Jer979's Blog...

Getting H1N1’d

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:29:00 PDT

Following my chat with Susanne on the plane, you can bet I was one of the first people at the health center to get vaccinated for H1N1.

And, I have to say, for one who is somewhat skeptical of government's ability to execute effectively, this was a fine example of solid organization and planning.

Some good comments from our screener about the virus and the planning.

Football with your son…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:59:00 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

One of the quintessential images of fatherhood is throwing a football (or a baseball, I suppose) around with your son.
Over the last few weeks, Paco’s skills as a receiver (he needs a LOT of work as a passer) have really blossomed.
The other day, in fact, we had a series of 15 throws in a row that he caught from me at a distance of over 8 feet.
We were really “playing catch.”
Just crazy to think that one of “those moments” have arrived.

Google Does The Strangest Things…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:14:00 PDT

Remember back when I became the corporate sponsor for Miss Black Nevada?

Well, today I got a call from the new Miss Black Nevada.

She had googled the previous winner and found my company first. So, she called me to get the contact info for last year’s winner.

Who knew?

Google did, I suppose.

The Redskins made my daughter cry...Not cool

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:44:00 PDT

Going through a divorce, as I am with my formerly beloved Washington Redskins, is a painful experience.

It's impossible to shut the feelings down completely, but you feel angry and betrayed.

You may even want revenge.

For the first time in my life, I found myself this past Sunday actually rooting for the other team to win. Perhaps like a loved one who is an alcoholic, you realize that the only way that they can right themselves is for them to hit "rock bottom."

So, playing against a team without a victory for the 6th week in a row (an NFL record) and one that had only one two out of its previous 30 games (Kansas City), I reckoned that a loss would possibly helpl the incompetent and inept leadership recognize that they "needed help."

Note: I am talking purely from a football perspective since somehow they have increased the value of the team from a financial perspective.

On Saturday night,Paco, Tonka, and I were discussing our plans for Sunday and thanks to my "eat in the den only if we are watching football rule," they are now big fans.

I explained that the Redskins were playing the Chiefs and the kids were asking who I wanted to win.

"I don't know," I said. "I really don't know."

At which point, Tonka literally started cyring (not sobs, but definitely tears) and said, "It's not fun rooting for the Redksins....they ALWAYS LOSE!!"

I've said for a few years that I don't care for which team my kids root, but I want them to appreciate the game of football...we're on our way...and that being a Redskins fan was too difficult. Now, they were causing my little girl to cry. That was the last straw.

I'm in a phase in life where I tend to look at the historical era into which I was born and analyze it so that I don't just assume "this is the way it is and has always been."

If you are between 30 and 40 and grew up in the DC area (as a fan of the Redskins), your formative/adolescent years took place at the moment in history where the team was at is absolute zenith.

Four Super Bowls (3 championships) in 10 years, a contender pretty much every year, and dominating teams. Clearly, the glory days.

And, this happened when you were old enough to be aware/conscious of what happened, but young enough that you didn't have the real responsibilites of life (and thus could devote a lot of time to cultivating this passion.)

So, it's particularly tough to rip out this core part of my developmental DNA. You can play with my emotions, but once you start making my daughter cry?

My grandfather, Poppy, introduced me to the game and helped grow my love for Redskins and I thought once or twice that "it's a good thing he's dead b/c this would have killed him. (He would have appreciated this joke, trust me...and it is a joke!),

Like the stock market and great empires, what goes up must come down and now, the Redskins are like the rest of Washington, a city of bailouts (great article here, btw).

And the kids of Washington have grown up and come of age during the past 10 years, culminating in this most recent ignominy?

They are crying themselves to sleep now...and won't be in the stands in the future.

Cartoons for the Troops…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:58:00 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

Went back to visit the NFO’s cousin the other day at Bethesda Naval Medical Center and met members of the National Cartoonists Society who were volunteering their time and talents to show how they support our troops.

The woman from the USO said it best “we’ll take anybody,” so if you want to show the troops that you care, just give ‘em a call. Even 1 minute of your time makes a difference.

Health Insurance…Personal Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:35:00 PDT

Since leaving Microsoft (which had absolutely RIDONKULOUS benefits), we’ve had to move to an individual family plan.

We went the high deductible HSA route.

This past September, on the annual renewal of our policy with Care First, we were subject to the “review and rate increases that occur every year.”

