It’s Gonna be one of those posts…..
As many of you know, I’ve been involved in local politics seriously since 2014. I became a local democratic zone leader in 2022. It’s been a big job, but it’s largely akin to running the PTO, but with more far-ranging consequences. You’ve got planning for events, wrangling volunteers, and keeping…
Guide to Gift Giving
It’s close to Christmas, and as we finish up our shopping, it’s worth reflecting on the purpose of gifts in the first place. I read an article this am about how millenial parents are frustrated that their Boomer parents are showering their kids with useless stuff that just ends up…
FFS
We’re living in interesting times. The lead candidate for the republican nomination for presidency just wants everyone to give up and anoint him their candidate now, despite finally starting to face the consequences of years of fraud and treating the legal system as a cudgel to use against anyone he…
AI is Going to Change Everything
Working in digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it can and should be used for is all the rage right now. If you want to understand AI better, the best source is really Chris Penn– who has an excellent set of videos and regularly explains what’s happening in AI…
Podcamp 2023
A small group of us, die hards from Podcamp Philly and Podcamp East, came together this past weekend for Podcamp 2023 in Philadelphia. There were amazing sessions talking about how AI and Chat GPT will pose challenges to those of us who are involved in digital marketing, or looking to…
Glad to Leave Office? I get it.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is getting into trouble because he spoke his truth, saying he’s looking forward to a time when he’s not mayor. As someone who was a Township Supervisor for 6 years, I understand this sentiment perhaps as much as anyone. Being a local elected official may look…
Almost 80 Best Movies of the 80’s
Rolling Stone just put out a post of the 100 best movies of the 1980’s- and there are a lot of obscure movies that as a teenager/college student during the 80’s I never heard of. As a child of divorced parents, I spent a ridiculous amount of time at the…
Losing but not Lost
I lost my bid for re-election as a Township Supervisor. Elections are like the world’s longest job interview. I knocked 946 doors, speaking with friends and neighbors; sending mail out to people about what I stood for, and what I believed. I chose not to attack my opponent, even though…
Running for Office
I am a local Township Supervisor in Pennsylvania, running for re-election this year. Supervisor is a part-time position, and comes with a statutory stipend of $2,500.00 a year. that equates to about $5.20 or less an hour of meeting time, and other work we put in to help guide the…
Dementia
My mother-in-law has dementia. She had been pretty good at hiding her slow cognitive decline for a long time, but gradually, not even those of us who would have preferred to be in denial could avoid the truth. We needed to move Nancy out of her home and into a…
Values
What do you value? What's important to you? How do you treat yourself? Do you have those same standards when you deal with others? 10 Things I Value Time- They say talk is cheap until you talk to a lawyer. Yet despite being an attorney by profession, I try to make...
Good Luck, Good Fortune and Opportunity
There's a lot of traditions and superstitions that surround the holidays. We've adopted several, including: -english crackers (mostly because they are just plain fun) -bayberry candles on Christmas eve and New year's eve This was a tradition we started after hearing...
Lessons from Seurat- Do What You’re Good At
First example of Seurat Painting Photo Originally uploaded by OldOnliner Some of the most important pre-work I have ever done has been taking the StrengthFinder profile. Don Clifton, one of the founders of the Strength-based approach in psychology, came up with this...
When Personalization Backfires
A year ago November, my Grandma died. I have sent her flowers around the holidays for years, using a couple of different internet websites. As a result, I get email prompts to buy her flowers around her birthday and now around Christmas. My options are to...
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
I wanted to take a moment here and say thank you for everyone who has come by my blog this year, who has taken the time to engage with me, and who has given me the gift of attention, which is one of the more rare commodities these days. It's been a crazy year of...
Cyclical Economics And Issues of Scale
Businesses have cycles of good times and bad times. there also seems to be a larger trend of mergers and acquisitions, followed by splintering, spinoffs, and the rise of the small but feisty competition. Back when I was an undergrad in the mid-eighties, the Wharton...
Interesting or Identifiable?
I've been reading Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs- A Low Culture Manifesto". It's basically a collection of essays-each one different, but each one (so far) displaying Chuck's great sense of humor, connecting what you would think are wildly disparate...
The WiFi Problem at Conferences
I had a meeting with my Podcamp Philly organizing team today, and we talked about the wifi problem we battle every year. We tend to put Podcamps at Universities and colleges, in part because the facilities are perfect for an unconferences- a great mix of larger and...
What The Dog Saw-A Review
I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's latest book, What The Dog Saw. Unlike The Tipping Point, Blink, or Outliers, which are basically "single" ideas expanded into book form, What The Dog Saw is a collection of Gladwell's remarkable writing from The New Yorker....
The Art of Buying and Selling in the Digital Age
I woke up this morning and wandered over to Chris Brogan's blog and read all about his recent issues encountered when trying to buy a pair of Timberland Boots. I think the comments and Chris's point may have gotten a bot lost in the shuffle, so I thought I'd write...
