My last post at The Hot Iron, Lower the Minimum Age to Work, was the one-thousandth post I have written for my blog over the almost 15 years since I started it.

I say that calls for acknowledgment and some reflection.

Where It Began

Over the years I have often mentioned why I started and have continued this blog. In short, I had a client of my Web business who asked me to stop building them a Web site and build them a blog first using specific software. After building theirs, I realized I had no “showcase” blog to use as an example to future clients. I had registered the domain name thehotiron.com years earlier, as I thought a play on “strike while the iron is hot” was a good name for a blog. At the end of 2006, what you are reading this from was born.

I slowly got into writing, namely as I wasn’t much of a writer previously. Some posts were things on my mind, others were on what was bugging me, and others were a way to promote myself and my business. Types of posts emerged over the years, such as mobile phone evaluations, book takeaways and What I Learned for the previous week. No matter what I wrote, I tried to contribute something unique to the global conversation. Looking back on random posts as I am writing this, I think I did a good job at keeping to this mission.

1,000 Could Have Been Sooner, Thanks Social Media

There’s no doubt on the impact on social media in the world. A little closer to home, it certainly impacted what and how often I wrote on my blog. Something that was bugging me could easily be boiled down to 120 characters in a Tweet or a little longer in a Facebook post. Over time however those social accounts have gone away or ground down to a halt, as I have preferred to write in longer form in a platform I control. Am I anti-social? No – I certainly do share links on social media to my blog posts. However it’s nice to have my collection of written thoughts in one place, making The Hot Iron the center of my digital presence – something I have written about before and will continue to in the future. Judging by the little bit of observing I do of hits to the blog, others do find me here and keep coming back.

What’s Next

A grand of posts down, another to go? We’ll see, as I stopped making predictions here a long time ago. A little celebration to go along with this reflection... now that’s something that will happen for certain.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Announcements • Blogging • Thrive • (3) Comments • Permalink

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign... as the refrain from the 1970’s song by the Five Man Electric Band went. Where back in the day the signs related to how people looked, today they relate to how few people are working. When it gets to the point that, when on a family vacation, my kiddos were asking why there were Help Wanted signs in other parts of the country as well as at home, the gravity of the situation is that evident.

There has been no shortage of talk about the shortage of workers, and I don’t mean just after the lockdowns last year – in my little corner of the world in northeast Wisconsin, going back to 2019 and earlier there was low unemployment and many employers then were struggling to hire people. With all that has gone on since, it has been even worse.

With all of the talk, it seems like it is just that – talk. Sure, there are some “standard” approaches to hiring people, such as higher wages, sign-on bonuses and increased benefits. However I haven’t seen much along the line of new, creative thinking to find the right people to augment short-staffed businesses. I have heard of what could be considered desperation, where an employer was hiring people whom they have fired in the past, but that seems like the least optimal situation.

Allow me to put an idea out there that is outside of the standard practices I have seen – lower the minimum age to work.

Where I am sure I am not the first person ever to think of it, and it was not an idea I came up with alone. I have my oldest kiddo to thank for helping me come up with this. Over the summer she was talking about how when she gets old enough she can’t wait to work for her favorite Mexican inspired fast-casual franchise restaurant named after a type of pepper. As an avid consumer of their tasty products, she can picture herself working there in various capacities while earning money and getting employee discounts on said tasty products. But alas, she has to wait, as that business and others have to abide by rules and regulations on minimum age requirements.

That’s when it struck me – could a change in minimum ages to work help alleviate the strain on businesses by making a larger potential pool of available people to work?

Doing My Homework

As I set out to see if my idea was completely off-the-wall or had some merit, the first place I looked was the State of Wisconsin’s Web page on employment of minors. My assumption that every state has information like this, and it may have local overrides – I am not a lawyer, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

At first glance, there are categories where someone under 16 can work and they include everything from agriculture (e.g. bean pickers) to public exhibition (e.g. being Shrek in a play). Searching specifically for “food” and “restaurants” I found only the former, where it is prohibited from being a food slicer as this is considered hazardous. Does this mean my kiddo’s burrito wrapping dreams may have to wait? It’s not completely clear. Recently it was suggested to her by a donut shop owner she met as part of a school program that she could work at the age of 14. Perhaps not making the donuts but selling them?

