Saturday, December 13, 2008
Hard Goodbyes.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Quote for the Day.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The United States of Mind.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
The New 73ideas Guitar Branding Promo.
Several months back I began a promotional piece specifically for guitar related branding. As word of mouth has built in that industry, I have had opportunity after opportunity to develop these brands. As I thoroughly enjoy these projects and would welcome more... or anything even similair (coffee companies, vinyards, microbreweries, a cigar maker...), I have put this piece together.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Award Winning Logos Are in the Mail.
Friday, September 5, 2008
73ideas Award Winning Logos.
There were over 33,000 pieces up for consideration in the internationally juried competition, and two 73ideas logo designs made the cut!
I will be posting a press release on the 73ideas site soon -- along with the two logos to be recognized.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
UK Media Offers Perspective.
Tracy and I were talking last night about how, when you know the answer and you feel the answer... when you are asked the question... you HAVE the answer. As the experience at Saddleback shows, when your answers are the result of Nielson ratings, polls of the audience, or who it is you are speaking to at the moment -- once you are without the script -- you don't know what the answer is.
Of course the shape-shifters will be up in arms after a speech from someone who has a stance. Because when someone stands for something, has fought for something, and there's a record of that... well, somehow it means more than just words do.
I've been summing up the differences
between the sides in my head.
Now, keep in mind that I for years (and you can ask my parents) did not want to be called a Republican. I claimed that I wanted to be able to vote for my candidate of choice -- based on the available information. As the available information has basically always led my to vote on the right - I have for some time acknowleged my place as a Republican voter.
Here's why.
cartoon that I quote entirely too often
when discussing the democratic "position".
The dad is watching a football game on TV.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Iron Man DVD Release Date!
Friday, August 29, 2008
Such a Beautiful Place.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Quote of the Day.
- Daniel Webster
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Introducing "theAssinine".
Here it is -- The Assinine!
I can't tell you how excited I am to see it together and live. All downloads complete, links hitting each other, traffic increasing and a new group up on Facebook for it today.
Show Your Lack of Support! http://www.theassinine.com/
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A short one.
Tracy is walking. She had her back surgery at Mayo two weeks ago, and a day ago had her first physical therapy appointment. She actually spent most of the day yesterday on her feet -- because she wanted to be at my side when I got my diagnosis.
I have had coming and going fever for two weeks. I had pnumonia when I finally went, but plenty more symptoms. I have had a resting heart rate of 115-120, headaches every day, chest pain and more. It has taken a while to get answers, and I still have a CT scan on Friday, but while we're still awaiting the second set of bloodwork, the Dr's think they know.
I am the minority of the minority that manages to really get annihilated by Cocci, or as they call it here, Valley Fever. They put me on IV at yesterdays appointment and put two bags in me. It didn't make the difference that they hoped, but they couldn't dilute my blood anymore because they had to take more of that for more lab work.
Something, maybe just time, is making a difference - as I am sitting here at the computer - and thinking of making breakfast. I have good days and bad days, but this is shaping up to be one of the best days yet.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Today's Quote
-Cullen Hightower
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Stop Global Warming.
Let me qualify that. Global warming is real.
It is absolutely just as real as global cooling.
It just happens that right now we're in the warming cycle.
So what I am not buying is Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW). It's utter nonsense.
Having been involved in brand & retail strategy for a while now, I find it pretty easy to see manipulation of facts, feelings, and the general public. And let me tell you... AGW is it. It is as political and economically calculated a movement as there has ever been... And I would hate to be the clown of a candidate to run on a "global warming platform" and have it in the history books. In a decade or less, that will be a legacy equal to a "santa clause and the easter bunny" platform. I wouldn't be the candidate trying to legislate the change of the worlds lightbulbs (incandescant to flourescent) if I were that guy...
So. I'm biting back. They can market, but I can too. In whatever small way I can, I am speaking my mind (based on facts, folks -- not manipulated half-truths), and the minds of those much wiser than me. I am creating a forum for scientific response - but with the aid of a strategic marketing spin.
