smays.com

Another reason they're dangerous.

Video clip of "cellphone gun." [via Gizmodo]

Spontaneous Toddler Combustion.

More 5ives from Merlin

Collar #17.

The new puppies are 3 weeks old so we drove to Union, Missouri to select the new member of the family. The Head Human at Country Golden Acres is Theresa and the woman radiates love for her Golden Retrievers. There are two new litters. One 5 weeks old...one 3 weeks old. Barb selected #17 (we're working on a name). Theresa spends ALL of her time with her dogs but treats each one like a member of the family. She's been at it a while but says life is good when surrounded by the Goldens. It's like a love farm...you come away glowing. [Photos]

Happy Ending

The golden pups were reunited with their human this morning. Everyone was thrilled with the happy ending. One of them (not sure if it was Missy or Maddy) left a little going-away present in the front yard before hopping in the truck for the ride home. Good dog!

Boom goes London and boom

Boom goes London and boom Paree
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town

From Randy Newman's Political Science

We're not on the list. I checked.

The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business is "the annual review of the most shameful, dishonest, and just plain stupid moments of the past year," according to Business 2.0. My favorite was #7:

In August, online "social planning destination" Evite sends an apology to its users for having cited Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, as a "reason to party" in an earlier e-mail newsletter.

[via Boing Boing]

On a night like this.

It's damned cold tonight and gonna get colder. So, when Barb found two Golden Retreiver pups running loose (one with collar, one without) in the supermarket parking lot, she couldn't bring herself to leave them. Tried to find owners without success. Left contact info with supermarket staff. They're in the utility room where it's nice and warm. Tomorrow we'll contact all the obvious places. Their humans must be ape-shit by now and I wish I could tell them everything is okay. We'll get them back to you.

Imus was right.

Thirty years ago (during my KBOA days) I was attending the annual meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters. Lots of big name talent on hand, including Don Imus and Robert W. Morgan. I spotted them sitting at the bar (the Mint Julip according to the bar napkin) and couldn't resist going over, introducing myself, and asking for their autographs (I know, I know). They saw my name tag and asked me what station I was with. I assured them they'd never heard of it. Then Imus asked how long I had worked there.

"About ten years," I said. To which Imus replied, "If you've stayed at one little radio station for ten years without getting fired or quitting, you'll never go anywhere in this business. You should pack it in."

Robert W. Morgan thought that was a little harsh and told Imus so. I made my escape. I thought about it many times over the years and Imus was right. There are a million small town radio guys who lack the talent or the ambition or both to make it to the Bigs. I'm proud to have been one of them.

Busted Links.

On February 9th I will have been "writing some of this down" for two years. And that includes a lot of links. Tonight I did something painful. I did some long-overdue maintenance that busted a bunch of those links. I'm fixing the ones I can find but know there will be many I miss. So, if you find yourself digging through the archives, and discover a busted link, please drop me a notes at: stevemays@hotmail.com. Please make note of the date or the subject of the post.

100 reasons abstinence is doomed.

I have to agree with Mr. Doctorow [Boing Boing] on this one. One of our very good clients tries to encourage young people not to do "it" and when I blurted out, "I'll bet that's not an easy sell!" ...she was a little offended. I jabbered my way out but this list is pretty lame.

Mon Dieu!

Is this why the French feel superior to us? And could they be right?

Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

I get a lot of inquiries about the music I used on a little video montage I did a couple of years ago, so I thought I'd provide a link where you can download the song. [7 meg] It's Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Kamakawiwo Ole' Israel ("With an ukulele, his constant companion, Israel would sing and play for anyone who listened."). I first heard the song under the credits of Finding Forrester. He's dead now and only recorded a few CD's.

Doing a dance we cannot imagine.

The last time I gave even a little thought to poetry was 1970 and the girl I was dating thought Rod McKuen was cool. But I keep coming back to this guy Billy Collins. He speaks to me. This is from Nostalgia... a common theme here at smays.com.

As usual, I was thinking about the moments of the past,
letting my memory rush over them like water
rushing over the stones on the bottom of a stream.
I was even thinking a little about the future, that place
where people are doing a dance we cannot imagine,
a dance whose name we can only guess.

You must become the log.