For the EXACT same policy our rates went up 26% per month.

Ugh.

So, what do you think of the new site?

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:07:00 PDT

Friends of Never Stop Marketing….

The new look and feel for the website is now up for testing: www.neverstopmarketing.com

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: testing the functionality and any technical issues, the look and feel is pretty much set, so those comments, while appreciated, will receive lower priority.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sneeze…Nice to meet you, too!

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:52:00 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

Next time you are at a gathering, turn yourself into a public health anthropologist. It’s fascinating.

Case in point…

The other day, I was at an event where the hostess had a number of volunteers helping her prepare the food and drink spread.

As the rest of the crowd networked and mingled, I watched the preparation taking place.

I lost count of the number of times after which one of the women (and they were all women helping her) touched a mouth, nose, or eyes and then touched the food.

I know it wasn’t intentional, it was unconscious, but they were doing it. Then, they were touching doorknobs and trashcans and all kinds of other places where viruses might lurk.

Soon after, I turned my attention to the crowd and would follow the same interactions.

One person would sneeze and then, without wiping his hands, would shake the hand of another person, who would promptly go off and shake the hand of yet another person, who then touched his nose.

Over and over again this happened.

I’m not trying to turn us into a nation of Howard Hugheses or anything like that, I’m just keenly aware now (having had my H1N1 vaccine and my plane chat with Susanne) of how these behaviors could have traumatic consequences.

And now (shout out to my aunt for this one), here is a video of Sec’y of Health, Kathleen Sebelius lecturing NBC correspondent, Chuck Todd on how to sneeze.

A sad moment from the past...

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:47:00 PDT

For the FOJ's who have been around for a while, you will remember my previous girlfriend, Becca.

Just got a piece of very sad news...her mother died 1 month after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Here's the obituary.

She was really a special woman and VERY generous to me always.

The Unprepared Jewish Generation…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:18:00 PDT

Image via Wikipedia

A few years ago, my friend, Rabbi Josh Feigelson and I were discussing the historical anomaly that our generation of Jews entered.

Never before in Jewish history, we surmised, had a generation come of age where political equality was a given, so many of our peers were so well-educated (in a formal/secular sense) and where a huge percentage of our co-religionists were economically affluent.

Since we had essentially “been born” into this era, this was our reality and what makes experiences like outright anti-Semitism on a plane in Atlanta so shocking to the system.

Of course, 20-30 years before we were born, many Ivy League institutions had Jewish quotas. Now, many of them have classes that are 20-30 percent Jewish.

In some respects, this is great.

In other respects, I think it may be the source of a potential problem in the future.

That problem is that we live in a bubble that is divorced from the reality going on in the rest of the world.

And that reality is growing, virulent, and dangerous anti-Semitism.

Whether it is the Halimi case in France, Mahmoud Abbas’ ongoing refusal to recognize the right of Israel to exist, denial of Jewish claims to the Temple Mount, and the appeasement of the Muslims Student Union at Cal Irvine by the President of the University after a number of incidents (here’s one), (and I’ve left out doozies like Ahmadinejad, Chavez, etc.), in most places around the world we are seeing a big uptick, one that, I think we haven’t seen in a LONG time.

And I don’t think most Jews (at least those who still care/identify after assimilation is taken into account) are really ready for it.

To say that this relative security and prosperity among Gen X/Gen Y Jews has made us “soft,” may be a stretch, but at the least, we’re definitely not “in shape.”

What’s more, as the generation of Holocaust survivors dies out (my kids, for example, will only know them through videos), those who would deny it will be emboldened.

I don’t know what to do about it, but I am concerned.

Blogging in a Nutshelll…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:26:00 PDT

Big thanks to my cuz, Shelby for sending this one to me. So true ;-)

It reads

Blogging: Never before have so many people with so little to say said so much to so few.

Quilts…not just for your bed

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:28:00 PDT

My friend Lisa Chipetine is a quilter and one of the leaders of the Studio Art Quilters Association. As a VERY generous thank you gift for a presentation to her group, she sent me the quilt below (after it was on display in an exhibit).

Definitely art that makes you think!

Lisa’s contact info is below, if you’d like to reach her.

Swine Flu, Scarcity, and the Decline of Civilization

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:09:00 PDT

I took Paco and Nadia to get an H1N1 vaccine today at a local high school. The whole thing was a phenomenal (and scary) study in group, mass psychology.

