Feeling Remote
There are things we use everyday that we never realize how they have changed our lives. Some are seemingly incredibly simple. One of these things jumped to the forefront when I read of the passing of Eugene Polly. He invented something that many of us can not live without, the TV remote control. For those who think this is not really a big deal, let me tell you, it is!
Growing up in the 60′s and 70′s, I was the remote control. In those dark ages we could only get three channels reliably from the antenna on the top of our roof. My father would blurt out ‘three’,..’forty’ or ‘twenty-two’. I would jump up, run to the TV, click the dial to the declared channel and make any adjustments with the rotor, which turned the antenna, in an effort to strengthen the signal.
By the age of six I was convinced the only reason my parents had children was to operate the television by voice command. No need to consider a remote as long as they had sonny boy! Anyone under the age of 30 would find this not only unbelievable but also a violation of basic human rights. Let me tell you that was just the way it was. Next time you get the urge to channel surf, think of Eugene Polly.
College Degree..Get A Receipt
Can I help you?
Yes, I would like to return my degree.
The reason for your return?
It doesn’t work.
This could be the conversation of the future as college administrators face an increased focus on a college degree’s return on investment. A University of Massachusetts-Lowell grad actually wrote to the college president asking for her money back. Haley Colvertino reportedly never heard from the school and did not expect to see a refund check.
It was not that long ago when we would hear college educators claim that higher education was for the pursuit of learning. Not any more. Crushing debt coupled with poor job prospects and chronic underemployment for recent college grads has reshaped the equation in a major way. Education has always been seen as the way to advancement in America. It is the way people worked their way up the ladder.
The degree problem should not come as any surprise to those in universities as the number of PhDs on food stamps has tripled. The main question is the lack of an educational payoff an effect of our recession, or a long-term trend? Is it simply a case of people electing to get skills for which there is no demand? At this point I am leaning toward recession. Once hiring picks-up that will tell us the strength of a Bachelor degree.
Whether strong or not, college costs and resulting debt levels need to be brought under control. No matter what the value of a degree, crushing debt in and of itself will determine the real value of going to college.
Getting Trashy
The ability of people to compartmentalized issues amazes me. The debate over Springfield’s trash fee is certainly one of those issues. The City Council rejected the mayor’s latest effort to increase the fee. I would agree that a plan to charge more while giving residents smaller trash containers was doomed to fail. Pay more and get less is never a recipe for success.
The overarching trash fee increase issue is what is perplexing. It is not just the trash fee, it is how it relates to our overall budget. The effects of the recession continue to hammer cities and towns. Income does not meet expenses. The often used argument that the trash fee is already paid in our taxes is so ten-years ago. Many things used to be paid in our taxes that are no longer covered. Just look at our school, police and fire departments.
The world has changed and we need to acknowledge and deal with it. We (myself included) will have to pay more for trash removal. The question is hammering out a fiscally responsible and politically possible solution. Speak to people living outside of Springfield and find that they are paying more and getting less from privatized trash collection services. Even with a moderate price hike we are still getting a better deal with the City in the trash business.
Opponents to an increase often use the, ‘I am on the fixed income.’ argument. First, we are all on a fixed income! In all my working life I have never heard of anyone going to the boss and getting a raise because their car payment, electric bill or trash fee went up. I do agree that some payment structure be set-up to account for hardship cases.
To be sure there will be some good political theater at City Hall in the coming months as this issue continues to be debated. Lets hope the reviews are good.
The Most Dangerous Aisle
The State of Massachusetts moved to ban bake sales in schools last week. This was under the guise of making our kids less obese. Fortunately Governor Duval Patrick was sensible enough to immediately strike the requirement from the plan by the Department of Public Health. This near fiasco raises questions about how serious we, and our government are, about getting rid of the jelly roll that occupies the midsections of our youth and adults?
It seems to me that the most serious threat to our health is the soda aisle. This row of shelves is filled with useless calories filled with either sugar and/or fat inducing high fructose. For those unfamiliar with high fructose, you can have a ‘fat free’ product with high fructose in it. Eat or drink it and the high fructose goes to your liver where it is deposited as triglycerides in your blood. Another name for triglycerides is fat. This drives up your risk of stroke and heart disease.