Years ago I vowed never to do an unpleasant job if I had the money to pay someone else to do it. My reasoning is quite sound: I love the work I do and would, in fact, do it for no pay. If I give that money to someone to do those things I dislike doing, I can go get so more money by doing something I love. Is that so hard to understand? But there are a few manual chores I enjoy. Splitting firewood is one of those. All those sticks and no fetching. Ripley was not pleased.

Self Portrait

A couple of years ago I confessed that I thought I looked my best in theatre restrooms. Now I've done the unthinkable. I photographed myself in that challenging setting. In the tradition of all great risk-takers, I had no cover story in the event someone walked in.

"Our longing for the Web

"Our longing for the Web is rooted in the deep resentment we feel toward being managed." -- David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto. I'm not sure why this feels so true but it does. I'm rereading Cluetrain and find it more...relevant than the first time. You're going to have to wade through more quotes (that I might have posted the first time).

Bloggies.

No need to check this out. I'm just posting here so I can find these later. In fact, that's the main reason I started this journal. A place to put things so I could find them later. I don't know how people get by without one.

Happy Days

Tomorrow is my father's birthday. He would have been 78. He's been gone a couple of years now and would find it amusing that I remembered his birthday since I usually forgot. If he were here I'd ask him where this photograph was taken. For some reason I think it must have been in St. Louis. If we have any STL readers, and you recognize this statue, drop me line and let me know where it is. John and Evelyn partied there right after the war. Happy birthday, Johnny!

Im turning tricks, Im getting

Im turning tricks, Im getting fixed,
Im back on Boogie Street

The first Leonard Cohen song I remember hearing was Suzanne, way back in 1968. Last week I heard 1,000 Kisses Deep but didn't know it was Leonard Cohn. The guy can still write a lyric.

Better and Better.

Google has added five new features, including tracking and lookup utilities, similar to the "quick link" features introduced last month. The new features include: Area Code Information; Universal Product Codes; Flight Tracking; Vehicle ID Numbers; and U.S. Postal Service Tracking Numbers. [via Utterly Boring]

Life is too short because we die.

A recurring theme here at smays.com is how quickly time --and life-- passes. This XBox ad might be the last thing anyone needs to say on the subject. But I also like what Christopher Locke wrote in The Cluetrain Manifesto (I'm rereading for the third time):

"Life is too short for office politics, for busywork and pointless paper chases, for jumping through hoops and covering our asses, for trying to please, to not offend, for constantly struggling to achieve some ever-receding definition of success. Too short as well for worrrying whether we bought the right suit, the right breakfast cereal, the right laptop computer, the right brand of underarm deoderant. Life is too short because we die."

Damn.

Eastman Kodak Co. on Tuesday said it will stop selling traditional film cameras in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, another move by the troubled photography company to cut lines with declining appeal in favor of fast-growing digital products.

Divorce Comedy.

I'm not entirely sure this is legit but I choose to believe that it is. Watch the video. Seriously funny shit.

A year?!

I confess there are few things more satisfying than this. I had a hunch Jeff would be a natural blogger and he validated my theory that you you blog withint 24 hours or never. Jeff brings a distinctive "voice" to his blog (as all good ones do).

We're rolling

I continue to be amazed at the wonderful things my tiny Casio camera can do. You'll probably need Media Player 9 to view.

When we were pups

While organizing images this weekend, I came across this photograph. I'm not sure but I think that's the KBOA tower in the background so we appear to be literally "in the clover" somewhere close. Collie was my first dog.

I could put it down, but I couldn't leave it.

I scratched and clawed my way through all 944 pages of Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver. But then, how bad could it have been if I stuck for nearly 1,000 pages.

Bush in 30 Seconds

Dan Gillmor, writing in the San Jose Mercury News: "Personal technology is undermining the broadcast culture of the late 20th century. It's putting tools that were once the preserve of Big Media into the hands of the many." These political ads are damned good and the message is damned scary.

My So-Called Blog.

In a fascinating look at the world of teen blogging, Emily Nussbaum explores "...a generation of compulsive self-chroniclers, a fleet of juvenile Marcel Prousts gone wild. When he meets new friends in real life, M. offers them access to his online world. ''That's how you introduce yourself,'' he said. ''It's like, here's my cellphone number, my e-mail, my screen name, oh, and -- here's my LiveJournal. Personally, I'd go to that person's LJ before I'd call them or e-mail them or contact them on AIM'' -- AOL Instant Messenger -- ''because I would know them better that way.'' [via Dave Winer]

Fresh pups

Some people say they feel "close to God" standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Or in a cathedral. Or wherever. For me it's a new litter of Golden Retreiver puppies. Pure, distilled goodness and love. This is Sugar, Barb, Renee and her two week old pups. Here's a few more.

