February 2012
30 posts
Obits
Had a colleague slip the mortal coil the other day. We worked together nearly twenty years, and he’d been in declining health for several years.
The obituary didn’t do him justice. It wasn’t inaccurate, just incomplete. He did have a wife that passed before him, and he is survived by siblings, children, and grandchildren. And he served in our company for 27ish years. But...
Babies rock.
Because they become bigger people, and that’s cool. Don’t get me wrong, they don’t ship incomplete.
Yes, they need some care, feeding , and instruction. But they arrive as complete people. Souls fully formed. Not needing another thing. Just care. Just love.
Kinda like a plant; no, kinda like a flower. Sunshine, water, nutrition, and love will make em blossom.
Our first...
The pen. Much mightier than the sword.
Been thinking about pens a disproportionate amount lately. We are about out of the classic black metal ones we use,and it’s about time for a change.
Looking for a new direction, so there’s been samples coming in. Gotta get samples of all candidates because in this business theres this weird phenomenon I call the ratio of 1/3s.
1/3 of all things are Exactly what you expected.
1/3...
Fun with words. Free.
Seems like a lifetime ago when she did the deed. Tossed the hammer. Dropped the gauntlet.
Said. Those. Words.
“This is my husband, he’s a writer. “
Um.
Yeah. That.
We’d been talking about our dreams, just a young couple talking. Rooftop, drunk, hot summer night.
‘so what do YOU really wanna do?’
“dunno, what do YOU really wanna...
Tidying up a bit
In which, we issue our recent caper a well deserved lemon scented moistened towelette for #Spermandegg.
Seriously? As if you didn’t hear of the highly controversial party.
#spermandegg
An idea party. hatched at breakfast club several months ago. Aloe muffin suggested we have an idea party. Kinda like a tedx, but more intimate. And #3.14 & #42 chimed in.
A name kinda appeared....
Mentors
Went to a thingy last night honouring mentors
I’d nominated one of my ab fave, john warner, plank holder and instigator #75.0, the swampfox, because he gave me advice that both shocked and inspired me. When discussing the long term scalability of this project, he asked how big COULD it be? I threw out a#, and he countered with a10x amount.
I gasped.
Started making all sorts of reasons that...
A beta for promokitchen
Ok, so yesterday some fellow hammer tossers asked me to write for their thingy. They are trying to change the world, change the perception of our industry. Our well deserved reputation. As #kooziemongercorporateassclowndouchecanoecatalogcarpetbombingtrunkslammerstalkergladhandguys. And many, many of us are. But a handfull ain’t.
Here’s what I sent our internal editorial board. ...
My c note. It prolly aint gonna be yers.
In a blatant display of hubris, pluck, AND sheer unrestrained cheek, I’ve taken on the affectation of carrying a c note. Everywhere.
Ok.
Wait.
It’s really my last ditch effort at staunching the hemmorageing of the real currency that flows through my grimy little hands like a drunken sailor. Ok, not criticizing the standard issue drunken sailor- been one, done that, got the...
Really!? You've been working here a month?
And you’ve never eaten here?
Crazy talk, I know. But it’s true. Happened last night. Nineteenth anniversary dinner with duchess, a surprise run to her abfave sushi place.
There was a slight kerfuffle over choice of rolls. Slight. So we decided to get the waitress involved.
“what’s YOUR favorite roll?”
‘Um….only been here a month. I haven’t...
Not spending another minute on you.
We went to hear elizabeth smart last week and her words still haunt me. She survived nine months of kidnapping by a crazy man. A crazy man who kept her chained to a tree, in a tent, where he raped her and didn’t let her even shower. Nine months abuse at the hands of a lunatic.
As a teenage girl.
And her mum said to her, as she got outta the bubble bath- the first bath in nine months- he...
And the winner is........ You
Addy night always kinda confuses me, and heres why-the categories dont always have winners as one would expect. Take a standard horse race, or swim meet, each category will have a first, second and third place winner, with occasional ties.
But addy judging is different. Addy categories MAY do that kinda standard distribution, but more likely have several winners, some as multiple gold or silver...
This is why most people suck on the fb.
Stumbled across this fine little Bon mot this am- “LIKE us on #Facebook and join our network of many more people who think just like us”.
Yeah. Lemme know how THAT works out for ya.
First, a confession- I love love love Facebook. But not the one you see. I love the secret one. private one, the secret groups, the underground conversations. In fact, as much as I love the private...
First, do no harm.
Wow. Just wow. Heard a swag horror story, I’m still in shock. Look, I’m always focused on results, best case, ideal outcomes. NOT worst case. But damn, have I ever heard a worst case. A coupla good old boys went to this trade show, see…
#goodoldboys
Rugged individualists. Rough and ready. Tough guys in trucks. Mans man. Not the effete, manicured, metrosexual. Hardy,...
Late dayand ...
It totally warms my heart to drag ass up two days a week. Both tues AND thurs I can sleep in like a drunken sailor, till as late as six or even six fifteen. It feels languid and naughty as all hells. Of course, the neighborhood squirrels, and the corresponding cul de sac squirrel patrol- made up of a three legged boarder collie, j.kitteridge snickett, and our shirty mascot mollybendium...
Date lunch
When its the last time you went on s proper date lunch? Not an impassioned and frantic nooner, but a slow and languid date lunch.
notthattheresanythingwrongwithnooners
Kinda excited about my date lunch today. Chick fil a, ice cream, hall pass, oddly sized chairs, loud school lunchroom, old matronly women in hairnets.
