Don't Give Up, Don't Ever Give Up

I am no televangelist and I don't want this blog to turn into anything nearing "preachy", but it is that time of year....

Anyway, not all of my readers are sports fans and many may have never seen this.  But, on so many levels, it really is that good. 



Thanks Matt D for reminding me!

USPS

I imagine most of my readers have heard of the struggle of the United States Postal Service.  I imagine that most have heard reports that USPS services are going to be reduced and possibly even eliminated altogether.  I just wanted to take a minute and tell you that this is not something that should be taken lightly.  I don't have statistics (though I'm sure you can find them easy enough online), but believe me when I say that we NEED the USPS. 

I know that in these times of online billpay and paypal the envelope and stamp is nearing obsolescense, but what about birthday cards, wedding invitations, seasons greetings?  Believe me, FedEx and UPS would love to deliver your letters, but that's not cheap now and would only become more expensive without USPS competition.  And let's not forget FlatRate boxes for our Ebay and Amazon sellers.

Finally, consider the unemployment situation in this country.  Does anyone reading this think we need more people jobless?  

I could end this post with a call to action: stop paying your bills online, but I know that's unrealistic.  Instead I will just ask you all to at least follow this situation.

Spoon fed.

I found this to be pretty powerful!



http://blog.sustainablog.org/the-plastic-spoon-and-oil-addiction-in-america/

Thanks Mike C. for sharing.

Netflix Wins!

By now everyone knows that Netflix is upping their price.  It's been on the news and all over Facebook.  Outrage seems everywhere.  I have 3 points to make on this issue:

1 - Netflix has been talking for some time now about getting everyone onto their streaming service.  They do not like supporting the DVD service.  It is not cost effective for them (from buying rights to the newest movies to the shipping costs, etc. the larger the service grows the more of a losing proposition it becomes).   To everyone that thinks they are somehow "sticking it" to Netflix by canceling the DVD portion of their service, I'm sorry to say you are playing right into their hands... (I still think it makes sense to cancel the DVD portion, but that's personal opinion).

2 - Does Netflix plan to do anything about it's lack of quality streaming options?  I can't tell you how many times I try to find movies/tv shows on streaming that are only available via DVD.

3 - Throughout history it has been illegal to undercut a business to drive them out and then exorbitantly raise your rates.  Isn't this basically what Netflix has done with Blockbuster?  I'm not claiming them a monopoly and I understand why the government would let them get away with this, but shouldn't someone at least ask the question?  Especially as the governments go out of their way to look out for companies such as Netflix with their anti-piracy laws?  Again, I just wonder if the government is focusing on protecting the right people...   

Undeclared

In 2001 Judd Apatow created a TV series called Undeclared.  It only lasted 1 season (on Fox) and I completely missed it.  Until I caught a marathon on IFC last weekend I didn't know it existed. 

I am writing about this because this show seemingly (I don't have the time to actually look at their filmographies) launched more than a few careers.  Besides creator Judd Apatow (who really gained notary a year before with "Freaks and Geeks") this show starred relative career "infants":

Seth Rogen - "Knocked Up"
Jay Baruchel - "She's Out of My League"
Carla Gallo - "Bones" (TV)
Jason Segal - "How I Met Your Mother" (TV), "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"
Charlie Hunnam - "Green Street Hooligans"

Others who appeared included:

Jenna Fisher - "The Office" (TV)
Amy Poehler - SNL
Busy Phillips - "Dawson's Creek" (TV)
David Krumholz - "Numb3rs" (TV), "10 Things I Hate About You"
Alexandra Breckenridge - Dirt (TV)
Tom Welling - Smallville (TV)

And these are only the ones I could recognize/identify/place in other roles.

On top of that, within just one season guest stars included: Adam Sandler, Will Ferrel, Ted Nugent, Ben Stiller and Fred Willard.

Beyond the actors (which is interesting and impressive to me - hence the post) the show wasn't great, but it had some moments.  If you're interested IFC (network) has begun showing back-to-back episodes on Friday nights I believe..  I'd love for your comments.

