On the release of another Star Wars film, I present the following. In talking with some coworkers today at lunch, we came up with another career for Gary Coleman, AKA Arnold from Different Strokes. Consider these as possible roles for Gary in one of the original films in the Star Wars trilogy:
Han Solo?
R2D2?
Darth Vader?
Yoda?
Gary might have missed his calling, and could have been an even bigger star than he was on TV. And, for those wondering, no, I haven't seen the new Star Wars movie yet. No, I wasn't one of the dedicated, but equally crazy, fans who streamed in at 12:01 AM to see the new film. Truth be told, I missed Episodes 1 and 2, but have heard some good things of this film, so might see it--but after a few weeks, to let all the die heart fans see it first.
Thursday, May 19
Friday, May 6
"Ray" Like You've Never Seen Him
For those that don't know, "descriptive video," is a narration of spoken descriptions that are inserted in the natural pauses in film and TV. This description describes what's happening on the screen (costumes, set changes, gestures, etc), for the blind or vision impaired viewer. Earlier this year, "Ray" was released on VHS and DVD. One of the DVD versions has a descriptive narration track containing the same quality descriptions as were on the movie when it was released. To learn more about Descriptive Video Services (the people that make all this), refer to the Fun Page on my site. There you will find links to a DVS video list, the Mopix group and their initiative to describe many popular feature films when they are released, and other information.
I bring all this up to say that today I received my copy of the descriptive version of "Ray" on DVD. All I can say is: "Wow!" If you haven't seen this film, or if you want to relive it, then I would highly recommend this version. The descriptive narration is what I remember from the film I saw in the theater. I can also access the Director's Commentary, which is not described, but which has many insights on the making of the film, including scenes, different backgrounds, and many character insights. Just by watching the Director's Commentary, I get a sense of how dynamic and complex Ray really was, and how the director attempted to give us a glempse into this complexity.
To order this DVD, go to its page on Amazon.com. Get your copy now before its unavailable. You can also order it from Wall-Mart. The full name of the DVD is: "Ray, DVS Blind and low Vision Enhanced Widescreen Edition."
Since not many descriptive DVD's have been made yet, I consider this a great one to have, not only for the Oscar winning performance by actor Jamie Foxx, but also for the novelty of having a descriptive mainstream DVD period. Hopefully, DVS and others will put more of these out there. DVS does sell described videos, but videos aren't as fun and flexible as DVD's.
I bring all this up to say that today I received my copy of the descriptive version of "Ray" on DVD. All I can say is: "Wow!" If you haven't seen this film, or if you want to relive it, then I would highly recommend this version. The descriptive narration is what I remember from the film I saw in the theater. I can also access the Director's Commentary, which is not described, but which has many insights on the making of the film, including scenes, different backgrounds, and many character insights. Just by watching the Director's Commentary, I get a sense of how dynamic and complex Ray really was, and how the director attempted to give us a glempse into this complexity.
To order this DVD, go to its page on Amazon.com. Get your copy now before its unavailable. You can also order it from Wall-Mart. The full name of the DVD is: "Ray, DVS Blind and low Vision Enhanced Widescreen Edition."
Since not many descriptive DVD's have been made yet, I consider this a great one to have, not only for the Oscar winning performance by actor Jamie Foxx, but also for the novelty of having a descriptive mainstream DVD period. Hopefully, DVS and others will put more of these out there. DVS does sell described videos, but videos aren't as fun and flexible as DVD's.
An Interesting Twist on music Videos
Yesterday, a story appeared on the PR News Wire, entitled Stevie Wonder Makes Historic Breakthrough for Blind and Low Vision Music Fans. From this, I don't expect to be able to access every video on MTV or VH1, but it is an interesting twist, and truthfully, something that I might have really loved back in the day. It definitely offers a new meaning to "descriptive video."
Friday, April 29
Important Note for Those That Get Spam
Spam, or unwanted or junk email, is nothing new. In fact, if you don't get spam, then I'd certainly like to know how you've managed to avoid it, :) Anyway, I discovered a way to drastically cut down on the amount of spam that I get through my website, and those that have a website or know someone with one, might want to pass this along to them.
