The Musings of Peter DeHaan, publisher, author, and mentor

My All Time Favorite Movie Picks

2008-09-06T18:53:57Z

Today, I made my list of "All Time Favorite Movie Picks" to post on Netflix. Here is my list (in alphabetical order):

10 Things I Hate About You

As Good as It Gets

Bend It Like Beckham

Bruce Almighty

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Forrest Gump

Freaky Friday

Groundhog Day

Juno

Men in Black

Murphy's Romance

National Treasure

Ocean's Eleven

Pirates of the Caribbean: Black Pearl

Pretty Woman

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raising Helen

Saved!

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

The Bourne Identity

The Bourne Supremacy

The Bourne Ultimatum

The Breakfast Club

The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

The Matrix

Transformers

(For more about movies, see My Movie Madness; more lists will be added in the near future.)

Google to Shine with Chrome

2008-09-05T14:24:23Z

This week, Google announced the beta version of its new web browser, Chrome; this was a long expected move on the part of Google.

Chrome is an open-source browser that is being touted for its simplicity, speed, security, and functionality. If you want to test the beta version, it can be downloaded from the Google website. Much information about it can be garnered from Google; Wikipedia already has a comprehensive entry about Chrome. Plus, there are millions of references to Chrome on the Internet, many coming from bloggers -- who are taking a wide variety of views on Google's new offering.

As is often the case with Google, privacy advocates have raised concerns over the information that Chrome will gather in the course of doing its job, as well as what Google intends to do with that information.

Chrome is a logical extension of the Google brand. Given Google's record for success and resources, it is likely that Chrome will succeed.

Although I want to try it, I'll hold off for a while and let the dust settle. Once I've completed my test drive, I post the results here.

If anyone who has tested it would care to post their experience, please add your comment to this post.

Until then, happy web surfing!

Online TV Viewership Doubles in Two Years

2008-09-04T18:43:25Z

I recently shared my growing interest in watching TV online, noting the Relaunch of the WB -- "An Online Video Network" and proclaiming this an indication of things to come.

Apparently, it is coming sooner rather later. In a press release I received today, The Conference Board confirmed that online TV viewing has been gaining in popularity, with nearly 20 percent of American households who use the Internet watching TV online. This doubles viewership from the prior year. The report indicates that the top two destinations for online viewing are the official TV websites and YouTube.com.

The press release stated that "most consumers do not like a set schedule. Being able to watch broadcasts on their own time and at their convenience are the top reasons users tune in online. Other reasons include avoiding commercials and portability."

Online viewership is broken down as:

News: 43%
Drama shows: 39%
Sitcom/comedy shows: 34%
Reality shows: 23%
Sports: 16%
User generated content: 15%

"The shift from appointment TV to content on demand is well underway," said Michael Saxon. I heartily concur.

In a related item, NBC made an estimated $5.75 million in online video advertising during the Olympics -- not bad for 17 days!

Astute Reporting on Critical Political News

2008-09-03T21:03:33Z

I have been amused by the media's reports on Sarah Palin. They are certainly trying to make something out of nothing, giving her far more media exposure -- as well as criticism -- than has been afforded other Presidential running mates.

I'm not sure if they have a gender bias, are embarrassed they were caught off guard by her selection, or are merely keeping us "informed" as they get themselves up to speed.

Yesterday, I heard a "man on the street" interview segment, which to be politically correct was a woman on the street piece -- why the reporter decided to exclude men was never explained.

I'm not sure what bothered me more, the biased and blatantly uninformed comments of the interviewees or the fact that the reporter actually broadcast their words as informed dialogue.

One woman was condescendingly critical of McCain for making his selection for purely political reasons. Where has this woman been? VP running mates are always chosen for political reasons -- solely to help the candidate win the election.

Another said she couldn't support Palin because she couldn't manage her family (this is, her pregnant daughter), but then admitted that no one can control a 17 year old daughter. So, "Ms Interviewee" won't support Sarah, because she can't do what no one else can do.

Then there are the interviewees gushing with excitement over simply being able to vote for a woman. Their sole reasoning seems to be that she is female. Certainly there are other, more important considerations, right?

It seems that journalism is doing quite well at "dumbing" down the political process -- and we will all suffer the consequences.

Obama, McCain, or None of the Above

2008-09-02T19:14:01Z

I am an increasingly disenfranchised voter. I have serious misgivings about whoever is elected being able to make any substantive and meaningful changes.

