Haven't Done This Here In Awhile...

Image via Wikipedia

I'll admit, I've been playing poker lately to almost the exclusion of all else. My blogs have suffered as a result. Haven't really felt the need to write, actually. Someone once said, I think it was Sir William of Goldman, that you should write something so that there'll be something to change....

Let me assure you, I won't be doing any of that. I feel my strengths lie in writing something the first time, and if I didn't get it right, clearly, I won't do any better with a rewrite. Mickey Spillane felt the same way. I guess that's part of what being an IDEA MASTER™ is all about. So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, these words as I write them are wholly owned by me, and are appearing courtesy of whatever form they take, the first time, and are unedited and for the most part, unexpurgated.

Having used several two dollar words up to this point, I shall continue. Now, I could've posted this on my poker blog, but this isn't really about that. And lest you think this to be a post about Mickey Spillane because of the chosen photo, it's not really about him, either. Just his philosophy.

Once read somewhere that a blog entry should only contain 250 words or less. To this I say, “Bunk!!” or, another word to that effect. Who decided on this arbitrary limit? There's another site that says web articles should contain 400-800 words. I didn't get this memo either. Therefore, it follows that I should use enough words to get the point across, and decry any artificial word count deemed necessary by those that it would seem have simply pulled a number out of the air, as well as a rabbit out of the hat.

What does this mean to you, one of my three readers? Probably that I'll be writing a lot more, both here and elsewhere. It may even be about poker. Used that last of my bankroll to enter a tournament yesterday, and as I've been card dead for about two weeks now, I didn't do too well. Some would say, “That's Poker!” and maybe I would too, although, I might use Porky Pig's inflection when I did so....

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Adjust your expectations accordingly.

National Velvet: The Review!!!!

Cover of National Velvet (Book and Charm)

An ambitious version of National Velvet is currently playing at The Hollywood Improv Lab Theater, conveniently located adjacent to the world famous Improv, on Melrose Blvd. I say ambitious, because the smallish nature of the stage almost got too crowded, as the nine player cast barely fit when they were all in the scene. However, judicious use of the entire auditorium, per Dagwood's direction, allowed for the cast to fully shine.

For the two or three of you that haven't seen the original movie with Elizabeth Taylor, or read the book the movie is based on by Enid Bagnold, National Velvet is the story of a young orphan named Velvet, adopted by the Browns. In turn, she adopts a wild horse nicknamed, 'Pie.' Pie shows such promise, that Velvet wishes to enter the horse in the Grand National in England, and ride her herself.

This version is based more on the book than the movie, and this stage adaptation moves the story into the future, complete with flying cars!!! The year is 2060, and the Browns live in Americus, Georgia. Miss Ada is now the Brown's flying car, as opposed to the donkey of the original version. From the website:

“The story is set in a future where modern marvels, imagination and growing up all join together to form a festive, and sometimes somber look at life's challenges in making big dreams come true!”

A few technical snafus did not mar otherwise fine performances by the entire cast. Athena Velasco as Velvet has the unenviable task of carrying the play, which she pulls off with nary a hitch. Mi is portrayed by Darren Numer, who as the ranch hand of the Browns, and Velvet's unlikely friend and mentor, carries the role with a good English accent, which serves him well in one scene where he narrates Velvet working the horse around the ranch, to the point where I thought he was watching an actual horse in full gallop. Ron Karl, a veteran of stage and screen, plays Mr. Brown, and delivers his performance with that precision. Alexandra Smothers plays his wife, Mrs. Brown, with a Southern accent that constantly reminded me where the play was set, despite my need for them to do a straight adaptation. Wayne Baldwin as Mr. Cellini didn't get enough time on stage for my money, due to the demands of the part he portrayed. I wanted to see more from him. He does play a judge at the end of the play, as most of the rest of the cast doubles up in this capacity. Again, the stage is almost too small. Mary Huse, Natalie Piechowski, and Anthony Chavez don't get enough time on stage as the rest of the adopted Brown children, either. Sydney Hines sings a resounding version of Amazing Grace when the time comes. If you haven't already, I'm sure you'll see more of them on TV and in the movies in the future.

