I wanted to just talk about a bunch of little things that are around and not stink it up with many big posts.

Jay Leno -

Thought the new show was a rehab of his old show.  If this is what’s gonna kill prime time at 10, then whatever gets killed deserves it.  Sure, he had controversial Kanye.  But Kanye is always controversial.  Who cares?

I thought for sure Jay’s sph*n*ter joke on gay bars was gonna get hit by the gay groups but they have less a radar than me — uh oh.  He also talked on himself when he called out to his band leader “Kevin Eubanks” as his soul mate and then told Seinfeld that a guy is dumb if he calls anyone other than his wife his soul mate.  I’m sure it was all in fun, but Jay’s not watching his words.

I hope this thing dies down.  The best thing Jay does is Jay’s Garage.  Now, that’s worth worrying about.

Football premier week –

Thanks to @scubagroves for breaking in Treehouse’s immense offering for football watchers.  We fattened him up and sent off to the dog park.

I’m sick of two phrases — “explosive” and “running down hill”.  Football, like many other media entities, is searching to connect the old with the new.

The first games were so-so.  I’m hoping it gets better.  Not a lot of drama.  Not a lot of close stuff. Everyone thinks the Cowboys are going to have a bad year.  Talk on Romo is bad too.  Oh well.

Going to the game this year with @campbrand and our boys, so I’m stoked either way.

Life Change –

I’m going to do some good and big changes over the course of the next month to get ready for a crisp and aggressive fall.  There are opportunities that I’ve come across that enhance the way I do things.  I need a makeover too.  I’ve got little ones you know.  And we’re only in the first grade on one of them and I want to be the coolest (old) dad at high school graduation.  So, you’ll see me making subtle changes and maybe you’ll pass me at the mall because I look too cool for the Charles we always knew.

I bring this up because as I’ve said in past posts, lots of people around me are making big changes.  They’re scary ones.  In fact, ‘ol Joe Camp just hightailed it to Bell Buckle, TN for his fourth or fifth act and he’s over 70.  That makes me feel like I can do anything at my age!  He had a post recently that said “Make a Move!”.  Joe really inspires people and he’s not had all roses.  So, stand up and MAKE THAT DAMN CHANGE!  Quit worrying about it and…

Just Do It.  Nike had it right.

And so I am.

Speaking of Nike –

Saw a wonderful documentary with @aramy the other night called “Art and Copy”. It’s a documentary on the ad biz and the sea change of the way the creative department was regarded after the mid-60s.  This change perpetuated what we know as great advertising — Nike.  Apple.  Got Milk.  Braniff.  It’s a must see if it comes to your town.

I’m old so nostalgia makes me excited. I  loved watching the old “Plain Planes” ads that were done right in Big D where I grew up.  Dallas was home to Braniff and we AA kids always fought at school with the Braniff kids.  I miss the days of planes like this — sans smoking.

Braniff

Big in Asia.

Coming here very soon.

Pokenplace was invented in Europe and is all the rage there. (go figure).  Its a small USB device that trades anything “linkwise” that you put on it.  So, if you want to carry your blog or website address or just your email address, you can easily click the pokenplace link farm over to your new contact as long as he has one.  The information is instantly traded.

This and other sites like dropcard are moocard killers as much as I like them.

Get your pokenplace today.  put “hothead” in the shopping cart and get 10% off.

Where was this when we needed it 15 years ago.  I bet they could have knocked a great deal of Netflix’s demo out of the park if they had.  I also bet Netflix picks this company up some day.

Its perfect for the new economy.  If you’re in grocery as much I am, it’s not too bad to stop and get the vid you want on the fly.  Sure, it’s not all the movies you’d get online, but it fills a need that a lot of people with kids have, which is what I used it for.

This really is a full bore service app for the future.  Imagine being able to ask your honey which honeydew melon to buy LIVE!

I think the application for business is unlimited as well.  If you have enough memory you could very well deliver a full meeting to someone live from your customer’s office.  My real estate friends can now give a live tour of a house from their mobile.  Quick decisions can now be facilitated via Qik.

Go gettem!

After the survey, which was full of what the interviewer and I deemed “racist sounding” questions (“Do you denote Hispanics by their facial features, their clothing, their cars or…”) but actually GOOD questions, I asked her details about what she was hearing.  She said the survey was sponsored by Mississippi State and The University of Mexico City.  She also said they had 1500 calls to make and that 600 had answered.  I was expecting (coming from my stereotype of what a Southerner might answer… see we all have them) that she’d say it was OK that most Americans are racist but she said they weren’t.  She said the numerous questions that ask if you’ve been displaced by a Hispanic worker or if the government was doing enough on these “bad guys” were answered in better than higher moral terms.  That pleased me greatly.

