Your next laptop upgrade?

Noteworthy news... always a pleasure to link:
"visionary Nicholas Negroponte, director of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology..." is in the process of developing "his idea... of a new kind of laptop computer that will cost just $100 (£57) to buy."

"he expects to churn out about 15 million of them within one year, shipping most of them at first to children in Brazil, Egypt, Thailand and South Africa."

"laptops would be so distinctive in design and look that stealing and re-selling them would be akin to stealing furniture from a church."

I want to teach the world to surf, says the man who invented the $100 laptop

Fri-day survey

No Fri-day survey this week. i don't want to over do it. Nothing worse than a tired survey request... i'll pace myself. Be sure i will ask again, and i will give freebies away in response. Just not every week, and just not this week.

Google and NASA share

Google and NASA partner. "Google and NASA share a common desire to bring the universe of information to people around the world,"

i just love this, on so many levels.

Harambee Stars

In Kenya this June we were guests at the World Cup Qualifier between Kenya and Morocco. This is what was recently said about the game, which is ALL that need be said (aside from the fact that heavily favored Morocco did NOT prevail):

"FIFA ordered (the recent game) played behind closed doors due to fan violence at a previous World cup qualifier against Morocco." - BBC Sport Africa

iiiiiiii

Destined to be a classic. iiiiiiii

Make sure your volume is turned on and up.

COTC

45% Technophile 54% Economics 1% right wing nutjob: This week's host of the Carnival of the Capitalists.

Read, and repeat.

Overwhelming success

i do so love how that feels. i don't think we experience success enough. Overwhelming success, even rarer these days. But oh, it's worth the struggle.

as you likely know, i blogged quick survey Friday before leaving town for the weekend. Upon returning, i've enjoyed tallying the responses... and reading your comments. Thanks. If i've learnt anything at all, it's that we are ALL looking forward to travel. That and Tumbleweeds & Moxies have large followings, in this demographic at least.

Mr. Morin, i will be sending you a Gift Certificate to the restaurant of your choice... enjoy!

Thanks to everyone with your time and support. This exercise was well received, and very very well responded to as well. WoOt!

The next step in any survey is always fun, extrapolating and interpreting the results. Fun stuff...

Fallcon

Afternoon,

You folks are quick. Thanks for the early responses on my Friday questions... Keep 'em coming, i will be buying that $50 gift certificate monday.

i will be away for a couple days, geekfest (also known as fallcon.com) in Calgary is calling, and i am off in a few minutes.

Fri-day survey, win $50

Good afternoon, it's friday, and before you set out on your weekend, i could really use your assistance. When i get back to the computer monday next week, i am going to buy a $50 gift certificate for some lucky person here in Medicine Hat, at the restaurant of their choice. All i need, is your quick response to 5 questions i have. i am working on a project, and your input will be a huge help. Well worth the $50. So, if your next 5 minutes are worth $50.00 please respond.


In the next year, do you expect to travel?

Would you rather drive or fly?

Will you be in the market to buy travel luggage?

Would you consider renting luggage? Saving more money for your actual vacation.

If you win the $50 gift certificate for dinner, where in Medicine Hat would you prefer to go?


as it looks, i will need your name too, so i know who i'm sending a gift certificate for. Feel free to respond to this, even if you don't live within dinner distance of Medicine Hat, just know that, while i really do appreciate your assistance here, the $50 goes to a local. Send this to your friends and family too, all the help will be grand!

thanks a lot, have a great weekend.

woot.com

Is this how you interact with your clients & customers? if not, why not... some of us would love it! Enough of us to keep your business in the black and not the red? Let's find out.

"LAUNCH EVENTS

*customer* I see some kind of weird-looking pope hat on the main page. What’s that about?
*woot.com* A Pope hat? Oh, that. It’s supposed to be a rocket ship. In any case, that’s our LAUNCH EVENT indicator! And boy, are you a lucky cuss. Spying the LAUNCH EVENT indicator is like catching sight of a leprechaun, or the elusive white whale. When you see it next to a Woot item, that item is available on Woot and nowhere else! Woot is the first and only place you can get such a doo-dad!
*customer* What do you mean “the first and only place?” Everything is attainable.
*woot.com* True, but assuming you’re not a cat burglar, or an industrial spy, or the manufacturer’s mistress, you won’t have had an opportunity to pick up a Woot LAUNCH EVENT item before you see it here.
*customer* How come? Where do “LAUNCH EVENT” items come from?
*woot.com* It could be that you’re looking at the item’s initial market launch. Or it could be a special sneak preview just for Wooters. It could be that legislation banning the item has just expired. It could be that the item uses totally new technology bestowed upon us by a benevolent race of visiting aliens. (Overwhelmingly, it will be one of those first two.)
*customer* If this LAUNCH EVENT item isn’t available anywhere else, how am I supposed to shop around and make comparisons?
*woot.com* Yeah, it sort of seems like you can’t.
*customer* Why do you keep putting LAUNCH EVENT in all caps?
*woot.com* To fully convey its majesty.
*customer* Maybe I’ll just wait until this item becomes more widely available, so I know what other users think of it.
*woot.com* If that’s how you want to live your life, sure. Fine. There are those who would say that your type will inherit the earth. Until then, though, the rest of us will have all the coolest gizmos." - woot.com info