Its sugarmouse date day, in which……
inwhich
Her daddy arrives...
Shared experiences
One key component of a tight tribe is shared events. Things we do together,or, if not at the exact same time at least in some sorta way that we can discuss. Some sorta conversation launching off ledge.
Shared experiences are launch pads, skid pads, for connecting.
“We were in the shit together, remember that part where the guy did the thing and then we took flack from the goat and things...
Trackside thoughts
Got twelve hot laps in today. So cold that my glasses froze. But my brain was working pretty damn well, imho. Looks like I mighta brainstormed up some serious anti- #kooziemongercorporateassclowndouchecanoecatalogcarpetbombingtrunkslammerstalkergladhandguy action for a little caper we gots going on. It involves my favorite things- purpose, mastery, and autonomy. For a client with pain, budget,...
A southern thing. Reason #149 boys are dumb. We...
We fried that sommabeech. But good.
It was cold, coldest it’s been all winter. So cold the wind drove us into the garage,and we shut the damn garage door 7/8of the way. Butt chafing cold.
The irony of us, huddled around the blazing burner and bubbling grease barrel, while our wives sat around the fireplace inside was lost on this group. We shoulda been together, watching that sucker...
Ssclbaggels. Defined, lightly.
Sscl? Super secret club leader. Dunno who placed that title upon me, I think it was #14.5 or praps #148.5. Whatever, it stuck.
Baggels?
My daily journaling behavior, in which I write a sentence or praps two about what matters. B- behavior, MY damn behavior. A- attitude. um, MY damn attitude. Gratitudes- what’s real, and important that day to be thankful for. Goals- the measurable goal...
Early breakfast, late day. Always writing. Even...
Baseball workouts are cancelled today, so Hk can sleep in till a decent hour. I’m good with sleeping in, but Molly wonderbeagle never gets the memo. Ever.
So, even though we could prolly sleep till nearly 0700, I’m shocked but not surprised that shirty little bitch is ready Togo for walkies at a quarter till five. 0445. Isyn.
That’s prolly a good thing, I gots a burgeoning...
What we have here is failure. Failure of...
It would be hard to say that bovinova was a total failure. Four lightly overlapping tribes threw the mother of all cow roasts. In which a cow, six sheep, and a goat were cooked over an open fire. The equity partners started as friends ended as even better friends. Hundreds of people got fed and no one got food poisoning. Children were entertained. A band played great music. Fire breather knife...
Your website sucks. Really. Prolly worse than you...
So, what exactly do you INTEND for your website to do? Let’s extrapolate that out to your online footprint. Nowwidenthat net open even wider. What do you want the world to say about you?
Are they saying it?
If yera self serve online store, your reputation is a major deal. Do people trust you?
#trust
Why or why not?
I got this feedback the other day ‘From your website I can see...
Late day
In which, breakfast is made.
breakfast
Thats my favorite meal, when it makes sense. One of the many problems with early day is that it makes breakfast untenable. Wheels up at 0530, there is no possibility of a hot breakfast for the survivors. Those lucky souls who get to sleep in, well…they also get cereal.
The poor suckers who go to early workouts? They get cold green apples.
Praise the...
Water cooler talk
Ooops. Double post day, please excuse. #lessok
Water cooler talk
What would four million dollars buy? Certainly more than a minute of exposure. Exposure in the cavalcade of all the other shiny faced, apple cheeked big spenders. Well done,a super bowl ad COULD get traction. Go viral, be the belle of the ball, move the needle. Could. But if it goes flat, if the joke hits the wrong ears, if it’s slotted to play out of context against something better....
Broken window theory, extended dance
Several years ago in new york city there were areas with abandoned buildings. And as I understand it, as more broken windows and graffiti were allowed to be visible, the worse it got. Like, the mere existence of broken windows and graffiti somehow helped to create a culture of broken windows and graffiti. And worse things tended to follow.
Dunno exactly how scientific the study of THIS strange...
Vampire wakeup
It’s a drizzle morning, coulda slept in till damn 0900ish. We’re it not for the vampire weekend in my head. It woke me at 0400. Makes me rise.
Rise and shine.
Rise and fight.
‘Your souls grown old and rusty, beneath the rising sun. Locked up like a trophy. Forgetting all the things it’s done. ‘
I couldn’t sleep. Listing capers, projects, mind ablur of...
Early day just got earlier.
Baseball workouts start today, 0600. Isyn. And of course it’s on the other side of the damn county. I shot off my mouth again, as I often do, about commitment. Told #14.9 if he’s up working out, then I am too. Made the same kinda crapassery empty statement to #74 during football season. I gain three pounds but dropped twenty points of blood pressure. Dunno what results will be for...
A dying pen
Being an old textile town, its no surprise that I stumble across old mill stuff. Rooting around in the pen jar I found one great example of another bit of mill trivia.
The pen jar is like the island of misfit toys; too good to toss, too crappy to give away to grown people. The kids use em for their homework. Duchess and me use it for grocery lists.
This pen was from a long since failed cotton...
Ben Franklin never met will Rodgers
Yeah, it’s early day. Again. And it’s about to get dramatically earlier. There’s rumours of baseball, a normally languid sport, and hints of extremely early work outs.
We have been making the trek to the fancy lad high school three days a week for a seven o’clock start. That’s been a fun but doable challenge.
Baseball.
Wait for it…..
Starts at six.
Not...