Some people might say that I’m reading too much into this but, I’m sorry, I don’t like having God compared to Oprah and… Lance Armstrong (seriously?).

Couple this with the fact that I’ve discovered the absolute best mechanic shop in Knoxville, TN (and surrounding counties): Knoxville Ultimate Automotive. Servicing Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus, these guys are amazingly thorough, price their services competitively and, above all else, have ALWAYS been honest with me. Their shop is clean, they’ve got free WiFi and, believe it or not, they’re actually friendly.

Seriously… I’ve never been to a shop like this before. Ever. If you own one of the aforementioned vehicles, I can’t stress how much you’ll love it there. If you have a blog, you’ll even be tempted to write your own post after your first visit. That’s how good they are.

I think I wanted to write this mainly because *any* business like this one, be it auto-related or not, is a rarity. Only once or twice per year, if that, will you encounter a business that’s not only cost-cutting but also friendly and honest.

Kudos to Ken and Rob Fletcher for setting a shining example for any small or large business… especially in the auto repair/maintenance industry.

Via @ac_ent, I just noticed that Knoxville has a new value book available: Knox PASS. According to their site, “Knox PASS was put together as a joint effort to raise awareness and funds for two local organizations that focus on supporting Knoxville and Knoxville’s Youth.”

The two organizations are Schools of FISH, which provides leadership and service opps for high school students (very cool), and the Youth Arts Alliance. Established by the Tennessee Theatre, the “Youth Arts Alliance education outreach program was founded in 2007 to provide an opportunity for school age children to attend performances throughout the year.” (Also very cool.)

Some of the values/discounts/etc that you’ll find in the $30 book-o-wonderfulness include 2-for-1 munching discounts at places like Taste of Thai, Baker Peters Jazz Club, Peerless, Crown & Goose and others. Additional discounts are included for sports (e.g., 2-for-1 Lady Vols tix), theatre (e.g., 2-for-1 passes at Tennessee Theater, Bijou) and more. (View the full listing of Knox PASS offers on their official site.)

Check it out at KnoxPass.com.

[Source: AC Entertainment on Twitter]

Do you frequently use the same username and password when registering for new sites? (e.g., online banking, Facebook, etc.) Do you frequently use your birthdate or pet’s name as your password on these sites? I thought so.  Please stop doing that.

If your nefarious second-cousin, scheming ex-best-friend or diabolical canine companion were to uncover your password for just one site, he/she could potentially wreak havoc on your whole life if you happen to be one of the people I mentioned in that last paragraph. So, how can you keep your online life a bit more secure without losing your precious sanity? Well, there are a number of ways; none of which involve writing your passwords down on napkins, your hands (palm or back), post-it notes, etc.

One of the ways that you can ease your mind without losing it is to use a service like Passpack. (BTW, if the length of this blog posting has you cursing yourself for even clicking this way, at least check out the quick & thorough overview on Passpack’s site before you leave and ultimately decide never to return to JasonHeydasch.com.)

Let me first say that Passpack is an online service hosted on servers over which you have no control. That said, there is literally no other online service I would recommend for storing sensitive data. However, Passpack has implemented a wonderful set of security options. As an example, you use both a password AND what’s referred to as a “packing key.” Both of these can be whole sentences (as I’ve chosen) to further enhance your security.

So, let’s say you’ve chosen “You don’t win friends with salad.” as your pass-phrase and “I’d rather eat dirt than collard greens!” as your packing key. (Punctuation included for heightened security.) That’s just the beginning. Passpack offers the following additional items to keep your information safe:

• verification phrase of your choice that’s displayed before entering packing key (if you don’t recognize the phrase, don’t login!)
• shape recognition (click on the box that’s highlighted, this is displayed on the same page as the item above)
• throwaway logins (if you know you’ll be logging in to a public computer, create one or two throwaway logins to use in these instances. They only work once.)
• random password generator for new sites on which you register
• automatic locking (site locks up when you’re away from your PC for a while)
• always-on AES-256 encryption algorithm (US government approved, Passpack employees can’t even see your stuff) and an EV-SSL certificate

That’s not even all. For more info on how they keep your stuff safe, you can read their page on security & privacy or just g’head onto passpack.com and create an account. It’s free.

John McCain, once championed by a number of Democrats across the nation for his bipartisan efforts, has spent just about his entire life in public service. For both of those reasons, it deeply irks saddens me that democrats nation-wide are now painting McCain’s would-be presidency as a 3rd term of George W.

I’m not saying that republicans wouldn’t be doing the same thing (if Obama had such a rich history and had spent decades working with representatives on both sides of the aisle – which he hasn’t) if the tables were turned, because they most definitely would. It’s just unfortunate that so many are willing to ignore the life this man has led for no other reason than because they want a democrat to become leader of the free world.

One of the major reasons I can support John McCain: he has a well thought-out financial plan for this country. A plan devised by, and this is a key part, *listening* to those with the most knowledge on the subject. A plan that has been agreed upon by more than a few democrats. (NYTimes.com has a relatively balanced article detailing the history of McCain’s chief economic policy adviser, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, what exactly he’s been able to accomplish and what he brings to the campaign. The article was written way back in April and I kind of wish that the article’s author, David Leonhardt, had written a follow-up.)

Also worth mentioning, Kent Conrad, D-ND, referred to Holtz-Eakin as "an exemplary leader" in regards to Eakin’s time in the Congressional Budget Office. Coincidentally, Conrad was one of the first Senators to have endorsed Obama for the 2008 democratic Presidential race." I personally think this is yet another example of the kind of bipartisan leadership that McCain is capable of selecting – even in the middle of a presidential race.

Next up, by fighting for campaign finance reform (CFR) as diligently as he has, McCain has taken the necessary steps – steps which need to be continued regardless of who takes office – to ensure that the rich are not the only ones that can be granted an opportunity to shape his/her respective city/county/state/nation. CFR is an extremely important ideal in this country and one for which we should continue to fight.

These are just a couple of items which I feel highlight the strengths that John McCain can bring to the White House. I genuinely feel as though John McCain is the first presidential nominee in at least the last decade that actually deserves a chance to lead this nation. And, in the end, with all politics aside, it seems like we would all want to provide an opportunity like that to someone that has worked for it for the majority of their life.

The first three seasons of the show were pure genius but it proceeded to go downhill…quickly and the 5th and 6th seasons were absolutely abysmal – in my humble opinion.  Dr. Cox’s character was bitter and whiney, the actress who plays his wife Jordan, Christa Miller, underwent some plastic surgery that made her painful to watch and the show began to shy away from the ridiculous, far-fetched humor that made it so amazing.

That humor, however, appears to be returning for the show’s final season.  Just watch for yourself:

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Tags: scrubs, tv, nbc

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