Weddings, Consumerism and Creativity

When my long-suffering wife and I were getting married, we had little money between us, no financial support from either family, and we lived in Los Angeles County where everything was expensive. Here’s my best recollection of how we went about it – granted, a good many years ago.

Yes, I Once Hired Bob Newhart

Cool things happen when you move – like finding things you’d forgotten. In 2005 at Unisys I used co-funding from Microsoft to create a campaign aimed at proof-of-concept for Windows as a datacenter operating system (OS), hosted by super-expensive 32-processor Unisys servers. The problem: nobody trusted Windows as a datacenter OS.

My Sundays with Ghosts

Source: Google Earth

America's ghost towns lose their populations through attrition, natural calamities, economics, eminent domain, or disasters of our own making. Sometimes they retain a small population, but whatever the cause and the scale of their demise, they become shadows as residents uproot or die, abandoning dwellings, businesses, and artifacts to the mercy of critters, decay, metal detectorists, and adventure seekers.

1 Dinner Pic. 11 Emotions.

You find all sorts of things when you pack up an office. Like a photobook from a company I once worked for. It was printed to memorialize the company’s leadership team as our company was in the closing phase of acquisition. Half a dozen years is a long time in tech, and it adds up to lots of memories.

Stories untold

Oftentimes, the better parts of a story are those left unsaid. Focused, as we must be, on aiming a positive face towards our audiences, we carefully pick and choose what we say to them, leaving content that appears less relevant on our desktops like discarded remains.

Our Anniversary Story

      I’ve told this story to a few friends and family from time to time, but I’ve never written it down before. So, here goes.

      In about September 1982, give or take a month, I was living in Inglewood, California, and working for a commercial printer in the nearby town of Hawthorne in Los Angeles County. I had recently graduated from University of Redlands and was working as a typesetter and graphic designer. Somewhat underemployed, I was a frustrated writer and single guy with few friends and no career vision.

Bonnie Sue

Mental Health Awareness month -- each year in May -- began in 1949. I guess it's helped. It just seem to me that we've still got a long way to go.

(More here: www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may)

Ever wondered what these are worth?

In February 2000, I bought a 2000 Jeep Wrangler with the top-of-the-line Sahara package, well equipped with dual top and automatic transmission, for about $19,500. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, that’s $28,786 in 2019 dollars.

I've always wanted one...

There are more Jeep owners than either of us can count who first got the bug during childhood. If you've been bitten, here's a basic primer on Jeep generations and a thought or two on what to consider.

Is the culture in tech companies especially cutthroat?

As one with little experience outside the technology industry, I don't know. Yet, I've been asked this question, and perhaps I can shed some light. Assuming you are a career-minded person with some ambition, and given my experience in tech companies, I suggest the following.

My first sports car was a station wagon

Despite my lack of mechanical aptitude, I'm fascinated by cars. And, while I've favored Jeeps over the past two decades, I ached for a proper sports car in my youth. "Sports cars” are an elusive concept, however. They're known for handling and performance, whereas the universe of two-door cars includes those designed for different purposes altogether: so-called "sporty cars." Let's take a look and see why two doors don’t make a sports car.

What not to pack

I was returning home to the U.S. from Germany, and checked into Frankfurt’s international airport. At the security checkpoint, while I passed successfully through the detector, my carry-on bag was flagged for hand inspection. As I stood at the end of the checkpoint a security agent opened the bag and began searching through it.

Remembering Reverend Randollph

In 1965, a Methodist pastor from Illinois, Charles Merrill Smith, wrote a book of satire entitled “How to Become a Bishop Without Being Religious.” A bestseller, the book was apparently aimed—as the author stated in his introduction—at the “young preacher … [as] an inexhaustible source of counsel and inspiration in the days and years ahead.”

No mobile phones, no LED light bulbs, no electric cars (to speak of)

OK... sometimes I get to thinking about a particular topic, and become swept away by my own thinking. Here's an example. I was asked recently about what it's like to work for a global technology company -- something I've done now for a long time. In reply, I dredged up this story from my early career. From 1984....

I'm fascinated by cars, even though I have no mechanical skills, and I've rarely had the budget or space to keep a car just for fun. So I couldn't resist a fairly lengthy response when I saw a question about the merits of American vs. Japanese vs. European cars -- in particular, of keeping one for 15 years or more.

A reflection on IBM's new HQ building (from 20 years ago)

Here's a reflection I recently published on another site in response to a question, "What are the headquarters like at IBM?" Not perhaps the most meaningful question, but it sparked a recollection that I remember fondly from my years with the company.

Should I buy a Jeep with a hardtop or softop?

I have both. My 2000 Wrangler has the dual top option, and my 2009 wrangler has the hardtop with removable roof panels. I’ve owned both Jeeps since they were new.

Jeep Wrangler Pros & Cons as I see them

I have owned several Jeep Wranglers since 1997, and currently have two of them in my garage. But why? In response to a question about some of the major pros and cons of owning one of the more recent Jeep Wranglers, here are the pros and cons as I see them.

Why did they get rid of those little, triangular vent windows?

There was a time when every passenger car featured a triangular vent window at each of the front doors. Those days are long gone, for better or worse. But here's a reflection.

The Funnel, Disrobed.

My recent post on the abstract nature of the demand marketing campaign funnel excited some comment, and I’m grateful for that interest. May we carry that discussion forward?