There are a lot of scientists out there refuting AGW. Scientists from MIT. Scientists from NASA. Some of them are on the UN list. The problem is, they were buying it initially, before investigating further. But now that they have researched it, now that they have reversed their positions - they can't get their names off the list.
So I've created a forum. I am inviting experts to contribute, and I'm going to create a stir. I've shared it while in development with a few of you, but it's getting close enough to launch that I'm posting it. Help me spread the word, will you? When I launch and send out the announcement - or even now, if you want to - send a link along to your friends.
Help me cause a stir.
www.KilltheTrees.org
Let's stop worrying about being politically correct.
Let's just worry about being correct.
It begins with satire. It concludes with facts...and it's going to have a lot more of those before I'm done. Help me spread the word.
Let's counter agenda with some reality, shall we?
www.KilltheTrees.org
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Dog Under My Desk...
My dog Mindy was the reminder. An hour or so ago, she was pushing up against my leg for me to let her under my desk. It's something that happens many times in a day, but somehow took me back this time. Back to when I was a founding partner in a new company called Avizia - about to land the Safeway account - just not knowing it yet.
I was working 16-18 hours a day, and most weekends. Because of this, our parent company -- PPC Retail Design, the one that had put up the venture capital -- made the special exception of letting me have Mindy in the office. I remember there being some people that were pretty upset by this. The kinds of people that only see that you are getting something they are not - but not thinking about what it is costing you. I was there before any of them, and there for an entire workday after them. I worked over 30 hours straight once. I worked all but a half day of Thanksgiving weekend - alone - on a made-up project, created to set me up to fail - to create grounds to force me out of a company in which I was a founding partner... but that's another story...
The point is, I'm blessed. Here I sit with the same dog trying to get under my desk that was sitting under my desk then - but under such completely different circumstances. I have an amazing, loving, suportive wife, a beautiful home, mountains and palm trees all around, a reasonable boss (me)... It's a long list. Literally every focus, priority and detail of my life is different now.
I bet she knows. We've got a happy house. She gets up with me at 6 every morning and lies under my desk. I'm thankful it's a different desk.
What a difference 5 years makes. I feel like I was young then.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Audi Wins 24 Hours of Le Mans.
This is the absolute pinnacle of auto racing... and not just because I'm a fan.
24 hours of wear and tear, pushing it to the limit, and getting absolutely no sleep for the course of the race (and hours of prep time beforehand, and celebration afterwards). It is the ultimate test of endurance for both the man (men) and machine.
Catching Up.
To catch up just a little though...
Tracy's Back:
For those of you "in the know" Tracy's back issues have gotten worse. We finally ended up taking her to Mayo Hospital (ER) on Monday. We got little more than meds (a little information), but have an appointment that should help narrow a course of action scheduled for Thursday morning. She is in absolutely unbearable pain -- standing only to walk to the restroom -- say a prayer for her if you will.
Welcome to our world, Mr. Charles Davidson Kratz:
My best friend (of 16 years now... goodness we're getting old!) Jeremy, and his wife Amy welcomed their first child, a son, into the world last week.
Tracy and I were able to swing by for a few minutes and say hello on the morning of his first day. Makes us think it might be time to consider Charles having a playmate around his age... He is one CUTE baby. Well behaved, too. I have no idea where he got that part from...
Thursday, June 12, 2008
A Brilliant Blog.
Instead, I am simply going to profile it here, and put a link in the sidebar.
If you want more than simply to be entitled to your opinion.
If you care enough to be well informed.
If you give a crap about our country--you'll want to add this to your frequent reads:
http://www.uncorrelated.com/
Like this post by Mick Stockinger:
I was listening to some commentary from Juan Williams who considered the prospects of the general election in terms of Obama's presence, charisma and fluid speaking style--constrasting it with John McCain's, hunched, halting and ineloquent recent speech. For Williams, and I imagine for most liberals, its all about style. For me, and I imagine most conservatives, its all about substance. John McCain won the Republican nomination because for better or worse, he appeared to most voters as the most substantive candidate. If it was a matter of style, Huckabee would now be looking for a running mate.
