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BLAINESWORLD
#546 3.19.2007 In this issue: 1. Reflections 2. FYI 3. It never hurts to ask 4. Reviews . . . THE ULTIMATE GIFT, etc. 5. TV alert 6. Three guys 7. Websites 8. Computer tip 9. Haircuts (women vs. men) 10. A quote I like 11. Thought for the day 12. Advance planning department _________________________________________________________ 1. Reflections A. Cynthia, my beautiful bride, and I have been spending a lot of time going back and forth seeing our respective mothers . . . hers somehow is managing to hang in there as a patient at Daughters of Israel in West Orange, NJ . . . methinks she is en route to holding the dubious distinction of being the longest patient in hospice care, having been in that category for nearly 18 months . . . my mother is still undergoing tests at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY . . . we hope to hear some results this coming week . . . MANY THANKS to all who have written to express their thoughts and prayers. B. We are both constantly on the lookout for things that make us smile . . . sometimes they are just little, everyday happenings at work that you have to sometimes think about as they take place. For instance, Cynthia had me cracking up when she told me about this one teacher she overhead talking to a bunch of her elementary school students as they were in line . . . she said, rather loudly, "Why don't you walk like an adult?" . . . then a few minutes later, she came back with this one that we all have asked children at one time or another: "Why can't you behave like an adult?" Think about it, there's no acceptable response to either question . . . if a child answers honestly to the effect of, "I'm not an adult," he or she will probably be in worse trouble! C. Harry Paul was a smash at last week's Author's Talk at Bucks County Community College . . . thanks in large part to the generous sponsorship of Fulton Bank, we raised some $3,700 for various student scholarships, and those in attendance learned much from the author of FISH! and REVVED! Among the tidbits I gained were the following: * When you ask how many work in your company, don't be surprised to find out this answer: About 1/2. * If you say this is where I want to be (say at work), the energy goes up. * Here's an actual, great title for a bellman that I came across: Captain of Grace and Ambassador of Charm. * And here's one for a receptionist: Director of First Impressions. * Take out chairs and meetings will be shorter. * Meetings are just excuses for making unilateral decisions. * Choose your attitude. Decide to bring more enthusiasm to work. * To win folks over, be nice, remember the four Bs: Be nice. Be informal. Be appreciative. Be real. * What a great idea for a medical facility: When women go for a mammogram, offer them neck and back massages. * Utilize the multiplier effect. Send a note to somebody's boss about the great job that he or she does. And when you do, send an actual note--not email. * Banks should not chain down their pens. D. I'm sooooo proud of Arlene Ditzler, a former student and longtime friend/reader . . . she is pursuing her dream job of helping people write their life stories . . . for more information about this marvelous concept, please click: http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/147-03062007-1309434.html ***** BLAINESWORLD BEST AWARD ***** This week, it goes to Lorraine Allen-regional director of the Small Business Development Center for New Jersey. (She handles both Mercer and Middlesex Counties.) Recently, I was pleased to hear that Lorraine was named Businesswoman of the Year by the Middlesex Regional Chamber of Commerce. This was a great choice. I have known Lorraine for many years and have always been impressed by her knowledge, as well as competence. She provides training classes and one-on-one consulting for small businesses, ranging from start-ups to firms with several hundred employees. If you are a small business owner, you won't go wrong contacting Lorraine. She can be reached at 609.989.5232. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 2. FYI Sometimes, rumors you hear on the Internet do have some validity to them--and may even be true . . . the key is to check them out; e.g., at my favorite website for such a purpose: http://www.snopes.com I did so with the following two rumors that you NEED to be aware of: * Claim: The "cuts and gravy" form of pet food manufactured by Menu Foods (and sold under a variety of labels) has been recalled. Status: True. If you own a dog or cat, you MUST check this website for more information: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/menu.asp The affected products have been sold under 48 brands of dog food and under 40 brands of cat food. * Claim: Mold that forms in pancake mix can cause a life-threatening allergic reaction. Status: True. If you have pancake mix around that has been opened, you MUST check out this link: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp And as the report points out, also beware of outdated cake, brownie and cookie mixes. FYI, part 2 * Jean in Pennsylvania (with a final REQUEST FOR HELP): Thanks to your wonderful readers, my nephew Jesse Ponnock is now in the TOP 5 of the Best Music on Campus contest for MTV-U and Drive-Thru records! The final voting is taking place now through Friday at 4 p.m. PLEASE help again! Go to: http://www.bestmusiconcampus.com/band/default.aspx?bandID=885# and click on "vote now." You can refresh your browser and vote as often as you like! Thank you! * Jerry in New Jersey (with ITEMS FOR SALE): We are downsizing with the rest of the Baby Boomers. We