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December 31, 2004

FOUR FOR FRIDAY

Q1: If you were given 100% control over the casting of a big-budget remake of The Wizard Of Oz, who would you choose to cast in the roles of Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man, The Good Witch of the North, The Wicked Witch of the West, Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, and Toto?

Q2: Five years from now, when you look back on the year that was 2004, what do you think will stand out most in your mind about those 365 days?

Q3: As most everyone now knows, a tsunami triggered by an massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean on Sunday has been linked to the deaths of more than 135,000 people in Asia and East Africa. Despite the massive death toll among humans, Sri Lankan wildlife officials have said the giant waves seemingly missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found. Do you believe that animals have a sixth sense or other mythical powers, which allow them to know about impending danger in a way that humans do not, and that this is responsible for the seemingly low number of animals killed by Sunday's tsunami?

Q4: If fast food had no negative effect on your long- or short-term health, do you think you'd eat more of it than you do now?

Posted by Mikal at 9:48 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

December 24, 2004

FOUR FOR FRIDAY (will return on Dec. 31st)

In observation of Christmas Eve Day and my inability to concentrate on account of preparing for a trip back east, the Four For Friday will not appear today but will return next Friday, December 31. For now though, this picture tells a story about the weather we've been having here in Indianapolis. From my bedroom window looking down onto the corner of 9th and Penn:

Parts of central Indiana received between 7 and 24 inches of snow over the last 48 hours, causing many businesses to close on Thursday, including the one I work for. But true to form, neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow could stop the U.S. Postal Service from doing its job. This mailman and his delivery vehicle became stuck while trying to navigate the corner below my window. Someone eventually went down with a shovel and helped the poor fella free his truck from the intersection.

As of 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon, my parking lot hadnít even been plowed, which meant that there was no way that I could head up to the north side of town for my last night as Santaís helper at The Fashion Mall. I left a ëniceí message for my property management company asking them to plow the parking lot so those of us who have to go to the airport or back to work could actually do so. Iím headed out the door right now for the airport, so I guess Iíll see if that message got thru to anyone.

Hereís wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and relaxing weekend!

Posted by Mikal at 5:05 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

December 20, 2004

I've been so busy and stressed since Thanksgiving that I haven't done much in the way of updating my blog. In an attempt to make up for lost time, here's an update:

Working at The Mall: My gig as Santa's token Jewish helper at the mall is still in play. I've been working most weeknights and every Sunday since the day after Thanksgiving. Here's a picture of me along with Santa and John, our manager. For the most part, the gig's been a good one. Oh sure, we continue to get the occasional pain in the you-know-what parent or kid, but for the most part everyone's been on their best behavior. My last night in the booth will be this Thursday, and it'll likely be a sad one. It looks like Santa's going to move to Florida sometime over the next year, which means that I'm not likely to return next year. Santa's the glue that holds our team together, and without him in the booth it just wouldn't be the same.

Home for The Holidays: I'll be headed to Connecticut and Vermont for Christmas. I leave on Christmas Eve day (I can't wait to see my Mother and Brother, along with some friends and their families).

Live Like You Were Dying: My first Hanukkah/Christmas gift of the year arrived the other day... Tim McGraw's new album, Live Like You Were Dying. Two words... great tunes! I especially like the album's title song, Live Like You Were Dying, along with track #2: My Old Friend, track #3: Can't Tell Me Nothin', and track #7: Back When. From Back When...

Back when a hoe was a hoe,
Coke was a coke,
Crack's what you were doing when you were cracking jokes.

Back when a screw was a screw,
The wind was all that blew,
When you said, "I'm down with that", it meant you had the flu.

I loved my records, black shinny vinyl,
Clicks and pops and white noise, man they sounded fine,
Had my favorite station, the one that played 'em all,
Country, soul, rock and roll, what happened to those times?
I'm reading street slang For Dummies,
'cause they put pop in my country.
I want more for my money, the way it was back when.

My Search for a Car: I'm still looking for a dependable used car, so again I'll suggest that if anyone knows of a good one in the Indy area (that's for sale, that is) please do let me know. For now, I'm continuing to make do with my rental from Enterprise (a company which I highly recommend, by the way!).

Red Companies vs. Blue Companies: A bunch of friends and colleagues have encouraged me to visit BuyBlue.org, where you'll find a list of companies categorized according to the political party each supported via cash contributions in preparation for the 2004 general election. The idea behind the site is to encourage you to support just those companies who donated money to Democratic (Blue) candidates. So, for example, if you're a Democrat whose headed out to buy a book, BuyBlue.org recommends that you shop at Barnes & Noble because B&N gave 98% of it's 2004 political contributions to Democratic, whereas Amazon.com gave 61% of its contributions to Republican candidates for office. My stance on this... Give Me A Frickin' Break! Sure, this is Boycott 101 sort of stuff, but if people actually start to buy products only from those companies which supported either Democrats or Republicans in any given election, it's not the companies themselves which will suffer; it's the hourly wage earners who will go down in flames. Hopefully few people care so much about politics that they'll give it a higher priority than value and quality when deciding where to shop or what to buy. Even most Democrats I know would probably shop at Wal-Mart if, say, going to Costco entailed driving an extra 10 miles (though at least those who do the latter would be contributing to global warming, but that's a whole nother issue).

