Bring it on...

I'm gonna try something I think might be interesting starting next week. I'm going to keep a log of every commercial product/brand that I use during the course of one week. Then at the end of the week, I'll seek out the customer contact form on the web for each product, say something nice about the product, give them my email address and home address, and ask for coupons if available. I'll keep track of the initial list of products and then record what response, if any, I get. I think I saw something similar done before, but I can't find the link at the moment.

I'm curious not only what "financial gains" I might achieve (every coupon helps, and if they add me to a list for future mailings, even better), but also how companies are treating such requests these days. Are they reacting to more and more people trying to "milk the system," or are they seeing this as an avenue to reach more customers, instill brand loyalty and get them to purchase their product more often? Do they only respond via email, or will they respond via snail-mail as
well? Will they say "Thanks, we're glad you enjoy our products," or will they say, "If you liked that product, try this new product that we've just released."

My initial thought was to just pick a single day (weekday or weekend day), and use that list. I'm sure that there would be plenty of companies to contact. I'm talking about the alarm clock, the toothpaste, cereal, TV, car, cat food, bulk-goods store, grocery store, furnace, gasoline, lunch meat, "Tupperware-esque" containers, vitamins and everything else that I actually utilize in a day. I'm not going after stuff I don't use, just to get stuff. I'm communicating with companies with whom I already have a relationship of some kind. Then, I realized that over the course of the week (all seven-days), the number of companies added each day would dwindle geometrically as I use mostly the same things each day, so I decided to stretch it out for a whole week.

I'm sure it will generate more email. I'm sure it will generate more snail-mail. I recycle both, so I'm not worried too much about these increases. There are some things that won't necessarily justify a coupon, or "reward" of some kind. I'm thinking that the furnace manufacturer might deal only through dealers. The same thing with my car manufacturer. I might get a few cold calls from them, but with my Google Voice account, I can stop those as spam if I need to.

I might throw in a couple of brands I regularly visit or use, but just didn't hit during this period -- some fast food spots, etc. - just to see what happens as well.

There is definitely a selfish angle to this (the coupons, samples, etc), but I am very curious about the responsiveness of the companies as well.

I'll keep you updated on the experiment as it progresses.

Only a child...

... and yet so wise. It is a shame the rest of us aren't as smart as our children - that we have removed such wisdom from our adult minds. I am trying to foster the strength, wisdom, charity, compassion, and tenaciousness shown by this young child in my own children; for the people and for the planet. The need for many, many more people like this then 12-year-old Severn Suzuki is great. This speech was delivered in 1992, and yet we are only now beginning to understand, and to act.



I only hope it's not too late.

Have you donated blood lately?

Just a reminder that the need for blood continues. If you're able to donate -- whole blood, or components -- the life you save just might be your own (or mine!). Make the time... Take the time.

Thanks!

Find our more information and schedule an appointment at the American Red Cross donation site.

Whitehouse letters

An interesting video about some of the letters US President Obama reads every day...

I'm scared...

I'm scared of getting sucked into another TV series. I managed to evade the Lost hype -- just never got into it, but this one looks really interesting. I hope it holds up to all of its pre-launch hype. In a week we'll see...

Bird music

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the Internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.

Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds).

Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects.

The newspaper story about my work (O Estado de São Paulo): http://tinyurl.com/l4qdbg (Google English translation)

Money to burn?

According to an article in Forbes Magazine (Sept 7, 2009, pg88), the following people have a lot of money to burn on Internet advertising:

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buy structured settlements
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I'm just sayin' :)

Happy Grandparents Day!

Funny tales from Grandparents

1. She was in the bathroom putting on her makeup under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!" I will probably never put lipstick on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye....


2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, and I told him 62. My grandson was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"


3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. She heard the children getting more and more rambunctious and her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three year old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"


4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire that hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"


5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo and I said, "No, how are we alike?'' "You're both old," he replied.


6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied.. "I can't read."