ER Reservations

A hospital in Memphis has recently created an online reservation system for it's ER.  For $15 you can make a reservation at the ER and be seen within 15 minutes of your reservation time.. If you are not, you get a refund of your $15..

hmmmmm....

1 - Isn't the ER for EMERGENCIES?  if you can plan ahead doesn't it mean it's not really an emergency?
2 - If you aren't seen within that 15 minutes you get a refund.. the hospital has a $15 incentive to help those that make reservations but no incentive to help those having heart attacks.. can this cause patient bias?  liabilities?  On the same token if you aren't seen within 15 minutes the hospital just stands to lose the $15 pre-pay.. That's not really a penalty. 

This whole thing feels just wrong, but just wait.. it's soon coming to a hospital near you.

http://www.wmctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=13473665

Bowl Over(kill)

In college football each season ends with the top teams playing in what are called 'Bowl' games.  These games are meant to showcase the best talent and be a way for teams to give their season some finality since there is no true playoff system. 

It has been noted that one reason the NCAA has not switched to a playoff system is because they can make more money on the Bowl series.  Each Bowl game is sponsored by a corporation and televised nationally.  As of last year there were 34 Bowl games - many more than a playoff system would allow for. 

However, it would appear that the Bowl series is becoming watered down (something I fear of the new basketball NCAA tournament expansion) and thus cannabilizing itself. 

FedEx bows out of Orange Bowl title slot

With more Bowl games there are more teams playing and let's be honest - some of these teams do not deserve any type of post-season play.  Fans are getting overwhelmed and bored with the sub-par matchups and they are not patronizing these games.  The excitement of the major Bowl games is being replaced by the tediousness of the other 20 or so. 

Basically what I'm saying (rambling as it may be) is that the Bowl game system is getting out of control and while it was designed to maximize profits for the NCAA and it's member schools it actually seems counter-intuitive and needs a major overhaul to satisfy it's fans, teams, players and possibly most importantly, it's sponsors...

Commercial Fail

Has anyone else seen these new commercials for Bud Light Lime?  Has anyone else noticed the voiceover "Bud Light Lime, with 100% real, natural lime flavor"?  What the hell is real, natural lime FLAVOR?  They don't say "real, natural lime JUICE" or even "real, natural lime CONCENTRATE."  There is nothing real or natural about 'FLAVOR' I am sure...

And on the same note, Volkswagen cannot bring back the 'punch' because they are not bringing back the 'Punch-buggy'...  I get that they are trying to get back that strong brand recognition of my childhood, but punching your friend everytime you see a Volkswagen sedan just isn't the same...

6 Pack of Questions

OK, maybe that subject line is a little misleading, but puns are easy, and I like easy.. I really only have 1 main question:  Why is beer sold in units of six (6-packs, 12 packs, cases of 24 bottles or 30 cans)?

Is this because the average person drinks 6 beers per sitting?  Or is that how it used to be in the past at least?  What would the average persons BAC be after 6 beers?  (I am sure I can google search that one, but that would really nullify my dramatics here).  Would the cheap cardboard container not hold the weight if increased to hold 8 beers?  If a company came out with a 4-pack would the average male consumer feel emasculated only buying a measley 4 beers?  Would they be inclined to buy 2 of these 4-packs and thus spend more money? 

I understand that at this point 6-packs are the norm and it would virtually be brewery suicide to go away from that, but I want to know why this is the norm?  Who decided on the 6-pack?  I mean, at least with hotdogs an 8 pack makes some sense - with households averaging 4 members that's an even division of 2 dogs per person..

Jobs that Deserve More Credit

Here is another installment in the "posts I never truly finished for EgoTV" category. 

Firemen, Policemen, Doctors, and Teachers are all jobs that deserve high praise and generally recieve it.  On the other hand, there are several jobs that deserve credit but generally only recieve it in small circles.  Below are a few of these.

Sales People
When people think sales, many of them think about the stereotypical used car salesman and the dinner-time telemarketer, and a few bad words come to mind. This is unfortunate. Without sales, no business can get off the ground and no business can succeed. A lot of people will tell you that sales is about being able to bullshit – and that is true to some extent – but it’s also about a lot more. It’s about knowing how to interact with people; when to talk and when to listen; when to push and when to give in, but it’s also about knowing your product and competition inside and out. Mostly though it’s about closing, and this is something that takes a special skill. Anyone can buy a drink for the hot girl at the bar, but not anyone can get her home.