Running Picture: Here's a shot I just received from October's Indianapolis Half-Marathon. I think I actually look like a runner in this one:

The best part of this picture... as much as I may look like I'm just chugging along all smooth-like, I was eventually run down and passed by that 72-year-old walker off to the right edge of the photo! Too funny... happy Monday.

December 17, 2004

Q1: How's it going?

Q2: What's new?

Q3: What are you doing this weekend?

Q4: If yesterday had been Wednesday's tomorrow and tomorrow is Sunday's yesterday, what day would today be?

December 10, 2004

Q1: A 14-year-old Australian boy, Christopher Harris, announced yesterday that next Spring he plans to become the youngest person ever to attempt to climb and summit Mt. Everest. How do you feel about someone as young as Harris attempting such a risky endeavor?

Q2: Are you better off or worse today financially then you were four years ago at this same time (in December of 2000)?

Q3: Do you personally know anyone who has made it really big either in Hollywood, politics, sports, or business? If you don't know anyone directly, how about thru that whole X Degrees of Separation thing?

Q4: If you could choose one event from any point in the future whose outcome could be known to you now, what would you like to know?

December 9, 2004

Tuesday eveningís drive home, and yesterday morningís drive to work, were somber ones for me. Each marked the last time Iíd drive my Land Rover Discovery on familiar roads at familiar times. As much as it pained me to do it, I sold my car yesterday afternoon to a really cool cat named Dave whose wife is expecting the coupleís first baby next spring.

As anyone voluntarily letting go of something so precious would do, I took time yesterday morning to connect with my car one last time. I washed her exterior, twice, vacuumed her out, and doted over her like a Mama Bear would her cub. On the drive in to work I purposely drove sans radio, so as to fully appreciate the hum of her engine and her ability to hug every nook and cranny of the road. The drive was, perhaps, the most satisfying one of our tenure.

Why give up such a great ride? Well, for starters, when I sold a business back in 2002, I had a payout plan in place that afforded me the opportunity to own a Land Rover. But since the company that bought mine essentially went out of business earlier this year--which means that I no longer get paid--my personal finances changed to the extent to where I needed to give up the car so as to allocate my finances more appropriately. (BTWÖ Word to the Wise: A 200-page asset sale agreement means nothing if the buyer doesnít agree to personally guarantee the payout!)

For now Iím driving a blue Chevy Cavalier, on loan from Enterprise (ìPick Enterprise. Weíll Pick You Up!î). While the Cavalier is a far cry from the Disco, it does serve its purpose rather well. It took only $17.00 to fill the tank (as opposed to $45.00 for Rover), and while sheís small in stature, she more than makes up for it off the line.

Within the next couple of weeks I hope to settle on a used late-model Toyota or Honda. Iíve been looking around these last few weeks and havenít been able to find exactly what Iím looking for, so if anyone knows of something in the $1,500.00 to $2,000.00 range, feel free to let me know by leaving a comment below.

December 4, 2004

Two results to share this morning:

2004 Jingle Bell Run: I ran in a road race this morning called the Jingle Bell Run. The 5k (3.1 mile) race looped around the IUPUI campus, and ended with a dash around part of the college's outdoor track. For the first time ever in a race of this distance, I ran the entire length of the course. Not once did I stop, nor did I walk. Not that amazing of a feat for 3.1 miles/5k, but for this newbie, well, I feel it's an accomplishment worth noting. My time--34 minutes and 51 seconds, which placed me 610th out of 734 runners--will surely be bettered as I myself become more proficient and relaxed in road races in the months and years to come.

And The Secret Shopper Says... As I mentioned last year while working the Santa Photo gig at the Fashion Mall, our company pays a 'secret shopping' service to go to all of the malls where its has contracts, and to report back on how the staff did their job. Last Friday, the 26th of November, we were 'secretly shopped' by one of IPI's secret shoppers. The following is directly from a report the secret shopper filed with our home office:

1. How long did it take from the time you entered the line until it was your turn to have photos taken? 00:04:05

2. Was the associate greeting everyone in a sincere, friendly manner? Yes. Score: 2/2

3. Were you greeted in a sincere, friendly manner? Yes. Score: 3/3

4. Name of Associate who assisted you: Mikal B.
   ...Gender: Male
   ...Race: Caucasian
   ...Age: 31-40 years-old
   ...Height: 6 ft 1 in
   ...Hair Color: Brown
   ...Other distinguishing characteristics: Glasses