7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door saying, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these, yourself!"


8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fire flies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."


9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure.." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised, "mine says I'm 4 to 6."


10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother,"Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting,"she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."


11. Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Do you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. 'It means carrying a child."


12. A grandfather was delivering his grandchildren to their home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another. "He's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."


13. A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "Oh," he said, "she lives at the airport, and when we want her, we just go get her. Then, when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport."


14. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!

All sky!

Marriage is like a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle -- all sky!

-- Cathy Ladman

quote

It ain't what people call you. It's what you answer to.

--Quoted by Tyler Perry in Madea's Family Reunion

Marriage

My wife tells me that if I ever decide to leave, she's coming with me. -- Jon Bon Jovi

heigh-ho...heigh-ho...

...It's off to school we go.

My kids start back to school today -- 1st grade, 5th grade, 6th grade -- in three separate schools... They're all really excited. We are too -- especially my wife :-)

Doppelgänger?

The other day at work, one of my co-workers said that I was a dead ringer for this guy, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

I guess he looks OK, though I think he has me by a few pounds :-)

I've never been told I look like anyone famous before. No, that's not true. My wife once said I look like this guy, actor Michael Douglas as the main character in the movie Falling Down.

...but I was not as well adjusted back then :-) Again, not a bad looking guy, so I should be flattered.

If you know who I am "in the real world," let me know who you think I look like...

Purse Snatcher Strap

I know, as does every parent, that my kids are very smart and will go far in life. In fact, I'm counting on it. Someone will have to pay for me in my old age.

I hadn't really thought about how early my oldest son had started showing his brilliance until the other day, though. Yes, he started reading early, walking early, talking early, etc, etc, etc, yada, yada, yada, but I didn't realize how inventive and smart he was at such an early age.

For quite a number of years, when my wife goes shopping and uses a cart, she takes her purse and actually buckles it into the "child seat" in the cart. I don't think it's because she got in the habit of strapping the kids in and just kept with the flow. She is a creature of habit, but I don't think she would carry it that far.

She told me the story awhile ago, but it didn't stick (or I didn't have a blog at the time to use to brag). Apparently, when my oldest son, then two years old, was out shopping with my wife and step-mom, he used to take the second seat belt and strap my wife's purse into the cart. He might have been amusing himself and his ability to be so in control, but when my wife went to remove her purse -- "WAIT! Why is my purse buckled into the cart! Hey, wait a minute. That would keep someone from walking by and taking my purse while I'm not paying close enough attention. Cool idea, son. Thanks." She locks her purse into the cart every time she goes shopping now.

OK, so maybe my wife deserves the credit. But my son certainly receives a co-author on the idea. And it sounds cooler to say my 2-year-old came up with the idea :-)

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOQRSTUVWXYZ

Look closely at the title of this post. See anything missing? It's not there -- it's all over my tile in the kitty litter area instead!

We've not changed anything recently, but for some reason my cats, probably just one actually, has chosen to pee all over the tile instead of in the litter pan. Not sure why. Haven't changed the litter brand or type. Haven't changed the litter pan. Haven't changed the location of the litter pan. Haven't changed his diet. No indication that he's sick or anything. No change in how clean we keep it (we try hard). No change in the family dynamic. No new cats, or other pets added to the mix. No drastic change to our family schedule (haven't really even gotten into the school routine yet). Nothing else is different in his behavior. No indication that he's been knighted and is too good to use the litter pan now. It's not like he misses, he just goes outside the litter pan. This is a multiple-times-a-day occurrence! Thankfully it's on tile, and not carpet (duh!), but it's still stinky, messy to clean, and just frustrating that we can't break him of it.

The cat that I think is torturing us this way is our indoor/outdoor cat Joey. I've watched him a couple of times when he comes in from the outside, thinking I could catch him and redirect him appropriately. No go. He goes to eat, then wanders away, sneaking back to leave his mark when I'm not watching...

I'm out of ideas. Thoughts?