When I registered my site several years ago, I provided my contact information, including email address, to Go Daddy. My information, along with information for any domain name, is stored on a database run by Whois.net, or something like that. Anyway, to make a long story short, today I found out that spammers were still spamming me through the email address that I registered with. I should mention for clarification, that I use forwarding addresses through my site, whenever I sign up for services. One more way I try to cut down spam and try to hide my real address. Anyway, I had taken the registration forwarding address down from my site some time ago, but I have continued to get spam from it. It wasn't until I was taking care of some other business on Go Daddy earlier, that I realized where the spam has been coming from with this forwarding address.
If you have registered your domain through Go Daddy, then it would be to your advantage to sign up for their privacy protection service. I don't remember the exact name, but the sales representative recognized what I meant when I said this to him. The service costs only $8.95 a year, and you can have it along side your domain name, so that when you renew the domain name, the privacy service is renewed as well, for the number of years that you renew the domain name for. If that makes sense. Anyway, this privacy protection service will hide your postal address, phone number, and email address on the Who Is database of domain names. For those that don't know, the Who Is database allows people to look up any available domain names and see who owns them. So, someone could lookup your domain name, see that you own it, and then have your address, phone, and email address to contact you with. This service from Go Daddy is worth its weight in gold, since as I discovered, when the email address is hidden, spammers can't get to you! If you are not with Go Daddy, then this might be a good reason to switch. Or, you might look into any similar program with whatever site you registered your domain name with.
Read more about the service at Go Daddy.
When I registered my site several years ago, I provided my contact information, including email address, to Go Daddy. My information, along with information for any domain name, is stored on a database run by Whois.net, or something like that. Anyway, to make a long story short, today I found out that spammers were still spamming me through the email address that I registered with. I should mention for clarification, that I use forwarding addresses through my site, whenever I sign up for services. One more way I try to cut down spam and try to hide my real address. Anyway, I had taken the registration forwarding address down from my site some time ago, but I have continued to get spam from it. It wasn't until I was taking care of some other business on Go Daddy earlier, that I realized where the spam has been coming from with this forwarding address.
If you have registered your domain through Go Daddy, then it would be to your advantage to sign up for their privacy protection service. I don't remember the exact name, but the sales representative recognized what I meant when I said this to him. The service costs only $8.95 a year, and you can have it along side your domain name, so that when you renew the domain name, the privacy service is renewed as well, for the number of years that you renew the domain name for. If that makes sense. Anyway, this privacy protection service will hide your postal address, phone number, and email address on the Who Is database of domain names. For those that don't know, the Who Is database allows people to look up any available domain names and see who owns them. So, someone could lookup your domain name, see that you own it, and then have your address, phone, and email address to contact you with. This service from Go Daddy is worth its weight in gold, since as I discovered, when the email address is hidden, spammers can't get to you! If you are not with Go Daddy, then this might be a good reason to switch. Or, you might look into any similar program with whatever site you registered your domain name with.
Read more about the service at Go Daddy.
A Tiger with a Voice
Today, Apple has released a major upgrade to their Apple Macintosh computer line. Now, if you're wondering why I'm mentioning this here, since Mac's have typically not been real accessible for the blind, well its because Apple has done their homework and included some tools for us.
The new Voice Over set of tools provide keyboard shortcuts, magnification, and a screen reader like interface, all built into the operating system. Microsoft tried a minimal approach to screen reading some years ago when they included Narrator in their Windows 2000 and XP operating systems when they first came out. However, this is a minimal approach, and they even admit to the fact that Narrator was never meant to be a full screen reader. The difference with Apple, is that they apparently have strived to make Voice Over as full a screen reading package as possible.
This is very exciting to see from a computer/operating system manufacturer, and hopefully, since its won't be another year and a half or more until Longhorn comes out, Microsoft will make a concerted effort to overhall their Narrator so that its comparable to Voice Over.
Read more about Voice Over from the link above, or you can listen to a demonstration, recorded at last year's American Council of the Blind's convention last summer on their 2004 Convention Archives page. You will want to choose the Wednesday broadcast, and if you have the ability to jump to a specific time in your media player (such as Winamp), then the program item begins at the 195:40 point.
Though it's likely too early to tell if Apple's move will be an effective screen reading solution, it's terriffic to see a mainstream developer, much less a company like Apple, take up the challenge of reaching out to an under served population like the blind. Besides all that, we now have a potential alternative to the Windows environment. And, since Voice Over is built-in, that automatically eliminates the extra $600-$1000 that blind people often have to pay to get additional screen reading software. Therefore, this is awesome!