5. Did the greeter clearly explain the price banner to you? Yes. Score: 5/5

6. When you inquired about a 5x7 photo package, did the associate make you aware of a package with more photos in it? Yes. Score: 10/10

7. On a scale of 0-5, with 5 being "the best", please rate the associate's product knowledge: 5. Score: 5/5

8. Comments: Greet Experience! Mikal B., an Assistant Manager assisted us as we entered the photo line. He greeted us with a warm "Hello" and did an excellent job of engaging the child that was with me. He asked her name and told her she looked very nice today. He even talked with her about her visit with Santa Claus, which made her feel very comfortable. His level of engagement with us was exemplary. Mikal presented the package options and add-ons using the envelope. He suggested a frame or an add-on of two 3 1/2 x 5 photos. He seemed very knowledgeable about the packaging options and attempted to up-sell, but was very respectful of our decision only to purchase the 5 x 7 print.

So, there you have it folks. If I ever lose my day job as an Acquisitions Editor, I can always become a full-time greeter at Wal-Mart.

I'm now off in search of a cheap-o used car (I think my Land Rover will be sold by the end of the day this coming Wednesday... woo-hoo!). Happy Saturday :o)

December 3, 2004

Q1: Residents of Arlington, Texas, recently voted to put more than 300,000,000 of their tax dollars into a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. Earlier this week, the Washington, D.C. City Council voted in favor of using public funds for a stadium for the city's new major league baseball team, The Washington Nationals. Meanwhile, residents of both San Francisco and Indianapolis are likely to be asked within the next few years to pony-up tax dollars for new stadiums for the 49ers and Colts. Given what you know about these situations, or what you think is fair, do you think it's right for your taxes--property or otherwise--to be raised in order to pay for a new stadium?

Q2: A friend's straight-A daughter was recently suspended from school for two days because of an incident with a classmate on the bus ride to school. Rather than let her sit at home by herself while she was at work, my friend made arrangements for her daughter to work at a local homeless shelter both days. What's the most innovative punishment you've ever received or dealt out?

Q3: Do you use the same brand and type of shampoo all the time? How about soap, toothpaste, and deodorant/antiperspirant?

Q4: How much of this year's holiday shopping will you do online? How does that compare to last year or the year before?

December 1, 2004

You'll hear a lot this week about how the longest winning streak in television game show history came to an end last night when Ken Jennings lost on JEOPARDY!†After appearing on 75 shows, and winning over $2,500,000.00, Jennings finally met his match in a former actress turned real estate agent from California. A mind-boggling accomplishment for sure, but there's something unauthentic about JEOPARDY's portrayal of the whole thing, and it has been rubbing me the wrong way for some time now. (Mind you, this isn't that big of a deal, but since this is a space to share my thoughts, I'm choosing to rant about this one today.)

Yes, Jennings won a ton of cash--more than anyone else in TV game show history--and he is absolutely brilliant (his IQ is reported to be 168, while Einstein's measured 160), but to be clear, the streak didn't really come to an end last night. You see, the producers film a week's worth of episodes in just one day. Seventy-five episodes since June divided by five episodes filmed a day... that comes out to around 15 days of filming, total... not the five months of filming we're lead to believe because of the syndication schedule of the show. Again, this isn't really that big of a deal, but I did feel that it was worth mentioning... the fact is, Ken Jennings exit came during a show taped in early-September... early-September, not last night. Early-September was like two full friggin months before the presidential election!

And, if you think we've been hearing a lot about Jennings over the last few months, just you wait... we're about to be saturated with coverage of Mr. Jennings. A forthcoming episode of A&E's Biography spotlights Jennings and other JEOPARDY! champions, and Jennings is already scheduled to appear again on Letterman, and on Good Morning America, Jay Leno, Oprah, The CBS Early Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly, just to name a few venues.†He has also been selected by Barbara Walters for inclusion in her year-end special as one of the Ten Most Fascinating People of 2004, has a book deal in the works with Random House, and will surely be invited back for tournament of champions episodes of the show.

The bottom line here is that everyone in TV land knew long ago that Ken Jennings lost on show number 75. Everyone who needed to be in the know was forced to sign a confidentiality agreement about Jennings' impending loss, all in the quest for Sony Pictures Television to drag this thing out for as long as possible. And, it seems to have worked. During the period Jennings appeared on JEOPARDY!, ratings for the show were up twenty-two percent (+22%) over the same period the preceding year; and for several weeks of the winnings streak, JEOPARDY! ranked as television's highest-rated syndicated program. All of this of course translates into television networks being able to raise their advertising rates for the slot in which JEOPARDY! appears, which in turn generates more revenue, which in turn increases shareholder value in all the publicly held companies involved in the process. Again, not really that big of a deal but certainly worth mentioning.