My friend (and fellow fantasy football player) owns Rakestraw Fence and Rustic Furniture - a niche business in the North Dallas area - and after months of putting it off, I finally got around to commissioning him to build me something custom for my living room.

I've known the owner for well over a decade now and he's always been handy and creative. His business started out as a fence repair site in his neighborhood but his flair for building quality furniture took on a life of its own and that soon became his main focus.

Anyway, I'll be adding pics shortly but the wine rack he created for me, complete with Texas flag branding, looks amazing and I've already gotten compliments on Facebook. It holds 6 bottles of wine, takes up minimal space and even has a slot to hold wine glasses. How cool is that? Very!

I try to support local businesses whenever possible and this is a keeper for sure. If you are looking for something cool to give your spouse or family this Christmas, check them out and see what they can do for you. You'd be surprised at what they can build and you are limited only by your imagination. Happy holidays!

I was referred to personal injury lawyer Michael M. Guerra recently to help him with his new propane explosion website. Mr. Guerra is busy as it is in the McAllen, TX and San Antonio areas, handling all manner of injury claims, and wanted to focus on helping victims of faulty propane tanks in their RVs.

I know what you're thinking, and I had no idea either - how many people get hurt each year in a propane explosion? Apparently, thousands. Michael is one of the leading experts on the subject in America and has written extensively about the dangers of faulty propane tanks in RVs and campers.

While this is definitely a niche area of law, if thousands of people are hurt each year in these type of accidents, there's definitely a need for a qualified injury lawyer to help. That's where Michael comes in. He knows the courts and handles cases nationwide. 

I will be doing consulting on his website over the next year and look forward to working with him. Since this is a nationwide campaign, I plan to employ a variety of methods to assist him.

The adidas Energy Boost 2.0 is probably the most comfortable shoe I've ever worn. They will run you $160+ but you get what you pay for. Also, consider you're either in bed or in a pair of shoes 90% of your life, so it's not a bad idea to invest in a good pair of running shoes.

I was given all the pertinent contact information for a mutual friend, Steve at S and L Mobile Mechanics, just in case my car ever found itself in some trouble. I'm paranoid about being stranded on the side of the road after having it happen a few times driving across Texas while in school. When a car breaks down on the side of the road, it's a mess because you have to pay a towing company in addition to getting work done to get your car running again. Not a fun situation.

I know several people who have used S and L Mobile Mechanics and it's always good to have a reliable repair company in your phone for such a situation, especially if you find yourself in the Fort Worth area. Since they are based in Euless, they can cover both Dallas and Fort Worth, but prefer to stick mostly on the west side of the mid cities.

Anyway, I ended up needing Steve's help when I was over at the Fort Worth Stockyards this past weekend for an event. Turns out, my timing belt had snapped and I needed a new one. Steve was a lifesaver because not only did he show up in a flash, but he had all the parts and was able to get me back on the road without having to call a tow truck. If that's not good service, I don't know what is. These guys are definitely a company to add to your rolodex just in case you ever find yourself stranded on the side of the road with a forlorn look on your face.

In "The Wolf of Wall Street", we see two scenes involving the standard "sell me this pen" question that often comes up in job interviews for sales positions. In the first scene, at a diner, the answer is a matter of creating scarcity. "Write your name on a sheet of paper - oh you don't have a pen? Here you go." is assumed to be the correct answer from one of Belfort's cohorts.

At the end of the movie, we see a sales conference in New Zealand where Belfort goes around the room asking newbie/aspiring sales professionals the same question. "Sell me this pen."

Of course, no one in the crowd gets it right. They ramble on nervously about how great the pen is, how you can write upside down, etc. So what exactly is the correct way to answer this open-ended question if it comes up in your next job interview?

First, this question IS too open-ended. You can't sell a pen (or anything) unless you ask questions. If an interviewer asks you to sell him this pen, the correct answer would be something like:

"First, I have no idea the context in which you are asking me this. How long have you been in the market for a pen? What type of pen do you typically use? Etc." 