Child Free.

Okay, okay! I can sort of see how kids might be fun.

Because you've given so much.

I love these.

Medieval.

A Catholic legislator has reacted to an order from the Bishop of La Crosse, that priests in that diocese must withhold Communion to lawmakers who support abortion or euthanasia. State Representative Frank Boyle, a Democrat from Superior, says the decree by Bishop Raymond Burke is a national embarrassment for the Catholic Church. [Wisconsin Radio Network] Be sure to listen to the interview segment.

From the Prize Closet

I won't even try to explain the charm of this photo. It's pretty much an inside-radio thing. I'd sort of like to know the context but can enjoy the sentiment without it. Thanks to my old friend Bob Heater for sending this along. [From SteakandCheese.com]

Cherry sloe gin and Fresca.

I bought a six-pack of Beck's beer on the way home from work. While in the liquor store, I observed a young woman buying a pint of Captain Morgan's rum and bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper. The guy before her bought a pint of schnapps. I asked the guy at the register what one would drink schnapps with. He said most people probably drank it straight. I left thinking that the guys that work there must see some weird shit. I can imagine them rolling their eyes and winking to each other as customers move through. If I worked there I'd have a website featuring the most unusual combinations.

What it is.

"World of Ends: What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else." By Doc Searls and David Weinberger

Bingo.

From Tom Peters' wonderful book, Re-imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age:

* Getting things done ultimately is not about "power" or "rank." It's about...PASSION and IMAGINATION and PESISTENCE.
* The biggest waste of time in the world: trying to sell and idea "up the chain of command."
* A Cool Idea is by definition a...Direct Frontal Attack...on the Holy Authority of Today's Bosses.
* The power of the "powerless" lies in "Boss-Free Implementation."
* You don't need an Officially Big Project to attack a Very Big Opportunity.
* Volunteer for Crappy Jobs: crappy jobs that let you take independent charge of things quickly---and early in your tenure.

Road Trip.

Eight hours in the car was rewarded with the image above [larger version], taken just North of Rolla with. I never realized sunsets were so fleeting (file under PROSPECTIVE EPITAPHS). Lunch with my old friend Bob Fox and his beautiful wife Connie and oldest son, Steve (my namesake, I'm told). I don't see Bob and Connie often enough. I took the scenic route back with XM Radio providing the sound-track. Richie Havens doing "Just Like a Woman"...and a really pretty version of "Fragile" by Cassandra Wilson. If you're still relying on "KISS 103-whatever" for your music, you just just don't know what you're missing.

Refrigerators to Eskimos.

I'm looking for an interview with Faith Popcorn that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. You can read part of it here. The question/answer that I found most interesting was:

WSJ: What do you think about the advertising business today? How will it evolve?

Ms. Popcorn: I think it's on its way to extinction. In three to five years you will see consumers rejecting advertising-which will cause agencies to scramble as they try to make a living. Right now, they are opening trend departments, public-relations arms and viral-marketing departments. It's about trying to reinvent themselves -- but they are very late to the game.

Destin beach

My favorite image from Barb's recent trip to Destin. Unknown woman walking away from unknown boy.

No argument here.

We judge ourselves by our intensions and others by their actions. [Evhead]

Someone living or dead.

Your first reaction upon seeing Michael Jackson is horror. Your second involves trying to think of who he now looks like. Nancy points us to UtterlyBoring.com for the answer.

Public flogging of spammers.

Paul Boutin offers 101 Ways to Save the Internet. A few of my favaorites:

* Upgrade phone booths to Wi-Fi
* Death to fax machines. Send us an attachment instead
* Stop with the jokes
* Turn off your HTML email It makes you vulnerable to viruses - and bugs us.

GWTW.

"I won't think about that now. I'll think about that tomorrow." Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind.

Prrrrrr

Welcomed the New Year with Susan and Friends. I was not a Party Boy. I did discover that a cat in your lap can be very relaxing. Never been a cat person and probably won't be. But I can see how one might be. When the fireworks and sparklers came out, so did my new Casio. It has a fireworks" setting that seems to do a little exposure trick. I even grabbed a little video but didn't capture enough to show here.