One may ask, why is there still a Grand National Event in England, when flying cars are the norm, and this small oversight wasn't addressed, however, I willingly suspended my disbelieve, and enjoyed the performance, which is excellent entertainment for the whole family. National Velvet, This Time She Flies! Plays this weekend @ 2 and 8 pm both days, with a possible extended run through June. Price, Free!!! You can't pass this up. The Improv Comedy Lab is located at 8162 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA.

Twitter Blog: Whoa, Feedback!

Twitter Blog: Whoa, Feedback!
For those of you that missed this.... Apparently, they need to re-engineer this function, so it works with the increased load. At least, that's how I read it....

Stay tuned....

#TwitterBlackout

Now, maybe it's because I don't have enough followers, or at least, those that care that Twitter will be down @ 2p PDT today, because, I couldn't get the above mentioned hashtag to trend. And in about 3 hours, it will be too late. Does everyone know that Twitter is going down for maintenance, or just me? I know the Twitter guys know. They're the ones that announced it. Of course, on my Twitter home page, which I rarely if ever visit because I use TweetDeck, it states that Twitter is going down tomorrow @ 2p. But if you click the link for status, you're directed to the Twitter blog that says, it's going down today. @ 2p. PDT. So, maybe I'm ahead of the curve, or I've missed the panic entirely. Maybe I need to contact the #hashtagmafia for help, I don't know.

What I do know, and as we have discussed previously, is that it's big.

Adjust your expectations accordingly.

Why I wish to #SaveChuck

Image via Wikipedia

Well, I already mentioned why in my last post, so, you can simply scroll down, however, it bears repeating. Or, maybe it bares repeating, who knows? Ok, I know I've done that joke in other places, therefore, here's what you need to know, that may or may not be new.

I'm going to boycott NBC if they choose not to pickup Chuck. I'm sure there's another network out there that would love to broadcast a show with this loyal fan support. I've already said everything else that I need to say already, so, no need to repeat.

But NBC to you, you have been warned.

#SaveChuck, or Save Chuck, for the Twitter Deprived

Image by Cara_VSAngel via Flickr

I won't ask again. At least, politely. For those of you that don't know, or maybe haven't heard, which is almost all of you judging from the ratings, Chuck has yet to be renewed by NBC. Why is this a painfully obvious mistake? Well, if you're not a TV watcher, then you can stop reading here, and get back to whatever social media platform you read this from, while I continue.

Ok, now that they've gone away, I can really get into the meat of the rant. Not to be confused with, the chicken breast sandwich I ate during the season finale, but I digress. Chuck is truly one of the few shows on TV right now that is truly family entertainment. It's one of my kids' favorite shows. For those that don't know, I have a son 12, and a daughter 14. Their names are not important at this point, and they may have appeared elsewhere.

What is important, and what NBC seems to have overlooked, is that of all their programming this season, we as a family weren't really watching much beyond Chuck, and Heroes. And with their dubious decision to play Jay Leno every night @ 10pm in the fall, we'll be watching them even less. I heard at one point that NBC is/was in 4th place, and as far as I know, they may still be there. Canceling this show, may result in them staying there awhile longer. NBC has alternatives when it comes to this show, and they don't have to leave it in its currently daunting time slot when they bring it back next season.

Alternatively, NBC Universal, which owns the USA Network, and the SciFi Channel as well, has other places they can show a 3rd season of Chuck. I'd prefer it stay on NBC, however, these would be acceptable alternatives to outright cancellation.

Now, for the mercenary portion of this post. While not the main reason I'm doing this, there is a contest going on, and this is hopefully two of my five entries, if I use the above banner. I don't expect to win the contest, it's simply given me the opportunity to talk about one of the last few things on TV that is truly a joy to watch. Appointment TV is the current term, I believe. I'd hate to have to cancel my appointment.

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Mega Red Packet - The Real Deal Or Just Plain Hype?

I've just signed up for the Video Lounge access at Mega Red Packet and before I forget, I am writing in to tell you this.

