I actually accomplished a long desired goal this weekend. I took my grandkids to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Previously, they were too young or too busy or lived out of the state. Sunday, though everything came together. As for food, Friday I cooked an assortment of what I believe are the best sausages in America. I was in Chicago last week attending ClueCon, and stopped by Bobak's Sausage Company. The intent was to purchase a wide variety of sausages (fresh and dried) buying an extra pound or two their polish sausage. Fifteen sausages and nearly a hundred dollars later I was done.  Saturday, I made French toast, a recipe I will share soon and Sunday was part two of Chuleta Kan-Kan, a deep-fried pork chop and pork belly. I roasted the pork belly for 2 ½ hours until very tender. When we got back from the circus, I roasted a menagerie of vegetables. When they were nearly done, I cut the pork belly into three pieces and deep-fried it. Once again, simply delicious. The crispy but very tender pork belly was a great mix of flavors and textures. However, the recipe of the week is the Mixed Roasted Vegetables. I added adobo seasoning to the roast to give it a Latin/Caribbean flavor and it worked. Great flavors. Enjoy!

Fired!

The resignation of Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd was a surprise to most of us, and while HP is not an icon in the IP Communications industry, as a technology company they do provide us with servers, laptops, printers and other technology. However, I raise the subject of Mark Hurd because it reveals a tragic flaw that can infect all of us. Here was a darling of Wall Street, a savior for HP when their business was unfocused and going downhill, and a man earning over $33 million a year. Although married and with two children, he found himself enamored with an attractive woman and as a result lost his credibility and integrity.

HP has reported that an internal investigation into Mr. Hurd's relationship with Jodie Fisher led to the discovery of allegedly falsified expense reports for dinners he had with Ms. Fisher. He allegedly substituted other people's names when he was actually dining with Ms. Fisher, and may have made unsupported payments to her for unperformed work.

This is of interest to me because we should always be mindful of maintaining our credibility and integrity. In this case, the individual risked his job and his family while perhaps hiding a few thousand dollars in expenses and a potentially embarrassing relationship. In our daily business activities, we make statements to prospects, customers and partners about the capabilities of our products and services that require trust and belief. Our integrity lies at the heart of these statements and actions. The loss of which will result in lost sales, customer cancellations, failed business partnerships and disillusioned employees.

IP Communications is a young and fast growing industry. We need to be always credible and to act with the highest level of integrity.

See you on Wednesday.