I started this Blog in March of 2007. Continue enjoy sharing things with my friends.
My friend Anthony, an avid Seminole Fan, agreed (reluctantly) to wear the Gator shirt I gave him today. Doesn't he look VERY happy! I've tried to tell him he should change his allegiance, but have not yet been successful....he's still hanging on the the Noles! I TOLD him I would post on the web so here it is.
Here is a couple of images I took today at Lake Weir....at the lot and Boat House where our family and my uncle Lee kept their boats. This Boat House and dock was in great shape 60 years ago (when we skied behind our boat with a 10 horse Mercury) but the boat house has seen the devastation of time...it's still there, but NOT in good shape.
A beautiful site with daily postings of excellent local photographs done by the Blog owner. Highly recommend you check it out at: Ocala Daily Photo
I attended Ocala High School graduating in 1961. At that point, the school was 4 years old. In the early 70's, they built Vanguard High School on the north side and renamed Ocala High School to Forest High School. About 4 years ago, they built a new Forest High School facility. When Forest moved to the new campus, the school board created MTI (Marion Technical Institute) at the old campus which has been a great avenue for those wishing to enter one of several trades. Here's reminiscing about the "Old Days" of Ocala High School. (Now we have a bunch of high schools in the County.) Click pic to enlarge
* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
* Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.*\
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way
* Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
* If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
* While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.* Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other measures to keep our distance from each other to lessen the spread of flu.
Flu Prevention from CDCHere are some neat photographs taken at JUST THE RIGHT TIME! Enjoy. Click on pic to enlarge. Download Taken_at_the_Right_Moment
The 91-foot-high tower, 7 story, $2.5 million project, with a 25 ton top, was built by Edwards Construction in Ocala. Steve Edwards hosted our Bible Study group on a tour to the top of the tower. A beautiful facility, almost ready for the FAA to install their equipment and become ready to use it. (Click photo to enlarge.)
It is a very impressive facility.
We did lot's of things with the kids during their short visit to Ocala this past weekend. Grace (9), David (5). Click on images to enlarge.
The farm owner, Chris, is happy to give tours...slanted towards children or adults. Most interesting. Call Chris for rates and availability.
The Branan Building is located just 1/2 block north of Silver Springs Blvd. (Highway 40)...near town at 27 NE 10th Avenue. My phone: 352-502-3753.
I have several private offices for rent. Includes Security System, 24/7 Access, and Utilities.
Have attractive rental fees. Give me a call to schedule an appointment. Ideal for office for 1 to 5 people...for business or for a retirement office (to have a place to go).Click to Enlarge. This is a really nice presentation with several tips and beautiful photography. Hope you enjoy. Download Advicepml
We recently joined the NetFlix program, which allows you to receive DVD's on loan & Return. You can pick your favorite movies from 100,000 titles. You can manage your account very easily on computer....including creating a Queqe of movies you'd like to see. When you return a DVD one day, they process the next, and the next day you get the next movie in your Queqe. It is EASY, slick and FAST. In Ocala, the NetFlix warehouse is in nearby Daytona Beach.
There is also an option to access many movies directly by computer and see the movies on your computer, but this doesn't appeal to us...since once we get a movie, we've got to figure when we can watch & return. So far, I highly recommend NetFlix. NetFlix Site
I suspect this program has adverse affect on normal rental stores.
A male social fraternity found at many colleges and universities. Membership is by invitation and voting by members.
I was a "Sigma Chi" at University of Florida, graduating in 1964. The fraternity was a great place to develop a bond and friendship with other fellow "brothers". I enjoyed my experience in school as a Sigma Chi. Sigma Chi promotes a high sense of integrity and loyalty. I am a Life Loyal Sig. Once a Sig, always a Sig!
More than 100 years ago, a Sigma Chi defined fraternity as “an obligation, a necessity, an introduction, a requirement, a passport, a lesson, an influence, an opportunity, an investment, a peacemaker and a pleasure.”
Now there are many options. Many people in college have found groups to associate with including Fraternities, Sororities, Church Groups, Sports Groups, and a variety of Clubs.
A frustrated temp secretary (Amy Adams) embarks on a year-long culinary
quest to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of
French Cooking. She chronicles her trials and tribulations in a blog
that catches on with the food
crowd. The film also covers the years Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and
her husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) spent in Paris during the 1940s and
1950s, when he was a foreign diplomat who was eventually investigated
by Sen. Joseph McCarthy for alleged communist ties.
