Ouch -

Thanks to Mike Atkinson for sharing this video from YouTube.

We have ALL been in this situation at one time or another. Perhaps you are there RIGHT NOW. If so, use this little video to kick yourself in the butt and make a move.

The ultimate recycling program

There are significant concerns over all the used electronic gear we dump into the world's landfills, but my cable tv provider seems to have figured out a way to reduce the amount of tech junk it generates -

When you bring in a DVR that doesn't work, they simply stick the defective one on a shelf and grab a "reconditioned" unit from the other end of the pile.

Today, when I asked the Service Rep to give me a "new unit, one that comes in a box" I was told there are "no new DVRs, anywhere."

"You mean I can't get a NEW one, even if I'm willing to pay for it?"
"No sir. They just aren't giving us any new ones."
"So, when this one quits working, like the last one did after two weeks, what should I do?"
"Bring it back and we'll replace it - FOR FREE."

I wonder how many times I'd need to return a defective unit before I got one I'd already brought in. I wanted SO much to be a fly on the wall so I could watch the Service Rep take the one I had just brought in and place it on top of the stack the minute I was out the door.

Caption Contest

A friend snapped this photo of me during a seminar in Atlanta.

Have fun.

Can you guess who I'm trying to choke?

Some guys have all the luck

CBS Sunday Morning ran a segment this week on the singer Ron Stewart.

This guy has always been one of my favorites, but I came away with a fresh appreciation for him after watching the feature.

In a musical career that spans five decades, Rod Stewart is a living example of my axiom that to successfuly navigate change you need to:

Do different things or do thing differently.

The blonde rocker has re-invented himself half a dozen times and has come out each time smelling like a rose.

His latest success - according to CBS, his biggest to date - has been the series of albums he's done covering classic American tunes from the 40s and 50s.

One of Stewarts biggest hits is Some Guys Have All the Luck and Rod Stewart proves he's able to make his own.

A good example to us all.

Cloning Grey?

Now that Grey's Anatomy has over-taken CSI as the hottest show on TV, will network programmers begin to clone the quirky medical drama as they did with CSI?

Will we soon see Grey's Psychology? Grey's Gastroenterology?

Oh, the possibilities are endless. How about Blue's Anatomy? Green's? White's?

Duct Tape and NASA

I get a new photo from NASA's historicial files every day.

Here's the latest, a shot of Gus Grissom being helped into his Liberty Bell capsule in July 1961. You'll recall that Grissom's capsule sunk while he was being picked up after splashdown.

Look closely at the hatch - is that DUCT TAPE around the window?

Harsh Realities Set In

Wow - our nearly 20-year-old daughter came home from her summer job this week with the sad realization that she has a much stronger work ethic than nearly everyone else in the retail store at which she's employed for the summer.

She landed hard when the store manager, someone with a college degree and corporate training, came to unlock the place 35 minutes late - carrying a cup of Starbucks and looking hung-over. The manager tried to brush it off as getting up late, to which my daughter replied, "When you're late, you shouldn't stop for coffee."

I was about 4 years older when the reality hit me and I recall phoning my Dad to ask his advice. He told me the same thing I told my kid - "Don't set your standards by what others do."

In others words -

Don't let the bastards drag you down to their level.

Curious - what would you say (or have your said) to a young worker in a similar situation?