Vince Tan, Edmund Loh and Stephen Luc are teaming up to release the Mega Red Packet on 4th May 2009. In case you've not heard of these dynamic trio here's a quick background on them...

Vince Tan is a World Internet Summit speaker and the same man who pulled off the Biggest Firesale event in Year 2008 which broke the 6 figure record in just 3 days and then brought in $170,000 in only 10 days.

If you use Private Label Rights products often for your Internet Business then I suppose Edmund Loh doesn't need an introduction; he's the person behind more than 260 Private Label Rights titles under the PLRGold brand. Just late last year, he teamed up with expert video maker Stephen Luc to pull off a product launch called PLRGold: Videos and raked in $100,000 in 10 days too. Collectively, the dynamic trio has made more than a million dollars in sales.

So what is Mega Red Packet all about? (since it's 3 months after the Chinese New Year)

When I first visited the Mega Red Packet website, it branded itself as a "Recession Show Stopper". I didn't think much of it initially since a lot of Internet Marketing opportunist won't let go any chance to cash in on the latest trend. But I take back what I said when I saw the Video Lounge area.

Vince, Edmund and Stephen have produced and positioned Mega Red Packet to turn the tide for many people who are not only struggling in their pursuit of building an online business but also people who are affected by the current recession period.

Mega Red Packet is focused on this core of success: product + traffic = residual income. This is the closest definition to push button marketing where all the work has been done for Internet Marketers of all levels - whether you are new or seasoned. The Mega Red Packet team has invested nearly $100,000 and 6 months in conceiving this push button program and infrastructure, which gives the user a variety of products to get reseller and Franchise rights to new, original products and sell.

Mega Red Packet is NOT about potential. It's about empowering the Internet newbie to have his string of proven businesses in the form of Reseller Memberships for you to take full control of, and Franchise rights to proven Internet Businesses so that they can be put into the shoes of these 3 top Internet Marketers. The new Internet Marketer can now leverage off the credibility and proven model that the dynamic trio have discovered over the collective 11 years of marketing experience.

Traffic generation is another topic of great interest to some, and a great struggle to many others. The Mega Red Packet collection solves this more efficient and effectively than anyone, myself included, can ask for.

Vince, Edmund and Stephen are also taking this chance to launch their newest home study course named "Traffic Leopard" - aptly called 'the next generation of traffic building' that features a series of proven tactics to drive in traffic to your website, accompanied by a rich archive of case studies as used and experimented relentlessly by all of the 3 top Internet Marketers.

There's also the Traffic Networks where Vince and Edmund have negiotiated with some of the top traffic building site owners to give generous credits to members of Mega Red Packet.

All in all, there's more goodies in store in Mega Red Packet that I believe every Internet Marketer must look forward to. It's ground breaking and non-conventional, not something you know so well of. Literally, all the work is done and I haven't even talked about the new Private Label Rights products and software they are releasing in the Mega Red Packet event, that lets you do instant One Time Offers, Upsells and even Cross-Sells.

You can take my review with a pinch of salt but I strongly urge you to check out the site now and sign up for the free access to the Video Lounge (worth $297) and get onto their Advanced Notification List. (by the way speaking of that, they are also going to pick randomly 3 different names from the list to give free copies of Mega Red Packet on their launch day - you could be one of them!)

Click on this link and sign up for the Video Lounge and Advanced Notification List access for free now before the big event kick starts on 4th May 2009:

=> http://megaredpacket.com/?aff_id=8904

It's All An Illusion...

Yes, that's right, it's the title of my current Script Frenzy screenplay. I'm exploring the magician as detective genre, with a twist. While waiting for my writing partner to end her turn, I came across this video that explores the main theme of what our hero, Scott Randall, Magician Extraordinaire, has to overcome.... Enjoy, and Comment :)

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This has been happening more and more...