A 12 once can of Coke has 39 grams of sugar and 39 grams of carbohydrates accounting for 13% of the total carbs you are allotted each day. Simply put the human body is not equipped to handle the large shot of sugar and carbs it gets in a can of soda. The response is to store it in the body as fat. I remember reading a few years ago the soda industry was looking to get more people to drink soda as a breakfast beverage. Guess what problem these people have?
The fattening of America is not by no means just a food problem. We simply are not moving. Our bodies need action, exercise and dare I say it sweat. Yet we sit in front of TVs and computer monitors as our girth increases. The 140 calories in our can of soda accelerates our expansion to increasingly unhealthy proportions. Not too long ago soda was a treat served on occasion. It has now moved to a staple beverage and in some households it has replaced milk.
This is why the targeting of school bake sales is so absurd. Ban the school soda machine, require schools to serve lunches that are healthy and good tasting. Bring back gym classes and get the students moving. Teach children not only what to eat, but show them healthy food doesn’t have to taste bad. Without a doubt the path to a healthy salvation is loaded with lobbyist and high powered monied interests.
We are experiencing multiple health crisis stemming from obesity. If government wants to solve the problem then it must address the problem. They can start in the soda aisle.
The Rights Of Bars
I am sure that when Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and the rest of the founding fathers were dealing with the issue of free speech in the 1780s, bars and strip clubs were at the top of their list. Leave it to a Springfield lawyer to allege the early closure of such establishments infringes upon ‘freedom of speech.’
Live music can no longer be heard by willing patrons, customers can no longer nod their heads or sway their hips to the beat of popular radio tunes, and dancers can no longer perform on stages.
What?! While Ben Franklin was well-known for dipping his quill where it didn’t belong, even for him, this would be a stretch. Individuals have the right to engage in the business of their choice. If you choose to make your money in a regulated industry, then you must submit to that regulation. You may claim the regulation is unreasonable. It seems not so much in this case.
It is probably tough to argue a 1:00 AM closing time is unreasonable. I admit that it would be fun to be in the courtroom and hear Joe Attorney argue that Boobatha’s constitutional rights have been denied because she can’t unleash her Triple-Ds upon the Sons of the American Revolution meeting that takes place each night at one in the Mardi Gras’ Liberty Tree room.
It would seem to me that there are plenty of other establishments that could facilitate the ‘swaying of hips’ within the City of Springfield at that hour. Athough, most would require the wearing of pants. Therein lies the rub, so to speak, for those paying Joe Attorney.
What happens if a court determines bars, strippers and hip swayers do indeed have a constitutional right to do the voodoo they do? Well that opens the door to the rest of us to assert whatever crazy rights we think up. Lets hope the judge ‘head nods’ this suit out the door.
Motor City Mad Man Melts Down
Back in the day Ted Nugent was a mainstay in my record collection (at least I didn’t say 8-Track!). I have always enjoyed seeing him pop-up on TV in recent years. However, his performance on CBS This Morning really makes you wonder.
See it here:
http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf
No News Is Bad News
Should it or should it not come as a surprise that 17% of Americans get no news each and every day? The figure comes from a Pew Research Center study. I just can’t figure out whether to be shocked or not. The ‘news’ is even worse for 18-24 year-olds of which 31-percent receive no news daily. For 30-34 year-olds the number is 22 percent. This level of disconnect of people from the world around them is astounding! The implications for this country are frightening. What makes America great is the melding of people from different parts of the world into the culture of the United States.
This melding is achieved through living a common experience. Sharing the impact of events over time shapes people’s thinking and views of the world and themselves. The driver of this process is news. Information which allows people to make judgements and form opinions and in some cases take action. News draws people into society making them feel at least affected, if not part of what they read, hear and see. In essence the news facilitates what it is to be an American.
News drives democracy. It drives voting and spurs people to get involved in their communities. News is education for everyone, from the very young to the very old. The timely reporting of events both near and far from us serves as the basis of the growth of our people and nation. When 17% of our people voluntarily opt not to know the who, what, why and whens of life, it signals a very dangerous trend of self-censorship. If information is power, we have a generation that is opting for powerlessness. A people ignorant of issues opens the door to abuse by public officials, organizations and businesses large and small. They are laying the welcome mat for despots, endangering the country itself.
