Today, October 28, marks the anniversary of one of the most important days in the history of the world, yet few people remember it’s significance. But the Greeks do, and they celebrate OXI day, every year.

The day was October 28, 1940. At dawn that morning (4:00am), after a party in the German embassy in Athens, Mussolini (through Emanuele Grazzi, the Italian ambassador in Greece) issued an ultimatum to Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas to surrender, or face open war with Italy.

Metaxas, a career military officer and more importantly a proud Greek, was not inclined to acquiesce to Mussolini’s demands (surprise!), thus touching off the beginning of the Greco-Italian War and a series of unbelievable events that would eventually neutralize Italy, cripple Germany, and cost 1,000,000 Greek lives.
Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter Comments

	marinic RT @johnpoz: OXI Day: How a Greek of Diaspora celebrates in the USA October 28th http://onemansblog.com/oxi
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	danielgmax RT @johnpoz: OXI Day: How the Greeks Helped End World War II http://onemansblog.com/oxi
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	wordpressascms RT @johnpoz: OXI Day: How the Greeks Helped End World War II - http://onemansblog.com/oxi oops thought you said geeks :)
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	johnpoz OXI Day: How the Greeks Helped End World War II - http://onemansblog.com/oxi
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

Apparently, you people can not read! So I’ll tell you once again… This blog is a piece of crap, and you are wasting your time with every word you read! Look. That’s like 10 seconds of your life that you’ll never get back according to Penelope Trunk! Just check out her article, “Blogs without topics are a waste of time“.

I want to send a special shout out to Dan Bates from Monogodo who shared this article with me on Twitter. But come on Dan! What a waste of time that was! Didn’t you know? You could have been reading something “topical” instead of my random mindless dribble.
Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter Comments

	OverDelivery RT @johnpoz: RANT: Go Away! OneMansBlog is a Waste of Time! http://onemansblog.com/waste
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	woopramembers RANT: Go Away! OneMansBlog is a Waste of Time! - http://onemansblog.com/waste | An open response to @penelopetrunk (via @johnpoz)
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	johnpoz RANT: Go Away! OneMansBlog is a Waste of Time! - http://onemansblog.com/waste | An open response to @penelopetrunk
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

Howdy gang!

I’ve been a little slow in updating the blog lately. Sorry for my lack of entertaining everyone as usual. Hope to get back to the fun stuff soon. However, in the meantime here are some updates:

• Alex Terehoff, a Russian blogger, interviewed me recently, and posted the whole thing in both English and Russian. I think it’s the most thorough interview I’ve ever done. So if you want to know anything about me, he probably asked!
• The big news is that Woopra is coming out of beta. Here is a blog post and a video of me explaining what is going on. We’re taking all feedback into consideration, so feel free to share your opinion.
• Tomorrow I’m leaving for Photoshop world in Las Vegas. I hope to come back a dramatically improved photographer. If any of you are going please let me know as I’d love to meet you. Just drop a comment below. Heck, maybe we could even put together a little meetup.
• In a couple of weeks, I’ll be speaking at the Blog World / WordCamp Las Vegas event. My speech will be unlike anything I’ve ever given. So, I suppose if you enjoy my previous lectures, you might not want to miss this one.

But I wonder… what the heck are YOU guys up to? I’m dying to know! So please leave a comment and tell me! Seriously. I’m serious about this. Do it! That is all… :-)

So, one of my favorite comedians, Kyle Cease, is having a course where they teach standup comedy to new and aspiring… um, comedians. Make no mistake about it, I NEVER want to be a comedian. Ever.

But I would like to go hang with Kyle and the rest of the folks and just experience what is going on there? Who knows? I might even do some stupid shit and give a few comedians some free material. One can never tell.

Anyway, Kyle asked people to answer a few questions so that he could choose to give one person a free pass to bootcamp. And I decided to answer just for fun! But since there are like 100+ entries (plus who knows if mine actually gets approved!) I figured I’d share my submission here for you guys to tell me how I did. :-)
Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter Comments

	johnpoz My Entry for the @kylecease Stand Up Comedy Bootcamp - http://onemansblog.com/kyle
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

Ok everyone, I’m making up a new Twitter / Facebook game. You can use it in either place (or as I plan to do since I use TweetDeck, both).

