I decided to check on my Lulu account, because it's been a while since I've been there. And wouldn't you know it, I sold 4 copies of my e-Book, "How to Solve Sudoku". Holy smokes!

To those 4 people who shelled out $0.95 for a 9-page PDF file... thank you. Thank you so much.

I really have to get back into my content-creation mode. I've been slacking off creating new books, web sites, and trying out business ideas. My "Back to School" resolution for September - get back to non-work work.

I'm been feeling awful for the past week. My allergies have flared up a lot earlier than usual, and I've been fighting a mild cold as well. Today I have a headache that comes and goes. Right now it's here. Perhaps my health is in tune with the weather - it has been rainy and overcast the last couple of days, and a lot colder than it was a couple of weeks ago.

Summer is over, I guess.

Summer went by so fast this year. I guess it does every year, but still - time is flying.

It seems like only a little while ago my wife and I were in France, walking down the Champs d'Elyses... And that was April! Four months have passed since then!

I need a change of scene. I don't know what it is yet, or what form it's going to take, but I need to shake things up. Same old office, same old condo, same old clothes, same old car. Or maybe I just need a nap...

I work in the service industry, although I am not dealing with the general public. I have clients, and I am always conscious of the fact that even though I work in the same office with someone, they are still my client. I act differently than if I was a coworker. If there is a problem, I always stay late to fix it even if it's not technically my responsibility and my clients notice that and appreciate it.

That's why I hate receiving lousy service from store or restaurant employees. It makes no sense to me. I don't know why the store doesn't watch for this behavior and try to correct it.

Today I was buying lunch - a burger and fries at Burger King. I ordered a large fries instead of the medium, because the burger I ordered is normally a bit small. When I got to the counter where you pick up your food, they had given me a medium fries. "Is that a large?" I say. And the woman behind the counter quietly dumps the medium fries out and gets me a large.

She was smileless and expressionless... Not a single syllable crossed her lips the entire time she interacted with me.

And all she needed to do was smile and say "Sorry about that." Or "Whoops! Good thing you noticed!" or something similar. She needed to ACKNOWLEDGE HER MISTAKE.

What's so hard about that? I didn't need a full formal apology. I didn't need her to prostrate herself in front of me. I didn't need a free meal or for her to commit Hara-kiri.

Some restaurants do it right. One time I was in McD's and I had to wait a little bit for my burger. The cashier threw in a free Apple Pie without me even asking for it - "Sorry it took so long. Here's a free Apple Pie." I was just standing there being patient - it didn't even feel like that long. But I remember that experience.

And as for Burger King not giving me what I ordered - and then not even acknowledging their mistake.... I will remember that too.

For the next 48 hours (basically, today and tomorrow) you can download Texas Hold'em free from the XBox Live Arcade section. After that, Microsoft will be charging 800 points for it.

It's a good deal. Especially since you can't wager real money, so you get the fun of playing cards without the financial ruin. ;)

Once again, I had a good time meeting a bunch of other Toronto consultants at the Consultants Meetup.

If you are in Toronto and are interested in consulting, it's worth one evening per month to meet other people and talk about how to improve your business.

There's been a lot of press over the last 24 hours over the guy arrested in the JonBenet Ramsey case. There's probably not much to add to the all-day news channels who have been filling the air with speculation and expert analysis.

Well, except for two things. (Or else I would not be writing this, right?)

One, I have to believe that there is some other evidence besides the emails he has been sending to that University professor that lead to this arrest. I mean, they have something that places him at the house? In the same town? That he knew the family somehow? I am absolutely sure there must be some physical evidence.

And two, if there is no physical evidence, and all they have is his word that he did it, he's innocent.

As one commentator put it, "Is he a guilty sicko, or an innocent wacko?" I can't believe I'm quoting these guys.

I'm watching a documentary on the King of my parent's generation: Elvis. This film is focusing on his generosity - supposedly Elvis gave away more than 200 Cadillacs in his short lifetime. It probably adds to millions of dollars in gifts to mostly strangers.

One story, Elvis was driving by a Cadillac dealership in some city in his limo. He sees a mother and daughter looking at a new car on the lot, so he tells his driver to pull over. He asks the girl if she wants a car, and she says "Oh no. I could never afford something like this. I am only a student." So he buys her the car.

Another story. Elvis was like a 7th-level Black Belt in Karate. He worked with one instructor on and off for about 5 years. One day he handed the man a check for $50,000. That's $200,000 in today's dollars. The instructor tried to refuse. But Elvis said to him "I spend $1,000,000 per day and I still can't spend all my money."

Elvis was also notorious for being offended when someone either refused a gift or tried to return it. That was a personal insult for him.

Now this trait - the giving of expensive gifts to friends and strangers - is odd. Certainly you don't hear of Bill Gates buying Ferrari's for strangers. Or Beyonce.

Now it might be fun to have millions of dollars rolling in, and to be able to walk down the street and say "Get that man a car. Get her a car. And the baby gets one too." And mean it. The looks on people's faces must be priceless. It's the same thrill you hear on the radio when someone wins backstage passes to some concert. "Yeeee! Whooo!!! Yaa haa!" I mean, Elvis is Santa. And the screams he hears are genuine joy.

But to do this all the time? I can't imagine what he would really get out of it. Was his life so depressing that he needed to "live vicarously" through the joy of others? Wasn't the fact that people would go crazy when he walked in the room enough for that?

The other part of this is the way he treated his friends. Perhaps all of his friends were employees of some sort. He gave houses, cars, mink coats, trips, and jewelry to people who in his band, his bodyguard, his nurse, his hairdresser, etc. Some of these people genuinely wanted to refuse the gift. "No Elvis, I can't take this $30,000 diamond ring from you." And he would be pissed. Is this a good way to treat your friends? There is a fine line between being generous and basically buying people off. Did he cross that line?

It's hard to say. I wasn't there. It's hard to look a gift horse in the mouth as they say - a man you have never met calls you on the phone and offers you a car. And after you verify that, yes he is serious and there is no catch, what do you do? You probably take the car.

The last thing that struck me about this documentary was the people that said, "Elvis bought me a car and it has changed my life." The former Police Chief who said they have arrested thousands of murderers and drug dealers, but all anyone remembers of them is that Elvis bought them a car. The bodyguard who said that people come up to them even today and ask for their autograph - sign my wife's back, sign my baby's leg - because he drives a car that Elvis gave them (and Elvis didn't even ever own or drive the car). The news reporter who said the year after Elvis gave him a car was the weirdest year of his life.

Elvis had/has an aura about him, even today. He must have being living in a type of hell. He could only go out at night. He couldn't really, really trust too many people near him. He had tons of money, but could never enjoy it. Maybe he couldn't understand why someone would be excited to see him (humble) but he could certainly understand why someone would be excited to own a Cadillac (materialistic).

I wish he were alive today, just to see if/how he was able to overcome the craziness of the 60's/70's and get to somewhat of a normal life. Actually I think the Elvis-mania would be a lot less today if he were still around.

Do you remember when Jennifer Lopez couldn't go on a boat without pictures being beamed across the world? Do you remember when Angelina Jolie went to Africa to have her baby? That seems like so long ago because celebrity tends to fade if you keep out of the spotlight. But Elvis' celebrity has been going on for 30 years and is still quite bright. An interesting man, indeed.