the hospital room was enough for me.

I have taken the time while laid up today in the room to convert this site to a movabletype version 3 site. Bye Bye Radion Userland forever. I have some cleaning up of the code to do yet but it looks ok for now.

Posted by Todd Cochrane at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<FONT size=2>
<P>Some Details of my injuries sustained Jun 1st</P>
<P>First of all thanks for the well wishes. Well I have had a pretty big scare and came as close as any man would want to come to becoming paralyzed, even though I was severely injured I am damn lucky as all toes and parts are working as they should. By the number of e-mails wishing me well in my inbox and the number of you asking questions I wanted to&nbsp;post this and&nbsp;let you know I am doing ok and will be headed back to&nbsp;Hawaii in the next several days. </P>
<P>On June 1st I fell while having some fun at the pool with my crew who was scheduled to go home the next day. The facility we where staying at had a large water park type waterslide. Having probably slide down the thing 50 times over the past month I headed to the top to give it one more whirl. Upon reaching the launching area I simply slipped and fell in a swooping motion backwards. It was like someone had pulled the rug out from under my feet and I landed very hard and painfully on my tailbone. My body continued down the slide with me screaming. My&nbsp;co-workers where their to rescue me as I came pummeling out of the water slide and into the pool. They removed me from the pool as paramedics would and called an ambulance. Upon arrival at the hospital while strapped to a backboard drugs where administered to ease the pain to no affect (they fixed that later). The doctors initially thought I had bruised my tailbone muscle and after several screaming sessions with them poking a prodding got the good stuff out..</P>
<P>It took two sessions of x-ray's followed by a Cat-Scan. They drugged me up heavily and put me to bed. It was determined the next morning that I had fractured a vertebrae in the T1 region with a bone having misplaced that was pressing against my spinal cord to pinch it by 60%. I was taken to surgery several hours later where they "jacked" my spine up got that bone away from spinal cord stabilized everything and used some steel plates and rods and screwed me together getting my alignment back to 80% normal which will result in my being a 1/8 inch shorter.</P>
<P>The prognosis is good I have no ill side effects all parts are moving as they are supposed to no tingling. I was in a body cast for 5 days and then fitted with a prosthetic device that immobilizes a part of my back and makes me walk like a robot. I am currently&nbsp;trying&nbsp;to get home&nbsp;I have been discharged from the hospital and can walk for short periods and am spending a lot of time on my back. </P>
<P>For the rest of the blood and gore I will save it for later as I definitely have some great stories. Reminder to all don't get hurt in foreign countries as medicine outside the US is definitely different.</P>
<P>Thanks Again for the well wishes</P></FONT>
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Posted by Todd Cochrane at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It is nice to see when a mainstream publication finally comments on Al Gores comments that he made the other night. Thank goodness he was not the President I can not even imagine how he would have mucked things up. [<A href="http://news.bostonherald.com/opinion/view.bg?articleid=29658">Boston Hearld</A>]
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Posted by Todd Cochrane at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<P>As we approach 3 years since the events of 9/11 and some of those events become a not so distant memory my thoughts drift towards the widows and families that lost oved ones. I am sure their are thousands of stories to be shared but one of the best I have read recently revolves around a group of widows that call themselves "The Dead Wives Club" it is a refreshing story I hope you enjoy it. [<A href="http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/sept11/features/9189/">newyorkmetro.com</A>]</P>
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Posted by Todd Cochrane at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<P>Watching the News over the past few days has left me with a very sick feeling in my stomach. I am terribly upset at what has transpired in an Prison in IRAQ. I am very sure the Army will hold those that are responsible accountable, my emotions cry out that these individuals have betrayed the trust they where intrusted with. </P>
<P>My personal feeling is that these idiots have done significant damage&nbsp;and have opened up a&nbsp;Pandora's box. Do they not realize that the proper treatment of prisoners as outlined by the Geneva Convention is of the highest priority. What happens when&nbsp;the next military member&nbsp;is detained. Will he&nbsp;or she be subjected to torture because of the&nbsp;alleged&nbsp;actions. I cannot express publicly what I think should happen but needless to say the UCMJ will be brought to bear on these individuals. </P>
<P>I am ashamed when the President of the United States has to go on television to express his disgust. I can guarantee you when a President is Upset shit is going to roll downhill in a big way and I am sure there will be a very public prosecution of these individuals.</P>
<P>The United States Navy and the United States Marines live by&nbsp;the motto "Honor, Courage &amp; Commitment" these ideals shape our daily actions. I think the Army will need to step back and look at their Value system. The job we have been ordered to do is one that the majority of us support. The majority of us strive to do that job with the value system that has been instilled in us. It is a very sad day to have witnessed what the world has witnessed and should be a wake up call that you do not win the hearts and minds of people by the mistreatment of prisoners.</P>
<P>"The comments listed above are solely mine and may not be re-printed without explicit permission from the Author." "The View of the Author&nbsp;is not an official statement of the United States of America"</P>
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Posted by Todd Cochrane at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow what a interesting 2 weeks I spend&nbsp; 4-5 days on the east coast then I turn around and head out to Japan for 5 days my body has no idea what time zone it is in and it will not be getting much better. Otherwise it looks like I will get a chance to wind down a little and not have to put in so many hours for the next couple of weeks as I have completed a bunch of primary projects. We are basically just doing clean up work on paperwork. I will say the last 3 months has been some of the most intense I have ever had to deal with.
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Posted by Todd Cochrane at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)