Work is FUN with a MacBook

You know what I'm talking about - Runs Windows too using Parallels...



or like my friend Michael says - "MacEye for the PC Guy"

Promise Keepers Nashville 2007

Men Gather 9500 Strong for Promise Keepers at the Sommet Center...

Many thanks for the hard work from all of the volunteers - hundreds of women, youth and men gave of their time to facilitate the third stop on the seven conference schedule... the best is yet to come!











Click here to visit the Nashville 2007 Flickr set for more photos!

Predators! Nashville is stepping up...

Predators fans will be seeking a financial boost for the team and an emotional lift for themselves when they gather for an all-day rally and ticket-thon today at Sommet Center.

The event comes at a particularly significant time for the franchise, as a group of Nashville businessmen met Wednesday with current owner Craig Leipold and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to discuss the coalition's bid to purchase the team.

- John Glennon, The Tennessean









Sources say that the all-day effort, which will be broadcast live on sports talk radio 104.5 The Zone, may be getting off the message that Nashville's corporate community needs to step up more and buy the pricier tickets in the lower bowl. Unsold tickets last year in the lower bowl left about $6.4 million sitting on the table, twice the combined unsold tickets in the upper bowl and club level.

- Richard Lawson, The City Paper


More photos at my Flickr set

Busting a Nut Hillary style

A true story:

My son Gary who was seven at the time were bonding at the local McDonalds.

We ordered a hot fudge sundae.

The grandmother figure behind the counter asked Gary, "Son, would you like your nuts crushed?"

"No mam, that's ok."

If you're yearning to crush some nuts, my dear friend Judie has the scoop on "the most amusing piece of political memorabilia..."



Get crackin' and bust a nut here

Unleashed: Titans Tix for Sale

After camping out since Wednesday night - 61 hours - plus the long trek from East Tennessee, David and Judith with son Cory and daughter Courtney snagged the first single game Titans tickets that went on sale at 10:00 am.

The happy family was congratulated by Don MacLachlan, executive vice president of administration and facilities for the Titans.



Competing against the online world of Ticketmaster, the LP Field ticket office flung open six windows. Considering the line was only thirty two deep, the odds were working in favor of those in line in the 90 degree heat.

Here's John feeling the morning heat with only 2 minutes to go... after 59 hours.





The local news networks were out as well to capture the moment - WSMV, WTVF and Fox; WKRN was missing although Mitch Mitchell was out filming Friday.



Best response to the PacMan Jones drama: "It's not about one person; I'm here to support the team... and be here on game day to root for the Titans!"



With six windows opened, everyone I talked to got the game tickets they were looking for, with one person picking up four preseason tickets for Green Bay to see Brett Favre. A true cheesehead indeed.



Here's Judith and Courtney, the very first ones to exit the window and husband David talking to NewsChannelFive.



I saw a couple leave highly upset because the rule was only one person per window; apparently their ticket selection game plan wasn't in place. She was going home to get online after being spending all that time in line. Good luck with that!



As for me, I wa photographing the end of the line when I though why not step up to the window?

At 10:15 am, I picked up tickets to the Carolina Panthers and San Diego Chargers games.

Photo blogging has been very good for me!


More photos at my Flickr set

For the Love of the Game (Camping Out…)

Over the past year, I’ve been intrigued by fans camping out for high tech gear like the PlayStation3 and just recently, Apple’s iPhone. Sure there are compelling reasons to work up the nerve to ask the boss man for vacation time for such an adventure. After all, time earned off is… frankly speaking, your time off, so no one should care anyway. Most working class heroes long for an escape from the drudgery of work, socking away money in a hidden cookie jar to embrace the day – that defining day - to experience the perfect escape route to a high tech fantasy world of fighting demons, hunting down the enemy or barreling down the highway at 120 mph with the highway patrol in hot pursuit.

Controlling your exhilarating moments of victory and defeat in the PS3 or Xbox game world, I’m told makes time management unimportant. The expectations of living life in the working world comes to a standstill. Should a dragon breathe his fire and wrath upon you burning you to a crispy matchstick figure, with a simple press of the button, resetting the game and asking for a do-over is easier than forgiveness on the factory floor.

Hand eye coordination is key to winning; Apple’s iPhone requires one finger to point, swipe and open / close with thumb and pointer finger dexterity.

But there is something that I experienced first hand, up close and personal today.

Holding eight 2 ½ x 6 ½ 4 color tickets in the clutched fist of the hand close to the heart releases a rush of passionate ecstasy that no gaming system or iPhone can match.

It’s called the NFL Experience. Yes, August is upon us – here in America, real football known as the National Football League prepares to kick off to the masses of stadium filled pigskin enthusiasts. Saturday morning at 10 AM here in Nashville, Tennessee, single game tickets go on sale to the general public.



Wednesday evening, David, Judith and family made the three plus hour trek from East Tennessee into Nashville to claim the first spot in line. Two hours later at 11 PM, John and Jennifer joined them, pitching tents against the gated entrances of LP Field to secure single-game tickets for the Tennessee Titans.



I was curious as to why not go on the Internet at ticketmaster.com and secure your tickets the high tech way? Besides the usual complaints of the high service charges levied by ticketmaster and the exponential pool of competition of fans vying for the same tickets, camping out in line for three nights ensures a defined pecking order.

David and Judith have been camping out for four years.