Who wins this argument? I don't rightly know. Are more people fascinated with style or impressed with substance? The polls appear to suggest that substance still rules the day, but I concede the significant difference between polls and elections. My dread of an Obama presidency is similarly less about him and what he would do, and more a concern with whether America has lost its soul. If it really is an MTV country, we are all screwed. read more
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Pre-Pixelated T's
Support Creative Thought.
Get yours. http://www.ironicsans.com/
Monday, June 9, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Clinton Wins! Democrats Everywhere in Celebration!
The one-time "inevitable" candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination ended her campaign Saturday with an unequivocal endorsement of her rival…
This can't be the completely unqualified, absolute buffoon she was running against, right? I mean, if that "red phone" is going to ring in the middle of the night, we don't that guy to be the one answering it, right?
"You can be so proud," she told the cheering crowd, "that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.” Nicely spun. Turn the loss into a win. Yes. What you achieved was truly remarkable. I flunked a test once…does that count? I just asked Roget, and “Rejected” and “Groundbreaking” are not synonyms.
Clinton likewise acknowledged the historic significance of Barack Obama becoming the first African-American to be the presidential nominee of a major party. Calling this a "turning-point election," she said, "When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions: Could a woman really serve as commander-in-chief? Well, I think we answered that one." Yes. I believe we did. Don’t think I would have phrased it quite like that. You do understand that you are not the next president right? This isn’t an acceptance speech. I’m sorry. I really do hate to interrupt in the middle of a paragraph like this, but I just couldn’t help it. First of all, this is not, was not, and never will be about a woman being president. This was the question of you being President. To which the answer was “No”. "And, could an African-American really be our president? Sen. Obama has answered that one." No. He has not. That answer is scheduled for November. Once again, this is not an acceptance speech (and if it were, Hillary, it wouldn’t be for BOTH of you). "Together, Sen. Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union."
Umm... Sorry, one last question. Is union the root word for unity?
Would the company not yet advertising on the green platform please stand up?
- Number 3: Water Balloon
- Number 5: Soggy Laundry
- Number 7: Toiletry Tote
- Number 10: Care Package Padding
Contrived? Perhaps it could be used as a first aid kit, which WILL be required after you hit someone with your new 4 gallon water balloon... or for your back after you attempt to throw it.
Were it my job to create the list, I would have given two key directives.
- Spend more than 5 minutes in brainstorming and revision.
- If you can only come up with 5 that aren't contrived, reduce list to 5.
One final thought on the bag.
Is the irony of printing an "envoronmentally concious" positioning device on an environmentally wasteful/hazardous piece lost on everyone but me?
It's like carrying your reusable hemp grocery sack into Whole Foods to buy bottled water. You just saved the world from one plastic bag -- 420 of which could be manufactured from the volume of plastic in the 4 bottles of water you just purchased...
I must not know any environmentalists...
Here's my question. If everyone is now an environmentalist, fuel is the devil and cars should run on rainbows and butterfly sprinkles... then why is everyone complaining about the cost of gas?
Isn't the cost of gas
and the repercussions of that cost a GOOD thing?
Increased cost equals decreased use.
Increased cost means changes in habits.
Increased cost means the development of viable alternatives.
So why haven't I heard a single person at the checkout, at the restaurant, or in the media say, "Thank God for these gas prices."?
I guess I just haven't run into any environmentalists...
Friday, June 6, 2008
Yup. I'm Crazy Like That.
OK. So like I said, most of the craziness has not had parental endorsement, but this past weekend I did something insane... not only in front of a parent -- but FOR the parent!
Tracy and I went in to Midland (TX) to help her mom settle in to her new house, unpacking and hooking things up. She has a fabulous set of bronze dog sculptures and Tracy and I immediately saw the PERFECT place for them - it was as if it had been built for them.
The only problem is that the dogs are about 4 feet tall, at least 80lbs each, and awkward as all get out... oh, and that perfect place is about 8ft up... and we have a 6ft ladder. If you do the math, that means that to have the feet of the dogs level with the top of the cabinets, I have to be standing on the VERY top of the ladder....