The new Voice Over set of tools provide keyboard shortcuts, magnification, and a screen reader like interface, all built into the operating system. Microsoft tried a minimal approach to screen reading some years ago when they included Narrator in their Windows 2000 and XP operating systems when they first came out. However, this is a minimal approach, and they even admit to the fact that Narrator was never meant to be a full screen reader. The difference with Apple, is that they apparently have strived to make Voice Over as full a screen reading package as possible.
This is very exciting to see from a computer/operating system manufacturer, and hopefully, since its won't be another year and a half or more until Longhorn comes out, Microsoft will make a concerted effort to overhall their Narrator so that its comparable to Voice Over.
Read more about Voice Over from the link above, or you can listen to a demonstration, recorded at last year's American Council of the Blind's convention last summer on their 2004 Convention Archives page. You will want to choose the Wednesday broadcast, and if you have the ability to jump to a specific time in your media player (such as Winamp), then the program item begins at the 195:40 point.
Though it's likely too early to tell if Apple's move will be an effective screen reading solution, it's terriffic to see a mainstream developer, much less a company like Apple, take up the challenge of reaching out to an under served population like the blind. Besides all that, we now have a potential alternative to the Windows environment. And, since Voice Over is built-in, that automatically eliminates the extra $600-$1000 that blind people often have to pay to get additional screen reading software. Therefore, this is awesome!
Thursday, April 28
Visual Verification Again
Google, my favorite search site, has fallen into the visual verification trap, as outlined in the article about Google Under Fire for Excluding Blind Bloggers. I'm a huge fan of Google, however, this problem of visual verification is not new. Basically, to prevent their site from being spammed or from having numerous robots sign up for accounts, many sites (not just Google) have a graphical code that you have to read and type into an edit field, before you can complete the sign up process. The main problem for the blind, aside from not being able to "see" the code, is that our screen readers (like JAWS), cannot "see" the code. Thus, we are not able to read the characters and type them into the edit field. Some sites that have had this problem, have offered partial solutions, like giving an 800 number for the blind user to call for assistance, or offering a pre-recorded audio file of a synthesized voice reading the characters. However, these solutions are not fool proof, since in the first case, its a pain to have to rely on someone to be there to assist in the registration process. And, in the second instance, some of the audio files are hard to understand. This is done on purpose though, so that not just anyone can sign up for the service. I remind you that the audio file approach, while it may attempt to be limiting in its approach, its meant to give better access to blind people
The problem of visual verification may continue for some time. However, if you would like to speak out against this, then please write a quick note to Blogger Support. This will take you to a form that you can fill out. Explain that the verification code is not a good technique to use, since it blocks the blind. The reason being that our screen readers cannot read the graphic and thus, cannot tell us the letter/number combination to type in.
One proposed solution that I've heard of, to solve this verification problem, involves having the blind person fill in their email address, and then have an email sent to them which contains the code to write in. In this manner, the user could get the code, and do in an independent manner. In addition, it's more straight forward than listening to a possibly garbled audio file with the code in it.
Truthfully, this is why I haven't posted in awhile. Though the move by Google have only happened in the last few weeks, I misunderstood and thought that they were blocking access for those that already had blogs, and presenting that verification code for composing new posts to your blog. It wasn't until earlier this week, when I posted that I realized that this wasn't true. However, they are still preventing blind people from independently signing up for new blogs, and this needs to be changed.
The problem of visual verification may continue for some time. However, if you would like to speak out against this, then please write a quick note to Blogger Support. This will take you to a form that you can fill out. Explain that the verification code is not a good technique to use, since it blocks the blind. The reason being that our screen readers cannot read the graphic and thus, cannot tell us the letter/number combination to type in.
One proposed solution that I've heard of, to solve this verification problem, involves having the blind person fill in their email address, and then have an email sent to them which contains the code to write in. In this manner, the user could get the code, and do in an independent manner. In addition, it's more straight forward than listening to a possibly garbled audio file with the code in it.
Truthfully, this is why I haven't posted in awhile. Though the move by Google have only happened in the last few weeks, I misunderstood and thought that they were blocking access for those that already had blogs, and presenting that verification code for composing new posts to your blog. It wasn't until earlier this week, when I posted that I realized that this wasn't true. However, they are still preventing blind people from independently signing up for new blogs, and this needs to be changed.
