The Hot Iron

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Now This Got My Attention

On my way home from the likemind coffee meetup, I saw a rat in the Loop.  Where it is not unusual to see one, this version was over 10 feet tall!  I snapped this picture with my Treo, and couldn’t help but walk up to the men standing by it to find out what it was doing there.

It turns out there was some demolition going on in the building, and the rat was put up by a union to protest the use of non-union workers.  As I was talking with them another person came up to ask.

I’d say this was more effective than those kids that try to stop me every day.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Yes I Do Care about the Environment and Children, But…

On a daily basis, and several times a day, as I traverse downtown Chicago on business, I am posed with the same questions. “Do you have a minute for the environment?” “Do you have a moment to help the children?” These questions are asked by young people with binders and clipboards who want me to donate money to organizations they work for or represent who in turn support those causes.  In actuality they should be asking me if I want to support (insert name of organization) but their questions are more of a hook.  I simply nod no and continue on my journey until I encounter the next person with a question on the next block.

If I were a weaker person I would feel bad that I have no time for the world or its children.  In the past I have stopped to hear their pitch.  Even if I was convinced to donate to them, I have an issue with handing over cash or my credit card number to a complete stranger standing on LaSalle Street.

I do care about the environment and the world, and I support other causes that are important to me, like the American Liver Foundation.  I also have several pro bono clients for whom I donate services and my time to present themselves online.  Where they have a legal right to be there and promote their cause, do they have to continually get in my walking path to try to stop me?  And I have no idea if this is even a successful endeavor - maybe some of the marketing folks who visit could comment to that?

When I head out today on my daily trek, rather than simply saying “no” maybe I should instead ask them if they are taking good care of their liver.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Remembering Mom on Mother’s Day

A very heartfelt (albeit belated) Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Moms out there and to those who are regarded as a Mom to someone.  I especially extend this to my Aunt/Godmother and to my own Mother-in-Law, the latter with whom we spent some nice time with this past weekend.

It is also yet another day that I remember my own Mom, whom I lost 6 years ago.  She was an amazing woman, and I could fill pages of posts about how truly wonderful she was.  Not only was she the one who taught me about sports, but she did all she could to make sure both of her kids went to college, and encouraged me all the way with computers from when I got my first one in junior high.  Though it may be cliché, I would not be here today if it wasn’t for her love and sacrifices.

This picture is my favorite of me and my Mom, taken at the old Foxboro Stadium during a Patriots game in 1999.  Some say it is ironic that the Patriots won the Super Bowl and I got married, both within a year of her passing – but I know better that there were some special “forces” involved!

Friday, May 04, 2007

End The Week On a Laugh

As time slides through the hourglass and I did not schedule time to write more this week, I thought I would share this story from The Onion on blogging.

I don’t consider this a biopic at all, but we can all use a few extra bucks!

Monday, April 30, 2007

Why Repaint An Airplane?

Today Delta Air Lines came out of bankruptcy.  At an “event” to announce this, they unveiled a new logo and announced they will be repainting their aircraft with it.  This is 19th logo for Delta in 78 years, and you can see all the past logos courtesy of the Delta History Museum.  The following was from their press release announcing the new logo:

“Delta’s brand, which includes the customer experience and our financial stability, has been changing for the last 19 months thanks to the tireless efforts of Delta people worldwide,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s vice president of Marketing.  “Now, it’s time to refresh our visible brand identity to mark the progress we’ve made.  It represents the very core of Delta people who are more passionate than ever to provide our customers with the very best experience possible.”

From this statement, the logo changes everything, correct?  All Delta employees, those remaining after layoffs who have taken pay cuts themselves, will be much happier, right?  Aircraft will be much cleaner and in and out of gates on time, no?

I see no need for this.  The physical airplane is the last step of the customer experience with the airlines.  And my only close-up view of the airplane is very limited, when I am at the gate just about to board the plane.  Sure, I may see other planes out the window of the plane I am currently on, but do I look out and say, “oh, I want to fly that airline, they have cooler colors?” By the time I am on the plane, I have made my decision who to fly, paid for my ticket and am ready to get to my destination.

I see the airline industry in line with the retail banking industry, where they change names, rebrand, throw big parties, but what really changes?  Is service improved, both in quality and cost of delivery?  Can I get personalized service and have a personal relationship with either?  How will a new logo on a sign in an airport and a new coat of paint on a plane make a difference to me, the consumer?

Delta isn’t the only one guilty of this.  When US Airways merged with America West, the combined airline decaled planes with the “throwback” logos of the airlines that merged to make US Airways.  Even frugal Southwest repainted the majority of their planes from desert colors to blue.  Once again, the painter and signmaker are the ones who truly benefit from these changes, just as in banking.