I have to say that I don't know if I have ever pushed myself quite to this physical limit. It was enough just picking them up to carry them, but taking them up a ladder, balancing on the VERY top to rotate them over the cabinets and adjusting balance to set them on their feet and shift the weight to them, was REALLY something. My legs could barely lift the combined weight while going up the ladder and it became more of a "point of no return" principal. When you're half way up the ladder with one, you don't want to come back down. You do--you just don't want to try it.
I have to admit, after doing the first one, I was less enthused about the second. I waited two days, actually. Can't beat the end result though. Wouldn't trade that 20 minutes of my body trembling afterwards for how it turned out!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Branding Blog.
Announcing the new business blog from 73ideas.
A new branding blog is executing a hostile takeover of both the name and domain http://www.73perspectives.com/.
It is to be a veritable mixed bag of design commentary, branding principles and techniques, as well as commentary on current business events and corporate decisions. It is my goal to make this a great resource, filled with both design and branding insight. And as I work on my book on branding, readers of 73perspectives will be the first to have access to that content.
Please feel free to link to the new blog at: http://www.73perspectives.com/. Or email it, pass the word along, to anyone that you feel might find it helpful, relevant, or just interesting.
Thanks!
Dwight Knowlton
PS: If you are linked to this blog, it's url will remain the same on blogspot (http://73perspectives.blogspot.com/), as well as replacing www.dwightknowlton.com.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
A New 'Stang and a Fine Pair of Wrangler Denims.
One has to admit, the new 'Stang is a great design - still I don't see myself in one. Or maybe I do... or did.
While I had the Porsche in for service recently, I had to select a rental car. Since the complimentary rental car from Hertz is a one door, three wheeled, pedal powered Kia. I upgraded. That is, I meant to upgrade.
I asked the gentleman behind the desk if they had any Jettas. To which he replied, "We have no Yetta". Aah... A Frenchman in Arizona. So I don't know if he's just not a car guy or what, but he then asks if a "Mezda...n" would be OK. I don't know what this is, but I assume that it's probably a Mazda somwhere in the range that a Wolksvagen Yetta would be in... you know, four doors, a little sporty. Nicely equipped for the price point. So to this question, I reply, "We".
We sign the papers, he hands me a set of keys and a keyless entry fob from 1982. You know, the square one with little square buttons that looks like a shrunken garage door opener. I was surprised that Mazda would do such a thing, but thought that perhaps that they had lost the real one and been able to pick up a universal replacement at a truck stop. Alas, no. It is not from 1982, but from a domestic. As I walk to my assigned bay, I see that the "Mezda...n" is the new retro Mustang. I am puzzled by this being the second choice after asking for an upgrade to the Yetta, but am intriuged, and think to myself - this should be sorta fun for an afternoon.
Well, as it turned out, I upgraded from the one door Kia, but only in exterior sheetmetal design and horsepower. I am quite sure that the two share the same single mold, entirely same shade -- entirely same texture, lost in a sea of sameness, entirely plastic interior. The design for the most part - gauges, shifter, etc. is good, but the execution is terrible. The shifter, for example, is painted plastic trying to be metal -- but it has a giant seam (from being so poorly molded out of plastic) running up and across it -- further delineated by an obvious change in the finish of the "no really, this is metal" paint where it pulled back from the seam.
They did do a nice job on the exhaust note. It has a nice rumble sound though it did not seem overly powerful. This was the base V8 though, and while it was fine, it did not have the gumption of the 2.5 ton SUV it was replacing for the day. Not a good thing for a V8 car weighing half as much. It was not the GT however, and from the times listed online, I have to say that the GT would feel fast. I can only hope that if one optioned a GT there would be a little better delivery on the interior, as well.
It was interesting enough to have for a couple hours - but I was happy enough to turn it in.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Two Quotes for the Day.
- Evan Esar
Could this be applied to campaign rhetoric?