Novelists
Uh, is this guy talking about books? Yes, yes I am. Books are to entertainment what the mid-range jumper in basketball – generally not flashy, but equally effective. Sure, television and movies get all the credit, but before they can be made the story must first be written. Authors must be able to write of course, and be good storytellers, but again, it is so much more than that. Authors have to be creative enough to come up with something compelling and interesting and worth reading, and then they have to do what it takes to execute. Take Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code) for instance - regardless of if you like his style or his books. He had to come up with a story line, do the necessary research into the Vatican and religious symbology plus understand the geography of Europe, mix fact with fiction, create characters we could relate to, and tell a compelling story. You don’t just wake up one morning and write a best-selling novel. One book could take years and years and years, and for most writers it’s a side hobby.

Movie Director
Thanks to ‘Entourage’ I can add this to this list. Movie Directors have to not only have a vision for a successful movie, but they have to deal with studio heads, manage actors (and their different personalities and egos), manage film crews, special effects, budgets, schedules, shoot locations, etc. Being a movie director is about a lot more than sitting in a high chair and yelling ‘cut’. To be successful you have to be a salesman, a marketer, an artist, a psychologist, a team-leader and a team player.

The Fresh Air Fund

I like promoting things I believe in, whether music, products, services, or in this case not-for-profits... As people prepare to recieve their tax refunds it seems time for another one of my 'Instant Karma' posts.

“THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877.

Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

FRESH AIR CHILDREN
Children are selected to participate in The Fresh Air Fund Friendly Town program based on financial need. Children are from low-income communities. Fresh Air youngsters are registered by more than 90 social service and community organizations in all five boroughs of New York City.

FRESH AIR FUND FRIENDLY TOWN PROGRAM
Fresh Air children, boys and girls from six to 18 years old, visit 300 Fresh Air Friendly Towns in the summer. Fresh Air children on first-time visits to Friendly Town host families are six to 12 years old and stay for up to two weeks. The program also has a special one-week option for New York City families who would like to host children on their summer vacations in the country. Over 65 percent of all children are reinvited to stay with host families, year after year. Reinvited youngsters may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many spend the entire summer in the country. Fresh Air children and volunteer families often form bonds of friendship that last a lifetime.

FRIENDLY TOWN HOST FAMILIES
Fresh Air Fund volunteer host families open their homes to inner-city children for two weeks or more in the summertime. Each Friendly Town community is supervised by a committee of volunteers. Committee members select host families after reviewing their applications, visiting them in their homes and checking their personal references. There are no financial requirements for hosting a Fresh Air child. Most hosts simply want to share their homes with inner-city youngsters. Host families are not paid. The Fund has a program for placing children who have special physical or emotional needs.”

The Fresh Air Fund is always looking for host families, volunteers, and of course monetary donations.

To learn more check out their website or their fanpage on Facebook.

Friends with Talent - Writing

I like marketing.  I like sharing what I love with others.  I also like my friends. 

When my friends do cool things I want others to take note.  This is one of those times. 

http://storiesforchildrenmagazine.org/MuchasSmooches.aspx

Dave Symonds is a good friend of mine and a very talented writer (who focuses on children's books, poems, and the like).  This is his first published piece. 
You will be seeing Dave's work on here from time to time, but I also suspect you'll see it on bookshelves in Barnes and Noble in not to long. 

* If anyone has any publishing connections or tips please send them my way.

(This is my 100th post - are you all still enjoying?)

Online Dating Part 2

So my friend "The Gift" asked me if I could write a post about online dating since he has had requests for such a post but no firsthand experience with the subject. I myself am a huge proponent of online dating. When I was in my prime online dating years I even thought about writing a book about it. I was going to call it “E-Wiggle’s Guide to iSkanks”, but then I realized that was a very bad idea - I don’t want everyone to know my secrets. On a more serious note, online dating can and does “work”: meaning that you meet “real people”, not just “sketchy online people”, and you go on real dates with these real people. Online dating helped me meet my current girlfriend of nearly four years and some of my friends even met their wives this way as well. Some of those friends said they’d go back online to find their second wives too (just kidding wives!). So why online dating?

