I must not know any environmentalists...

It seems that everyone is environmentalist and interestingly enough, everyone is also now a scientist. The politician, the corporate executive, the common man, is now rebelling against the cautionary words of scientists...of science...and saying, "No, you're wrong". (Kind of like our position before God sometimes, isn't it?)

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...

Yup. I'm Crazy Like That.

Most of the truly crazy things that I have done in my life - scaling buildings, doing flips off bridges into shallow water below, hotwiring and "borrowing" the HC golf carts for joyriding purposes at 3am (I did put them back), climbing out of car windows onto their roofs at expressway speeds--have not (allow me to repeat: NOT) had the endorsement of parents. In fact, hi mom and dad, sorry you had to hear it like this... love you. Remember, I'm past this all now. :)

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!

Cat Found!

I stumbled across this the other day and just could not stop laughing. So long as you know what this is, I just don't know how you couldn't, as well!

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.

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.

Two Quotes for the Day.

Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.
- 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.