- Dwight Knowton
Great Expectations.
Sometimes while branding other businesses,
I fail to realize truths about mine.
It's a natural phenomonon that occurs whenever you are too close--to anything. That's exactly why companies like Safeway have paid consultants like myself rediculous amounts of money to take a look at their branding/positioning/perception in the marketplace... even though they have perfectly capable people on the inside.
This morning I realized (or re-realized) a truth. I have been working on a new project for a client that had a tight deadline for production, and the product needed to be shipped next day to NYC for a convention the client was attending. I have used a company from California for nearly 4 years now - and have always had the best of experiences. This time around - nothing. No responses, no tracking numbers... nothing. Last night I received an email from the client that the goods had been received and were perfect. That's great, but I'm still sitting here with that kind of empty feeling you get when your reputation is on the line and it's looking like you're not going to deliver. So I think to myself, "I need to find a new company that's more dependable".
Now that's an interesting thought. After all, the convention starts today - the client received shippment yesterday - all is well. But it is not just about the product, it's about the experience, the path getting there... One of the products I was looking for was confidence that my expectations would be met. Confidence in a seamless process is a key deliverable.
So here was my epiphany. I have made the same mistake. I have created client expectations over a period of time: delivered a project a week early, given more than the bid included, etc., then when I come down to the wire on a deadline - but still deliver - the client is dissapointed/upset. And I think to myself, "What is wrong with this client? I met the deadline!".
Expectation.
I met the deadline, but not the expectation...
So we have to remember to manage expectations, too. Just like the fine folks in CA that have over-delivered for me for 4 years -- it only takes once, and the client may just be looking for alternatives.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
It's a small world.
A few years back, when I was travelling the majority of the time for work, I was spending a lot of time in California. One weekend, instead of flying home, my team and I drove into Sacremento -- as a fellow on my team had lived there for a couple years and knew the hot spots. One of these was a great English microbrewery/pub. It was a perfect California day and we spend the better part of an afternoon outside on the massive stone patio under the oaks. He had spent his fair share of time there (this could probably not be overstated) while a local, and knew the owner as well as one can though the bottom of a wine glass.
So, we were all introduced, given some appetizers and a round of drafts on the house and sat chatting with the nice lady and her business partner.
Amazingly enough - this is her:
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Audi awarded as European inventor of the year.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Free TV.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Some Political Hilarity.
Here's a snippet to prime your clicking finger: "Reader Mark Schondorf submits a whole list of shocking twists, including: “Hillary summons a Kraken”; “Obama was a ghost THE WHOLE TIME!!!”; “Hillary goes back in time to kill Obama’s mother”; “Hillary wins because, as it turns out, she's Keyser Söze”; and “Unbelievably, the aliens are afraid of water.”"
Read the Slate Article Here.
A Bird in the Palm is Worth Two in the...
I was trimming the palm trees last week. As I climbed up the ladder to trim in the front yard, I came face to face with this dove on her nest. Now it's not that doves are terribly intimidating creatures... But when you are expecting no creature at all, and it happens to be about 8 to 10 inches in front of your face... and you're on the top step of a ladder with a running chainsaw in your hand...
Well, let me tell you.
Testing mobile posting
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Geez, I've Been Busy... Still Am.
I subscribe to many, many marketing and branding and design and ____________ (fill in the blank), newsletters and ezines. There are lots of great things to read, but most of the time it's like weeding the garden. Actually, I don't know what that means. It's more like trying to find a rare Sinatra LP at a flea market. Anyway: here's a great one: Sourced from Seth Godin's blog (which he sourced from his upcoming book, Free Prize Inside).
-----------------------------------------------------------
Henry Ford and the source of our fear
Henry Ford left us much more than cars and the highway system we built for them. He changed the world’s expectations for work. While Ford gets credit for “inventing the assembly line,” his great insight was that he understood the power of productivity.
Ford was a pioneer in highly leveraged, repetitive work, done by relatively untrained workers. A farmer, with little training, could walk into Ford’s factory and become extraordinarily productive in a day or two.