As the presumptive nominees emerged from the primaries, I realized that neither candidate excited me. So I seriously considered casting a protest vote by selecting a third party candidate. But realizing that would be a waste of time, I then considered not voting at all. I suspect that many, many others feel that way, which is why voter participation in the US is shrinking.

Barack Obama is a dynamic orator and oozes charisma. Since I have already conceded that our next President will not make a significant change, I might as well cast my vote for a person who will at least make history by being the first minority elected President in the US.

On the other hand there is John McCain. He's been part of the political machine for a long time, so his "change" platform is suspect, yet he is a maverick -- and I like that. As a war veteran (and POW beside) he may have the best insight and understanding on dealing with the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since we are already there, regardless of why, we need to succeed and then get out as quickly as possible. That's important to me.

As far as their VP running mates, I realized that it was unlikely that anyone Obama picked would increase his standing with me; Biben proved that true. Although most of McCain's picks wouldn't pique my interest either, I suspected that a couple could. Sarah Palin has done that -- and since the media is so against her, she automatically gains my respect!

So, as it turns our, regardless of who I vote for, I will be part of history if my candidate wins: The first minority President or the first female VP. And although race and gender shouldn't be a factor -- and aren't for me -- the media is making them become issues.

China -- The Sleeping Giant is Stirring

2008-09-02T06:37:42Z

The Olympics is now a week past, yet only yesterday did I finish watching the coverage that I recorded on my DVR.

Three times during the Olympics I came within minutes of filling up my DVR's hard drive. Once I did need to delete about 20 hours of unviewed programming so that I could record more. But other than that, I was able to keep one-step ahead of the recorder.

This week, though, I was able to view the Olympics at a more leisurely pace, without the pressure of additional events being recorded on a dwindling amount of memory. I was finally able to watch the Gold medal match in men's basketball, which was much closer than expected and a great game.

The closing ceremonies were awe-inspiring, just like the opening ceremonies. But the one thing that I can't shake is the knowledge that China reportedly spent close to $40 billion on the games. That's an incredible amount of money that certainly could have been spent on more important investments or laudable pursuits.

True, Beijing will end up with some great infrastructure as a result and the world likely has a more complete perspective of the nation of China, but at a cost of $40 billion?

Throughout it thought, I have truly realized that China is indeed a sleeping giant -- and the giant is beginning to awake.

A Lesson About Compassion

2008-09-02T06:35:06Z

I recently learned something disconcerting about myself.

Regular readers may recall my entry "This Is For The Birds" in which I mourned three bird eggs that had been knocked to the ground when a severe storm destroyed their next. I had compassion for their death, but there was nothing I could do.

Last week, when I was out moving sprinklers in my yard (see "Time to Move The Sprinklers") I was horrified to see three too-young baby birds on the ground. They couldn't fly and one couldn't even hop; as I approached, they opened their mouths in hope of some needed sustenance. Again, I had compassion, but was frozen in a state of inaction. A myriad of thoughts rushed through my mind:

I don't know what to do.
They're going to die anyway.
I'm too busy.
What if they carry disease?
I should let nature take its course.

I would periodically check on them with each move of the sprinklers. I continued to feel compassion and tried to justify my inaction. A couple of times I saw an adult bird on the ground near them. I convinced myself that their parents were tending to them. Yet each time I approached, they turned in my direction and opened their mouths.

By the next day, the weakest of the three wasn't looking too good and he later died. Would I likewise be witness to his siblings' demise?

On the third day, one of them was clinging to the side of a tree and later he was gone. I never saw him again and confidently assume he was able to fly away.

On the fourth day, the remaining bird was hopping with a bit more vigor and was for the first time was instinctively flapping his wings. An hour later, he too was gone.

I should be happy that two out of three made it, but I wonder if I should have tried to help their weaker brother.

What I do know is that compassion without action is worthless.

Words Can Tear Down or Built Up

2008-08-28T20:14:45Z

A friend in a Master's program recently took a pass/fail class designed to weed out weaker and mismatched students from the program. After spending less than 10 minutes in one-on-one communication, the professor deemed him to be ill suited for the program and its associated profession; he was summarily failed. Although discouraged, he repeated the class with another instructor, who declared him to be functioning at the PhD level!

Another friend was wrapping up her last semester of college, doing her student teaching. Things were going well and the mid-semester report was glowing. Imagine her dismay when her mentor's final assessment asserted that she was not fit to be an educator. It took quite a while for her to rebound from the shock and disappointment; she selected a different career and never taught again.

