Direct Mail Spam

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Steve Mays

It bothers me –more than it should– that I can filter out most email spam but not the spam that hits my USPS mail box.

The envelope above contained a not-very-interesting offer from a local car dealer (Capitol Chrysler Jeep Dodge). I’m guessing the dealer knew it wasn’t very interesting because he designed the envelope to look like something official from the state DMV. He knew that if the recipient knew is was fr0m a car dealer, she would just toss it.

So, if the dealer is this dishonest in his marketing, why should I expect him to be any more trust-worthy in selling me a car?

Our national pastime

Posted on May 14, 2011 by Steve Mays

From a Rolling Stone article that leaves you wondering why the American people are not in the streets.

“This isn’t just a matter of a few seedy guys stealing a few bucks. This is America: Corporate stealing is practically the national pastime, and Goldman Sachs is far from the only company to get away with doing it. But the prominence of this bank and the high-profile nature of its confrontation with a powerful Senate committee makes this a political story as well. If the Justice Department fails to give the American people a chance to judge this case — if Goldman skates without so much as a trial — it will confirm once and for all the embarrassing truth: that the law in America is subjective, and crime is defined not by what you did, but by who you are.”

Who are you?

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Steve Mays

The following is from a rather long –but excellent– article on leadership. If you have to lead (or follow) I encourage you to read the full piece.

“People want to know your values and beliefs, what you really care about, and what keeps you awake at night. They want to know who most influenced you, the events that shaped your attitudes, and the experiences that prepare you for the job. They want to know what drives you, what makes you happy, and what ticks you off. They want to know what you’re like as a person, and why you want to be their leader. They want to know if you play an instrument, compete in sports, go to the movies, or enjoy the theater. They want to know about your family, what you’ve done, and where you’ve traveled. They want to understand your personal story. They want to know why they ought to be following you.”

I’m going to give this a little thought and see if I can answer that question here. I sort of think the answer IS here but it’s scattered over 9 years of posts. I need an elevator version. This is a follow-up to a post from a few days ago.

Shareaholic

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Steve Mays

For me the web has always been about discovering and sharing interesting stuff. That was a big part of why I started this little blog. The web is now much more than pages like this and sharing has gotten a lot easier, thanks to tools like browser extensions (sometimes called plug-ins). Little bits of code that allow you to do something from within your web browser.

My menu bar might have have a dozen of these little widgets. But I’ve found one that combines some of my favorites and I had to –that’s right– share it with you. Shareaholic.

Let’s say I come across an article and want to share a passage. I can email it; post it here; create a tweet; save it to Instapaper to read later; add to my Google shared items; or just create a short url for that page.

Shareaholic makes my browser (Chrome) just that much more valuable.

Paul Simon fan gets invited up on stage to sing

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Steve Mays

Okay, here’s your feel-good moment of the day. A little bit of live magic that could not be faked. And think of how bad this could have been.

50 Creative Questions

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Steve Mays

“What would happen if you followed your gut? If you listened to your intuition rather than your mind? What would you create if you could think later and create now? Creating what we want doesn’t happen in the future—it happens today.”

50 Creative Questions To Create The Life You Really Want.

38 Life Lessons

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Steve Mays

From Leo Babauta. There are a few of my favorites. The entire list is worth a read.

“You can’t motivate people. The best you can hope for is to inspire them with your actions. People who think they can use behavioral “science” or management techniques have not spent enough time on the receiving end of either.”

“Let go of expectations. When you have expectations of something — a person, an experience, a vacation, a job, a book — you put it in a predetermined box that has little to do with reality. You set up an idealized version of the thing (or person) and then try to fit the reality into this ideal, and are often disappointed. Instead, try to experience reality as it is, appreciate it for what it is, and be happy that it is.”

“Do less. Most people try to do too much. They fill life with checklists, and try to crank out tasks as if they were widget machines. Throw out the checklists and just figure out what’s important. Stop being a machine and focus on what you love. Do it lovingly.”

via 38 Life Lessons I’ve Learned in 38 Years | zen habits

Moving mulch

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Steve Mays

The Mulch Fairy visited my house this morning and left these two piles. Barb recently had some landscaping done and this is the culmination. She and a dozen gal pals are in Destin for a week and she expects this mulch to be… whatever you do with mulch… by the time she returns.

Knowing me as well as she does, she has hired some big strong lads to do what needs to be done, which –I assume– involves the red wheelbarrow thing you see peeking up from behind Mount Backache. Just so you know, if I choose to.

“Why did the world shatter at the touch of a hyperlink?”

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Steve Mays

Dr. David Weinberger asks (and answers?) the question: “Why did the world shatter at the touch of a hyperlink?”

“Newspapers, encyclopedias, record companies, telephones, politics, education, analytics, scientifics, genetics, libraries, mass media, high culture, television, classrooms, assholism, channels, columns, stations, tours, travel, marketing, picketing, knitting, hectoring, picturing, gossiping, friendship redefined, attention redefined, leadership redefined, defamation redefined, curating, editing, publishing, correcting, crowds, mobs, shopping, bar-hopping, catalogs, sing-alongs, fact-checking, being together, being apart, staying together, moving on. Social forms and major institutions, many set in the Earth on stone foundations, fell down at the flick of a hyperlink.”

This started me thinking about tech changes over the last ten years. Digital cameras; high speed Internet access; social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook); iTunes; smart phones; Google; Tivo; ebooks and on and on.

And, finally, how has our company changed during the past ten years? Can we list the Ten Biggest Changes? Five? Three? And is that even a relevant question?

Random thoughts on death of OBL