I further sought to validate my idea, and get the “take” on this from others. To that end I shared this idea with Josh Dukelow, the host of a local radio show Fresh Take on WHBY in Appleton, WI. Not only was he intrigued by it, he included it in a segment of his show where he interviewed a labor attorney about the labor shortage. You can hear the whole segment at the 38 minute mark, and specific mention of my inquiry about lowering the minimum age to work at the 48 minute mark. Of course I would never say an attorney endorsed my idea; she didn’t completely dismiss it but cautioned about the long-term impact of lowering the age.

Labor Still a Hot Topic

As the summer went on and school started, I didn’t think much more about this until last week. That was when I saw the Wisconsin State Senate passed a bill to extend the working hours for 14 and 15 year olds between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This bill is likely to help tourism in the state and take advantage of kids idle time in the summer months. Of course this needs to be passed by the other legislative house and signed by the governor, but I feel this is further validation to the need and a creative idea to solve it.

What do you think – is this a good idea to lower the minimum age to work, or should we just let kiddos be kiddos as they have the rest of their lives to work? I welcome your thoughts in the comments to this post.

Deconstructing Lowering the Minimum Age To Work

Labor laws were put into place and continuously revised to protect workers from poor working conditions. Over time, they also need to take into consideration the realities of the world, including the growth and demand of business and the need for labor to fulfill it. As a kid I delivered the local town newspaper and later worked after school all through high school. Not only was I fulfilling a need of my employer, but I was earning money and gaining a work ethic that has helped make me the man I am. In my desire to explore the change to laws for those under 18, I also wish for them to have the same experience and gains as I to help them through their lives.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Business • Strategize • (0) Comments • Permalink

With Fall finally kicking in with cooler temperatures and leaves piling up in the yard, this week’s journal of the interesting things I have learned is compiled with the constant hum of leaf blowers in the background.

Once you remember what a passport is for ... – My friends at Swift Passport Services shared what the next generation of US passports will look like. Security and a little more style are a couple of the elements of the new passport design. Even if you renew your passport today, you may still get the old format as the printers for the new passports are still being rolled out.

Literally a game of numbers – Cormac Sampson is an Offensive Lineman for the University of Wisconsin football team. As his family is friends with ours, I have known him long before he could bench press me, but I digress. The Junior has been Mr. Versatility for the Badgers and has played several positions on the O-line. As a result, he has to change his uniform number for each position, as number ranges are assigned to positions, several times. In this interview of Cormac, he talks about the multitude of jerseys he has worn over the years and how his Mom cheers on her little boy.

Appfirmations – My fellow co-working space co-worker Mike writes for The Sweet Setup and this week he wrote about the mobile app Affirmations, a simple but elegant app which can remind you how great you are, as well as when and how to breathe. The random affirmations that pop-up on my screen have been welcome since I added the app this week.

Classic Fright – I came across this list of classic Halloween movies and am sharing namely because the newer ones that are appearing more on the big screen at home just don’t give goosebumps like the good ol’ ones.

Like they need more traffic anyway – In my latest book takeaway on The Tao of Bill Murray the real intense readers of this little blog noticed that I didn’t include links to buy the book on Amazon. Going forward, I won’t be adding these. Why? I got an update from the Amazon Associates affiliate program, where these links come from, that I need to add even more disclaimers that these links would earn me money if someone clicked and bought the book.

This messaging is related to US Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) requirements for disclosure of any earning relationship with any product or service mentioned in a blog, or elsewhere. When it came out years ago I analyzed the FTC requirements and had many questions and honestly think it’s too much and plays consumers as being completely oblivious. Couple that with the fact I have only earned US$4.00 (yes, four dollars) over the years, it’s not worth it. I will eventually pull down other links, but in the future you won’t see them.

Perhaps the FTC should focus on persistent tracking? – This article about how Web sites track you is nothing new, but frames it that non-profits’ Web sites are tracking you, possibly in conflict with the work they do. Referenced in the story is a tracking too that The Markup offers so you can search for potential sites that track you. Of course Google comes up for many sites as their Analytics tool tracks hits. It makes one think what is really important about Web sites and to who.