Now I am waiting for Hugo Chavez and his Citgo to challenge Delta on the similarities of their new logo to his longstanding one!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Remembering Darryl Stingley

This past week, former New England Patriots star Darryl Stingley passed away too early at the age of 55.  The Chicago native’s remarkable career was cut way too short when a cheap hit from behind in a preseason game in 1978 left him confined to a wheelchair.  He returned to Chicago and helped start a non-profit foundation to help inner-city youth.

I just read an article on the Patriots’ official Web site talking about Stingley and two other famous teammates drafted together by the team in 1973.  At the end of the story is a poem that Stingley had taped in his locker during his rookie season titled “Don’t Quit” and the first stanza reads:

“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And when you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must – but don’t quit.”

I am fortunate to be surrounded by positive people in my life, but when things get somewhat crappy for me during the day, I will now think of this poem.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Coyotes in the Loop?

Forget snakes on a plane, there are coyotes on the loose in downtown Chicago!  The capture of a coyote in a Quizno’s sub shop the other day apparently is not an uncommon occurrence, as several are usually sighted here every year.

After living in the suburbs and in the mountains, it’s when I live in the city that a coyote is in my midst!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

My Creative Outlet

This Wednesday, March 21 starts the second, 4-week run of performances for my improv comedy troupe, Blue Shampoo.  If you are in Chicago, come see some Blue Shampoo Presents: Spring Break 2K7 at the Gorilla Tango Theatre.  We are performing long-form inprov, in a form called “The Mirror.” More information on us, our director and our dates are available on our Web site, blue-shampoo.com.

How this came to be is a story about balancing my life.  Throughout my day I think analytically.  From solving business problems to writing code to the tasks of running Dunkirk Systems, my thinking is methodical, with a mix of troubleshooting.  Some of my results may be considered creative, but in a business way.  About a year ago I realized that I did not have a creative outlet.  Where I was a DJ back in Boston, I did not have my own equipment, so I went on a quest to find an outlet here.

Improvisational comedy, or simply improv, is what I found.  With no preconceived illusions (delusions?) of grandeur, I enrolled in the beginning improv program at the Second City Training Center here in Chicago.  Second City is where many actors, improvisers and TV and movie writers got their start.  It is a year long program broken into five courses.  You can just take one class or all 5 over the course of a year.  I decided to take it one step at a time, not knowing where it would lead me.

The program starts with the “building blocks” which boils down to the basics – in the first few classes of level A, we didn’t speak!  From the basics we moved onto improv games similar to what you have seen on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Following levels C through E, we staged a performance on the Second City main stage… on weekend mornings, where friends and family paid a couple of dollars to see us.

It was an amazing experience.  Improv is not stand-up comedy, and it’s not about cracking jokes.  The comedy comes from your interactions with other actors.  Common terms in improv include “yes, and” and “build and heighten” – if someone says you are holding an alligator egg in your hand, you don’t deny it, you respond that it is a rare Egyptian egg and it is about to give birth!  I was lucky to get into a group of amazing actors, and as we neared the end of the program the idea of putting on our performances on came to light, and we all “yes, and-ed” it.

For as much fun as it has been, improv has also been a tremendous learning experience.  I have learned to let go, trust in others with common goals and create an amazing product.  It goes without saying that this has carried over to my business.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Going Postal

I don’t believe there is hope for the United States Postal Service, an oxymoron of a name if there ever was one.  And this is not just me, as the Chicago Sun-Times has reported on the lack of service, delivery and accountability this past weekend.  I will spare you my own mail debacle stories, for now at least.

About the only smart thing the post office has come up with is so-called “forever stamps” where once you buy the stamp, you can use it whenever, and it will be valid at the current rate at that time.  So if you buy a 39-cent stamp the day before the rate increase and use it a week later, you do not need to add additional postage.  After witnessing the insanity at Chicago’s Loop post office on the day of the last stamp price increase last year – where they literally ran out of two-cent stamps – I am actually surprised that the same organization came up with this idea.

This article from spudart.org on the historic stamp price increases has a cool stamp design they should consider for the first forever stamp!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Vote if It’s Election Day for You

Today is Election Day in Chicago and many other cities around the country.  Winter or spring elections in the U.S. tend to be more for local offices and positions rather than national offices.  If voting is going on in your city, town or other name for where you live, please vote.

As much as people think they do not have a say in whom their elected officials are and what they do, this is the one opportunity to make your voice heard.  With record lows in voter turnout around the country, imagine what would happen if it were record highs instead.  And all of the people, who didn’t vote because they didn’t think their candidate would win, went ahead and voted?

If you are not registered to vote, please let this be a reminder to do so.