Although both of these examples are in the field of education, the lesson is not unique to that field. Anytime someone has authority over another, their words carry a great deal of weight -- so much so that career choices can be unnecessarily abandoned and self-esteem destroyed.

If you find that you have to deliver disheartening news, make sure the recipient knows why; explain your reasons; salt it with something positive; and never abandon them when they are at their weakest.

It is far better to use your position of authority to encourage others, to build them up, and to strengthen them. Imagine my friend and how hard he will work and how far he will go, now that he is secure in the knowledge that he is functioning at the Ph.D. level.

With authority comes responsibility; use it well.

The Relaunch of the WB -- An Online Video Network

2008-08-28T07:34:16Z

You may remember the TV network, The WB. As I recall, a couple of years ago it merged programming schedules with UPN, to form CW.

Anyway, The WB website has just been relaunched as an Internet-based video-on-demand network.

In addition to new programming, it has past episodes of popular shows such as "Angel," "Babylon 5," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Everwood," "Firefly," "Friends," "Gilmore Girls," "In Living Color," "The Loop" "MADtv," "The O.C.," "One Tree Hill," "Roswell," "Smallville" and (my favorite) "Veronica Mars."

It also has an interactive section and allows for integration with Facebook.

The WB is an indication of things to come, as video programming continues to move to the Internet.

Another case in point is Olympic coverage on NBCOlympics.com. I used the site during the Olympics (though not as much as I expected), checking schedules, getting background info, and watching a few events. In four years, I suspect that I will be watching most of the Olympics online.

A related example is Netflix and their "watch now" service and TV set top devices (see the Netflix Player).

Yes, video is moving to the Internet and even though I will not likely be a regular viewer of The WB (their target demographic is 16 to 34), I am ready to embrace this exciting technological development.

2008 Olympic Moments and Memories

2008-09-05T06:15:42Z

As I reflect on the 2008 Summer Olympics, several memorable moments come to mind.

First, of course, is Michael Phelps, making history by winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics. Plus he set (or helped set) seven world records in the process. What makes this more astounding is the intense and constant media pressure he was under. Had he fallen short in this quest, I would have blamed the media and not faulted him. In addition to all this, he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

In woman's beach volleyball, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh repeated as gold medalist, which had never been done in the sport. They won 108 straight matches and hadn't lost one for a year and a half. It seems that their next focus will be starting their respective families.

The redeem team (men's basketball), showed both character and talent, advancing to win a gold medal. (I haven't watched them win the game yet, so don't tell me what happened.)

In her fifth Olympics (and she skipped two), 41 year old Dara Torres out showed most of her competitors, many of who were half her age. Aside from winning three more medals, she exemplified the Olympic spirit by asking officials to delay the start of a race so that a competitor would have time to change out of a torn swimsuit.

I'm not sure why, but the image of President Bush enjoying the games is etched in my mind. I guess it's refreshing to see him in a non-political context.

Lastly, is what happened first. Li Ning (Chinese gymnast), suspended on wires, made a symbolic run around the top of the stadium to light the torch. It was both artistic and awe-inspiring.

Are the Olympics a Boon or Bust to Business?

2008-08-26T08:03:11Z

From time to time, I check out the stats for my blog to see how many people are reading and what they're reading. I'm not fixated on it, but I am aware.

Throughout this year, readership has slowly and steadily increased to about 150 per day. As we moved into summer, readership, not unexpectedly, dropped a bit, to just over 100 per day. During the Olympics, however, the average dipped even more, to slightly below 100.

Now that the Olympics are behind us, I noticed that yesterday, there were over 200 readers to this blog and today has already surpassed yesterday's total.

I noticed a similar upswing in business activity. I received many more substantive emails and phone calls yesterday than any day during the Olympics.

I am left pondering if a dip in activity has been felt by others around the world. Has the Olympics (that is, the distraction of global televised sports) served as a disruption to commerce and business worldwide?

It's something to think about.

When Customer Rewards Programs Go Bad

2008-08-25T16:54:33Z

I have signed up for the "rewards" program at my favorite office supply store. In addition to mailing me coupons and emailing me special offers (which is how I bought a paper shredder for $10), they also keep track of my purchases, which allows me to earn quarterly discounts.

Conceptually, this is a great business idea. It promotes store/brand loyalty and gives me an incentive to not consider their competition.