Walking around the law – I heard the term “walking quorum” for the first time this week, thanks to my friend Josh Dukelow and his local radio talk show Fresh Take. In general, a walking quorum is not a good thing and can be a violation of governmental open meeting laws. This definition of a walking quorum from my state is a good place to start understanding it.

Tick-Tok – Just when you thought there was enough harm being done as a result of the social media platform TikTok, now we have an idea where its name may have come from – TikTok may be causing young girls to develop ticks and more.

Collect Friend Contacts Info Without a Bag – I couldn’t help but laugh when I read this story about a woman who lost contact with all of her friends after someone hacked her Facebook page. Just as a business doesn’t have a true relationship with customers over Facebook, the same goes with people. The article does say to get the email addresses of your “friends” to keep in contact outside of the platform. For some reason it left out to delete your account once you have that list.

Credit where credit is due – Where I’m not sure who originally said this quote pictured above, it is one that I will not forget as it reminds you who to think of first. It reads, “anger is the punishment you give yourself for someone else’s mistake – have a bless day.” Not bad for something on the chalkboard in a restaurant bathroom.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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What I Learned • (2) Comments • Permalink

Actor / improviser Bill Murray walks into a liquor store in Charleston, South Carolina. He grabs a bottle of liquor, opens it and takes a swig. He then grabs a cigarette lighter, ignites it and breathes into it, creating a fireball. He puts the lighter down, turns to the clerk and says, “nobody will believe you” and walks out of the store.

This story was told to me by a good friend who lives in Charleston. He has heard many stories about the star of stage and screen and has met him around the city Murray calls home. As unique as this story is in itself, it pales against some of the stories in the book The Tao of Bill Murray by Gavin Edwards.

The Tao of Bill Murray is a collection of stories like these, coupled with interviews of actors and common people who have interacted with Murray, including quotes from interviews with Murray himself. The long story short about Murray is he has done similar antics like what he did in the liquor store, everything from not taking pro golf tournaments seriously to crashing parties to not formally committing to being in a movie until he shows up on the first day of filming. Where by themselves these stories may seem peculiar for anyone else to do, especially to complete strangers, coming from the star of movies like Caddyshack and Stripes seems to make them acceptable not to mention welcome.

As I read the book, I laughed at Murray’s approach to the entertainment industry and wondered how I would react if Bill Murray jumped me and knocked me down in public. I also had a few takeaways from this light-hearted yet thought-provoking book.

Improv at its purest – Bill Murray studied improv at The Second City in Chicago and was on its main stage before his days on Saturday Night Live. His brother Brian Doyle-Murray also was at Second City and this has clearly had a profound impact on his life – trust me on this, as myself is someone who went thru the Intro to Improv program at the Second City Training Center and was part of a troupe that perform professionally, improv is something that remains with you. As I read through the variety of situations Murray was in or created, I saw many of these as true improv moments, where he was building and heightening and “yes, and”-ing his surroundings.

Only Bill Murray could do this – You don’t have to look far today to see some celebrity in the spotlight for doing something outside of the realm of common. Reading thru these stories and interviews, I realized many of these I heard of for the first time from this book. None of these I recall seeing in a supermarket tabloid or on some “news” Web site. Is Bill Murray still well-known enough but just under the radar of the gossip slingers to profit from?

Is there more to this? – In the back of my mind throughout reading this book I wondered to myself if there was more to this. Improv aside, is there something Bill Murray needs or wants that leads to these actions? I’m not saying he has an ulterior motive or something sinister is behind doing what he does, but is there simply more to it? The book didn’t quite address this.

The Tao of Bill Murray is a good read that is mixed with fun and celebrity. I was given this book by a good friend and avid reader of The Hot Iron, and I started reading it in Charleston when I was on vacation this summer. Now that I have finished it, I am sending it back to Charleston to a friend there who is likely on the lookout for this famous resident of The Holy City.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Book Take-Aways • (2) Comments • Permalink

A lot of my time over the past few weeks has had me longing for the days when a computer operating system was just an operating system, software was just software, a Web browser was just a Web browser and whenever you would update a database you would always account for the potential for embedded spaces by trimming or hashing them...

