Why my middle name is spelled wrong...

What to do with 756??

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:12:00 +0000

For those that don't know, the 756th baseball that Barry Bonds hit out of the park was bought by Mark Ecko. Now Mr. Ecko plans to conduct an on-line poll to see what the fate of the baseball will be. Please go and vote!! If you are any sort of baseball fan you need to let the world know where you think this little piece of history belongs.

VOTE HERE

The Internet can Kill YOU

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:10:00 +0000

So as I sit in front of my computer at 6:10am on a Monday morning I read about a man who died playing Internet games for three straight days. What, did he forget to order a beverage or a snack? Jeez! He was in a public Internet cafe...don't they serve food or, better yet, realize that that guy over here hasn't left in the last 72 hours.

I wouldn't consider myself any sort of Internet gamer. I haven't played those types of games for a few years now unless you count the 3 months I played Kingdom of Loathing. However, I do spend a good deal of my time in front of a computer between work and taking on-line classes for my MBA and trying to run an on-line business.

So I wonder how many years I have taken off my life by staring at all those wonderful pixels day after day?

FRANKENFISH??

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:26:00 +0000

Here is yet another example of the Human race trying to interfere with another species.

The Frankenfish are here!

Why do we always feel like we need to fix everything? Probably because we are causing a lot of the problems, but our solutions usually lead to bigger disasters. This result seems harmless enough, but can you imagine how this idea will spread? Just think...pretty soon we are going to hear about women giving birth to endangered Panda bears or something screwed up like that.

Advertising Choices in Men's magazines

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 03:00:00 +0000

Could anyone out there expain to me the marketing thoughts behind some of the cologne ads I see in magazines like Men's Health?

I don't feel inclined to buy a scent that is shown by having a man wearing tight black clothing look deeply into my eyes. The only thing that I think is, "Man, there must be a lot of gay men out there reading this magazine..."

In another ad, a man is shown in a ruffled shirt and his chest is exposed showing off his black, curly, chest pubes. To top it off, they must have sprayed some fake sweat on him. SEXY!!!! I would buy that cologne in a second to go with my ruffled shirt collection.

The underwear ads are just as bad. Why can't they just use some barely clothed women getting on some average looking guys in these ads? That would be a lot more enticing to me. Oh well, maybe after I finish my marketing class this semester I will understand why this trend persists.

The first night of COUPLES BOWLING LEAUGE!

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 18:23:00 +0000

Last night, Michelle and I started a couples bowling league that is sponsored by our neighborhood association. We had our fingers crossed that we wouldn't be paired up with a couple that we could call Mom and Dad, but rather a couple that was within 10 years of our age.

We hit the jackpot! We ended up paired with probably the only other couple in the league that fit the criteria we were looking for. They are very nice and I think the rest of the season is going to go very well. Michelle ended up with an average score of 92 over her first three games and I managed an average score of 172 with a nice second game of 212. We beat the other team 5-2 in points and we are looking forward to playing the serious team next week.

The serious team is pretty good. They all probably bowl at least a 150 average and they have "custom" Miller High Life bowling shirts. Ohhhhhhhhh!! The highlight of the night was when Troy (the other guy on our team) went over and asked where they got their shirts. To which they replied, "These are special orders, you can't get them."

Well last time I checked Mr. Serious, they are available at the Miller gift shop and I can get my name embroidered on it Thank you very Much! This dude actually tucked his shirt in!! Come on! Are you on the PBA!?!

Check out this bowling style...

Week 2 NFL picks

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:21:00 +0000

Here are my picks for week 2...

Buffalo at Pittsburgh
Houston at Carolina
Atlanta at Jacksonville
New Orleans at Tampa Bay
Green Bay at NY Giants
San Francisco at St. Louis
Cincinnati at Cleveland
Indianapolis at Tennessee
Minnesota at Detroit
Dallas at Miami
Seattle at Arizona
NY Jets at Baltimore
Oakland at Denver
Kansas City at Chicago
San Diego at New England
Washington at Philadelphia

Update #1: I am a lousy 7-8 heading into tonights showdown between Washington and Philly. What the heck happened to Kansas City? I realize it was Chicago but LJ is not the same back I remember. I still can't believe Houston is doing what it is doing...

The Economics of Napa Valley

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 01:44:00 +0000

Tonight I had my second class in Managerial Economics. My professor likes to travel off the beaten path with side stories and tonight he told me a story about a marketing lecture he attended with respect to selling wine.

Being an Economics Professor he felt compelled to ask about how to price wine. With that, that Marketing Professor from Napa Valley responded that the more expensive you price the more people will buy it. Of course, anyone who knows anything about Econ knows that this is exactly the opposite of the classic Price vs. Quantity Demand Curve that is taught in, I dare say, ALL Econ classes.