The clinic was to open at 4pm but knowing that Obama had raised the stakes by declaring swine flu to be a “national emergency,” I suspected that the experience would be vastly different than when I went a few weeks ago.

I knew there would be a line and, fortunately, brought the double stroller and a boatload of snacks. I thought I’d be #100 or so.

Well, by the time I got there at 3.15, the line was out the door and around and down the block. At least 500 people were there.

Rumor had it there were only 1000 vaccines available (unconfirmed), but seeing the line, those who were arriving then had a hurried way about them.

You could just tell the thought process was “I need to get to this line because that guy in front of me could get the last one.”

There was a tension for that.

Once we got in line, another problem arose…one that attacked people’s sense of fairness.

Periodically, you would see individuals or families walking their way toward the front of the line. Some were talking on their cell phones, looking for people up in front.

The question then arose: is line jumping appropriate?

I was genuinely concerned that a fight might break out. The police were out in force (helicopter included), but soon, there were some verbal confrontations between those waiting in line and those who were walking on by.

One guy responded, “my friend is up there.”

I have to admit, I was bothered by this. Really bothered by this…as were many others around me.

Not only did it attack my sense of fairness (why should you get to go in front of me when I was here first?), but I think there is a larger ethical issue.

If there are only 1000 vaccines available, why does the fact that you know someone at the front of the line mean that you may get a vaccine and I (or in this case, my kids) won’t?

So, in a situation of scarcity, what is the most equitable way to distribute a potentially life-saving resource?

First come, first serve?
If I go out at 10am, can I hold a spot for my kids? What about my friends?
Does it matter that I can work from home/remotely/using wi-fi/cell phones?
What if I hire someone to go out at 10am and hold my place in line?

I honestly believe that had the police not been there, the order of the line would have broken down and things could have gotten REALLY ugly.

The medical screeners were up at the front of the line, so you would have waited more than hour to potentially discover that you were not eligible (it was only people 2-24, for example…among other things) and you could see the look of frustration on people who found out they weren’t eligible.

Well, after 2 hours of waiting (and Paco and Nadia were GREAT), we finally made it.

Still, I think the behavior that I saw today made me nervous…You can see how, when things get rough, people have the potential to turn away from civilized behavior and on to each other.

Here’s the video on the way in…

Here’s the line…

Register as a Bone Marrow Donor…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:24:00 PDT

A few years back, my friend, Tamir was diagnosed with Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria. Say that five times fast.

I don’t understand the disease and, frankly, it’s not a priority for me to do that.

What is a priority is that Tamir would get better and that this was a cause that is important, so when he asked for a donation, I figured, why not? Just $18, you know. No biggie, but enough to say that I cared.

He wrote me a nice note and then made a plea that the NFO and I register to be bone marrow donors.

And that is what I am asking you to do as well.

In order to register, all you have to do is go to www.marrow.org register as a donor.

They will then send you a kit with a cheek swab, which is like a long ear bud. You swab your cheek, put the swab into a small container, and send it back to marrow.org and you're done. You've registered. If you're ever identified as a potential donor for someone, you will be contacted and asked whether you are willing to donate. If you do, the patients' insurance will cover your costs, and you can typically have the blood work done at your local hospital or the closest one that has an aperesis machine that does the centrifuge.

It’s NOT a BIG DEAL. Here’s why:

The problem is that not many people are registering because they believe that it's complicated to register, and because they're scared of the pain involved in donating bone marrow - ie. being drilled a few times in the hips, back, etc. to get to the stem cells in our bone marrow. While this system is still used in about 10% of cases (still under anasthesia), the other 90% now use a much easier system for the donor.

This takes approximately 4 hours, and the donor is done, and has just potentially saved someone's life. Imagine what that must feel like - to be able to save someone's life like that - what a Mitzvah!

So, just do it: go to www.marrow.org and click donate.

A networking testimonial…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:07:23 PDT

from my brother on how he got his new job.
Jeremy's networking strategies have paid off for me.