Wednesday, April 27
Longhorn Update
Read about the current update on Longhorn, which is supposed to be the next operating system from Microsoft. This article appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Longhorn was supposed to be released a year or two ago, and now is slated for release late next year. I wouldn't be surprised, at the current rate, if it didn't actually come out until sometime in 2007. Nonetheless, everyone gets excited, including myself, whenever there's talk of updating an operating system and wants to know what's going to be included. The linked article will give you that glimpse. Enjoy.
Longhorn was supposed to be released a year or two ago, and now is slated for release late next year. I wouldn't be surprised, at the current rate, if it didn't actually come out until sometime in 2007. Nonetheless, everyone gets excited, including myself, whenever there's talk of updating an operating system and wants to know what's going to be included. The linked article will give you that glimpse. Enjoy.
Tuesday, April 26
Technology is Problem for the Blind
An article entitled, The Blind Struggle as Gadgets Proliferate, from My Way News, talks about some of the many challenges in adapting technology for the blind.
Wednesday, March 2
Secure your cell phone
Believe it or not, cell phone security is becoming more of an issue. Check out this article, from MSNBC.com, on Cell Phone Voicemail Easily Hacked. Many people may consider it a convenience, but for security sake, make sure you have a password for your phone's voicemail. After all, you lock your door when you leave the house. So why not take a similar measure with your phone?
Monday, February 21
Thursday, February 17
Blogging about work
I read an interesting article today on PCWorld.com, about a former employee of Google, that was fired because of things he wrote in his blog. According to the article, Mark Jen was critical of some of Google’s practices and other things. Jen was hired on January 17. By January 28, he was no longer at Google. He posted to his blog on February 9, saying that he had been fired. IN the article, Jen says that he wasn’t really given any reason for his firing, and Google really didn’t disclose why Jen had been fired. Though they did say that he had worked at Google.
Last year, a flight attendant for a major airline was fired because of some pictures of herself in uniform, that she had posted to her own blog. Apparently someone from the airline saw the pictures and found them offensive.
It seems that talking about your boss or the company you work for, and then getting fired for it, might become a more common occurrence in this day and age. On the one hand, I can understand the temptation of talking about one’s boss. You want to vent, and by blogging, you can put your ideas down on “paper” and come away feeling a little better. The idea of being able to write my ideas on my own personal journal, is undoubtedly, very appealing to me, and I can see how blogging can get to be popular among people. However, I also understand that this type of journal is not sitting in my desk drawer. Instead, its out on the Net for anyone, anywhere in the world to read about—including my boss. Granted, I don’t know how often my boss might find herself reading my blog. But, I do know its possible. After all, I make it freely available, with a link from my site to my blog, and have heard from several people already that have said that they were going to bookmark my blog.
I’m not really sure how I feel about blogging in all of its forms, but I’d like to think that I’m smart enough to not blog about anything work related that might get me in trouble at work. I like my job; I like getting paid, :)
What do you think? Are blogs personal property and should they be kept as such? Or, is it wrong for someone to blog about employers? Should we be surprised from someone getting fired, because they blogged about the loss in profits that they’re company may or may not be facing?
Last year, a flight attendant for a major airline was fired because of some pictures of herself in uniform, that she had posted to her own blog. Apparently someone from the airline saw the pictures and found them offensive.
It seems that talking about your boss or the company you work for, and then getting fired for it, might become a more common occurrence in this day and age. On the one hand, I can understand the temptation of talking about one’s boss. You want to vent, and by blogging, you can put your ideas down on “paper” and come away feeling a little better. The idea of being able to write my ideas on my own personal journal, is undoubtedly, very appealing to me, and I can see how blogging can get to be popular among people. However, I also understand that this type of journal is not sitting in my desk drawer. Instead, its out on the Net for anyone, anywhere in the world to read about—including my boss. Granted, I don’t know how often my boss might find herself reading my blog. But, I do know its possible. After all, I make it freely available, with a link from my site to my blog, and have heard from several people already that have said that they were going to bookmark my blog.
I’m not really sure how I feel about blogging in all of its forms, but I’d like to think that I’m smart enough to not blog about anything work related that might get me in trouble at work. I like my job; I like getting paid, :)
What do you think? Are blogs personal property and should they be kept as such? Or, is it wrong for someone to blog about employers? Should we be surprised from someone getting fired, because they blogged about the loss in profits that they’re company may or may not be facing?