Image via CrunchBase

Today's topic is, Twitter!!! Yes, that's right, you knew it was coming, yet another Twitter post. Ok, here's the thing: I have @ last count, almost 1500 followers, and more everyday. This is not to say that I'm a social media expert, because, one of the clues that you're not a social media expert is that you claim to be one. In cases like this, I always goto Sir William of Goldman's Roman Numeral I, which states simply, ”Nobody Knows Anything.“

More on that phenomenon later, quite possibly @ a different site, (How many do I write for? 5?) However, specifically, when it comes to Twitter, I have really just one pet peeve, that is simply this: people that are not following me, tend to Direct Message me.

Now, to me, that implies that you want to take the conversation private. Ok, that's fine, I don't need to broadcast to the world who's flirting with me, or more importantly, who I'm flirting with, however, for the conversation to be truly private, you have to be following me as well, so that I may DM you back.

Two things happen when this is not the case. As I use TweetDeck, I have a really quick way to click to reply back privately, however, I can't do it, because you're not following me. I don't find this out, until after I attempt to DM. I've wasted my time typing a response, and now, I'm less likely to respond to your query, as maybe I don't want to put my response in the public timeline.

Therefore, you've created a situation wherein you won't get a response. Unless I'm kind enough to take the additional time that it requires to change the D to an @. Which is really, not much of the time lately. As I stated, I've got about 1500 followers, which means I'm receiving roughly 20 tweets every 2 minutes. TweetDeck again :) It's more fun, and productive for me, to deal with those, than to deal with you, because you've decided to be well, for lack of a better word, rude.

This has been a public service announcement.

Please Retweet.

I wonder if she knows....

Originally uploaded by overannalyze1

Just how sexy she is....

Authority

What is it? Who has it? Who wants it? Why? Where are they? I'm here today to tell you, I don't know. However, there are others out there that would have you think, say, act, or do differently. Because they have it.

And by it, I mean something that The Law!!! doesn't recognize....

Why, you ask? Or, maybe you didn't. Again, I don't know.

Previously, I've discussed how truly nobody knows anything. Now that you have this information, what should you do with it? Well, I choose to claim authority in all things having to do with nothing, or in this case, a mathematical calculation of a philosophical concept.

To wit: As opposed, to twit: If I have 35K+ followers on Twitter, while at the same time, following roughly the same amount, how do I get any work done? Or, the actual question I started to ask, do I have the authority to make grandiose pronouncements? How do I effectively use my theoretical one million plus Myspace friends to my advantage?

Let's find out together, shall we? We don't have to mind you, as you can get off this ride at any time. As opposed to anytime. In any case, I can't, as I haven't made my word count yet. Confused? Good! Then you're starting to understand.

Any mathematical formula that you come up with will fall woefully short. Simply because, you can't have authority in everything. Why are 35K plus people listening to me? Well, go ask them. Maybe I know something they don't, in which case, my information has value. To them.

Otherwise, if they already know what I know, what I say or do or even think, isn't as valuable. Think of it: Information I have, may have different value to others. Am I an authority to those that already know what I know? Well, maybe I am.

I may be able to disseminate the information differently than they. There 'they' are again. The theoretical 'they' of whom we know little if anything about. What if I don't care what 'they' have to say? In this case, 'they' have no authority, and none should be given to them. I have an extremely diverse background, and yet, I'm sure there are others out there that I can learn from in my various fields of endeavor.

I will give them authority, when requested. Not before. Until such time as I need their expertise, their information, or even data, may not be useful. N.B. There is a difference between data and information. Information is how you disseminate the data. Or, mine it. But as always, that's another post for another blog that I don't necessarily write for.

Did you know that grammatically, it's now ok to end a sentence in a preposition? I just found this out recently, from a grammarian, that I gave authority to. As opposed to which I gave authority. It's interesting, and even fascinating to note at this point that the root word of authority is, you guess it, author.

Who created the information in the first place? They should probably be the ultimate authority over it. We may interpret it differently, at which point, The Law!!! comes into play. Scary, isn't it?
Well, maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. The doom and gloom you hear preached on almost a daily basis by the media elite is at best, an illusion. Ultimately, the media should be reporting the facts, and not interpreting them, to their own ends.

Those that would claim authority over their various niches, should indeed realize that they may not be the authority they think they are. There 'they' are again. 'They' seem to be everwhere. Who are 'they?' 'They' are not us, as we are not one of 'them.'

