Happy Halloween!!

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be decorating the yard this year as I have in the past. Last year, we got only 10 kids -perhaps they were a little freaked out from the doll heads hanging from the trees.

Nevertheless, I'm still wearing my cape.

Ambition

"Ambition is not a dirty word."

If you lack this, get a publisher. It's that simple. Either you pssess it like you possess artistic talent, or you don't. Ambition is not a technique you can study to improve upon. It's either or it's not - simple as that. It's an innate trait built into your DNA. Yes, we all have it to some extent, but you know what I'm talking about - the burning desire to enjoy success and be somebody come hell or high water.

-Barney Davey

I swear this guy took the words straight from my mouth. "Come Hell or high water" is my trademark. :)

Thinking Aloud

How cool would it be if/when telephony advances to the point where we're able to pick up the phone from the cradle and speak words similiar to URLs on the net?

So, instead of dialing a number that one has to look up, place on speed dial, or actually physically dial, we could call out the name of the person/company we want to reach? Perhaps, initially, our Ma Bells allow us to do a voice-dial similiar to that on our mobiles, but eventually, all numbers would be converted over to words. For instance, we would speak:

US>Raleigh>Restaurants>EVOO>Reservations

How cool would that be?

Scary Quote Read on a Forum

"You need to get rid of this art business for the mortgage to go through," as said by banker to fully employed programmer and freelancer.

Need I say more?

Victorian Post-Mortem Photography

Look upon the faces of the dead while they lie in their coffins -pretty creepy.

http://ame2.asu.edu/projects/haunted/ISA%20index/
book%20of%20the%20dead/book%20of%20the%20dead%20photos.htm

A Swede Shot

A magic moment was on a digital camera and won the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

A near deleted shot from his digital camera, a Swede, Goran Ehlme, snagged a shot of a walrus feeding on clams on the sea floor. I must be tired, but can only see an alien amisdt a whirl of grey, disturbed sediment.

Let me know if you can see the walrus (coo coo cachoo) because if nothing else, it's just a great composition regardless of the subject matter.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6063862.stm

You Can Bury It With You

So, I guess I should be applauding any company wanting to take it's brand to the grave, but c'mon!

I read today that baseball teams are now allowing fans to don their caskets with their favorite teams logos. Seriously. MLB has signed an agreement with Eternal Image which is gearing up for making urns and caskets for all 30 teams. It's true that one of the prime target audiences is the boomers and geezers, but a spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association indicates that baseball products are part of a trend they're trying to capture. "It's the life and the passions of the person that has passed away," states Kurt Soffe.

But why bury the fans? Why not just cremate them, stuff 'em in a baseball and whack them out into the big outfield in the sky?

Now that I've got an opportunity to design my own casket (ick), I'm thinking the images of the CalligraphyPets should adorn the outside and kitty litter filled within.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061018/ap_on_fe_st/baseball_funerals

Listen... Closely

I'm sitting here watching a little 'Smallville' and the opening scene quickly reminded me of the new evolution of advertising.

If you've TIVO'd or DVR'd Smallville, go back to the opening scene where Chloe & Jimmy Olson sit in Makeout Point and chat about old times, you'll hear a Camry commercial clearly talking specs about the new hybrid just under $26k.

Funny. Very funny.

So, the next time you cozy in to watch your favorite show, listen... listen closely for the interruption that isn't so usual, you might see or hear something familiar.

Archaeo-Acoustics

One of our favorite shows, MythBusters, having a scream exploring the myth of "archaeo-acoustics" — i.e., ancient pottery can contain sounds from the past that can be played back and listened to today, just like a record.

Evidently, during the Pompeiian period, while potters worked at their wheel, any extraordinary sound bytes that came within their environment while they were at the wheel, would be recorded on their pot! (They hypothosized this on the X-Files some years ago)

They apply a glass stylus to a grove on the pot as the pot rotates on the wheel, and one hears a ghostly voice. Then they took their recording to a professional to erradicate the eroneous noise and reveal the truth.

What do you think the result was?