You need to be asking questions to qualify. Otherwise you may be selling something to someone who doesn't need it. This IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE. No matter what. Any interviewer with half a brain will understand this. If they don't, you're probably interviewing at the wrong company. Without understanding the context, it's impossible to sell anything.

Yes, it's an open-ended question. So ask questions of your own to figure out if the hypothetical buyer (the interviewer) even needs the pen. And what he looks for in a pen. And how often he uses a pen. It's that simple. Sales is about asking questions.

I had done a ton of ongoing work back in 2010 for my buddy Donovan at 360 Roofing and over the past year I hadn't heard much from him. However, that changed today. I'm looking forward to working with him again since his roofing company was always the best when it came to paying on time and being honest.

On a side note, if you need new roofing you should definitely contact them. They have a perfect A+ rating with the BBB and are just about the only roofing company I would consider talking to if I had an issue. My friend up in Plano recently contacted 360 Innovations Roofing about repairing a minor slab. My buddy said the crew was very professional. Estimated delivery date on this project will be late 2014 since roofing here in the Dallas area is so dang competitive. 

As reported on my other blog, I have begun working with the fence staining experts at Texas Fence Staining. A Dallas-based company with decades of experience, TFS was founded by my friend Larry as a separate division of an existing fence repair company when it became clear that treating fence staining as side work was no longer acceptable. Larry was smart to see the opportunity and has run with it.

If you're tired of looking at a dull, lifeless fence, especially one that has weather damage as a result of the freakish ice storm that hit Dallas a month or two ago - give TFS a call. I've used them and have referred them to several friends of mine in Dallas, Plano and Frisco and they always do great work. Staining a fence is a much more affordable and logical option compared to a full replacement and they can finish a job in the same day in most cases. Contact them today for a fast, free quote.

I had a few friends ask me what companies I would recommend for home repairs and other handyman work after the great snow storm of 2013 that has crippled the city. I get this a lot since I know plenty of local business owners. My picks are:

DK Electricians - Dale and Kerem do great work and are a locally owned electrical contractor that I've known for years. If you need a new breaker box or just simple repair, they can help.

North Dallas Dent Repair - My buddy Jackie owns this location off of Royal near 635. They can help with dent repair and other body work caused by the ice storm.

JCL Retaining Walls - Brandon owns several businesses in DFW and his retaining wall repair division can help since these structures were hit hard by days of snow and ice collecting on them.

I recently contacted my buddies at DFW Demolition Co. about getting a tool shed removed from my property. I was worried the pricing was going to be outrageous for this type of work, but it actually turned out to be very reasonable. The crew showed up on time and was professionally uniformed for the most part, which was also a pleasant surprise to say the least. The foreman walked me through every step of the demolition work and assured me the work would be done by the end of the day.

Removing the tool shed only ended up taking a little more than 2 hours, which was fine by me. I was very impressed with DFW Demolition and would highly recommend them to anyone in Dallas in need of house removal or other lot clearing services. Since they provide complimentary consultations in most cases, it doesn't hurt to give them a call, even if you are just window shopping.

You don't. You really shouldn't. More than anything, I'm just trying to see what kind of traffic a post about how to wear men's drop crotch pants will pan out. So don't judge me, I just need a current topic to write about and I noticed a bunch of douchebags wearing these pants that look like there is a diaper included. So this is a traffic test more than anything as I have no clue how to wear these stupid ass reverse bell bottoms or whatever they are. But I'll try to offer advice.

For those of you who don't know, this:

Some of the stupidest prints I've seen on these god-awful pants include the pics above. I mean just look at that. Justin Beiber is wearing some shit leopard print thing while I weep for the future. You look like you are wearing a sweatshirt upside-down you moron.


So how does a cool guy wear these baggy-ass-leggings in style? I mean pair the things with a faux-hawk I guess? I'm trying to think of some other douche words that people would search for in conjunction with these pants above, but I can't. Thus concludes this article.