Go Silko – Congrats to my good friend Adam who, as the third-generation owner of Silko Honda in Massachusetts has added Volkswagen to the family with the opening of Silko Volkswagen of Brockton. I’ve learned a lot about business and the auto industry from him, and he is now preparing for the next generation to take the auto group to the next level.

Web Transparency – When I had my Web business, and even today, the first thing people will ask about a Web site is how much one costs. Where there’s some subjectivity to it, there’s many direct correlations to design, features, functionality and their costs. My good friend Emily Brackett of Visible Logic has launched a Website Estimator tool. By selecting (and deselecting) a variety of features as well as goals for a site, you can get a good ballpark estimate of to what a first-class Web site can cost. I think this is great tool, namely because she (and others in the business) have their price-point for their services, and it’s a good way to understand if you, as the one looking for a site, is ready to move up to that level.

Take Homeschooling to New Heights – EAA, the experimental aircraft association, has launched in beta AeroEducate, an online resource for teaching kids all aspects of flight. From my own research it looks like a great and fun service to add to homeschooling or augment classroom education.

Blatant Request to Support My Kiddos Girl Scouts Troop – In addition to the annual cookie sale, my kiddo also has to sell candy and nuts as well as paper magazine subscriptions this fall. The sale is only open for a few more days, if you are so inclined. The big sale for cookies, along with its own blog post, will be posted in the beginning of the new year.

Don’t Force Me Bro – You know when you go to log into a Web site or app and they want to send you a code by email or text message? That’s called two-factor authentication, or 2FA. With increasing crime online, it’s important to have it on an account. In most all cases this is an opt-in, optional service. Big Tech behemoth Google has offered 2FA for years, and is now going to start turning 2FA on for its customers, forcing them to use it. As I have always said, keep your contact information current on all of your accounts, as who knows where Google will want to send a text message. And you can’t exactly pick up the phone to call Google either if there’s a problem.

But If It’s Dead, Why Bother? – An interesting piece in Forbes magazine online states that Cybersecurity is Dead, Now What?. When you go into it assuming your information is already out there, it changes your point-of-view on how to approach it. In my opinion, this is for the better… and perhaps don’t put it out there in the first place?

Perhaps Put It on Your Own Web Site Instead? – I share this article about yet another business in my area closing not because they are closing per se, but rather because all they had was a Facebook site. For some reason small businesses are less concerned with having their own Web site and leave it to Facebook to promote their business for them (likely at cost). With increasing numbers of people leaving that platform and the fact that you truly don’t have a direct connection to your customers (e.g. their email address), this is a contributing factor to the demise of many businesses. If you disagree, feel free to comment below.

And Can People See What You Put On The Site? – The fine people at Siteimprove, a company that offers tools, services and education around improving your Web site, have released the latest version of their Web Accessibility browser plug in. Where the concept of Web Accessibility is still nebulous for many people, if you have a Web site, make sure you at least add a title to your images to start. Trying this plugin is a good way to see if you need help with this from an expert.

What the Font – Have you ever seen a font or text style and wonder what it was called, especially so you could use it? This article talks of ways to discover the name of a font and some of the names are amusing in themselves.

Clever History Lessons – New to me is the Liberty Kids series of historical fiction cartoons on the American Revolution. These have clearly been around for a while as the late news anchor Walter Cronkite is the voice of Benjamin Franklin, and the CBS newsman left this mortal coil over a decade ago. Like any such tales, they are not completely accurate to recorded history. I like them as they give a general idea of what happened at the formation of the US, and I then fill in the blanks for my kiddos after they watch them.

Honor or Consolation – Though October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in my travels throughout Wisconsin I have seen very little signs of this. The other day at my kiddos soccer game I noticed the lines on the field were pink, to which I positively expressed my support for it. Another parent then stated that there’s a shortage of white field paint, and many fields are using other colors to compensate. Despite this buzzkill, I still took it as a sign to support those who have and are enduring this great challenge.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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What I Learned • (1) Comments • Permalink