i'll save the idolation... tho this site is fantastic, and fantastically successful. This site does NOT ship to Canada (amongst other places), much to my chagrin... i've been watching for over a year now. i love it, how about a CDN site along the same lines? localized version? something to ponder...

Find my cheeky dabbling's from a few years ago here. Marmalade Promotions "This is NOT our office". Marketing ROCKS!

Prosperity Bonus

i just love how that sounds. Alberta is getting world wide love right now.

Terry Fox insight

Terry Fox "Considered one of Canada's greatest heroes."

"May my life be focused on the goal of making a difference in the lives of those who cross my path even when there seems to be little end in sight". - Visionary Leadership

Good to see you blogging again Aaron, the blogosphere is better to have your attention, again.

Rita 5

understatement of the day "I hear we might get some rain this weekend. Maybe a little wind too."

Rita is a fiver.

This one will be different.

Completely random order COTC

"I had planned to give ratings based on one, two, three, or four... But because the feelings of a few bloggers were hurt the last time I rated posts in a Carnival, and because the zen guru master of the Carnival specifically asked me not to rate the posts, I hereby present every post submitted to the Carnival, in completely random order (no, seriously, it's completely random, but fortunately they are almost all very good or better):" - Carnival of the Capitalists, hosted this week by willisms.com

Money Back Guarantee

is it that important to you? So important maybe, that before you spend money you check the money back guarantee? Here is one, just for you then! enjoy!

"Should you ever be abducted by aliens while wearing Location Earth Dog Tags and not returned safely to Earth you will be entiteld to a full refund of the purchase price."
- earthbounddog.com

Feel better now?

How weird are you

it has been brought to my attention again. i am weird. in fact, i may be an authority on being weird. is that a good thing? it IS marketable. One venture and experience i have always been interested in is talk radio. SO, here is your chance to assist... to be a part of my climb behind the DJ's booth.

i would like to pitch a radio series to one of the local radio stations titled: "How Weird Are You?". It would be a light, odd look at local folks with interests, hobbies or addictions that exemplify "weird". In a healthy way, this will re-inforce that we are all odd folks, and that being so is ok. it is ok right?

As the host of the show, i'd have guests that are leading the way in weirdness, as described above. Are you one of those people? You may be, you ARE reading this. If not tho, send me names of folks who may be weird. This can be a fun, relaxed human interest series, with a truly human emotional connection... or it may just be bolloxs. It's all good! Email me with your oddness, or the oddness of someone you know.

How Weird Are You? You read it here first!

Surprise flight

Went up in a Cessna today. it was a complete surprise. Renee arranged it, i thought i was going to visit the Axxess Developments greased-pig and pie eating contest. Boy, was i wrong. It wasn't golf, or anything else i could have guessed. Bar XH and pilot Mike (thanks!!!) took Renee and i on a tour around the city of Medicine Hat. From Dunmore to Redcliff, through river valleys and over the city. We cruised at about 3000 feet above sea level. Climbing to 3300 just before landing. Once we were off the ground the pilot gave me the yoke... so i steered the plane... then i landed. And the pilot even told me i did a great job, which Renee and i both agree was likely a lie! (joke).





That's my goofy grin right after we landed... i'm still smiling. Mike mentioned that flying is highly addicting, which i can already attest to. i want to go up again, and so does Renee. it's like a video game, and i love video games.

Special thanks to everyone who assisted Renee in setting this up... Kudo's to all of ya. wow!

BillG Dynamite

Bill Gates goes to college.

Combining BillG and Napoleon D together for one inside promo video is brilliant! Rule the world guys, rule it, with your computer hacking skillz.

i'm glad to see the billion$ and billion$ haven't caused him to lose his sense of humor. BillG i mean.

Pay your bills

Hehe... nothing to see here. Move along. scary.

In response to the FBI investigation, if not a terrorist... then maybe he's just a hobbyist. You know, like everyone else who does that.

Whispering into a hurricane.

Canada gets into the news in some crazy ways eh?

" HMV record stores in Canada... protesting against Starbucks"

Somehow, Bob Dylan is at the heart of all of this.

i've always liked Bob, and starbucks is allright too, if you don't mind having to speak esperanto.