When I was emailed my recent statement of activity, I actually looked at it. I wanted to make sure that the recent ink cartridges that I returned for recycling had been credited to my account. They had not. Nor was the purchase that I made that day. Looking through each statement for this year, they had a record of only one purchase.

Why do they scan my card? Since charges don't end up in my statement, scanning it seems to be largely an exercise in futility.

It makes me wonder if their competitor -- whose store is right across the street from them -- has a rewards program that works better and could actually capture all my purchases.

I'm sure that it's not the goal of their rewards program is to drive customers to their competition, but that could very well be what happens.

Sadly, their rewards program has gone bad -- and as a result this customer could go away.

Why Recycle When You Can Refuse?

2008-08-22T19:33:36Z

Each week a free paper is delivered to our home. Each week I walk it from the paper-box to the trash can. When my dad was alive, he would recycle these papers, but with shorter hours at the recycling center and higher gas prices, we often wondered if his efforts were worth it. Now the papers become instant garbage.

I've received this paper for years; I never wanted it, read it, or used it (except as a fire-starter or for those projects whose cleanup benefited from the liberal dispersal of newspaper).

"Enough of this madness," I said one day. Instead of feeling guilty about not recycling, I would skirt the issue by not receiving the paper in the first place. To be expedient, I removed the paper-box (and threw it away). Not to be deterred, the carrier merely put the paper in a different box. Next, I called the publisher; to my surprise, they cheerfully "canceled" my subscription. Two weeks have gone by and no more paper. Refusing the paper is much easier than recycling could ever be.

Encouraged by this, I will next tackle all the free magazines I receive that I don't want or read. Most of them I never even requested; they just started showing up -- and keep showing up.

Another area of refusal --that I've been doing for years -- is bags for the merchandise I buy. It perplexes me that even when I buy only one item, it is automatically bagged. Checkers are shocked with I decline their bag and stunned when I remove my purchase from the bag, leaving it there for the next customer. I do the same thing with two or three items, though I don't recommend more than six. I tried that once and the result wasn't good; sometimes you need a bag.

Refusing trumps recycling every time. It may not be much, but if everyone does a little, it can really mean a lot.

Have You Caught the Olympic Fever?

2008-08-21T19:53:09Z

Having a DVR (digital video recorder) has changed the way I watch the Olympics. Four years ago, I taped a few of the events that were broadcast while I slumbered. This time around, I've been recording 12 to 15 hours a day. Of course, I don't watch nearly that much -- in actuality, I only spend 2 to 3 hours a day watching those events that are of most interest to me, happily skipping the commercials and fast-forwarding through the boring parts.

In the Olympics, and all sports for that matter, I prefer those events with objective outcomes (track and field, swimming, beach volleyball, basketball, soccer, softball, baseball, tennis, table tennis, soccer, and so forth) and am less disposed towards events with subjective scoring (such as gymnastics, diving, synchronized swimming, equestrian, trampoline, and a few others that I don't watch).

At the Olympics, it is interesting to note the amount of time, effort, and people that is required in the various events to win a gold medal. Take the 100 meter dash, for example, which lasts less than 10 seconds; even with preliminaries, quarter finals, semi-finals, and finals, the gold medal winner has competed less than a minute to win.

Compare that to the marathon, in which there is only one race, but lasts a couple hours.

Then there is the triathlon, the heptathlon, and decathlon in which a single contestant must compete in several disciplines, often grueling, in order to win gold.

Last, by not least, are the team events, in which groups of people compete over the span of many days, often for hours at a time, with the ultimate prize being a singular medal. (Each member receives a medal, but the medal count is only incremented by one.)

The equalizing factor is that all competitors dedicate years of their life to compete at the Olympic level, so the amount of effort actually expended at the games is quite minor in comparison. Even so, in each event, all compete, but only one person gets the prize.

Do You Have a Proclivity for Email or an Outright Addiction?

2008-08-20T17:45:44Z

Imagine you're in a nondescript room, sitting in a circle with a bunch of strangers, waiting for a meeting to begin. Finally, it is time start and one of the strangers hesitantly confesses: "My name is Fred, and I'm addicted to...email."

Does this strike you as humorous or do you see a bit of yourself in this fictitious scenario? Well, the truth may surprise you. In a recent AOL survey, 46% of the people in the United States admit to being addicted to email.