I'm sure this will all make sense one day, to someone that reads it this far. As for me, I choose to end here. For now. Tune in next week when the random ramblings of this Idea Master go off on yet another tangent.

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Adjust your expectations accordingly.

This was originally written for Idea Masters™, however, has yet to be published there.

The Suck Scale

At one time or another, you have probably uttered a variation of the phrase, “That sucks!” And like I have, you've finally come to the conclusion that everything sucks, to some degree. For this, The Suck Scale is born. It goes from 1 to 100, and as you can't have more than 100% of anything, will never go any higher. Of course, you can peg the meter.

Or, to put it simply, something that sucks massively rates a 100, while the least amount of suck rates a 1. However, and I find this quite unlikely, something may indeed, not suck, as in, “That doesn't even rate a 1 on the suck scale!”

The Suck Scale is purely subjective, and is of course subject to interpretation by those viewing whatever it is that sucks. You may think that Obama getting elected rates a 100, others may find it to be a 1, while most of us fall somewhere in between, unless of course, for you it doesn't suck, in which case another scale is needed, as we have previously defined it, everything sucks to some degree, and therefore, deserves a rating of some amount of suck.

You may not realize that something in your life sucks, in which case, someone needs to inform you that it does. Someone could walk up to you on the street and say, “That rates a 73,” and you wouldn't know what that means. A search on the term 73 wouldn't come up with anything, once you arrived home, and you'd be forever in the dark. Therefore, awareness of The Suck Scale is key.

You might ask yourself, “Self, why does everything suck?” At which point, you may try to answer the question, or, more likely, figure out how much overall suckage exists. Clearly, most movies suck. Don't take my word for it, stand in the lobby of any major movie theatre after the movie ends, and listen to the comments of most people coming out. I could give examples, but most of them simply boil down to, “That movie sucked!” If you'd like to figure out how much, simply assign a percentage of the overall comments that are similar, and that will be your score. Remember, lower scores are better, and LA Story doesn't even rate a one on the suck scale.

Restaurants, to some degree, will of course also, suck to some degree. Just ask any notable food critic. They can always find something wrong with the soup, or their steak gets undercooked, “I ordered it medium, not medium rare!!!” This fact alone will probably garner you a suck rating at that particular restaurant in the high 60's.

Traffic during rush hour rates a 100, no question. Unless of course you like sitting in your car for hours at a time going nowhere quickly. Frankly, if I'm going to sit in my car for hours, I usually pick a secluded spot, and a beautiful woman to share the time with, which again, doesn't rate anything near The Suck Scale.

You've probably heard the phrase, “Work sucks, but I need the bucks...” uttered at your place of employment, if you haven't seen it on a bumper sticker in the above mentioned rush hour traffic. If you enjoy your work, this probably rates in the low 20's, however, I'm guessing for most, it's in the high 80's. Now, finding a career that gives you fulfillment as well as enjoyment, doesn't touch The Suck Scale at all.

These are just a few examples of things that may suck in your life, for which I have now provided you an appropriate way to measure them. Of course, this is your life, and not mine, as the ability to make a beautiful woman smile via a simple message on the 'net, definitely does not suck....

Sounds Like Something from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...

In my never ending effort to at least blog something everyday, even when I don't have something, I found this:

So when I say I’m seriously impressed with HootSuite (formerly known as Brightkit, which was an awful name) that’s no light recommendation.Steve Woodruff, StickyFigure, Feb 2009

I suggest you click the link, and if you follow me on Twitter, you'll start seeing more of these types of links from me. And, if you're not following me on Twitter, why not?

Twitter Survey That I'm Taking

Image via Wikipedia

I've been spending a lot of time on Twitter lately, to almost the exclusion of all else, as you may or may not know. I have a simple follow algorithm: Be interesting, and I'll follow you, almost anywhere :) Have met several fascinating new people, including @WhenIGroUpCoach. She asked me five questions, to wit:

* Where the heck did Matches Malone come from?

That one's simple. Anyone that has read a Batman comic or three, knows that it's his alter ego when he needs to go undercover, to ferret out some information he couldn't otherwise get as Batman.