This little game is called FabriTweet. And here is how it goes:

• You fabricate the most outrageous story that you possibly can fit into 140 characters or less.
• You Tweet it and use the hashtag #fabritweet

I’ve already set my search up in TweetDeck to keep an eye out for FabriTweets, so I hope that someone out there will play along! This could just prove to be a fun creative outlet to provide Christmas cheer all day long.
Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter Comments

	johnpoz @bethiskinner http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	CaliLewis Having fun reading the #fabritweet stories http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	jess_stanton RT @johnpoz: The New Twitter Game - FabriTweet! http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	camsicle RT @johnpoz REMINDER: I invented a new Twitter #game called #FabriTweet. Here are the rules: http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet Play along!
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	Woopra RT @davemoyer: If you haven't yet, it's really time to be FabriTweetin'. http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet #fabritweet from our own @johnpoz
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	philmiller RT @johnpoz: Just invented a new Twitter #game. It's called #FabriTweet. Here are the rules: http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet Play along!
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	davemoyer If you haven't yet, it's really time to be FabriTweetin'. http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet #fabritweet
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	johnpoz REMINDER: I invented a new Twitter #game called #FabriTweet. Here are the rules: http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet Play along!
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	davemoyer @Veribatim http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet Has been keeping me going all day :P
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	johnpoz Oops! Sorry, the Twitter #game Fabritweet rules are working again! http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	davemoyer #FabriTweet, the new Twitter game by @johnpoz... LOL! http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	johnpoz Just invented a new Twitter #game. It's called #FabriTweet. Here are the rules: http://onemansblog.com/fabritweet Play along!
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

For years we’ve all seen the Viagra ads. They are on TV, in newspapers and magazines, at sporting events, heck I think they even advertise on the inside of lollipop wrappers to get the kids hooked at an early age. Hmmm. Viagra lollipops anyone? They’ve done such a great job at associating their brand with sex that it makes you wonder how anyone actually has sex without Viagra?

In addition to providing injunctive assistance to men who might actually have some sort of a problem (which may be a good thing, but maybe not too), the boys behind Viagra are clearly, clearly, clearly targeting a much younger and healthier audience in the hopes of getting them to use Viagra for purely recreational purposes. There is ZERO doubt in my mind about this.

Now, I’ve long wondered what the heck is supposed to be so magical about “the little blue pill”? I mean, does it make you last longer? Does it make you bigger? Does it turn you into a raging sexual animal? And while we’re at it, does Red Bull actually give you wings? The problem is, everyone has these questions, but no one with experience is willing to talk about it. Unfortunately, this leaves us with only one side of the story, Pfizer’s commercial messaging!

Well, I decided I was going to get the answers! So I got some Viagra, and here’s what happened.
Read the rest of this entry »

Twitter Comments

	tiddlytwinks hahahahahaha!!!!! RT @johnpoz: The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	cjweb RT @johnpoz: The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	prettylink RT @johnpoz: The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It http://onemansblog.com/viagra -- WTF!?
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	Lalizig Huh. RT @CaliLewis: Haha, TMI @johnpoz "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	doro007 RT @CaliLewis Haha, TMI @johnpoz "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra RT @Cal
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	Zig7 RT @johnpoz: The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	zigmedia RT @johnpoz: The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	planetMitch RT @CaliLewis: Haha, TMI @johnpoz "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	davemoyer Read @johnpoz's Viagra post and laughed... a lot... then I read @spamboy's comment and laughed more. Oh, John. http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	spamboy e.g. OneMansLOG.com, folks! RT @johnpoz:"The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	CaliLewis Haha, TMI @johnpoz "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	PhilipNelson Nice!!! TMI! RT @johnpoz: BIG News! "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	donthorp RT @johnpoz: BIG News! "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

	johnpoz BIG News! "The One Where John P. Takes Viagra, Then Tells You All About It!" - http://onemansblog.com/viagra
	Re-Tweet | Reply | View Tweet

Look, there is no delicate way to put this. Bob Donovan, I hereby formally invite you to participate with me in a no-holds-barred MMA style cage match to be broadcast on live television. I’m 100% serious. Because I want to kick your ass, and I’m quite sure I can do it too.

Wait! What’s Going On Here?