You can find it at Josh Movie Trailer
Our 5-year old Grand-Son, David (son of Mark & Sarah Branan) ...is an inquisitive little guy with lots of questions and many observations. Here's an assortment of some from recent months you might enjoy. Someone said he is quite the philosopher!
"T-ball...all
you do is hit, catch, and high-five people" says David.
"T-Ball
was the best ever tonight" Why? "Because we got cheese and crackers
at the end"
"Why
are carving knives dangerous to mice?"
"Why
do dogs sneeze and toot like people do?"
"That
toy is not real. It's fiction."
"I
am the best at being me"
"Is
it hard for birds to find worms?"
“Does
your hair grow when it's raining?”
"When I grow up the only pet I'm going to have is a dog. And the reason I'm going to pet it is so I can live long."
And from our son, Mark….
Scout
just found on top of table.
Wondering
if Lucy Dog will bark as much today after eating half a bag of cough drops last
night.
We went to Ozello this week to visit my brother, Bill. Had fun.
LtoR - Mary-Ellen, Mackenzie, Madison, Emily, Tom (Click to Enlarge)
Bill has his home for sale at Ozello Home
Beautiful relaxing place.
You may or may not agree with the list, but it's an interesting review of significant people in the business world. Think you'll find it interesting!
Click on Image To Enlarge
While writing my auto-biography and reviewing some things I've done, I wanted to share comments about a very interesting group I formed.
The
Junto – We met once a month for a dutch-treat lunch at a nice restaurant to discuss
matters of mutual interest.
History - The group was started by Tom Branan and met for the
first time in August, 1989
with about 8 initial members. The
group met each month for lunch for about 7 years and continued to add members....final group was about 18. I remember telling the group at an early meeting about the Internet and they said WHAT'S THE INTERNET??
For
it’s inspiration, the group informally patterned itself after Ben Franklin’s
notes regarding the early Junto group which he established and which Franklin
credits for much of his success.
The early Junto met weekly and the group diligently strived to help each
other promote each of their own business endeavors.
Trading
With Each Other - It is expected
that members of the group (when possible) will give every consideration to
doing business with others in the group and will whenever possible recommend
that other people outside the Junto do business with members of our group.
Membership - Membership in Junto was limited to one person per business category....to promote the free and open discussion between members without fear of talking with a competitor in the room...and usually consisted of Presidents or Managers of successful businesses. The group was composed of many local "movers & shakers" who know lots of things happening in business and the community.
Meetings: The meetings consisted of lunch and a round-table discussion with each participant making a few comments or updates and then open discussion. The tables were arranged so everyone could see each other. The meetings usually lasted about an hour but were information packed!
There's lots written about the Junto on the Web. If you desire to have a copy of a document with more Junto details which I prepared, just e-mail me and I'll send. branan.tom@gmail.com
I
started the PEP Group on the Internet in about 1996 with membership limited to top
photographers who (by zip codes, etc) did not compete with each other. New
members are selected by recommendation of a member and voting by the
membership.
It is a “Master-Mind”
group and very successful. I
bought software to implement the idea behind password protection…so that
outsiders could not peek or so that we could eliminate a member (occasionally
for cause…lack of participation or uncooperative attitude) by eliminating their
password.
Upon retiring, I handed management of this group over to a photographer in the group with the understanding that (as founder) I would retain life-time membership/access. The group has now grown to include over 100 outstanding photographers across the US, and many in the group credit this group as one of the keys to their success….getting valuable information, techniques, and sharing with the group. An annual “mini-convention” is held each year at the studio of a member in the group….rotating to a different studio each year. It’s usually a 3 day meeting with education, exchange of ideas, fun, and frolic.
The group changed it's name about 2 years ago and remains password protected for members only.
We visited JT and Linda Cochran at their home on their
farm in Chiefland on Tuesday. We had a very pleasant time visiting and
reminiscing old times . We then
went to eat great seafood at the Lighthouse Restaurant in Fanning Springs
(about 10 miles north).
JT
worked with with our company, Florida Seed & Feed, from 1954 to 1982 as our Head Bookkeeper. He did an outstanding job keeping all
our records well organized. He had
a birthday yesterday so we could celebrate it with a song at the
restaurant. Linda worked with us
for about 5 years as our Accounts Receivable Bookkeeper and was there to see us
implement our records on computer.
JT and
Linda have been married 25 years…they have a nice home and we enjoyed their
hospitality. It’s great to visit
with old friends who are very active in their retirement.
I am a married guy with several professional pursuits (Real Estate Investing & Business Brokerage) and hobbies (which include photography & computers).
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