just bought a new home in a 55+ community and have to sell some of our stuff. To view, please click: http://hub.ebay.com/community and hen enter the user ID: Mscharlie7. * Two readers had a lot to say about the fact that I gave a summary of a speech recently given by Elizabeth Holtzman (that I heard at Princeton University): Barbara in Pennsylvania: Actually, I can blame you for being a "Bush Basher, and Bush Hater." Simply because you added the fact that you attended the speech by Elizabeth Holtzman, knowing she hates Bush and then proceeded to add about: Her "wish and push" to impeach the "President of the United States," especially at a time when we are at war and while we have awesome, intelligent, fearless, service men & women watching "our" backs here at home, and with some of these wonderful "service" people giving of their lives for something "they believe in" . . . .is something I will never understand.. Why don't you and she and the rest of the Democrats and Republicans that seem to have nothing better to do than spew hate for each other, learn from the wonderful leaders that we've had in the past who "worked together in a time of war." Let's win this war that we are involved in up to our big fat mouths, and then, and only then, you can talk and protest about whatever you want after we have honorably won the war and brought all of our service "men & women" home safe and sound. I don't agree with the way this war is going, but I would never speak against the President of the United States of America. I'm so sick of the Democrats drooling about: * Wiretapping without warrants; * Lying in order the initiate the Iraq war; * Torture incidents in the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad; and * An inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina. MOST OF WHAT IS IN THE ABOVE MARKED HEADINGS ABSOLUTELY DO NOT DIRECTLY BLAME THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. What is wrong with you? You are a professor at a College. What happened to your sense of right and wrong? I hear everyday about liberal professors who take their frustrations out on their students who do not have the same opinions that they have. I have never thought of you in that manner. You have this terrific newsletter you send out every week that I so enjoy receiving "except" when you Bush Bash and also add your digs at Conservatives. As she concluded (Holtzman), "It's up to us. If we are silent, what will that say about us?" WHO IS "US? WHO IS SHE DIRECTING THAT TO AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN??? "Will we have done everything we can to keep this democracy a democracy?" WELL, SHE, WITH HER BIG MOUTH AND BIG PENCIL CERTAINLY IS DOING A LOT TO TRY AND BREAK DOWN THE DEMOCRACY WE HAVE SPENT LIVES & LIFETIMES BUILDING. And about "your" MY TWO CENTS, in trying to stay out of it because the words didn't originate from your mouth, while they didn't originate from your mouth, you certainly are helping to promote them and even promote her book. I'm disappointed in you Blaine. I'm so disappointed in you promoting this garbage at this time while we are at war. Mary in Pennsylvania: My three cents: Do you really believe that Bush is personally responsible for all these claims? Our American life changed after 9/11 & it is naïve of people to think that we could go back to our routine lives. There are many similarities to what FDR did during his presidency and yet liberals tout how great he was. How quickly liberals forget life during the Carter administration. Does anyone still remember the hostage situation? I'm afraid most Americans suffer from ADD and are too willing to follow people like Ms. Holzman without checking out her claims. As for Katrina, it was local political corruption that brought about that disaster on the people of NOLA. What's that fable about the ants & the grasshopper? And what's this about not being Anti-Bush???? What a cop-out! Your little intro about seeing Ms Holtzman begs to differ. Words like fortunate, case for impeachment, & protect the Constitution, tell a different story. Them's fightin' words Mr. Greenfield. I believe in the Constitution of our forefathers and appreciate the blood they were willing to shed for it. I doubt we would be called Americans if Ms Holtzman had been around then. She would have called for the impeachment George Washington because he prayed at official functions. Bush doesn't have that much time left in Washington. There are more important things to worry about then wasting time & money on "impeaching" anyone. She'll have her chance very shortly to vote for whomever she pleases. That's the great thing about this country. And some people are willing to keep it that way and even die for it. MY REACTION: Geez, give me a break here . . . I was NOT giving my opinion about what Holtzman said . . . rather, I quoted her directly. I do believe that we ALL should be more open to views from all sides of an issue and then draw our own conclusions . . . both Barbara and Mary did not hear Holtzman; I did . . . yet they then based their emails on my summary. In follow-up correspondence, I encouraged them to read the Holtzman book themselves so that they could base their opinions on fact; i.e., the points Holtzman actually made . . . for anybody else who might be interested in finding out more, here's title of the book: THE IMPEACHMENT OF GEORGE W. BUSH. Or if you just want to read an informative summary, please click: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060130/holtzman But before any readers go crazy here, I should tell you the real reason I saw Holtzman was because she was at a locale that was convenient to me, and I was free when she was speaking . . . if George W. was speaking in the area, I'd do my best to hear what he had to say, too. And I should tell you that I've voted for Republicans and Conservatives in the past; in fact, some of them are even my friends . . . I've also read books by and/or about Ronald Reagan, Pat Buchanan, Bernard Goldberg, Bill O'Reilly, and John McCain and in a BLAINESWORLD within the past month, I wrote that it was my opinion that the latter individual would make a fine president. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 3. It never hurts to ask A woman rushed into the supermarket to pick up a few items. She headed for the express line where the clerk was talking on the phone with his back turned to her. "Excuse me," she said, "I'm in a hurry. Could you check me out, please?" The clerk turned, looked her up and down, and smiled, "Not bad." Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 4. Reviews A. Enjoyed THE ULTIMATE GIFT, a somewhat hokey film based on the Jim Stovall bestseller . . . it is about a trust fund kid named Jason who expects a lot of money when his grandfather dies, only to find out that he first must go through a set of 12 obstacles--each one designed to teach him that there's more to life than wealth alone . . . James Garner, Abigail Breslin (so fine in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE), Brian Dennehey, and Ali Hills all do a fine job of acting; their work, however, it is almost offset by a wooden performance from Drew Fuller in the leading role . . . rated G, THE ULTIMATE GIFT would be good for the whole family to watch together, especially for its uplifting message; i.e., it is up to each of us to do what we can to help others fulfill their dreams. B. THE HEART OF THE GAME is now out on DVD . . . this is a documentary that I had wanted to see in the theaters, but it never got out my way . . . too bad . . . you'll love this film about a Seattle high school girls' basketball team, the unorthodox coach that leads it and the touching true story of one player's battle to play the game she was seemingly born to play . . . see this even if you're not a sports fan . . . rated PG-13. C. I'm not a big coffee drinker, but that said, I've always been amazed by the success of Starbucks . . . now after reading THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE (see also Section 11) by Joseph A. Michelli, I have a much better appreciation of why this has happened. After all, how many companies have their employees--or partners, as Starbucks call them--taste their core products at least twice a year? In addition, "Starbucks partners are given a pound of coffee each week at no charge to ensure that they are continuing to develop their knowledge of and refined taste for Starbucks products." Furthermore, "As they develop, baristas are encouraged to explore the possibility of becoming 'Coffee Masters,' a designation reserved for Starbucks partners who have a passion to become true coffee experts. To achieve that designation and don a black apron, a barista must complete a significant number of hours of paid training, pass a series of content-based tests with high proficiency, and lead a number of coffee tastings. Normally, this trainings occurs over a period of about three months and involves presenting seminars and topical sessions." Another thing that I was impressed with was the fact that store partners check the dining area every 10 minutes. To me, that ensures a clean and orderly establishment, as well as one where customers become known. And therein lies another key to the success of this chain; i.e., partners have the autonomy to do what is "right" as opposed to just what might be best for the immediate bottom line. For instance: "A perfect example of this comes from a neighborhood library branch that was relocating. A number of librarians from that branch were daily customers at a nearby Starbucks. When the Starbucks manager found out about the relocation, she decided that she would buy the librarians coffee and take it to them at their new branch. She also found the closest Starbucks store to the new library and introduced the librarians to the baristas at that store. Leadership sets the tone for the importance of anticipating needs and surprised those whom the business serves." THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE contained plenty of other such examples that could be applied to virtually any other business or life situation . . . in addition, I liked the boxes throughout the book entitled "Ideas to Sip on" . . . these got me thinking by making the point, for instance, that retail is detail . . . for that matter, all business is detail . . . and that: * Missed details produce dissatisfied customers who go elsewhere. * There is really no way to hide poor quality. * Acknowledge, celebrate and play! Lastly, I also liked the boxes called "Create Your Own Experience" . ..these got me thinking by asking such questions as: * When was the last time you were pleasantly surprised by a business? * What can you do to possibly surprise a coworker, a customer or some other unsuspecting recipient? * What naturally occurring opportunities are ripe for creating surprise experiences? Read THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE to become more familiar with the organization, regardless of whether you're already a fan of Starbucks . . . you will be by the time you end this book. D. Heard IN THE CUT by Susanna Moore, an erotic thriller that is definitely not for everybody . . . as might be expected, there's a great deal of sex in it . . . that might or might not be to your liking . . . however, the violence is very explicit, so be forewarned. The story involves Franny, a 35-year old divorced woman who teaches creative writing at NYU to a group of inner-city teens with high intelligence . . . at the same time, she is writing a book on street slang . . . when she accidentally witnesses a couple engaged in an intimate act, her life changes when shortly thereafter the woman is murdered. Franny is interviewed by a detective, who subsequently becomes her lover . . . what happens to them both is the basis of the novel, so I won't give too many more details other to say there's a knockout ending that left me wanting to read more of Moore's work. IN THE CUT was told from Franny's perspective; she was both the protagonist and narrator . . . Kathryn Walker, the narrator of this book on tape, gave an excellent reading and made me believe that she was Franny. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 5. TV alert A. DANCING WITH THE STARS returns on Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC with results being announced on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. . . . I'll be watching to see Heather Mills, the first dancer to compete on an artificial leg; Laila Ali, undefeated super middleweight boxing champ and youngest daughter of Muhammad Ali; and Ian Ziering of BEVERLY HILLS 90210 fame, among others. B. Becca Sussman, the daughter of Marsha in New Jersey, appears in THE GREAT NEW WONDERFUL . . . somewhere toward the 2/3 mark, you will catch a brief full face view of her on the right hand of the screen . . . the movie deals with a psychologist who treats troubled New Yorkers in the aftermath of Sept. 11 . . . stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tony Shalhoub and Olympia Dukakis . . . Thursday at 3:30 p.m. on SHOWTIME; repeated on Friday at 12:30 a.m. C. ACCEPTABLE TV is a new series that debuts on Friday at 10 p.m. on VH1 . . . viewers get the chance to submit homemade shorts in this interactive new series, which mixes fans' creations with professionally produced skits. D. TOP OF THE POPS: THE TRUE STORY airs on BBC AMERICA on Saturday at 10 p.m. . . . this 2006 documentary looks at more than 40 years of classic moments from the long-running music show that has featured such acts as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Spice Girls. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 6. Three guys An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman were all sitting at the bar enjoying their pints when each has a fly plop into their beers. The Englishman looks down and says, "I say, please remove this pint, I cannot drink this." The Scotsman looks down, reaches in and removes the offending fly and continues to drink his beer. The Irishman looks down into his pint and says to the fly, "Spit it out!" Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 7. Websites A. Directory services are now offering new free people-searches . . . see for yourself by looking up somebody you know and/or want to find out more about . . . make sure you put quotes before the first name and after the last name for best results; e.g., "Blaine Greenfield" . . . the following are some of the websites you may want to check out: * http://www.Wink.com Searches for people among public profiles on several leading social-networking sites. Users can search by name, location, interests, gender, and age. * http://www.WhitePages.com Offers email search neighbor search, Web search and professional profile search. Blind email process only displays address if the recipient responds; service costs $10 to email three addresses. * http://www.ZoomInfo.com Business-centric people search service that depends heavily on official Web sites and press releases. Users who verify their identity by current email or credit card can log in to correct and add their own information. * http://www.spock.com Soon-to-be launched people-focused Web search that will draw heavily on blogs and otehr websites with biographic information. Site will eventually include video and photo results as well. SOURCE: Jessica E. Vascellaro, "They've got your number (and a lot more)," THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, March 14, 2007, p. D3. B. Apple has introduced a new product that MUST be seen to believed: http://www.geekarmy.com/political/The-Apple-iRack.html View this, and you'll really be on the cutting edge of what's happening in technology. C. BLAINESWORLD, the website, remains up and running . . . to view it, please click: http://www.blainesworld.net On the left, you'll see "Radio Show" . . . go to that link if you want to see a history of my radio career . . . you can also hear one of my shows. As you may have read in a past issue, a management change at WWFM has resulted in my show being taken off the air . . . but, hopefully, I'll resurface soon again . . . on another station and/or even with my own cable show. Please do keep me in mind if you have any media contacts for me to pursue with respect to the above possibilities. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 8. Computer tip The Firefox browser has become a popular Internet browser option . . . if you've never tried it, please clip: http://www.mozilla.org/ One of the reasons that Firefox is so great is the ability for people to create add-ons to it . . this website has a huge collection that are REALLY easy to install: https://addons.mozilla.org Here are several that you might want to consider: ColorZilla is great for people who design websites . . . it lets you point to any color you can see, and it will tell you what it is . . . great for matching something on a page. SearchStatus gives you "popularity" information about a site without having to have the search engine toolbar. When you surf, it gives you the page's Google PageRank and the site's Alexa Rank, which are useful to help you determine how good the site is. The higher the PageRank, and the lower the Alexa ranking, indicates how many quality sites link to the page or site you're looking at, and how popular it is with other users. Mouse Gestures is really cool . . . it lets you send commands to the browser with mouse movements, rather than having to find a button and click it. ***** MR. CURIOUS HERE ***** I'd be interested in reader experiences with Firefox; i.e., is anybody using? If so, what do you think about it? Are you using any of these add-ons? Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 9. Haircuts (women vs. men) Women's version: Woman 2: Oh! You got a haircut! That's so cute! Woman 1: Do you think so? I wasn't sure when she gave me the mirror. I mean, you don't think it's too fluffy looking? Woman 2: Oh Gosh no! No, it's perfect. I'd love to get my hair cut like that, but I think my face is too wide. I'm pretty much stuck with this stuff, I'm afraid. Woman 1: Are you serious? I think your face is adorable. And you could easily get one of those layer cuts--that would look so cute I think. I was actually going to do that except that I was afraid it would accent my long neck. Woman 2: Oh--that's funny! I would love to have your neck! Anything to take attention away from this two-by-four I have for a shoulder line. Woman 1: Are you kidding? I know girls that would love to have your shoulders. Everything drapes so well on you. I mean, look at my arms--see how short they are? If I had your shoulders I could get clothes to fit me so much easier. Men's version: Man 2: Haircut? Man 1: Yeah. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 10. A quote I like Will and I could hardly wait for the morning to come to get at something that interested us. That's happiness.--Orville Wright (1871-1948), co-inventor of the airplane Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 11. Thought for the day To put it simply, the vast majority of shortcuts backfire. This is illustrated by the story of a wealthy man who asked a builder to spare no expense in creating his mansion. Since the man was out of the country while the home was being constructed, the builder decided that he could make the infrastructure out of inferior material and cover it up with superior finish work. The builder could then overcharge the man based on the home's appearance. When the owner returned to the country, he was so taken by the beauty of the home that he told the builder, "This is simply too nice a house for me. Here you take the keys." SOURCE: THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE (see also Section 4C) by Joseph A. Michelli Back to Top _________________________________________________________ 12. Advance planning department A. Linda in Pennsylvania: Interfaith Family Weekend features an exciting conference this coming Sunday, March 25, from 11:45-5 p.m. For more information, please click: http://www.jfcsphil.org/faithways.htm For more information or to register, call Linda at 215.968.9950, ext. 262 . . . if you mention that you heard about the event through BLAINESWORLD, you'll even get a 50% discount. B. Natalie in Pennsylvania: * Dr. Beth DuPree: "One Woman's Dream: State-of-the-Art Healing in Bucks County." Award-winning cancer surgeon and author of The Healing Consciousness: A Doctor's Journey to Healing speaks about the balance of work, life and home, as well as mind, body and spirit. Tuesday, March 27, 7 p.m. Founders Hall room 140, Bucks County Community College, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown. Free. Information: 215.968.8015. * Thursday, March 29, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Women's Center Brown Bag Program: "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Credit." Location: Women's Center (at the College). C. Dave Brahinsky and Friends will next be performing on Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m., at 6 Mile Run Church, Kingston, NJ Phone 609.443.1898 for directions. We'll be there to see Dave, a talented colleague of mine at Bucks County Community College, who has our good friend Gail in his group. D. Cynthia (see also Section 1A) in New Jersey is offering the following "Move your Body" class: * April 7 for FREE, though contributions to the Center are welcome. 1:30-2:45 p.m. at Princeton Center for Yoga & Health, Skillman, NJ. For more information, please click: http://www.princetonyoga.com * April 21: A Woman's Circle of Discovery and Adventure with Janet StraightArrow and Cynthia Greenfield has been rescheduled from its original date of March 17 (when it had to be postponed because of the snow). 12:30-4 p.m., though if you can only make Cynthia's session, it will run from 1:30-4 p.m. Also FREE, though contributions would again be welcome. Back to Top _________________________________________________________ PS. Please join me in officially welcoming spring on Wednesday . . . also, kindly continue to keep praying that we soon get our remaining soldiers back from Iraq and that peace resumes in Israel . . . and make it a great week! ---------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBCRIBE INFORMATION If you or somebody you know wants to subscribe to BLAINESWORLD, have them drop me an e-mail to that effect . . . new readers are always welcome . . . my address is: bginbc@aol.com In the unlikely event you wish to unsubscribe, notify me at the same email address.
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