This got me thinking, however, about the customers that typically buy wine in Napa Valley and those who drink it with a certain disturbing passion. What if these people are not rational like the classic model suggests, but are irrational?

If the answer is Yes, then the Marketing Professor's answer is probably correct to a degree. A certain level of quality is implied by charging a higher price for a bottle of wine. And if what matters most to wine consumers is quality, then why would they bother with a $10 special? Especially the tourists looking to burn cash and the local wine crazies...

This story amused me because I have family very close to Napa Valley and while I don't believe that their brains have been molested by the aroma of the Pinot Noir or the blandness of the Merlot, they have friends that fit into the Marketing Professor's answer very well.

So, Peace out to all the Winos hangin' out in Napa!! Keep screwing up the demand curve and livin' large!

Tonights sojurn through Blogger

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:17:00 +0000

Well, after lamenting over my fantasy football stats I decided to roam through the vast world of blogger and see what was out there. I found two sites that peaked my interest:

Creative Evolutions and A Dog with a Blog were by far the best blogs that I ran across tonight.

I very much enjoyed the pictures by Ron Mueck on Creative Evolutions . His work is simply amazing though I have never seen it in person.

A Dog with a Blog is great fun and gave my a good laugh...which i needed after watching Kansas City get destroyed by Houston.

NFL Week 1 Forecast

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 13:21:00 +0000

Here are my picks (in CAPS) for week1 of the NFL season minus the first game between the Colts and Saints.

Sunday SEP. 9
PHILADELPHIA at Green Bay
KANSAS CITY at Houston
DENVER at Buffalo
Pittsburgh at CLEVELAND
CAROLINA at St. Louis
Atlanta at MINNESOTA
New England at NY JETS
Miami at WASHINGTON
TENNESSEE at Jacksonville
Chicago at SAN DIEGO
Tampa Bay at SEATTLE
Detroit at OAKLAND
NY Giants at DALLAS

MON, SEP 10
Baltimore at CINCINATI
Arizona at SAN FRANSISCO

Update #1: So far I am 2-3. Not doing to well. What the hell happened to Kansas City anyway?

Update #2: Now I'm 5-4. Really disappointed with the Eagles and Chiefs right now. McNabb should have had a much better game. He made a lot of mistakes...

Update #3: 7-5 at this point. I had no idea Detroit was going to be a legit team this year. Especially with Kitna as the QB...

Update #4: 8-5 with two games left. Feeling pretty good about going 10-5. In other news my fantasy team is getting destroyed...

Update #5: It's official. I go 10-5 for the first week!! Not bad, not bad at all.

Boozeday!

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:37:00 +0000

So I found out that Thursdays are actually Boozedays courtesy of my 2 year old daughter! How did she ever come up with that term, you ask? I have no idea. The mind of a 2 year old is a complex enigma that will drive you crazy if you try to understand it.

I know that Tuesday is the more popular Boozeday because they rhyme, but I like Thursdays much better. For one, if you drink too much and have to recover on Friday you are into the weekend and don't have to worry about work!

13.1 Miles Later

julius.m.carter@gmail.com (jmc) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:49:00 +0000

Yesterday, I ran my second half marathon!! Looking back I can say that I exceeded my wildest expectations. I improved my time by 25 minutes over the first one I did in 2006 and I feel generally well aside from a little soreness in my legs. I ran an average pace of 10:45 per mile and finished in 2 hrs. 20 min. For your reading enjoyment, here is a look into the mind of a 6'3" 250 lb. man as he runs 13.1 miles:

5 min until race starts - I use the Nike+ feature to track my runs... "My ipod better record this damn run. Why are there so many skinny people here? I thought I lived in a society full of fat people. Why is that lady wearing a swimming suit?"

Race start - "Why did I sign up for this? It better not get really hot today. I feel like I am in a herd of cattle being driven towards the slaughterhouse."

Mile 1 - "This isn't so bad. That mile marker came up a lot sooner than I expected. Only 12 more of these..."

Mile 5 - "SWEET I just ran 5 miles in 47 minutes! Wait a second, this is a half marathon, not a 8k. Only 8 more to go. Why am I running so fast? I can't maintain this pace or I'll stroke out by mile 9. "

Mile 8 - "So much for running fast. All these hills are great fun!! Why does it feel like each mile marker is 2 miles apart? I wonder what it is like to ride in an ambulence?"

Mile 11 - "I can't feel my lower body any more. I think I am still running. I just got passed by a dude that looks like he is in his 80's. That's great! Where the hell are the oxygen stations?"

Mile 13.1 (The End) - "I just peed myself and I don't care!! It was all worth it for this cheap plastic medal and all you can eat quiche and nacho chips with easy cheese."