• I did not grow up around where I currently live and I didn’t know many people when I first got here. And, those that I knew were of the male persuasion. No I did NOT go to high school with so and so…
• I work in an (nearly) all male field ergo, no chances of meeting lovely unattached young women at work. Besides, you shouldn’t poo where you eat…
• My mom is over 300 miles away and a goy, and therefore a terrible matchmaker. No mom, I would NOT like to meet another nice Catholic girl (apologies to nice Catholic girls)…
• Meeting women in bars is extraordinarily difficult.
• They serve alcohol in bars.
• A drink or two is the social lubricant. It makes it easier to talk to lovely unattached young women
• But, after pounding drinks with the boys all night waiting for elusive unattached young women to show up drinking has turned our hero into a buffoon.
• Bars are typically loud ergo, difficult to woo lovely unattached young women with conversation skills.
• Bars that are not loud are filled with geezers and mad pricks and therefore zero lovely unattached young women.
• The phenomenon known as the “ladies night out” is far more difficult to split than the atom.
• Ladies go out with their lady friends because they want to spend time with their lady friends, not sketchy dudes hanging out at the bar.
• Singular lovely unattached young women at the bar may or may not be “professionals”. This depends on your neighborhood and how they are dressed. They may just be really into the game or the band. This probably means they are not into you.
• Believe it or not there are some people (both women and men) who did not get enough attention from mom or dad growing up so they like to play a game and see how many digits they can get just for the fun of it. They secretly loathe themselves and will never call back because they feel unworthy of your attention (just like mom or dad). Or, it could be they are already deeply involved in a co-dependent relationship with a like-minded individual.

So, conventional plans to meet lovely unattached young women are for the birds, or perhaps for people too, just not people like me. So, for me, online dating was a real no-brainer. The one thing that everyone on an online dating site has in common is they are there because they are looking to meet someone: unlike in a bar or club as outline above. Women have realized the shortcomings of the bar scene as well and are flocking to online dating sites like the salmon returning to Capistrano. Sure you will have to weed through some crazies, but that is the same situation you have everywhere. Also, rejecting people online and dealing with online rejection are considerably easier than the “real thing”. Just don’t break up with someone you have actually dated via email. A faux pas fo sho.

I will close with a couple of important points for the gentlemen who may now be interested in online dating: Make sure you have a darn good picture (no professional head-shots though, that is weird and creepy), and make sure your profile doesn’t scream “desperate loner / potential axe murderer”. Online dating is like anything else in life. You get out of it what you put into it. It is particularly ironic and illustrative that Ms. Right initially rejected my online advances a couple years before we first got together. The reason for rejection? Crappy pictures and profile verbiage. Everyone, especially lovely, unattached young women, likes a little intrigue. There is no need to put your whole pathetic life story up there. Please, pretty please, just don’t do it. OK? Less is more. For these and other great tips please buy my upcoming book, “E-Wiggle’s Guide to iSkanks”.

Written by: E-Wiggle



Thank you to my guest writers.  You've been very informative.

I know many of my readers have done the online thing.  Tell us about your experiences - successes, ridiculous stories, other websites you've tried and recommend or don't, etc.. Let us all learn from you.

If anyone else has a topic they want me to discuss or look into send me a message and let me know.

Online Dating Part 1

I was asked by a reader to give some perspective on online dating.  Since I've never personally done the online thing I asked some others to write up a little something.  Today I'll give you the ladies perspective.


When the Gift and the Goods asked me to write this little blip about my experience with online dating, I thought where do I begin?? I was a young, relatively attractive, intelligent girl in graduate school in a female dominated field (while the program was co-ed, my options were slim between 50 year-old married men who were too sensitive to cheat or gay men, which I have too long of a broken hearted history with!). I was frustrated with the bar scene, and longed to go on a real date (an art that is lost in the college years). I checked out match.com a few times, and finally with the encouragement of my sister, I set up a profile. This was back in the day when it was free for a profile and free for IM chat. (The site changed during my experience, and by the end, I was a paying member.)