Saturday, February 12
Grocery Shopping: When things don't add up
Have you ever noticed that granola bar manufacturers are selective on the kinds of bars they produce and in which packages they put them? For instance, its not uncommon to find a variety pack of granola bars, or to see single packages of one particular flavor, such as chocolate, strawberry, oatmeal raison, etc. However, it is rather unusual to find single packages containing some of the other flavors in the variety pack.
I happen to be a fan of the chewy granola bars, I’ve gotten the single pack of chocolate chip bars, or the variety packs made by Quaker. But, there are some kinds of bars that I find in the variety pack, that I only find in there and not in a single pack. For instance, have you ever seen a single package of Oreo cookie granola bars? Or perhaps cookies and cream or Smores? Oh sure, I can get the variety pack of these flavors, and more, and get one bar of each flavor. But that’s just the problem: what if I want more than one Oreo cookie granola bar? Currently, the only way to get more than one is to buy more than one box of the variety packs. Does anyone know where these extra single packs of flavors have gone?
The reverse could be asked about the Honey nut Cheerios and milk granola/cereal bars. You see these in single packages, but as of yet, I haven’t seen these in a variety pack? Why is this?
Of course, as long as we’re in the grocery store and talking about things that just don’t add up quite right, let’s go over to the hot dog and hot dog buns area. There’s like 8 dogs and 10 or 12 buns. There are times quite often when I go shopping that I want things simple stupid. However, if I were to go over to the dogs and buns area, I need a calculator in order to figure how many packages of buns and dogs I need to buy to make the numbers even. I suppose I could get one pack of each, but then there would be leftover hot dog buns. I suppose the cycle could be repeated of getting dogs and buns, and keeping the left over buns, but at some point, the numbers won’t add up and you’ll be left with extra buns and no dogs. And hot dog buns aren’t like hamburger buns, where you can recycle the buns and use them as sandwiches or for other things. If you really want to be adventurous, I suppose you could just make several mayo, Ketchup and cheese hot dog buns, in order to use the extras, but what’s the point if there’s no dog to put on them?
Just some, uh, food for thought, :)
I happen to be a fan of the chewy granola bars, I’ve gotten the single pack of chocolate chip bars, or the variety packs made by Quaker. But, there are some kinds of bars that I find in the variety pack, that I only find in there and not in a single pack. For instance, have you ever seen a single package of Oreo cookie granola bars? Or perhaps cookies and cream or Smores? Oh sure, I can get the variety pack of these flavors, and more, and get one bar of each flavor. But that’s just the problem: what if I want more than one Oreo cookie granola bar? Currently, the only way to get more than one is to buy more than one box of the variety packs. Does anyone know where these extra single packs of flavors have gone?
The reverse could be asked about the Honey nut Cheerios and milk granola/cereal bars. You see these in single packages, but as of yet, I haven’t seen these in a variety pack? Why is this?
Of course, as long as we’re in the grocery store and talking about things that just don’t add up quite right, let’s go over to the hot dog and hot dog buns area. There’s like 8 dogs and 10 or 12 buns. There are times quite often when I go shopping that I want things simple stupid. However, if I were to go over to the dogs and buns area, I need a calculator in order to figure how many packages of buns and dogs I need to buy to make the numbers even. I suppose I could get one pack of each, but then there would be leftover hot dog buns. I suppose the cycle could be repeated of getting dogs and buns, and keeping the left over buns, but at some point, the numbers won’t add up and you’ll be left with extra buns and no dogs. And hot dog buns aren’t like hamburger buns, where you can recycle the buns and use them as sandwiches or for other things. If you really want to be adventurous, I suppose you could just make several mayo, Ketchup and cheese hot dog buns, in order to use the extras, but what’s the point if there’s no dog to put on them?
Just some, uh, food for thought, :)
Wednesday, February 9
Paratransit rant, and a theory
I have several different transportation options as a blind person. There’s the public transit service (called Dallas Area Rapid Transit, or DART), there’s the Paratransit service, a division of DART, which basically allows those disabled people that don’t drive an option for transportation; and then there are the lesser known but equally valuable walking and friends/family. I use a combination of all these options in my daily life: taking Paratransit to and from work, taking the bus to a nearby rail station for shopping or to go to the grocery store, and various other things. Well, since I’ve moved from living in my parent’s house to an efficiency, which I’ve been at for going on 5 months now (can’t believe its been that long already), I’ve had different experiences with the Paratransit services.
When living at the other house, they always picked me up on time and often were sitting out there before it was time for my designated pick up time. However, now that I’m in the new place, this has changed. Which leads me to a new theory that has proven to be correct more often than not.
