Give and Go.

  • People like Personalization

    • 17 Sep 2008
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    Customization.  Unique Ownership.  Strong belief that their property defines something distinct about them – I am me, and thus, noone else is like me. 

    If companies recognize that people are somewhat self-absorbed, they may be on to something.  I'm fond of companies who attempt to ramp up involvement from the everyday population.  Rather than try to market/design everything on their own, some reach out to their eager audience and ask them for their insight.  Hooray for user-generated participation!  It's kind of a win-win situation if you think about it – the company gets fresh ideas from real people, and the participants feel like they've made their contribution or have some form of ownership/bragging rights.  Plus, if they do it in the format of a contest, you can even win some cool stuff in the process.

    Sony recently took advantage of this and held a contest for their new Vaio line, where people can submit their own designs, and three lucky winners' designs go into full retail production. A nice $5K reward is an added bonus.

    Check out the winners: http://vaiomygraphicsplash.com/

    Sony's not the first to get in on user-participation – pretty sure we'll be seeing plenty of companies jumping on this methodology if they haven't already.

    Dell also believes that their customers are all about artsy, cool designs, rather than the static, plain laptop – and offers multiple colors and different art designs for their Studio 17 line.

    And finally, while watching Sportscenter, I was brainwashed by SkinIt.com to sign on now and get a load of all their skins you can use to customize your own laptop, cell phone, digital camera, a number of things you own.  The idea is cool, although, I don't know why I would apply an image of Obama or McCain on my laptop though.  That disturbs me, just a little.  But the good news is you can also upload your own work-of-art for true personalization.  So you could get away with a "Neener, neener, check out MY cool laptop" jab at your buddies.

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  • No Gas Required

    • 17 Sep 2008
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    GM recently unveiled their new fully battery-operated car, the Volt, in production form.  It's still not scheduled to release to the public until Fall of 2010, but they've already begun the campaigning process now. 

    First thoughts – I'm all for innovative new car ideas, especially solutions to our gas crisis.  Keep grinding away!  Thank you to car companies for propelling ahead with new technology.

    Second thoughts – So, the Volt can last 40 miles off of one charge.  I'm imagining you park this in your garage and you run an extension cord into your wall adapter.  Haha, like charging your cell phone?  How much electricity is that going to take?  And for people like me who unfortunately commute on average 70 miles a day, does this mean I'd have to charge it from home, drive, and then juice it up one more time from the office? 

    Learn more about the Volt: 
    http://www.gmnext.com/

    http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/archives/2008/09/power_on.html

    Volt

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  • Currently Playing on my iPod

    • 17 Sep 2008
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    A few songs I'm digging right now:

    Youre The Only One - Eric Benet Miss Independent - Ne-Yo 100 Yard Dash - Raphael Saadiq Sandcastle Disco - Solange

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  • How's the Air Up There?

    • 17 Sep 2008
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    Just tipped off from L via the Press Telegram - the San Pedro Bay area in Los Angeles breathes some of the dirtiest air in the US - which means these areas "are exposed to higher-than-average cancer risks from toxic air pollution." 

    Of course this bums me out, all this time you think you are inhaling fresh ocean air and it turns out it's not so good for you after all.  It comes with the territory, I mean if you live in the city, you can't avoid all sorts of chemicals that surround you.  I work within walking distance of an oil refinery, doomed I suppose. 


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  • Go Blue!

    • 17 Sep 2008
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    Glad to see the Dodgers are playing well - and came across this photoshop contest hosted by LA Times Dodger bloggers A&B. 
    They're asking people to photoshop Man Ram's locks and Casey's beard in the most creative and entertaining way possible. 

    Think you can do better?  Show them up, I think they're still taking submissions.  Or find out who wins.


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  • Wish I was a Little Bit Taller...

    • 17 Sep 2008
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    ..like this guy?

