Solutions Talk

Like the Pine Trees Linin' the Windin' Road...

Today's Notable Quote: "Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road...I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad...I've got a name, I've got a name -
And I carry it with me like my daddy did...But I'm livin' the dream that he kept hid..." - Jim Croce, I've Got a Name.

Doesn't matter what it is...once we take possession of something - it's value goes up or down dramatically. Often, the value of the item increases or decreases based on the (real or perceived) demand for it on the part of others. Seth Godin's point on the purhase of a Domain name is poignant and well received...Loss vs. Gain

Coca-Colas...ice cold Cokes for sale!

Today's Notable Quote: "It's the real thing." - Line from a noteworthy ad campaign in support of Coca-Cola products.

On this day in 1886 (121 years ago)...Dr. John S. Pemberton first sold his secret elixir. It was originally used for medicinal purposes. So Dr. Pemberton went to the right place to sell his new product: Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, GA. Three years later, Dr. Pemberton decided that his secret formula had enjoyed enough success, and that it was time for him to sell out. He did just that, for $2,300. Even in 1889 dollars, $2,300 was a mere drop in the "green bottle" for what the still very secret formula would have been worth. Dr. Pemberton's medicine was sold to make people feel better and it still does that today. It's “the pause that refreshes.” It's “the real thing.” It's Coca-Cola. Have a Coke today (Classic, Diet or Zero) in honor of Dr. Pemberton, inventor, entrepreneur and soda-pop hero.

No Pepsi! Coke!

Today's Notable Quote: "We look forward to the joint promotional activities that consumers and employees will be able to participate in and the economic benefits this new agreement brings to United," said Sean Donohue, United's senior vice president for flight operations and onboard service, in a press release.

United Airlines has a new selection of onboard beverages. The carrier said Monday it has signed a five-year agreement with The Coca-Cola Company, making the world's largest beverage company its primary soft-drink supplier instead of PepsiCo and Cadbury. I guess this means that there is more Pepsi available than ever for patrons of the Olympia Cafe - a fictional "Greek" style restaurant featured in Saturday Night Live sketches during the 1970's. The cafe in the SNL skit was based on the the Billy Goat Tavern on N. Michigan Ave in Chicago, which is still operating (and part of a small chain).

Cheezborger...The Perfect accompaniment to Cheeps and Pepsi, or Coke, for that matter...

Happy Birthday Queensboro Bridge!

Today's Notable Quote:  "The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world". - Nick Carraway, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby.

Queens, one of the five boroughs of New York, is connected to Manhattan by the Queensboro Bridge.

At 98 years of age, the Queensboro, or 59th Street Bridge, as she is sometimes called is both functional and a fixture in popular culture--including television, movies and music.  Mentions of the majestic five-span structure have been as diverse as Simon and Garfunkel's Feelin' Groovy to the literary reference from Fitzgerald to being shown during the opening credits of the 1978-1982 television series, Taxi.

A major renovation of the structure began in1987. The cost of the project will exceed $300 million, and should ensure safe passage for travelers into and out of the great city for years to come.

Happy 98th Queensboro Bridge...may you have many more!

Manhattan: The City that never sleeps...

Is Comcast "Rosie's" new "P.R. Machine"?

Today's Notable Quote: "In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." - Andy Warhol (1928 - 1987).

If you've ever been supermarket shopping, you are likely familiar with the magazine racks located at the check-out stands. These racks, conveniently placed to coax the last few dollars from your wallet are often filled with pulp-paper "scandal-laden" publications--with titles like "The International ---", The World ---", etc. It's not uncommon to see the same faces over and over and over again (ad nauseum) on the covers of these esteemed publications. 

It seems to me that the "Home Pages" of Internet Service Providers such as Comcast, AOL, MSN, etc., have become online versions of these publications.  They seem intent on "seeding" their pages with the latest in weird news about the secret lives and political opinions of  pseudo-celebrities. The  authors of these pages seem determined to portray the likes of Rosie O'Donnell as a sagacious authority on appropriate moral behavior.

Question: Are these Home Pages merely "P.R. Machines"...designed to promote the famous and infamous? Or are they really intent on providing meaningful, content-rich news and information for public consumption? Your thoughts? Connect and see for yourself:

http://www.comcast.net/home.html

According to a recent "story" linked to the Comcast Home Page, "Rosie" hangs upside down each day to relieve stress, etc. It must be a tremendous strain to be in the position of moral arbiter for the Western World.

Bee Knowledgable

Notable Quote: "Worker bees have strictly regimented roles, including that of undertakers." - from the Discover.com article by Liza Lentini.

The expression "busy bee" is definitely based in fact...

Undertaker bees, the queens who were called kings, how honey helps wounds...

Look...but don't "Leap"

Notable Quote: "None of the calendars used today are perfect, they go wrong by seconds, minutes, hours or days every year." - from a discussion on Leap Year, on www.timeanddate.com

Today is March 1, 2007. If it were a "Leap Year", today would be February 29. What determines when and why we have the phenomenon we refer to as "Leap Year"? If you've ever wondered this, check out the following link to timeanddate.com. Leap years are needed so that the calendar is in alignment with the earth's motion around the sun.

Chart depicting the Earth's motion around the Sun.

It's "inconvenient" bein' Green...Al

Notable Quote(s): "The Gores used about 191,000 kilowatt hours in 2006, according to bills reviewed by the Associated Press spanning the period from February 3, 2006, to January 5, 2007. That is far more than the typical Nashville household, which uses about 15,600 kilowatt-hours per year."

"Sometimes when people don't like the message, in this case that global warming is real, it's convenient to attack the messenger." Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider

- both quotes from the linked article from USA Today, February 27, 2007.

Wow...what a firestorm! Stay tuned for more...

Focusing on Gore's personal electricity consumption misses the point of An Inconvenient Truth, Kreider said, which is that governments and the public can work together to reduce emissions.

Whether Internet inventor or terrestrial inferno averter...Al somehow seems to find himself in the middle of some interesting situations...

Moon Golf, anyone?

Today's Notable Quote: "I drove them miles and miles and miles." - Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard, describing the distance of his 2 golf drives on the Moon's surface.

On this day in 1971, using a golf club he "smuggled" on board, astronaut Alan Shepard used the surface of the moon as a driving range for the first time in history. The story made headlines 36 years ago--and seems amazing--even as we look back on it today. The link from the BBC provides more details of the historic "fores". At the end of today's moonwalk, Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golfball on the Moon

Alan Shepard "Putting around" on the moon's surface in 1971.

Happy New Year

Today's Notable Quote: "Happy New Year!" - Traditional greeting extended to friends and family on this "first" day of the year.

Oddly, prior to the late 1700's in Great Britain, March 25th was considered the first day of the year. This explains why September (the ninth month of our current calendar) is derived from the Latin root word for "seven". Similarly, October, Novemeber and December are taken from the Latin for eight, nine and ten.