The GinBlog has a funny story about getting a cake from Wal-Mart.
Some people that work here had a going away party the other day for a woman that is leaving.
One of the supervisors called a Walmart and ordered the cake. he told them to write: “best wishes Suzanne” and underneath that write “we will miss you”. here’s the cake that was delivered:
If you are trying to figure out the best way to get started with marketing in the Web 2.0 world, you might want to check out Larry Weber’s Marketing to the Social Web. The book does a good job of laying down some basics that you need to know as a marketer but it also creates some natural questions that would lead to some good discussions with your marketing team.
Weber identifies and discusses four areas of the web. (1) Reputation aggregators (Search Engines). (2)Blogs. (3) E-communities. (4) Social Networks .
For my birthday a few weeks ago, my wife gave me Father Knows Less or: “Can I Cook My Sister?” by Wendell Jamieson. The book was a fun little read that attempts to answer unique questions that kids come up with. As I was reading it, I was thinking of a lot of the questions I had as a child. As an adult the answers seem so obvious, but as a kid they were really mind boggling questions. It also occurred to me that kids can ask some pretty intuitive questions as well. Even questions that make what we do as adults seem pretty stupid. I’m not going to give you any examples. You can just read the book.
Basically, Jamieson goes in search for answers to questions kids have by going to a source that is an actual person who works in a field that is related to the question. He doesn’t get the answer from the internet, books, or other methods of research, but he gets it “straight from the horse’s mouth?” In fact, that is one of the questions…What does “straight from the horse’s mouth mean?”
You can also learn more about the book at http://www.fatherknowslessbook.com.
I am wrapping up Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton’s Now, Discover Your Strengths. I am aware there is 2.0 version, but I believe there both built on the same StrengthFinders test. This is a fantastic book. It has helped me appreciate things I do, think and say. It’s helping me to look at myself in a positive way, rather than a negative way. There are some really great illustrations that show you the importance of working in your strenghts rather than focusing on your weaknesses all of the time.
Here are my top 5 strength paths according to StrengthFinders.
1. Competition: People strong in the Competition theme measure their progress against the performance of others. They strive to win first place and revel in contests.
2. Maximizer: People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
3. Individualization: People strong in the Individualization theme are intrigued with the unique qualities of each person. They have a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together productively.
4. Significance: People strong in the Significance theme want to be very important in the eyes of others. They are independent and want to be recognized.
5. Analytical: People strong in the Analytical theme search for reasons and causes. They have the ability to think about all the factors that might affect a situation.
A few Saturdays ago me and my wife were awakened by our 17 month old boy about 6 am. We were just excited that it wasn’t like his weekday routine of waking up at 5:30 am. Anyway, we all got up, got dressed, and decided we may as well get the day started on a good note with a good breakfast. So, we headed to downtown Franklin (TN), and enjoyed the weekend breakfast buffet at Puckett’s Grocery. (I hear their lunch is good too!)
It was our first trip to Puckett’s as a family and we enjoyed every minute of our stay. The food was delicious and the service was INCREDIBLE! It’s a nice cozy atmosphere that reminds me of growing up in the country. It’s no psuedo-country atmosphere like Cracker Barrell. This is the real deal.
The waitress took a liking to our boy and flirted with him and went to refill his sippy cup with milk right away. We enjoyed our breakfast so much that we went back the following Saturday. As soon as we walked in the door, she remembered us and called out my son’s name. She was excited to see him, along with every other kid that came in. Talk about a good impression, that was it. We sat down at her table again and she even remembered what we had to drink. Now, I was really impressed. We’ve now been 3 straight weeks and it is a new family tradition.
So, if you ever want to meet us for breakfast on Saturday morning around 8:00 am, odds are we will be at Puckett’s, sitting at Sally’s table in the back, next to the pole. It’s an open invitation so come join us.
A coworker of mine has discovered a new interest outside of the US Civil War. I like the US Civil War and I don’t mind talking about it with him, although he does most of the talking, but sometimes I could use a new topic. So, now his new topic is “Space,” and I want to encourage it. It’s a subject that does interest me a little, but to be honest, I know very little.
From NASA to Astronomy, I have never really done much beyond sitting outside at night and looking at the stars wondering how people find lions, rabbits, dippers, bears, etc… So, I picked up my first book on astronomy by Jay M. Pasachoff. It’s very simple, with a few maps of the stars. It’s enough to allow me to have an elementary conversation with someone on the subject.
I do feel smarter and do appreciate just a little more about the “infinity and beyond”.
