January, 2011
Feeling like it’s time to take things to the next level. We’re starting to work with Facebook and Twitter, and to talk to people in the publishing field. Audio work is picking up to the point where we could buy a couple of flash recorders (on close-out!) to replace the aging mini-disc recorder. Was getting tired of the real-time transfers from the old mini-disc anyway. The flash recorders act just like a thumb drive (or you can pop the card out and put it directly into a computer). Just have to remember the order of plugging in so the computer recognizes it as a storage device. Still busy at the radio stations, but trying to lessen the overtime hours to spend more time with BOATS. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check our Recent Ideas page.) The first draft is just about complete, and the marketing package is within days of being ready to show.
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August, 2010
When you feel the daily to-do list pressing ever more heavily and can’t seem to carve time out of your always-so-busy schedule to do those things you’ve always wanted to do, something’s amiss in your life. Or maybe it’s as simple as rewriting the to-do list to bump those things you really want to do to the top of the list. We’ve spent much time on medical issues this past year, and it’s put our projects behind. There are scripts that need a final edit, the summer novel that needs one last linking chapter and a full edit, and a major book project that is currently just an outline and portions of some chapters that remind us of the intended voice of the novel. Two things that dealing with health issues brings to mind: if you don’t have health, then wealth and accomplishment don’t mean as much; if there’s something you really want to do, don’t put it off. You’ll regret not having tried more than you’ll ever regret putting energy into something that’s personally important to you. This is such good advice, I may have to take it myself. Cheers!
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June, 2009
You may have noticed this page is less a blog, and more a sporadic rant. It’s not that I don’t know the value of keeping the site updated, it’s just that I have enough trouble just keeping up with email – I haven’t yet even explored Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other networking/communications tools that seem to be popping up everywhere. We’re currently working on “putting the big rocks in first,” getting our lives working the best they can work for us. The rest will have to wait their turn. Meantime, if you have something to communicate, shoot me an email (or call). Cheers!
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August, 2008
The Honeymoon’s Over
I’ve been doing an informal survey for a couple of years now, seeing how many drivers are talking on their cell phones instead of driving their cars.
This all began because on my boring walk home from the train station, I noticed I had a great view into the cars coming up the hill toward me. The sun lights them perfectly, and I’m close enough to see what’s going on in the front seat.
My sample usually consists of the first 50 cars I see coming up the hill. I just count the total number of cell phones held to ears, multiply by two, and voila! – the percentage of drivers not actively driving. (We recently talked to a Zen abbot who touted the benefits of being fully in the moment – doing just one thing at a time. I maintain that multi-tasking is a myth. You cannot fully focus on more than one thing at a time. If you’re doing several things at once, some of them are suffering.)
Anyway, for the longest time, my survey showed 8-12% of drivers were actively engaged in phone calls while attempting to pilot their wheeled battering rams. In California, the law banning hand-holding cell phones while operating motor vehicles went into effect July 1, 2008. About a month before the ban, I noticed the percentage of calling-drivers dropped – going lower and lower as the cutoff date approached. By July 1, as the lawmakers had hoped, we did indeed reach the magic 0% (well, if you don’t count a couple of people holding their phones against the steering wheel instead of up to their ears, using speakerphone mode, which, under California’s law IS legal as long as you’re not actually holding the phone. Whether it’s OK to have your passenger hold a phone to your ear is unclear).
I thought that would be that. And for several weeks it was. My walk home grew more boring as my survey yielded no results at all. Then, one day last week, I noticed in one car that particular body position indicative of hand-held cell-phone use. I was stunned. The person didn’t seem to be upset. This didn’t appear to be a (legally acceptable) emergency call. I watched the oncoming traffic more closely. Another, and yet another scoff-law passed. 12% of drivers in that particular sample were on the phone, breaking the law.
Astounding. The survey was back!
Now, while I’ve found that 12% to be something of an anomoly, the percentage of drivers actively engaged in forbidden phone calls averages about 5%. I suppose I shouldn’t be too shocked. Driver’s ed seems so far behind us these days. Many people fail to come to complete stops at stop signs, and more than half the drivers on the road seem to have no idea what a limit line is. (Some won’t even recognize marked crosswalks, but that’s a diatribe for another day.)
So, the honeymoon is over. The long-awaited ban on calling while driving had its moment in the sun. Convenience trumps law. Personal choice trumps public safety.
Humans are good at adapting. Driving is much simpler than it was in the days of double-clutching – before power steering and anti-lock brakes. But can we adapt quickly enough to be able to safely carry on conversations while driving? Demonstrations have shown some phone conversations to be as debilitating as driving drunk. Meantime, I keep my bluetooth headset charged, but usually won’t answer the phone if I’m behind the wheel. Would that THAT were the norm. Drive safe now!