40 In The Morning
Got to catch some of the new 40 In The Morning with Dan Williams and Kim Zachary. The early verdict is, the show needs work. The problems have nothing to do with Dan and Kim. The pair is dealing with the inadequacies of a set that looks like it was designed to read morning announcements in a high school. The couple sits at what appears to be three office desks butted up against each other to form the basis of the set. Behind them, a picture of Springfield and two tall book cases framing the shot.
There are two radio microphones (Electro-Voice?) atop tall mic stands to bring them to mouth level which seems an effort to bring some AM-FM swag to the show. This leads to the question of whether we are seeing a radio program on television. I think the answer is yes. The on-air presentation says radio.
The problem is the set does not remotely work with a radio, or even a television, talk program. Watching the interviewing of a guest is painful as he/she is sandwiched between the hosts and we see Dan getting whiplash attempting to twist his head and look their visitor. It is incredibly unnatural positioning for those on the set and not inviting for the viewer.
The real killer is the Dan & Kim portions of the program are shot with a static camera. You need to create movement to make the show more vibrant and visually interesting. Even more so when you have talking heads sitting there. The new CBS This Morning program is fantastic at panning around the set and holding our attention through motion and the changing of angles. This should serve as a model for WGGB.
There is a need to get Dan & Kim visually involved with the news and weather staff. A triangular table located in the heart of the news set with views of the news desk and weather green screen would provide context and a nice back drop to what the main hosts are doing. Currently Dan & Kim could be in their basement for all we know, there seems to be no physical attachment to the people with whom they are working.
Video could be played in the background on the green screen adding some sizzle and some strategically placed video monitors would be nice. We could see newswoman Julia Dunn and weatherman Dan Brown behind the hosts getting ready for the next news or weathercast. This could lead to more interplay between all of them leading to opportunities for three or four shots all contributing to the appearance of having a morning team.
Critically, the triangular table provides hosts and guests the opportunity to look at each other in a natural manner. Lastly, the live stream has got to be fixed. Last Tuesday, the audio on the stream was 30 seconds ahead of the video rendering it unwatchable. I posted the issue on WGGB’s Facebook page and received a response that the station was working on the issue. All was fixed the next day. The next morning the feed was back in the dumper.
Don’t promote something that does not work reliably. It not only honks off your customers/viewers, it makes you appear inept and uncaring. So far 40 In The Morning has been skewered on Facebook with Dan & Kim taking the brunt of the heat. I would argue this criticism has been unfair, but they are the public face of the operation and people do not like change. The issue is not the number of people complaining, it is how many are watching. The good news is that changes can be made to improve the product, lets see how it evolves.
Death Of The Multitask Myth
The concept of multitasking has always reeked of Bull Sugar to me. When interviewing you tend to hear job candidates extol their multitasking abilities. When they are selling this ‘skill’ I am hearing them say, ‘I can’t focus.’ Like many trendy things, its repeated use creates the aura of fact. I’ve noticed that trying to get many things done simultaneously (i.e. multitasking) never seems to yield much progress. However, I generally find much satisfaction, and productivity, by creating a list, working down it and crossing off each task as it is completed. Yet multitasking still has swag with many in the business community. It is code for ‘I’m a mover and a shaker.’
These findings, published in the journal Nature last week, underscore why people aren’t very good at multitasking—our brains are wired for “selective attention” and can focus on only one thing at a time.
-Wall Street Journal
There may be a lot of motion, but new evidence suggests multitaskers are not getting much done. Scientists are now saying our brains have developed to focus on one thing. Our brains filter sight and sound to highlight whatever it is that commands our attention. In fact, the more attention something requires, the less attention we can pay to other things. This news not only impacts our work, but also our highways. Think about those people talking on cellphones. Sure they may be looking at the road, but their command center, their brain, is focused elsewhere. I read one story that reported the average 20-year-old talking on a cell phone had the reaction time of an 80-year-old. How many times have you waited stopped at a greenlight as the driver in the car in front of you chatted away?
Hopefully we can drive a stake through the multitasking myth and recognize its use as a meaningless cliché. A term and a practice that indicates a person is really not paying attention.