My wife, Rebecca, secured an assistant rabbinical position in New Brunswick, NJ around the middle of April. I needed a job: "Tap into your contact's network, don't expect them to serve you directly," Jeremy told me. He was right.
Jeremy, himself, kicked the ball first.
He suggested that I speak to Harry Glazer, Communications Coordinator of the Rutgers Library. I called Harry from my cell phone during a break from work at a school in Brooklyn. He was warm and encouraging and pointed me to, among others, Richard Lee, part-time lecturer at Rutgers and Communications Director of the Hall Institute, who has connections in the policy community in New Jersey.
Rich was similarly encouraging and passed me along to Lynne Strickland, an attorney and Executive Director of the Garden State Coalition of Schools. Lynne mentioned Dr. Steve Barnett, co-director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) and a nationally-renowned expert on early childhood education.
I moved to New Brunswick in mid-June and managed to meet Dr. Barnett in late July, on a Monday afternoon. We chatted about education, health care, economics, etc.
By Friday, center co-director Dr. Ellen Frede, the developer of New Jersey's groundbreaking public preschool programming, offered me a research position at the center.
I started in August.

The Appeal of Facebook…Sharing Moments

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:27:30 PST

If you know any skeptics out there, here are two examples of the power and excitement of social software to build connections with our friends and family and to, in general, be more human.

Here are two moments that I experienced.

A glorious cloud formation and some beautiful fall foliage.

Once upon a time, I would have been alone in these moments.

Then, maybe, I would have snapped a pictured and emailed it to a few people…or just said “hey, I saw some great clouds the other day.”

But now, I can share those moments with others and they can participate in it, reflect on it and add their own comments.

Some may say, “why do you care?” But, I think that being a part of each other's lives in this way enriches all of us.

Facing Up: Living and Dying With Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:36:00 PST

I’m pretty Type A and very driven.

Sometimes, however, as I’ve aged (and hopefully matured), I sit back and ask myself “hmmm…I wonder how many years I actually have left?”

I think that when we are younger we tend to believe that “I’ll live to 80 or so” and have a full life (like my grandparents did, for example.)

Of course, as we all know, life doesn’t always work out that way.

The question, of course, is how do you deal with it when it doesn’t?

Some of you knew Ned Stutman. Some didn’t. But, his approach to life (and death) is something that everyone can appreciate.

That approach is shared in his book: Facing Up: Grateful Ned's Guide for Living and Dying with Grace

Now, a bit of disclosure…I consulted on a pro bono basis to Ned’s widow, Suzanne, on how to market the book (and, if you buy the book from the link I’ll earn something like $.04)

The jacket to the book reads “What a Nazi-hunting comedian and lawyer can teach us about cherishing life at every turn.”

And it is through those multitude of unique character intersections that your perspective will be changed, I think, for the better.

His story chronicles his ordeals at multiple US cancer treatment centers, but the beauty of the story isn’t how it ends (you already know that), it’s in the journey itself.

His humor, flirting with the nurses, making a top 10 list of the benefits of having cancer (#1: you don’t have to worry about getting cancer), just show a man who has “figured out” what it means to be present.

For friends of Ned (and there are many), this book is a natural. The marketing challenge is “why would someone who doesn’t know Ned want to read this book?”

I’m biased since I knew him and he touched my life in many ways since 4th grade.

So, let’s try this…if you didn’t know Ned and you post a comment below about one experience you had that made you “more present” in your day-to-day life, I’ll pick one of the submissions and send you my copy of the book.

Then, you can tell me if you think it works for someone who didn’t know Ned.

Fair enough?

Video: The Never Stop Marketing Story…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:01:00 PST

A few months ago, I got a call from Lori at Johnson & Johnson (client).

She had heard me speak and thought I might be a good fit for another project.

Lori asked for a 'capabilities deck.' I felt like a deer in the headlights… 'uh, I don't have one. People just hire me.' “Can you just quickly put something together?”

Now, when you live by the “Remarkable” mantra, you set yourself up for a high standard…and I couldn’t just send her a “deck” full of bullet points.

But Lori had laid down the challenge/opportunity and I thank her for that…(well, not really, but I made it one anyway).

“Could I make a 'remarkable' presentation that tells the story of what I do and why it matters?” Well, it was not really I. There was a team (see who really gets the credit below).

This is the effort. Let us know how we did.

The voiceover artist is Kathryn Schwab, who also turned my Community Driven Marketing whitepaper into a Podcast/mp3 file. She is great to work with and I’ve heard from a number of folks who have actually listened to it that it made a big difference for them.

But, the true hero of this story is Amy Detrick from the Tangible Group.

As you can imagine, I am not an easy client, but Amy was more than up to the task.

