Catching up...

Lots of things to cover tonight…

1) Sorry for the lack of a post last night. I was out in Seattle for work this week and couldn’t find time to sit down and write, especially after spending what was effectively fourteen straight hours in meetings. The absolutely awful Monday post, which may or may not have been technically written in English, I’m going to blame equally on jet lag and the fact that it is very difficult for me to write from a hotel room. Somehow I just don’t feel like I’ll ever be one of those travelogue writers, though it is probably my dream gig.

2) What’s Seattle like this time of year? It’s rainy and gray and really, really windy. And for some reason, every single person in the town looks like they are really, really cool. It’s not even like they are trying that hard. They’re just walking around wearing North Face gear and thinking all day, “Wow, I am so awesome.” It’s a town I really need to hang out in.

3) I did have this thought hit me during the trip, I really believe that the only people who actually read USA Today are people who are staying at hotels. Does anyone rush over to the newsstand because they just have to have their copy? It’s not really news, it’s more like a printed version of the headline crawl on CNN. I don’t even think anyone in the hotel reads it, they just glance at the tv listings and toss it in the trash. Hell, you could probably save a ton of money by just reusing the same paper day after day. Most people probably wouldn’t even notice it.

4) Here is the absolute best advertisement that I’ve seen over the past couple of days. This year marks the twenty fifth anniversary of the Chia Pet. And, if you purchase the original version of the pottery that grows you will receive, at no additional charge, a lifesize Chia doll. Let’s examine this in detail, shall we? First of all, how in the world did Chia Pets survive in the market for twenty-five years? It’s gone from being interesting to bad to camp back to interesting to camp to bad during that time frame and yet people still walk into a Walgreens to buy them as gifts for people they don’t particularly like. At this point, it’s basically just a fruitcake that grows. Now, they are giving away toys with it and I want to know for whom does that just puts the deal over the top. “I don’t know Jethro, unless it came with a fifty cent piece of cotton I don’t know if it’s worth it.” And you can only get it with the original version, if you get the Garfield one you are out of luck. I’m telling you, every once in a while I feel that you just have to agree with the statement that no one has ever gone bankrupt by underestimating the intelligence of the American consumer.

5) On Sunday night I had a dream that I was a contestant in The Amazing Race. Add this to my dream of being in the cast of How I Met Your Mother I am now getting the sinking feeling that my subconscious has now become a CBS affiliate. I’m hoping this means more appearances of Jennifer Love Hewitt in my dreams as opposed to a more old school approach where I’m stuck reliving Diagnosis: Murder and Murder She Wrote night after night.

6) Still have to check this out but I had an email recently that offered me the opportunity to significantly expand the reach of the Battling the Current empire. Not sure if this is legit or not or whether it is the right deal for me but it might be an interesting development. Stay tuned.