Old Friend Mallo
On my daughter’s college tour road trip we pulled off the highway in upstate New York for dinner. Eating at a Cracker Barrel restaurant for the first time, we finished our meal and walked into the ‘Old Country Store’ part of the restaurant. Just as I entered there, filling a peach basket, is a big pile of Mallo Cups! In the past I had occasionally looked for them in candy and drug stores and had never been able to find them. I gotta tell you, they tasted better than I remember. They were fresh, the marshmallow was soft and the hint of coconut taste as you chewed was great.
As a kid we had a gas station at the end of the street. This was the days before combination convenience/gas stations. This was a real gas station, with guys who would pump your gas, wash your windshield and add oil if needed. A small porch ran across the building. the sign read ‘Four Corners Service Station On The Hill But On The Level.’ The floor boards on the porch and in the building were well worn wood. The results of millions of trips from the pumps to the cash register inside. Tucked among the tires, spark plugs and oil cans in the back of the small room was a glass enclosed candy case. It was here I would ask Mister Tenczar (both the father and son) to get me a Mallo Cup.
Amid the smell of rubber and petroleum I would belly up to the cash register counter and pay my 15-cents. Out the door devouring my Mallo Cups as soon as I was out on the street. That old Mobil station was torn down decades ago and replaced with a combo gas and convienence station with no where near the same character and no Mallo Cups. The peach basket brimming with Mallo Cups brought all this to my mind as soon as I saw it. Today there is a web site where you can find retailers who sell them. At least now I know where to find this treat. It is not often that something you remember as a kid meets, never mind exceeds, your memory. I am happy to report that in this case Mallo Cup delivers the goods!
Boys Are Stinky
Just finished the college tour this week. My youngest daughter, a high school junior, is deciding on what institution of higher learning is deserving of emptying my bank account. We visited four colleges..oops, make that two ‘universities’, as most are now known, and two colleges. As most parents of soon to be college students can tell you, visiting institutions of higher learning is a mind numbing experience.
How many times can you look at dorm rooms,..here is our double, and here is our triple. Here is a our gym, here is a our college hangout/eatery, this is our meal plan, here is our blue light call the cops system on our incredibly safe campus, here is our swipe card with bonus bucks that you prospective students can blow through and mom and dad can replenish after your 50th Slurpee! Wheee..ain’t college life great!
Given this monotony, it was like falling into the Twilight Zone or possibly a Saturday Night Live skit when we toured a well known Connecticut college. Our female tour guide, a freshman, was being ‘evaluated’ and was accompanied by a fellow male student. She was pleasant enough, but not suited to the college tour industry.
During our tour, when referring to dorms she declared, ‘I like boys!’ followed by, ‘Boys are stinky!’. I watched as the young male members of our group exchanged smirking glances. While walking though a dorm hall we heard, ‘Bathrooms are cleaned daily.’ Later when she referred to a geographic formation on campus, which look seemed rather obvious, she declared it took a few weeks for her to recognize what the silhouette formed.
The topper was near the tour’s end where our freshman told us there is an ‘athletic facility over the top of the hill, just a five-minute drive,..obviously there is a road up there!’ What!? Throughout the tour the evaluator’s baseball cap was on backwards, all the while he bounced his water bottle off walls and low roofs. What a disaster!
Feeling that we wasted the last two-hours of our lives, my wife and I drove away feeling that having a freshman in a sales role was not an exercise in good judgement by the school. This theory was proven wrong the very next day in Ithaca, New York.
Ithaca College was the school. Josh from Long Island, a freshman, was our tour guide. I quickly learned that he likes to drink Coke and that there were a lot of Pepsi machines on campus. He also demonstrated a great knowledge of the school, great personality and knew exactly where his tour was supposed to be. Everyone was paying attention when we were showed Rod Serling’s Emmy Awards in a library showcase. A look around the group I was with confirmed that Josh was connecting.
This was our fourth college in three-days, from Boston through Connecticut to Ithaca. While shy of the Bataan Death March, it certainly seemed long and tedious. The fact that we had a stinker of a tour and a five-hour drive before our encounter with Josh had primed my snarkiness gene. I am happy to say he certainly was not stinky.