They enjoy the camaraderie and friendships built over the years with folks like John and Jennifer. They increased their fortune this year, moving from number 82 last year to 2nd in line.



“This is our seventh year in a row that we’ve been here; I’ve even camped out for the three playoff games,” said John. “I don’t have to fool with scalpers or worry about whether the tickets are legit or not.”

His wife Jennifer has her bare feet propped upon an ice cooler in the 90-degree heat, as she should – nearly seven months pregnant, she loves Titans football.

So what does the Titans organization think about the passion exhibited by camping out?

“The Titans are great! They brought us out pizza last night, offer us a chance to cool off in the air conditioned room if it gets too hot, and even set up Port-A-Potties for us to use,” said Judith.

John added, “We even had lunch from the Titans and some businesses drop by with food, so we get to have extra food!”

Would you wait in line for a PlayStation, I asked John. “No way, you have to be crazy to camp out when two months later, you can get a PlayStation at regular price. With Titans football tickets, it’s the experience of the game day. I’m looking forward to see Indianapolis and the New York Jets play here at LP Field.”

Fans can purchase a maximum of four tickets to a maximum of two home games with prices ranging from $34 to $67 per ticket. The available pools of tickets are 2,500 tickets to each of the 8 regular season and two preseason home games.



Later, Don MacLachlan, executive vice president of administration and facilities for the Titans stopped by to check on how the campers are doing. “Yeah, he drops by, asks how we’re doing and if there is anything we need. Last year, Drew Bennett (Titans wide receiver) dropped by to talk to us. The Titans really care about their fans,” added John.

Jim Caple of ESPN sums up what I witnessed today in his article, 101 things all sports fans must experience before they die.

# 64 of 101:

Camp out for tickets (any event). If a game isn't worth investing a cold, wet night in a tent with hundreds of other rabid fans and sharing your love for a common goal, then maybe you should reassess your priorities in life.

True, so true. It’s in the game. Go Titans!


More photos at my Flickr set

What is in box # 89?

I saw a USB turntable the other day; at $100.00 I thought the included stylus would gouge the vinyl. Back in the seventies, a Stanton or Shure stylus use to cost plenty... Anyway, I went up to my attic to retrive the two or three turntables I have, but I came across some promotional record company stuff I found in box # 89.

Ahhh... the memories from the seventies / eighties - my old Warner Bros. Records marketing days - to justify / rationalize why is is never prudent to throw ANYTHING away. It's a Chinese thing I'm told repeatedly. You just have to be Chinese to understand where I'm coming from.



Top, clockwise: Talking Heads medical wristbands, a clever way to promote the album; I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand; ELO patch that I'm sending off to my dear friend in Texas; Blues Brothers pin - they were awesome in Memphis - I must find that picture of me in the Bluesmobile; Ahh yes, backstage with Bob Marley at Vandy Memorial Gym - never seen a basketball game there, but plenty of concerts; Shake It Up pin from The Cars (is Todd Rundgren part of the NEW CARS?) and yes, at one time my party affiliation was Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove ( I was Getting Down Just for the Funk of It !)



And a colored vinyl 45 from Kraftwerk - "Pocket Calculator". Great techno music to geek / drone by. A better selection is "Computer Love" which I know I have in my LP section (which is why I'm looking for my turntable).

Somewhere in the world somebody has the original art from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.



I have a promotional meet the rutles 2 x 2 cover as a poor substitute.

Wired: I'm a Geek Cover Boy

Old timers like me back in high school will remember Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show's novelty song "The Cover Of The Rolling Stone" written by Shel Silverstein.

Whether it was tongue-in-cheek, brilliant marketing, honoring a bet or a dare, the group made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine three months later on March 29, 1973. The text next to their picture read: "What's Their Names Make The Cover."

The Cover Of The Rolling Stone

Well we're big rock singers we got golden fingers
And we're loved everywhere we go
We sing about beauty and we sing about truth
At ten thousand dollars a show
We take all kinda pills that give us all kinda thrills
But the thrill we never know
Is the thrill that'll gitcha when ya get your picture
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

Chorus:
Gonna see my picture on the cover
Gonna buy five copies for my mother
Gonna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rolling Stone

Later that same year, Todd Rundren's album "A Wizard, A True Star" came with a postcard asking for your name. Bearsville Records (Warner Bros) created a poster with all the names sent in. The poster was included in the record release of "Todd" - a 2' x 3' b/w head shot of Todd Rundgren himself, made with the names who sent in their postcard! My name is somewhere on his lower right jaw line. One day, I'll find the poster which is somewhere in my attic in a box underneath other boxes.

Thirty four years later, for a techno geek like myself, I responded to a Wired Magazine and Xerox subscriber inquiry to upload a jpeg for a custom July issue mailed directly to my mailbox:



This integrated marketing campaign was in response to Wired's July cover story on the future of personalization. All I had to do was submit my photo in time to be one of the first 5,000 Wired subscribers to participate.

Unfortunately, I can't buy five copies for my mother, but standing at the intersection of narcissism, staying humble, digital technology and interactive marketing, I can say with all due respect "I now know the thrill that'll gitcha when ya get your picture on the cover of Wired Magazine."

(I'll throw this in a box and look for it thiry four years later!)

For more, see NY Times article

IPhone - brought to you by ....

Via c|net

oops! Somebody gots some 'xplaining to do on the carpet Monday morning...