In my career, I have NEVER met a designer who was so able to integrate the brand identity into her work and take the raw vision I gave her and execute it in a way that made me happy. My basic direction to her was “this should make Nancy Duarte proud.” I don’t know Nancy, but I think she might be (or hope she will).

In short, I cannot recommend Amy highly enough.
Is this video perfect?

No, of course not, but our goal is to be remarkable, not perfect and then iterate via perpetual beta with feedback from you.

Looking forward to your comments. Big thanks to Lori, Kathryn, and Amy for making this a reality.

Enjoy the Fall Foliage…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:10:00 PST

Have some fun…click the “full screen” on this video.

Then enjoy the ride

spreading anti-semitism

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:23:00 PST

Following up on the Unprepared Jewish Generation, we have this video of current day activity.

Homeownership…a pain in the ?

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:35:00 PST

Before I owned a home, my uncle Bob said to me that “owning a home is a pain in the ass. Something is always breaking.”

He’s right, of course, but I’ve realized I enjoy the challenge of managing the house from a systems perspective. Plumbing, electrical, etc.

When the BGE Home guy comes to do the pre-winter check of my furnace, it leads to a 20 min conversation on water heaters, gas vs. electric dryers, and furnaces. I learned so much.

I just completed a 2nd energy assessment of my house and am doing a bunch of weatherizing which will (hopefully) have a 2-4 year payback period.

I kind of feel like the captain of a ship and just have to know how all the parts work (or at least the roles they play) so I/we can make the most informed decisions.

Taxes and Economic Recovery….

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:51:00 PST

So, I get a note from the Maryland Unemployment Insurance fund that because they are running low on funds (due to high claims), they are raising taxes on employers.

As a business owner, here’s how I think about it.

“Ok, it just got more expensive for me to hire someone, so I will hold back.”

Now, personally, I don’t want any employees, I prefer the Free Agent Nation (disclosure: client) model of working with sub-contractors, but when I think about margins and profitability, I see this angle and it gives me pause.

When you raise taxes on employers, you are slowing down the very process you need to speed up to get more people off unemployment.

Tearjerker Movie…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:52:00 PST

The Notebook.

It’s a beautiful story. The NFO and I were a wreck by the end.

Watch it.

The Anti-Semitic Believer…

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:53:00 PST

So an Orthodox Jewish kid becomes a neo-Nazi….

Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it’s not.

It’s the premise of the The Believer, a seriously warped movie that made me think A LOT. I really enjoyed the extremes to which your sensibilities were pushed in this one.

By taking you out of your comfort zone, you are forced to look at things in a new light and this movie did that.

How to react to sexism?

noreply@blogger.com (Jer979) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:55:00 PST

A few weeks back, I got some exceptional service at my car dealer, Fitzgerald Auto Mall.

I was so impressed that I interviewed the hero of the story and blogged about it.

The next day, I was back to pick up my car and I asked the 4 men in the room if they had seen the interview of their female co-worker on my blog.

One of them said, “All I saw were her ‘jimmies’ on the Internet.”

Now, it didn’t dawn on me until later, but I realized he meant breasts (I did a close-up of the logo on her shirt at the end…far from erotic, I will tell you.)

And I was really bothered by this.

Here was someone I was praising and here was a guy (who was generally nice enough to me) belittling his co-worker in a completely sexist way.

The question: what do you think I should do about it?

Jer979's Blog...

Getting H1N1’d

Football with your son…

Google Does The Strangest Things…

The Redskins made my daughter cry...Not cool

Cartoons for the Troops…

Health Insurance…Personal Edition

So, what do you think of the new site?

Sneeze…Nice to meet you, too!

Related articles by Zemanta

A sad moment from the past...

The Unprepared Jewish Generation…

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Blogging in a Nutshelll…

Quilts…not just for your bed

Swine Flu, Scarcity, and the Decline of Civilization

Related articles by Zemanta

Register as a Bone Marrow Donor…

In order to register, all you have to do is go to www.marrow.org register as a donor.

Related articles by Zemanta

A networking testimonial…

The Appeal of Facebook…Sharing Moments

Facing Up: Living and Dying With Grace

Video: The Never Stop Marketing Story…

Enjoy the Fall Foliage…

spreading anti-semitism

Homeownership…a pain in the ?

Taxes and Economic Recovery….

Tearjerker Movie…

The Anti-Semitic Believer…

How to react to sexism?