I told her that my “employees” like Santiago the garden expert were probably some of the finest human beings I’ve encountered in my 43 years.  Finer than dignitaries in big cities.  Finer than a few priests I’ve met.  I don’t usually use the Hothead pulpit for politics but I hope our country can figure out how to finally handle the workers that really do want to do a better job.  Santiago loves my place.  I see it in his eyes and how he sees the same tiny blade of grass out of place like I do. He’s always early to work.  He stays outside without lunch or water (which I offer a lot) and he can’t stand sitting at home when his wife is at work on the weekend.  He wants to work.  Period.  I’m certain that his beginning place is not as “neat” as my place, but I bet you’d feel as if it was if you went there.

Oh… and by the way, no Caucasian workers laid off from local jobs have asked Santiago to take over the gritty job he does out in the heat every day for a big landscape firm.  I doubt they ever will.

Grocery stores fit this model. I shop almost daily for this household’s groceries and I can easily tell you how much a certain family staple costs at each store. I scan each of the four store circulars that come in each week in a few minutes and take out what I need.

Fresh & Easy came on to the LA scene pretty strong in 2008. We have one near our home and I tried it. It’s a mix of Smart N Final (feel/texture/size) with Trader Joe’s (packaging, pricing) and any other general supermarket (they have bad stuff like Coke). The prices are competitive and on the low end in any pricing poll, and the whole concept is relatively cutting edge. There are 1/2 the employees on duty, maybe less. You self check. It’s all very European just like F&E’s owners.

They began marketing with a $5 on $25 coupon in circulars that was also always available and in the pockets of everyone in the store. Coupon expired? Here’s another and a pack for your four friends. Override needed because the register didn’t like your coupon? Fine. In late fall the coupon moved to $6 on $30. I pushed a lot of shoppers to try F&E and I know the recruitment was successful on most occasions.  It is a strong trust builder when you train customers over a seven or eight month period to expect to be able to use a coupon on each stop whether you had one or not. Then suddenly everything went south.

On a recent trip they began to not have any coupons in store. Then when mine was expired it took two managers and lots of angst to get them to give me the $6. I was handed cash in a rush and made to feel as I might not want to come back. Now, 20 years + in retail tells me the customer is not always right and maybe I’m not.  And also I realize this was marketing based on trialing and testing for a giant new investment.  But, I’ve been conditioned to want this coupon and I’m angry.  I know many others are.  We can’t continue this money saving practice and that’s a bummer.  In this economy what better time than to continue offering ways to save more on stuff for survival. There are no club cards to track me by and offer “sale prices” on the things I buy at F&E.  This is it.  What the numskulls don’t really get it is that in almost each occasion, I put things in my cart that the $6 savings will [sort of] cover that I wouldn’t have bought without it.  I spend more money folks!

On the other hand, I have been largely impressed by the Starbuck’s black/gold card (whichever you feel most proudest of). It offers me to commit $25 to save possibly hundreds over a year’s time. If you run the numbers and know what direct response gives most promotions it’s a winner for Starbucks. I’m not a winner for them — I shop there all the time. But it does keep me from going to Peet’s, a coffee I like better, just because I get the 10%. I’ve asked Peet’s to follow and I’m asking Fresh & Easy to do it as well.  Guess what?  In the case of the 10% card, I SPEND MORE MONEY FOLKS!  It’s a no brainer really!

If I were asked to pay an up-front charge to save 10% on my grocery bill each and every time, I’d be happy to. Look also at the success of Amazon Prime. Today my bill would have been reduced by $4.30 instead of $6. Fresh & Easy would have made money. Lots of people won’t show after the initial buy-in and the store does well. The loyalists like me will have smiles far and wide.

I KNEW they would get rid of this sweet sweet deal and I’m angry not only for the long tenured tease but also because I was right.

The company needs a hollywood version of the promo film but maybe Obama can help sales.

The hh likes Slacker a lot.  I still like Pandora but Slacker plays on my blackberry.  There’s not an app for Iphone yet, but there will be.  It’s a top 3 player for sure.  To the hh, it’s got some good features and is a little more intuitive than pandora.  The downsides are the ads once in a while.  Pay $3.99 and no ads.

Slack it.  You’ll be glad you did.