* How do you decide which avatars to feature on your Twitter background?

I can't take credit for this one, actually. My original idea was for a background with my top 36 followers, and then each of their top 36. I sent this to @HughBriss who ran with the idea, and came up with something different. I've only made one change on it since. If you look carefully, there's someone on there twice. We could talk about the Shorty Awards, but that might veer off topic.

* What one book has blown your mind, and what about it has stuck with you?

The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller. Batman at age 50. Groundbreaking stuff in 1986. Watchmen came out around the same time, however, Batman's always been the fictional character that anyone could actually be, if they dedicated their life to it. The whole canon is inspiring, actually, but this one stands out.

* If you can be given one superpower, what would it be?

Ok, this goes against everything I just said, however, it would be cool to fly. Wouldn't need a car ever again. Either that, or to actually be psychic, which hasn't been properly represented in any medium, at least, recently.

* What do you have a soft spot for?

If I give you the answer to this one, I'll give away a confidence, which I'm not ready to do. Suffice it to say, interesting and intelligent women :)

Sometimes, I wonder...

Image via CrunchBaseLately, I've been taking a morning walk of approximately 2 miles, everyday. This is a good thing. The thing that's not so good, I'm finding out, is I've been taking pics of where I've been along the way. Ok, not so bad in and of itself, however, I have been uploading them to my new home on Twitter, via a Twitpic.

It occurs to me, that since I've been using my cellphone, and there's an embedded GPS signal thrown into the mix, that a smart person taking the time might be able to figure out where I live. Or worse, I've given my current coordinates to Skynet, and we all know how painful that can be....

Inaugural Fail Whale

Inaugural Fail Whale
Originally uploaded by Steelopus

It would seem that today's Fail Whale will be carried away by the American Bald Eagle. Very appropriate, however, a color scheme change might be in order....

Haven't Done This Here In Awhile...

Image via WikipediaSo, now seems as good a time as any for my personal All I Need To Know, I Learned From Star Trek List:

1. Books are more valuable than the same information stored in computers, as well as the computer itself.

2. There is no such thing as the no win scenario.
Corollary: There are often more than two choices.

3. “You kenna change the laws of physics!!!”

More as I think of them, as I've got other stuff to do.... :)

The Case For @Scobleizer

Image via CrunchBaseOver on FriendFeed, there's a conversation wherein @TechCrunch called out @Scobleizer on his social media addiction. To which I say, huh? The numbers that are significant are these: 7 hours a day on Friend Feed, for, a year, more or less.

@TechCrunch states that @Scobleizer's “Addiction” has decreased his blogging time, and everyone that matters, has seen this as a problem. @Scobleizer stated his rebut as it were, somewhere. Points were made by both sides, however, let's do the math, shall we?

Now, I bill my time @ $150/hr minimum 2, when I“m hired as a consultant. @Scobleizer may make more or less than that, so, let's stay with that #. Based on the above, 7x7x52x150= wait for it, a whole lot a money. Or, $382, 200 US, lest you didn't think I had a calculator. There are too many other things that I don't know, and if this goes viral as I suspect it will, someone's going to straighten me out. But I digress....

If the company that he works for pays him less than that, they're getting a great deal. If he makes more than that, He's getting a great deal. Why should we believe anything beyond that? Most of use work eight hours a day, and we make significantly less. @Scobleizer has found a way to work only 7. I want that job!!!

The Blatant Self Promotion Tour

In an effort to continue what I started, And to win really just the nomination for the award, I give you more, Blatant Self Promotion. I could probably write this better, however, I'm going for the circular thing mentioned in the original post, and I'm trying some new stuff....

So, if my followers read this first, you must read the article referenced above, at which point, the link to nominate me should be in there. I think. I haven't quite tested everything yet. That's right, I'm making this up as I go....

It's snowing at Word Press.

I don't know if this is site wide, however, the last two Word Press blogs I've visited, have visible snowflakes falling in front of not only the picture, but the text as well. I'd twitter about this, but it takes more than 140 characters....