This is the cornerstone of our way of life. The backbone of our economy is not brain surgeons and master violinists. It’s in fairly average people doing fairly average work.
The focus on productivity wouldn’t be relevant to this discussion except for the second thing Ford did. He decided to pay his workers based on productivity, not replacement value. This was an astonishing breakthrough. When Ford announced the $5 day (more than double the typical salary paid for this level of skill), more than 10,000 people applied for work at Ford the very next day.
Instead of paying people the lowest amount he’d need to find enough competent workers to fill the plant, he paid them more than he needed to because his systems made them so productive. He challenged his workers to be more productive so that they’d get paid more.
It meant that nearly every factory worker at Ford was dramatically overpaid! When there’s a line out the door of people waiting to take your job, weird things happen to your head. The combination of repetitive factory work plus high pay for standardized performance led to a very obedient factory floor. People were conditioned to do as they were told, and traded autonomy and craftsmanship for high pay and stability.
All of a sudden, we got used to being paid based on our output . We came, over time, to expect to get paid more and more, regardless of how long the line of people eager to take our job was. If productivity went up, profits went up. And the productive workers expected (and got) higher pay, even if there were plenty of replacement workers, eager to work for less.
This is the central conceit of our economy. People in productive industries get paid a lot even though they could likely be replaced by someone else working for less money.
This is why we’re insecure.
Obedience works fine on the well-organized, standardized factory floor. But what happens when we start using our heads, not our hands, when our collars change from blue to white?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
The Joy's of Being in Business.
The last couple weeks have doled out their fair share of work humor, so long as one can manage their perspective well enough to take it lightly.
I have not been that one. I'm not saying that I have missed the humor in the situation.
I am simply saying that there have been a few times that I was looking for something to break.
Let's recap.
03/27: Client wants packaging designed for new product.
Client provides a spec file from vendor (purposeless .dat file).
03/27: I contact vendor directly requesting specs, templates, any relevant information.
03/27: Vendor does not respond.
03/28: Vendor does not respond.
03/31: Vendor does not respond.
04/01: Vendor does not respond (of course).
04/02: Vendor does not respond.
04/03: Vendor responds by sending same worthless .dat file.
04/03: I respond: "Thanks. Can you tell me what format the graphic capabilities file is supposed to be? It is coming through as a .dat which is unuseable. It it a PDF, maybe?"
04/03: Vendor does not respond.
04/04: Vendor responds by not writing a single word, but attaching "graphics capabilites.dat". Again.
04/04: I spend a few minutes replacing the file extention and find that the file is supposed to be a .doc. I am able to open it...and find that it is of absolutely no value.
04/04: I send the basically worthless file back to the client as a .doc, in case they ever need to supply it to someone who might want to be able to open it. And then close it.
04/04: Given that I am getting absolutely no information on requirements or process -- I decide to try a new method. Providing a draft file for critique.
04/04: "Dear vendor, I am working on the __________ packaging for _________. I am submitting this for review. Could you supply me with your file preferences/guidelines, and the appropriate template (if necessary). Please let me know if we are missing anything. File attach. Message send.
04/04: Vendor does not respond.
04/07: Vendor responds. But wait. Vendor does not answer questions. Vendor says, "I have sent your file to print, but prepress tells me that we are missing fonts. Please convert all type to outlines and resubmit file".
04/08: I respond with a revised file and a nice note. "This is a print file. The previous file was not.
All of my questions that have gone unanswered - I have gotten answers from other sources, so we should be set to go with this."
04/08: Vendor responds, "Here is the proof. Please note the die line. Your label is smaller than the die line. Is this supposed to have a white border? Also, I have not received the label spec form back from you so I am guessing on this label. Do you want white paper or is this supposed to have a metallic look?
04/09: I respond (cc-ing the client): "This is exactly the template I was asking for last week. I needed a final dimension on the label. I have revised the file to eliminate the white border and added some bleed. Given the additional room, I have also relocated some type. You will want to check with the client, ________ on the paper choice. I am not the client, so can't make the call on that, or submit the label spec form you mention."
