Editorial | Page 33

April 9, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Marketing For Dummies…

Michelle & I were browsing through the drugstore aisle the other day looking for something over-the-counter to treat her migraines.

Michelle prefers Advil so we were happy to see they actually had a product made specifically for migraines… or so we thought. I was curious to know what was different about this product versus regular Advil (which is really just ibuprofen). To my surprise the ingredients were the same:

“Active ingredient (in each brown oval capsule) Solubilized ibuprofen equal to 200 mg ibuprofen (present as the free acid and potassium salt)”

Uhm, excuse me, but in the dictionary under “redundant” it says “See redundant”.

And it’s not just Advil that markets like this. Michelle & I saw products by Tylenol, Bayer, etc., with labels specifically for migraines, but the ingredients the same as their regular products. I would have been somewhat impressed if the migraine products cost more, but the prices were even the same.

I have to wonder are people REALLY that stupid or are these companies just really smart?

in Editorial 5 comments

April 7, 2003 by A.J. Wood

A minute’s rambling…

I envy those folks that have the ability to write at a moments notice without the need for repetitive editorial processes. I seem unable to tap that part of my brain that allows me to instantly put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and just write. I would post more frequently if it weren’t for the fact that an entry for me could literally take an hour’s worth of time. I’ll type & retype, read & reread, spell check, then read again and that’s if I haven’t spent 20 minutes editing a photo. Because I don’t just want to resize a photo and post, I want it to look good. So what my photography skills lack I make up for with some decent PhotoShop know-how.

Of course, time is a commodity these days and Michelle will be the first to tell you we don’t have enough of it. I recently made an agreement with Michelle that I would spend less time on the computer because her perception has been that it’s a must have for me. She’s probably correct, if I’m not reading any number of blogs then I’m knee-deep in world news. Of course this leaves little time for me to actually churn out an entry which means I have to be way more efficient doing so. But I worry, will the quality of this blog suffer? Do you folks actually give a damn about the quality of this blog? Categorically speaking, I’m probably all over the place. The Mad Pony girls have cornered the market on “all fluff, no stuff”, Dawn & Jared cover both ends of the political spectrum, while Sarah and the Hose Monster make any topic seem interesting. And there’s all the questions I have yet to answer for Katie. I can’t imagine they spend countless hours going over their entries before posting, but somehow I do.

(imagine that 20 minutes and counting)

Moving on to last weekend. [keep writing, don’t proof read] Michelle & I had a wonderful time in Austin. We got to see her nephew Michael play in a baseball tournament (really some unranked practice matches) and of course her sister’s twin babies are a bunch of fun. (We love other people’s children because we can spoil them and give them back when we’re done). Mother Nature gave us decent weather all weekend and Sunday she held the rain off until the last game was over. I’m happy we weren’t here for the hail storm that hit Dallas.

The only part of the trip that sucked was the driving. Not the actual drive because Michelle & I traded 8 hour road trips every weekend for a year, but dealing with STUPID DRIVERS can really wear on my nerves. Here’s a couple of ideas I think should be turned into law:

1. The left lane IS the fast lane. If you suddenly feel the urge to cut me off by moving into the left lane don’t immediately slam on your breaks because you think I’m too close. Nobody should be too close in the left lane. If I’m too close, you’re going too slow and should move to the right.

2. Big rig trucks should not be allowed to change lanes. I think truckers enjoy cutting off other vehicles. It never fails, I’ll be zipping along in the fast lane and notice two trucks following each other in the right lane. Just before I pass the rear truck the driver will change lanes and pass the front truck. I’m sure they’re on their CBs saying “Wait for it… wait for it… NOW!!!”.

OK, I’m just going to spell check this entry and post it… any urge to rewrite it completely will be ignored for at least 10 minutes…

in Editorial 3 comments

April 4, 2003 by A.J. Wood

IP Host Change?

If you are reading this then congratulations the DNS changes have propagated to your computer. Apparently my host provider made an internal change and didn’t bother to inform me. I was already having some security issues with the website and didn’t need another problem to add to the list this morning.

It’s been pretty hectic this week. I do need to formulate a very long post on a lot of stuff, but right now I only have time to highlight a few bullet points:

1. Michelle & I are doing well. Had a come-to-jesus revelation last weekend followed by Michelle’s own epiphany last night “I just realized we didn’t argue at all yesterday. It felt weird.”

2. My DVD project is almost complete – Woo Hoo! Fred put a lot of editing time into the video and we are pushing for a release as soon as possible.

3. IT PISSES ME OFF WHEN PEOPLE HOTLINK MY CONTENT. Needless to say, while some are just ignorant I have a huge spike in bandwidth based on several forum postings. Will be working on some more backend changes soon.

4. Katie’s back!!! Woo Hoo!!! Go visit her now and tell her never to go away again!

5. Looks like the Ward got knocked offline… it’s a government conspiracy I tell you.

6. Oops! This guy got caught trying to fake that Pulitzer photo.

7. Proof that kindness isn’t about race or country.

I’m sure there’s more, but I should have posted this hours ago. We’re off to Austin to see Michelle’s nephew play in a baseball tournament so expect some updates and pictures Sunday.

Have a great weekend!

in Editorial 4 comments

April 1, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Truly A Masterpiece

I only know him as the Hose Monster. I think his new title should be the “Barry White of the blogosphere”. This piece is one of the finest I’ve read all year. If my fianc? didn’t know me so well I would have lifted it verbatim, slipped it in an e-mail or maybe even a handwritten letter just to experience the gasp it would generate live and in person.

Like James Dean & Elvis, the Hose Monster not only gives the ladies what they want, he epitomizes cool while doing it.

Bravo.

in Arts/Media / Editorial 1 comments

March 31, 2003 by A.J. Wood

Perception is reality

I envy Mozart.

I would love for my biggest problem of the day to be “How do I get this cat toy off my head?”

But then, Mozart doesn’t see this as a problem.

He’s the only cat that wears protective gear before commencing in any sort of feline sporting event. Mozart is at an advantage if he’s boxing our largest feline Bailey, because cats don’t know how to stick a jab. When Michelle catches him trying to headbutt the other cats he always looks up at her as if he’s attempting to get that thing off his head. He’s living proof that humans aren’t the only ones with an active imagination.

It’s interesting how our perception of events affects our reaction to them. Our days are spent interacting with the world around us, judging that input based on our own belief system, viewpoints that may or may not change based on our frame of reference.

I’m very good at facing economic & educational tasks, but lately I’ve been sucking on the relationship front. Last week blew up as my birthday passed with barely a whisper (amongst other things) and I partly blamed Michelle.

This is not the forum to list the sordid details of events, but I will say that our issues have been due in part to our own perceptions of the relationship as of late. Let me say that even the best communication can break down when you factor in long work/school hours, financial stress and any other number of factors. This only leads to endless rounds of conversation on the same topics breeding contempt as “We’ve already discussed this before and YOU aren’t doing enough”.

Have you ever encountered a problem that you just couldn’t solve only to have somebody else point out an obvious solution? Programmers call it being “code blind”. Like a Monet painting, sometimes you have to step back to get a better view of things. Until recently, I didn’t know I needed to do the same thing with my relationship.

The epiphany came over the weekend when Michelle & I witnessed some friends having a similar argument. Neither of us wants to call it quits, but we both agreed that conversations aren’t productive when we’re both pissed. My mood this morning is hopeful.

Last week I had this cat toy stuck on my head. I didn’t realize I could pretend it was a space helmet.

in Editorial / Faith 3 comments