My other dear readers may be asking themselves, who is this Bob Donovan, and what exactly has he done to John P.? Well, I’ve got no idea who Bob Donovan is, but what he did to me was send me an annoying Twitter spam with a link to nothing other than an affiliate site (belonging to 10 Best Hosting 2009).

Oh, and that link does nothing other than direct traffic to the Web site link http://www.10besthosting2009.com/#1492937361/. You see that number at the end? I’m sure that is an affiliate tracking link, and 10 Best Hosting is paying this spammer to fish people in to their Web site. That is assuming they are not directly behind it!
Read the rest of this entry »

This past weekend I had the extreme pleasure of hosting the WordCamp Dallas event. I got to see a lot of people I met last year, as well as plenty of new faces. And it was a wonderful experience! Unfortunately, this weekend was also marred by a silent struggle in our family as we were forced to watch one of our two beloved dogs suffer the agony associated with the end of a prolonged battle with kidney failure.

Sandy was a Greyhound mix who we adopted more than ten years ago. My wife and I were walking through the mall on a Saturday afternoon, and the SPCA had a small booth with a few dogs who needed a home. When I spotted Sandy laying on the floor I thought she was an absolutely beautiful dog. I walked over and knelt down to pet her, and when she saw me she stood up, stepped toward me and put her head right up to my chest as if she knew and trusted me all her life.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tonight I had dinner with a group of guys from work. We had traditional deep dish style Chicago pizza at Gino’s East at Wells and Ontario in downtown Chicago.

The Pizza was good, especially if you love deep dish smothered in tomato sauce. Personally I’m a bigger fan of thin crust New York style pizza. But hey, I’m not complaining. Anyway, after we pigged out on pie and it was time to to back to the hotel, we had a decision to make.

Should we take a cab? Or should we just walk – even though it’s -8 degrees outside? (That’s -22 celcius for my friends across the pond…)

So, I fired up the old iPhone and brought up Google Maps. It’s a great little app because you can put in any address and tell it to navigate you to that spot from where you are. You can even tell it if you’re in a car or walking. When I put in the hotel address it informed me that the walking time was going to be 9 minutes over a distance of half a mile.

This didn’t help with the decision process. I mean, if it had been like a mile, there is no way we would have walked. If it was like 3 blocks, we were totally down with it. But damn if it didn’t split the distance perfectly!
Read the rest of this entry »

• Strangely, I am in a good mood this morning for no reason whatsoever. I wonder why that sort of thing happens? Environment? Hormones? #
• Damn I’m getting old. I just stood up, and pulled a MAJOR muscle in my lower back. I need some sort of narcotic pain reliever. #
• I highly recommend listening to Geoff Smith LIVE on UStream NOW!!! http://www.ustream.tv/channel/geoffsmith #
• I’m taking Aaron (from ANOTHERMansBlog.com) to Rudy’s BBQ to bury the hatchet… In a pig! #
• Looking for suggestions of things to do in Austin, TX and places to eat. #
• Here lies Stephen F. Austin. Father of Texas, at the Texas State Cemetary. http://twitpic.com/lyoc #
• The Texas State Capital building is even bigger than the US Capital. Exactly as it should be… http://twitpic.com/lz0n #

Here we are on the eve before we discover who will become the next President of the United States. Already it is set to be a historic election.

• We will either have the first African-American as Commander in Chief, or the oldest ever President and the first woman in an Executive office.
• We will see record voter turn out all over the US (California, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Louisiana, Minnesota and more…)
• We’ve been on the election trail for nearly two years… the longest and costliest campaign in US history.
• The next President follows Bush’s historically low approval ratings and many difficult challenges.

But what happens after tomorrow?
Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Jason for pointing out that Bobby Fischer, the Chess Master, is now dead.

I feel the same way about Bobby Fischer as I do about Charles Manson. These are two people whose views of the world are sickeningly twisted to the point that the only conclusion I can make is that mental illness is involved in both cases.

Bobby lived his whole life for only two purposes, to play a game, and to be the poster child for antisemitism. His flagrant disregard for laws and authority caused him to blame the U.S. Government or the Jews for everything that ever happened to him. Even in death he laid blame at the feet of the Japanese and Icelandic governments. If you ask me, Fischer was a media whore and he probably just broke the law everywhere he went in order to stay in the limelight.
Read the rest of this entry »