If I’m on time in my getting ready process and go out at the exact pick up time, then I end up waiting for the Paratransit ride. However, if I’m the least bit lagging or late, and happen to walk out two or three minutes past the designated time, they get all upset. They have a rule that states that the passenger has to be ready and in the process of boarding at and up to 5 minutes after they arrive. However, they allow themselves a 20 minute window to arrive, in which the passenger has to be ready and waiting for them. Since I’m in a smaller place, it usually takes me about 30 seconds from the time I pull my coat and gather my things, lock the door, and head down the sidewalk to board my ride. So I’m not that concerned whether or not I’ll make their 5 minute window, though I nearly always am out there at the beginning of this window in case the driver were to get impatient and drive off.
The driver on the other hand, pulls up, sees I’m not there, gets impatient (well, to be fare, some do and some don’t, but I seem to get the ones that do more often than not), calls the dispatcher telling them to call me and remind me that my rides sitting out there. Meanwhile, I’m pulling my coat on and gathering my things, getting ready to step outside. Several times, I’ve had my keys in hand and have even been in the process of locking the door, when I hear the phone ring. Who else would be calling me at 7:30 in the morning? So, like a fool, I quickly unlock the door, nearly drop my things while running to get the phone, only to pick it up and hear, “This is DART Paratransit. You’re rides out front. (Why aren’t you?)” I should say that I’ve added this last part. They’ve never said that to me, though I’ve come close to having a few choice words to say to them.
Anyway, here’s my theory: whenever I’m on time, they’re late, and whenever I’m even slightly late, they’re impatient and demanding that I get outside and board the ride. Once, the driver thought she would take charge and threatened to give me a “no show,” which you get if you don’t show up during the 5 minute period that they give you to scramble to the car. At which I said, “You know what? I don’t care. Go ahead.” She was surprised and questioned why I would have taken the no show. I responded with this: “Listen. You know how many no shows I’ve gotten in the year and a half I’ve been using this service? Try none. So one really isn’t going to upset me too much. Besides, I had decided when I got up this morning that if I missed this ride, I’d probably call a cab.” That seemed to satisfy her. I should add though that the Paratransit people reset your no show count each month. So, in theory, its possible to get one or two no shows a month and not get your service suspended, which they do after you get three.
And this is the type of service your tax dollars go to fund. Wow. Leaves me speechless, :) At least until the next entry.
When living at the other house, they always picked me up on time and often were sitting out there before it was time for my designated pick up time. However, now that I’m in the new place, this has changed. Which leads me to a new theory that has proven to be correct more often than not.
If I’m on time in my getting ready process and go out at the exact pick up time, then I end up waiting for the Paratransit ride. However, if I’m the least bit lagging or late, and happen to walk out two or three minutes past the designated time, they get all upset. They have a rule that states that the passenger has to be ready and in the process of boarding at and up to 5 minutes after they arrive. However, they allow themselves a 20 minute window to arrive, in which the passenger has to be ready and waiting for them. Since I’m in a smaller place, it usually takes me about 30 seconds from the time I pull my coat and gather my things, lock the door, and head down the sidewalk to board my ride. So I’m not that concerned whether or not I’ll make their 5 minute window, though I nearly always am out there at the beginning of this window in case the driver were to get impatient and drive off.
The driver on the other hand, pulls up, sees I’m not there, gets impatient (well, to be fare, some do and some don’t, but I seem to get the ones that do more often than not), calls the dispatcher telling them to call me and remind me that my rides sitting out there. Meanwhile, I’m pulling my coat on and gathering my things, getting ready to step outside. Several times, I’ve had my keys in hand and have even been in the process of locking the door, when I hear the phone ring. Who else would be calling me at 7:30 in the morning? So, like a fool, I quickly unlock the door, nearly drop my things while running to get the phone, only to pick it up and hear, “This is DART Paratransit. You’re rides out front. (Why aren’t you?)” I should say that I’ve added this last part. They’ve never said that to me, though I’ve come close to having a few choice words to say to them.