My first match date was a whirlwind experience. It was March of 2004. We chatted on IM for a week or two, and then decided to meet. He was shorter than me (and I am 5ft nothing!). The date was not what I expected… his personality was smaller than he was. It ended with the guy saying, “I am into you, but I will leave it up to you to call me.” No confidence, so I never called.

I didn’t give up hope after this experience. I went back to cruise the site and had 2 more years of online dating. Along the way the experiences ranged from good, bad, and ugly, to heartbreaking, enlightening, and downright hysterical. (I still have dating horror stories that are always a big hit in the social crowd.) Between my first match date and my last I had a rollercoaster experience and learned a few things along the way.

Here, in no particular order are some of the things that I have learned about online dating:

• The range of men on match.com was astounding. There really was someone for everyone out there.
• Surprisingly you know way more people on there than you thought. - People are really secretive about being on such sites. The friends and family members whose profiles I would come across never so much mentioned that they were on match. I even grilled one close friend about her dating life and asked if she would be interested in match (already knowing that she was on), and she said that she wouldn’t. (Turns out at this point, she was in another secretive relationship, with another women! They are now “out” still happily together)
• I will say, it was a great confidence booster, as I was never one to have guys come up to me at the bar (I think I give off an overly feminist, if you look at me the wrong way, I will kill you kind of vibe) but logging in everyday to winks and emails could become addicting.
• Some people’s insecurity and immaturity shine through email just as loudly as in person. If you “wink” at me, I do not owe you an explanation as to why I didn’t “wink” back or send an email. Please don’t send me an email telling me what a horrible person I am because you winked at me and emailed me 5 times, and I didn’t have the “respect” to respond. I think my non-reply was answer enough.
• By the end of my experience, the waiters at one particular Japanese restaurant were on to me! At the time this was a great first date spot, and I had become a pro. I think I taught 3 guys how to eat edamame.
• It was a great way to get out to new restaurants as well. It was nice to have someone to try new places with.
• It is difficult to date multiple people at once! I would often bring up one phone conversation with guy “A” while out with guy “B”. I would have to play it off like it was a conversation I had with a friend.

 Other things I learned or want to share about dating:

• I was never out to get a free meal. In fact when I felt that a date was not going well, I would insist that I pay my half. Some guys would let me, which I was okay with, and others would not. Since I knew this wasn’t going anywhere, and I wouldn’t have the chance to buy them dinner another time, I felt guilty about this.
• Towards the end of the experience, I was dumped for the first time. (It was usually the other way around). I learned the invaluable lesson of how to gracefully let someone know that you are just not into them, and it has nothing to do with them as a person. I wish I had learned this earlier instead of just ignoring phone calls.
• Older guys play just as many games as the younger guys.
• For every crazy girl planning her wedding on the first date, there is a crazy guy doing the same.
• It is NEVER okay to tell a girl that you are going to “tame” her or to try to hold her hand while you walk her to the bathroom, or to ask if she would stab you with a fork if you tried to hold her hand while sitting on a couch watching a movie (what can I say, I am not a hand-holder).
• The post above was all one date!! The most horrible dates make the BEST stories.
• I thought I knew what I wanted and it took going out with a lot of guys to learn that I thought wrong.
• It takes a lot of strength to unlearn what you think and be open to new experiences.
• When you truly, deep down inside become comfortable being single, you find someone and then you have to figure out if you are ready to give up being single, which can be just a difficult.

In the spring of ‘06 I got an email from Joe. I found out that he worked with my good friend’s husband so I plied her for information: “Karen, he is soooooo not your type.. I mean, he was a muff-diver for Halloween.” I laughed and continued to talk to Joe - I figured these days I didn’t know what my type was anymore. After a few conversations on the phone, we decided to meet at a happy hour where our mutual friends would be. About two hours before the happy hour he called and asked if I wanted to get dinner first. We of course went to my favorite Japanese place. We discovered that we both love cheese (especially cream cheese) and that I ran past his house every day. He was the youngest guy that I had dated at 27 yrs old and I found that he didn’t play games, he called when he said he would, was polite and gentlemanly, without being condescending to women, and would disagree with me in a way that did not inspire a full out argument (a real skill with me!). I didn’t see visions of marriage in his eyes, and I think that he really loved my “wild” and outspoken ways. Oh, and he had no plans to “tame” me. I immediately stopped emailing people on match once I met Joe, and about a month down the road, I stopped cruising the site all together. Later on, I learned that he had winked at me a few times back in ‘04. I ignored those winks (I actually don’t remember them, but he insists that he did). I wonder if had met him in ‘04 would things be the same of different.
After almost 4 years or being together, I haven’t looked back.