Pave it, Paint it green

When discussing the lawn around my own home, i've been humbly, (howbeit loudly) saying "Pave it & Paint it green" for years. (the term stems from another comment that i grew up with, around the forest industry in B.C. which was "Log it, pave it, smell the money" but that's another discussion all together).

it looks like i'm not alone in my sentiment for green concrete:
"A more directly "green" concrete has been developed by the Australian company TecEco. They add magnesium to their cement, forming a porous concrete that actually scrubs carbon dioxide from the air." USA TODAY article by: Brandon Keim

An astro-turf yard doesn't entice me... but green concrete always has. Weird huh?

Worlds largest outdoor ad

In Berlin, they do outdoor advertising in a big way. A BIG way. 1100+ metres big.

"Right now in Berlin, from the of 9th September until 7th October, Virgin Express is running the worlds longest outdoor billboard, no less than 1100 meters!" - Ad Rag...

Be sure to click the link for a great wide angle shot of part of their banner.

Headhunting with Seth

Had a great lunch with C.H. today, and the topic of recruiting came up. Not for either of us, as we both have great jobs, or so it appears. No, this was with someone else in mind... someone looking for more compelling work within a specific field. We talked briefly about the fact that, often that perfect hire, the one you have in mind when you write your ad, well, he or she already has a job. Ahh, the joys of headhunting: "The business of recruiting personnel"

Great quote from Seth Godin's blog today applies to this (and was the impetus in my blogging this concept). " If you’re not looking for a job, this may just be the job for you." Seth even offers a bounty for your referral.

So re-think how you attract new hires... How you value them. You need them, your business needs them to grow. Don't hire just for immediate need, but keep your eyes on the future. With triggers & events in your business, you can predict WHEN you will need a new hire, and also reasonably predict WHO that person should be. Re-read Seth's job offer again... extremely well crafted. A sales letter: Becuase you must SELL your position to the right talent.

David Elsewhere

From Slurpee's to Heinekin. Thanks to MilkandCookies for hosting the video link. enjoy!

Carnival of the Capitalists

Monday's perennial favorite, the Carnival of the Capitalists.

Want to succeed?

"Those who wish to succeed must ask the right preliminary questions."
- Aristotle

Mini Cooper does it again

Outdoor advertising that gets noticed. And then commented on. And maybe raises the heart beats a whole bit! Well done. Fun too.

The effect would be, somewhat lost, in scale, showing (or implying) that someone is falling from one of our Pitch IN Cans. Still a great concept tho.

Nike - Jordan to Art Kane: Video

Nike knows how to market, no suprise there. i'm not telling you anything you don't already know! But dang... i love it when folks like Nike give subtle props like they did here. Common: Be. Team Jordan Vid Watch the vid! it has a groovy baseline, great cinematography and then a great closing shot that is a shout-out to a genious that is Art Kane and his Harlem 1958 imagery i mentioned here.

Recycle your bathwater

That's right... don't just run it down the drain, how about you consider recycling it. Really. I'm serious, as is Peter Brewin - Designer, Inventor (or quack). Read this... it's worth a ponder: A shower which recycles water promises to save householders money and energy.. Thanks to Engadget for the link.

No Marketing Department

"2/4/8 System": Every Director in the firm is required to be working on "2" assignments, be in the process of proposing for "4" more, and in communication with "8" more prospective clients.

- Thanks Gerry Riskin via Larry Bodine's blog.

A marketing department is not deemed necessary, when EVERYONE is carrying the core message, and constantly developing new relationships with potential customers. Complete Value.

Carnival of the Capitalists

The latest Carnival of the Capitalists is up at rethink(ip), as they do on a weekly basis. Get reading. And do NOT forget to deeply consider the Orange Pecan Pie with Bourbon Cream available here!

Local Katrina relief: Fresh Idea

i am so very happy to see a local Medicine Hat business making a valiant show of support for the men and women suffering and who have struggled and (thus far) survived Katrina. The Zucchini Blossom Market and Cafe (a favorite of ours) may just be Medicine Hat's best kept secret. A sure hit for quality ingredients, taste and atmosphere. Book in advance, i hope to see you there, schedule willing.




$30 from the price for each meal will be DONATED to the RED CROSS. Just when mankind looks to be further plumming the depths of selfishness and isolationism, actions like this serve as a reminder. Good show.

"Fresh Food. Fresh Ideas"

Adult males spend most...

Catchy headline huh? But not at all what you are thinking... nope.

CBC has this to say about Kenyan Elephants in their article:
"Kenyan rangers resume largest elephant relocation in country's history";
"adult males spend most of their time alone"... hmmm, i wonder if elephants have the interweb too. cool.

Overwhelmed

Not blogging. Overwhelmed. Pray.

edit: "You can't NERF the world"