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November, 2007
Maybe people are becoming less mannerly – maybe I’m just getting to be more observant – but this morning as I walked to work, I was taken by the colorful litter of post-Halloween candy wrappers festooning the sidewalks. In addition to the usual fast food cups, cigarette butts, and bits of cars broken off in any number of fender-benders caused by people talking on their cell… Sorry, that’s a different rant.
You can tell which are the favored candies because manufacturers are very good at branding these days. Junior sized versions of everyone’s favorite chocolate bars are most in evidence, along with the occasional gummy and/or fruity treat. But when did it become acceptable to just drop these wrappers on the sidewalk? Is parental limiting of candy consumption forcing kids to hide the true extent of their haul? Chocolate-covered sugar high causing loss of fine motor control necessary to hold the wrappers until a trash can can be located?
I say Halloween candy collection containers should all have three pockets. One for the good stuff, one for the trash, and one for the healthy or otherwise not entirely desirable bounty you don’t mind sharing with the rest of the family. Or maybe we could install static/Velcro tails on costumes so dropped wrappers would cling to the back of each goblin and princess. The strip would provide backup for brags as the kids examine them before trashing them (again, don’t want the parents to see how much they’ve already eaten – as if the parents couldn’t tell by the way the kids are bouncing off the walls). “Oh yeah – well, I ate FOURteen!”
Or maybe, just maybe, a trash-bag-equipped parent will have to trail each ghost and pirate from a discreet distance, and make sure they remain both safe and civilized.
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August, 2007
OK, so it’s not really as much a blog as a sporadic journal, but it’s nice to have a place to come and rant or gloat as the circumstances dictate. We’ve been taking on a lot of small outside jobs, and stretching in areas that are just a wee bit outside our comfort zones. I’m having to spend more time practicing keyboard, as a lot of projects we’re working on will require bits of music, and I really want everything we do at this point to be original. Since we’re a two-person organization for now, that means at least one of us has to be able to do just about anything. Fortunately, we’re moderately talented and not (usually) afraid to try new things just because we might fail miserably.
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October, 2006
With our portion of the Water Education Foundation project finished, it’s time to go home. Much is left to do in reclaiming our office space and making it a place conducive to creation. Got the cabinets up on the walls, the fan and lights installed. Now trying to figure out how to load the cabinets for best work flow.
Some of our backyard fences are over 20 years old, and showing their age. We’ve been replacing sections on a “it’s fallen down” basis, but the neighbors didn’t want to wait for the next section to fall, and have contracted to have 100+ feet rebuilt. Frugal soul that I am, it chafes to hire someone to do something I could well do myself – but where would I find the time?
Rebuilding, renewing, renovating. We seem to be in that phase. If we do it right, we can move on to the creating, enjoying, reflecting phase. Looking forward to it!
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September, 2006
Concert season at the radio station means it’s much more difficult to get any free time, so I’m thankful for each day of good weather, when I can at least walk to the train station in comfort – giving me all the exercise I’m going to have time for on most days. I also get to read on the train, which makes for a more peaceful start to the day than fighting my way through traffic.
Why is it so difficult to lose weight and so easy to gain weight? I can work for two weeks to lose five pounds, and gain it all back in one pizza-filled weekend. At least I’m holding the line, and getting more fit in the process. I’m probably more fit now than I’ve been in twenty years. Good thing, too, as it allows me to put in some very long days (though not as many in a row as I used to be able to do in my college days) without completely falling apart.
I’m obviously not finding much time for writing, but I’ve at least pulled the cover off my keyboard, and am starting to play with some musical themes. If only I had enough time to practice and become more proficient at playing the tunes I have running through my head. Well, progress sometimes comes in very small increments. I’ll have to work on being thankful that we’re at least in an up-cycle, however slow, instead of a cycle of decay. I am thankful that some of our projects have put me in touch with some very talented and energetic people, creative souls who give me ideas and show me possibilities. Thanks!
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August, 2006
I admit it, I’m a bit uncomfortable with change. I used to be a LOT uncomfortable with change, so I guess I’m making progress.
Last year, when our web services came up for renewal, I had the opportunity to save quite a bit of money – but it would have meant a lot of change. I told our provider what kind of deal I was being offered, and they gave me a discount, so I saved some money (‘though not nearly what I could have saved) and didn’t have to deal with change.
This year at renewal time, the discrepancy was even greater. We’d been making other changes, getting our offices and home set up in a manner better suited to our personalities, so I took the plunge. If you’ve visited ideajones.com before, you know – we’ve made some changes here.
We’re currently involved in an audio project, and the radio station is entering concert season, so some of the elements I’d like to include on this site will have to wait a bit. As soon as I can, I’ll make some changes!
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