When it comes to Apple products, I’m a fan. I own a MacBook Pro and an iPhone 3GS. Wouldn’t buy anything else. I depend on them like I do oxygen or water. Seriously. When it comes to Apple support…not so much. Yesterday, I was rushing out of my house to get to my car, iPhone in my left hand, earbuds (the pricey, $70 jobbers from Apple) in my ears. I started to trip, and instinctively put out my hand to steady myself. My hand connected with the earbuds. They went flying, as did my iPhone. As I picked it up, I immediately checked it for damage. Keep in mind, I’ve got the iPhone case from HELL on it – the damn thing has a silicone sleeve AND an exoskeleton made of football helmet plastic. I also have an Invisible Shield screen protector over the screen. I thought, “no worries…I’ve got an extended warranty via AppleCare, and the phone is less than a year old.” I called Apple. And then the fun began… Read the rest of this entry »
The video you’re about to see is brilliant. Period. And it could really do with no introduction. But I feel compelled to add my two cents. For those of you that are curious as to what it’s like from my side of the table, THIS IS WHAT IT’S LIKE. Exactly. If I had a nickel for every time a client tried to negotiate a better price after the work was done…but I digress. If you’re a creative – watch it and weep. If you’re a client…think about this vid the next time you want to try and get a creative’s work for less than the asking price.
When I was a kid, I was in the Boy Scouts. I came home one day, with a bag full of supplies for my first Boy Scout camping trip. Giddy with a new find, I proudly regaled my Dad with the wonders of SPAM, not realizing that there was a reason that he was busy turning green as I talked. Seems he’d been well-acquainted with the joys of SPAM in WWII. Poor guy couldn’t think about SPAM without getting seriously queasy. He literally turned a pale shade of green.
I feel that way about Spam. There’s few things I can think of that bother me more than unsolicited intrusions into my online activities. What’s worse, is I’m now dealing with some Spammer that thinks it’s acceptable to hack into this blog and insert code so he can pump Spam to my readers.
I hate Spam. But I hate Spammers – and hackers – even more.
I can tell you it’s not been a problem for any of you – because this clueless hack is such a moron, he apparently doesn’t know how to properly hack a blog – his code simply makes my blog disappear. No code. Just a blank page. Mind you, I still don’t know how the little bastard is getting in…I’ve taken all the precautions I know, and I’m still getting several pages changed without permission.
I can promise you, though, that my patience is wearing thin. And I have a buddy who has a buddy that does high-level contract work for the code spooks at the NSA. I may call in a favor. Or three. And then we’ll see how much this little twerp likes it when HIS computer gets hacked.
I should have known better. Really. When a company has bad marketing, 99 times out of 100, it’s because of bad management at the top. You see, smart management won’t greenlight bad ads (at least not very often), so bad ads – particularly a bad series of ads is a bellwether of bad management. Case in point: UPS. Read the rest of this entry »
My Dad grew up in Vaudeville. He was a child star, from the age of 3 onward. After the war, he was touring with George Gobel, right after he was married. Gobel took a then well-known joke and made it real for my parents on their wedding night. Here’s how the joke goes… Read the rest of this entry »
If I were king of the world, morons that get their jollies by stealing passwords, infecting sites with malware, defacing sites, and any other kind of mischief, would get the death penalty. No appeals. No delays. We’d string ‘em up, preferably in public, with mandatory coverage by the networks. (Obviously, the networks are acquainted with mandatory programming – they cover every Obama presser, so they shouldn’t have a problem with a sensational, money-maker like a public execution.)
About a week ago, a client notified me that there was a problem with one of the sites I host for them. I assumed – at first – that the malicious JavaScript code that had been added to their index page without permission was an isolated incident.
If you’ve been reading the papers or watching TV, it would be hard to have missed the debacle that is one-third of what was once Detroit’s Big Three, Chrylser Corporation. There’s a lot at play here – the ObamaNation putting it’s thumb on the scales to tip them in favor of the unions (in a REAL bankruptcy, union contracts are immediately held null and void, as are pension funds and other benefits), the idea that bond holders should head to the back of the line, the giveaway to Fiat (they aren’t BUYing anything…just taking what’s left of Chrysler as a favor).
What amazes me, however, is that the media – on both the left AND the right – is confused about why Chrysler (or let’s get real: The Treasury Dept.) wants to can almost 800 loyal ChryslerCo dealers today.
First, a couple of disclaimers – my wife and I both drive Jeeps, I’m a big fan of the Wrangler, and I used to work for an agency that did ads for car dealers, exclusively.
Congressmen, pundits and TV talking heads are all up in arms about the dealer bloodletting, claiming there’s no reason to kill off dealerships, and that “fewer dealers means fewer sales.”
One of the weird things about being on the web is a lot like being on radio…I remember in my salad days, I spent an hour doing the sign-on/morning show, when somebody rushed in and told me “You’re not on the air!” seemed that the master switch had a short in it, and I’d been essentially broadcasting to myself.
A few days ago, I installed an update to a key plugin (Google Analytics for WordPress). Without realizing it (until today) the blog was down, and visitors saw a blank white page, with NO code displayed, even if you chose “view source.” I don’t wanna get all Mr. Propeller Head on you, but that’s weird. Finally tracked the error down to a plugin upgrade malfunction. It’s fixed now. My appologies to anyone who wondered where the blog went off to.
Like cars? I do. Enjoy them while you can, because today we’ve taken one step closer to making them all obsolete. You see, the ObamaNation today sent out a decree from Barack Agustus that all the world’s automobiles shall be taxed, to the tune of $1,300, in order to force the big, bad automobile manufacturers to build vehicles that will deliver 34MPG by 2011.
Pause with me for a nanosecond while we consider this latest bit of lunacy.
First Obama becomes Marketer-in-Chief for Chrysler, cutting their advertising budget in half. Today, he set nationwide fuel economy standards for cars and trucks sold in the USA.
If Obamanomics dictates that it’s in the country’s best interest to get the Federal Government out of the car business, they’ve got a funny way of going about it. The absolute last thing the auto industry needs right now is the government telling them to improve fuel standards. Nice idea, higher mileage cars. Bad idea to put the government in charge, and worse idea to do it right now.
Not much more to say about this – for now, other than to wonder just what else the ObamaNation has planned for us.
They sure are good at campaigning, though. Pity the election is over.
And then there were two. ChryCerebus has turned the page to Chapter 11 (as opposed to turning the corner), and what’s left looks a lot like Crissis-ler. The conventional wisdom is that Chrysler is toast (the brand, not the company), Dodge is on the bubble, and Jeep is the only brand that has actual worth in a Detroit-style fire sale. Fair enough. For the sake of argument, let’s pretend that, with the bankruptcy, Chrysler is able to shed it’s legacy costs and indentured servitude to the unions union contracts, and can either move forward as a leaner, meaner company, or sell its assets in liquidation. With the Chrysler brand D.O.A., and Dodge coughing up blood, let’s examine the best way to save Jeep, either as a stand-alone company or as something worth acquiring, and allow me make an out in left-field proposal for who should buy Jeep, wheel-lock, stock and barrel. Read the rest of this entry »
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