Written by: “Small Wonder”

Come back tomorrow for the man's perspective.

Look At Me! Look At Me!

I'm on TV...

Ego TV.

http://egotvonline.com/2010/01/13/gym-etiquette/  - Check out the 'by line' on that bad boy..

Click the link.  Tell your friends to click the link.. Tell me what you think.  Tell Ego what you think..

A Little Self-Promotion

The Gift and The Goods now has a facebook fanpage of its own...

The Gift and The Goods Fanpage

Become a fan. Contribute to the discussion. Give feedback. Give me inspiration for future posts - it's not as easy as you think to continue to come up with things to write everyday.

Polar Bear Plunge

Is there any doubt that the originator of the Polar Bear Plunge was one of the best salespeople of all time?

You know the expression "I could sell ice to Eskimos"?  Well, this guy was probably the closest to ever actually achieve that feat.

Comcast.. more like Bombcast.

Sorry for the bad title pun, but...

Can we agree that ‘small’ and ‘fast’ are not mutual exclusive?  It is possible to be both small and fast, right? I mean, it worked for Speedy Gonzalez.

For those who do not have to suffer through Comcast commercials, the latest brainchild is thus:

A small business owner talks about his company. Then we learn how Comcast Internet can make the business run faster. Finally the small business owner tells us “Now I don’t have a small business, I have a fast business.”

For the love of all things grammatical and true, it’s still a small business, even if it’s fast.  And on top of that, 'fast' doesn't even mean efficient or productive.

Comcast- I have to suffer with your crappy service, your ridiculously high bills, and your never ending junk mail.  The least you can do is spend your marketing budget on commercials that make sense.

Rock and Roller; Cola Wars... I Can't Take It Anymore

For many soda is that one obstacle we cannot overcome. We know it’s ‘empty sugar calories’ (as my mom would say), but we can’t resolve to drinking water instead. Personally, I’ve kicked the soda happen for months at a time, but it always comes back. I’ve even resorted to trying diet sodas and these new zero calorie knock-offs that claim to have the same taste, but fail at delivering.

The reason I mention this is simple. I discovered something the other day that I thought should be shared.

Calories per 12oz. can of Coca-Cola – 100
Calories per 12oz. can of Pepsi – 150

That’s a HUGE difference. Especially if you drink as much as I do.

I don’t know why Coca-Cola has never used this as a marketing point, but it seems obvious to me. Especially in this time of organic, green and healthy overkill.

If anyone has connections at this global giant I’d be glad to share some ideas with them in return for some steady employment.

Kentaco Hut

Several years ago I was introduced to a new phenomenon. It was called the Kentaco Hut.

For those of you that don't know, Kentaco Hut is the combination of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut in one location serviced by the same cashiers.

It's pure genius. It's also pure frustration.

As a whole, I have never in my life yearned for KFC or Pizza Hut, as I have for Taco Bell and the Cheesy Gordita Crunch (easily one of the best fast food creations of my generation). But that's the genius of the Kentaco Hut. Because I do love macaroni and cheese and potato wedges and biscuits. Ummm biscuits..

So, while I go in for the Cheesy Gordita Crunch I always end up staring at the menu for a few minutes contemplating how badly I want a biscuit or whether its cheaper to get one of those KFC meal boxes, etc.. Inevitably I will over-order, and allow Kentaco Hut to make a few extra dollars off me. Hence their genius.

Unfortunately for them, I am a product of my upbringing and I do not take this lightly. I am always sure to take a few extra taco sauce packets home with me (they are excellent to have in the house for when making my own tacos).