    He towers over his opponent (and maybe over most of the population) at 7-foot-9, 370 pounds.  Swept across the media that he will be sidelined after his second foot surgery and won't be receiving much PT.

    He also wears size 26 shoes.  You know what they say about big shoes? 

    They're meant for big feet. 

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  • Support young lemonade entrepreneurs!

    • 16 Sep 2008
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    Recently, I passed by a local kids' lemonade stand and they hung up a sign that said proceeds help kids in Darfur.  My window was rolled down.  I heard a little girl plea, "It's for Darfur!  Help those kids.  And help us!"  I plan on returning to that stand next weekend because I'm a sucker is plastered all over my forehead. 

    When I was a kid, I had ambitious neighbors. The kind of kids that wanted to hold meetings and publish bicycle rules in the community, the kind of kids that rehearsed drama skits with Frankenstein and Eegore for our own little private audience, and the kind of kids who had craft night at each others houses under some mom's supervision and competed to make the best cookies.  My neighbors were the kind who called their parents' names by their first names, which made me shudder.  I could picture my mom and her backhand if I ever called her Suzy in public.  I digress.  So we did the whole lemonade thing and by the end of the day I think we made less than $20 total, and split 5 ways, we never profited considering all the expenses from the ingredients, the cups, and the signage. 

    Kids today are even more ambitious!  I found this contest hosted by INC.com (great mag BTW):  http://www.inc.com/lemonade/2008/  The grand prize winner, LemonSharks Lemonade, even gave 20% of their profit to a local museum for their Shark program.  Kudos to clever kids for taking their own time and ingenuity to raise some money.

    My favorite is the Sugar Queen (biased because she hails from California), who also retails her lemonade kit online.  Great stuff!  Support her! http://www.dipadova.com/sofiaslemonade/Lemonade.html  Or the kids trying to save Darfur!  Or any other kids in your area staying out of trouble, getting a head start on running a business, and trying to make some extra $.

    Lemonade_3

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  • Credit 411

    • 16 Sep 2008
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    Want nine months of credit monitoring?  The deadline to sign up is 9/24 -  There was a settlement reached to resolve a lawsuit accusing TransUnion of selling their credit information to marketers.  I wasn't sure how legit this was, until I was passed on the info from LA Times by J.  

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-perfin22-2008jun22,0,7403167.column?page=1

    Apparently, anyone who has had an open credit account at any time between January 1987 and May 28, 2008 is eligible.  Wait a sec, isn't that like the majority of the US population?

    Just a friendly reminder, as everything on the net goes, research wisely and see if it's valuable to you.  As a disclaimer, I am in no way responsible for your actions or consequences. I'm just a peon passing the info along.  And don't forget you're always entitled to a free annual credit report at annualcreditreport.com

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  • Touch the Sky

    • 16 Sep 2008
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    On my drive today I noticed the sky was really blue and tranquil. Doesn't it make you want to reach out and touch those wispy white clouds of goodness?Or at least spend the day outdoors rather than trapped underneath this fluorescent lighting and icebox AC.

    Photo

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  • Dedicated to the Metrolink Chatsworth Crash Victims

    • 15 Sep 2008
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    Since Friday's incident, our thoughts have been with the crash victims. The LA Times provide more info, and there's an area where people can leave comments for the victims' families.  My heartfelt condolences.


    Meadow

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  • About

    My heart skips a beat to:
    That really good song that you can put on repeat without getting tired of it, the perfect swish from nothing but net, bright colors that scream attention which I don't like to bask in, cars that remind me of cartoons, the right sneakers for every occasion, the honest "I've-missed-you" look my dog gives me when I come home, a quick run in the dark imagining someone is chasing me, anything kawaiiiiii, frozen desserts of many fulfilling kinds, heroes or arch-nemeses, life ambitions and carpe diem actions, exercising brain power, exploring So Cal, and eating food that is yummy-yummy, in my tummy. Did I mention I'm a web-junkie? Long live internet!

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