04/09: Vendor: "Ok, I think now I understand the problem. I thought you were the client. Do you have any information about _________ (client) so I can ask them. Sorry but this is really confusing."
_______________________________
OK. It's still going to get better,
but let me analyze this last note for a second.
Conclusion 1: You thought I was the client...so you did not respond to my emails, and have never answered a single question that I asked? Interesting technique.
Conclusion 2: You wonder if I have any contact information for the individual/company that I work for?
Conclusion 3: "Do you have any information about..." is interrogative. Use a question mark.
Conclusion 4: You didn't notice that I just provided you with the clients email, did you?
Conclusion 5: This is confusing.
_______________________________
04/11: Client forwards email from vendor.
Proofs are attached. Plural. Proofs.
Two of the same file. The file from 04/08.
The one that was replaced by the file that I sent 04/09.
Vendor asks same questions that vendor asked on 04/08.
Is this supposed to have a white border?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Technology is Unbelievable.
Google has added a feature called "street view" to their maps. It is limited to higher traffic locations, but we just happen to live in one of those kinds of places, so I thought I'd take a look around. It is just unbelievable!
I had just dropped the Porsche off for service this morning, and had looked around for a bit on the lot - so I had that location fresh in my mind. I thought I'd have a look there, but they have not yet made it that far out with their cameras yet. So, I looked up the other premium auto group in town on McDowell Rd, and "wala".
Here is what you do. Start at maps.google.com and enter this address: "6825 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85257". Now click to "Street View" and have a look around the Maserati/Ferrari dealership. Resist any offers of test drives. Pop it up to full screen, and use the navigation arrows to head east and check out the Audi dealership (complete with picketing laborers out front). Click on the picture and drag to rotate your view. Look east, look north...unbelievable.
And to think, when I was in college we didn't even have the interweb.
Friday, April 4, 2008
A Little Bit of Our Phoenix
This is our Wax Begonia on the back patio. Tracy and I were watering one evening and I saw the sun shining through it. It lit up like a jewel. I couldn't help but take 20 pictures or so.
This is a shot in our backyard - a view that Tracy loves. It's the contrast of soft roses with the hard prickly pear cactus and the queen palm in the background.
Here is one of our new Camillia's. We put three of these in along our back wall and they are taking off! They are beautiful and absolutely loaded with buds.
This is our metaphorical back yard. Not really our back yard, but sort of our back yard. This is on the way into Phoenix from the south (from Tucson). It has no relevance to the rest of the post, but it's a shot I had been planning to post - so here it is.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Durability is a Plus.
This was just one of those things that had outlived it's usefulness and
as such, had to be destroyed. Thank you Jeremy for the camera work.
This film was edited by Liz Muller.
All Rights Reservated.
Interesting Quote of the Day
- Flip Wilson
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Honorable WalMart.
This is by no means the worst example of the WalMart game, but is indicative of the overall techniques employed to grow the brand.
On to the point of this blog. Having been on the inside, having sat around board room tables trying to save smaller chains from the clutches of a company that it seems will do anything to win (including a 3-4 year loss plan for new locations to put the competitors out of business), I love to see the occasional dirty laundry come out. Some more has come out. And this time it's funny. It seems that the blog "Wal-Marting Across America" (they have taken it down since being found out) which presents a very rosy picture of a travelling couples interaction with all of those lucky enough to be working in a Walmart store (just ask them, they are really happy and love the company!) is actually a paid endeavor made possible by WalMart themselves. It's beautiful, really. It is the second fake blog by their PR firm Edelman to be exposed!
Business Week Article
MediaPost Article
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Home, Home on the Ranch
There have been some amazing photos among them. Photos which even if they had no family meaning - or history that we knew of - would be enchanting just to look at. That we have the history, or can look at the same landscape now and see the effects of time and "progress", is absolutely amazing.
(J. B. Walton Sr. is on the left.)
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
That's Sharp!
I have got to have one of these!
Here's the site that sells the product.
I'd say they really know how to pick 'em.