Anyway, here’s my theory: whenever I’m on time, they’re late, and whenever I’m even slightly late, they’re impatient and demanding that I get outside and board the ride. Once, the driver thought she would take charge and threatened to give me a “no show,” which you get if you don’t show up during the 5 minute period that they give you to scramble to the car. At which I said, “You know what? I don’t care. Go ahead.” She was surprised and questioned why I would have taken the no show. I responded with this: “Listen. You know how many no shows I’ve gotten in the year and a half I’ve been using this service? Try none. So one really isn’t going to upset me too much. Besides, I had decided when I got up this morning that if I missed this ride, I’d probably call a cab.” That seemed to satisfy her. I should add though that the Paratransit people reset your no show count each month. So, in theory, its possible to get one or two no shows a month and not get your service suspended, which they do after you get three.
And this is the type of service your tax dollars go to fund. Wow. Leaves me speechless, :) At least until the next entry.
GoDaddy.com's Advertising Strategy: did it work?
GoDaddy.com ran an ad during the Super Bowl last Sunday that some may consider offensive. Since I'm unable to see the ad, I'm not sure I can comment on this. However, I would like to point out their advertising strategy.
In the GoDaddy.com ad, a woman appeared in front of a mock committee on commercial censorship. In the course of the GoDaddy commercial, one of the woman's straps for her bra came loose, and she was left trying to hold it up. Apparently though, it was loose enough to give the viewer a glimpse.
Now, after running the ad in the first quarter of the game, Fox and the NFL talked and pulled the ad from the fourth quarter, where it was to run between the two minute warning and the end of the game. From news stories I've read on this, the GoDaddy ad was to be one of the last ads run in the Super Bowl, during game time anyway.
When the GoDaddy people heard that their ad was pulled, or when they didn't see it in the game, they contacted Fox and asked why not. When they were told, they were upset that the ad didn't run because of its content. They claimed that they paid nearly $5 million between the two times the ad was supposed to run, and were upset that they weren't getting their money's worth. However, it stands to reason that they've gotten more than their money's worth since Sunday with all the news coverage and blogs across the Net mentioning their company name and the ad. Not to mention the fact that the GoDaddy ad was one of the top TiVo moments in this year's Super Bowl.
The goal in coming up with effective advertising, or one of the goals, is to create something that people are going to remember. I would say that people will remember the GoDaddy ad, though whether its memory from the content or the controversy surrounding it leaves one wondering. Nonetheless, they in affect, achieved their goal of name recognition and memory with the public. Which leads me to ask the following: Was that their goal the whole time? Is that why they created the commercial that they did; why they chose the content, and why the strap happen to break, thus becoming one of the top TiVo moments?
In the GoDaddy.com ad, a woman appeared in front of a mock committee on commercial censorship. In the course of the GoDaddy commercial, one of the woman's straps for her bra came loose, and she was left trying to hold it up. Apparently though, it was loose enough to give the viewer a glimpse.
Now, after running the ad in the first quarter of the game, Fox and the NFL talked and pulled the ad from the fourth quarter, where it was to run between the two minute warning and the end of the game. From news stories I've read on this, the GoDaddy ad was to be one of the last ads run in the Super Bowl, during game time anyway.
When the GoDaddy people heard that their ad was pulled, or when they didn't see it in the game, they contacted Fox and asked why not. When they were told, they were upset that the ad didn't run because of its content. They claimed that they paid nearly $5 million between the two times the ad was supposed to run, and were upset that they weren't getting their money's worth. However, it stands to reason that they've gotten more than their money's worth since Sunday with all the news coverage and blogs across the Net mentioning their company name and the ad. Not to mention the fact that the GoDaddy ad was one of the top TiVo moments in this year's Super Bowl.
The goal in coming up with effective advertising, or one of the goals, is to create something that people are going to remember. I would say that people will remember the GoDaddy ad, though whether its memory from the content or the controversy surrounding it leaves one wondering. Nonetheless, they in affect, achieved their goal of name recognition and memory with the public. Which leads me to ask the following: Was that their goal the whole time? Is that why they created the commercial that they did; why they chose the content, and why the strap happen to break, thus becoming one of the top TiVo moments?
Tuesday, February 8
My First Post
Greetings. My name is Wayne Merritt, and I'm trying this blogging thing out to see how it all works. I am a blind computer user, and have heard a lot about blogging, but until recently, never gave it much thought. Anyway, I'll tell more about myself and the kinds of things I will blog in future posts. Right now, I'm just curious to see how this entry will look.
Talk soon,
Wayne
P.S.: Check out my website and learn more about me:
Wayneismsa
Talk soon,
Wayne
P.S.: Check out my website and learn more about me:
Wayneismsa
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