According to the survey:

62% of respondents check work email on weekends
19% choose vacation spots that has email access
59% check their email from the bathroom
55% have upgraded their mobile phone just to receive email

Okay, I admit that there are times when I have an irrational urge to check email and occasionally experience a bit of panic when I'm disconnected for too long. Yes, I am part of the 62% who check business email on the weekends.

But the other three items are definitely not me. Vacation is a time to separate myself from email, same with the bathroom (which is were I read my magazines -- doesn't everybody?), and my cell phone is for talking -- when I want to talk -- nothing else, no texting, no email, no web surfing, just normal talking.

So, yes, I use email frequently, I depend on it, and couldn't run my business without it. But addicted to it? No, just a positive proclivity, with occasional urges to partake, but certainly not addicted.

Other people may be, but not me -- I can control it!

So, You Found My Website -- Which One?

2008-08-20T17:46:36Z

Many people are amazed and impressed that my web address matches my name: PeterDeHaan.com. I've had it for almost eight years. When I registered it in 2000, it was not hard to procure a domain name matching one's given name. (At the time, DeHaan.com was also available and I vacillated on which one to register.)

However, I also have several other websites:

ConnectionsMagazine.com and AnswerStat.com are for my two magazines, as well as MyArticleArchive.com for online articles. These are also my most visited sites.

Most of my other sites relate to the call center industry. Three are locator sites: FindACallCenter.com, FindAnAnsweringService.com, and FindATeleserviceAgency.com

Two other sites: StartACallCenter.com and StartAnAnsweringService.com, were both started when I was doing consulting and grew weary of answering the same basic questions over and over.

I also have PeterDeHaan.name (primarily for future personal use), TASWebsites.com (provides information to answering services in starting a website), and AnswerPlusNews.com (an example of custom publishing).

To round out my "baker's dozen" websites is my "hobby" site, www.ABibleADay.com, a site to encourage regular Bible reading, with basic information for those not familiar with the Bible.

Altogether, they represent almost 2,500 pages of information and collectively generate about 4 millions page views a year!

On top of all this are 16 more domain names, that are registered and waiting for me to develop!

Express Mail is Urgent and Should be Delivered Immediately -- Unless Fuel is Expensive

2008-08-18T18:06:15Z

Each month the post office sends me two Express Mail deliveries. Each contains a CD of address changes for my two magazines, AnswerStat and Connections Magazine. It is a service that I subscribe to in order to keep my mailing lists as up-to-date as possible.

I really like the service, but dislike Express Mail because I have to sign for the deliveries. If I'm on the phone or out of the office when the mail carrier arrives (I'm a one-person office), then I have to wait until the next day. Plus, signing for the packages always interrupts something more important.

When my deliveries arrived this month, I was out of the office. The carrier left my other mail and a card about my Express Mail. I expected them to be delivered the next day, but they weren't -- nor the day after that, or the rest of the week.

Eventually, the Post Office called to say that if I didn't pickup my packages, they would be sent back. Before I could ask them to simply deliver them, the postmaster explained that because of high fuel prices, they would only make one delivery attempt.

That's nonsense -- because they deliver mail to me every day. It's not going to take extra fuel to drop off the Express Mail at the same time. How idiotic -- and ironic, given that the package says, "Extremely Urgent -- Please Rush to Addressee."

As postal volume decreases, they become less efficient; they need a sufficient quantity of mail to be cost-effective. (If the number of pieces mailed increases 10%, their costs rise less than 10%; if there's a 10% decrease, their costs do not go down 10%.)

Given that reality, it's foolish to give people a reason to seek alternatives, but not delivering Express Mail in order to save fuel as a great reason to do just that.

Searching for Search Engines

2008-08-16T08:09:27Z

In a recent post I mentioned the website GoodSearch.com that allows users to generate money for their favorite charity whenever they conduct Internet searches.

For another search engine consideration, you may want to check out Wikia Search. According to their website, "Wikia's search engine concept is that of trusted user feedback from a community of users acting together in an open, transparent, public way." The concept shows great promise -- and better search results.

Another new option is Cuil (pronounced "cool" -- yea, I know; I don't get it either. My daughter suggests "ui" as in juice or nuisance). From a usage standpoint, Cuil presents results in a compelling two-column or three-column format. Also, they claim to have indexed far more web pages (120 billion) than Google (40 billion), the current king of all search engines.

Happy searching.

I Need to Get Smart About Snickers Nougatocity

2008-08-14T18:55:01Z

My bride and I recently watched the movie Get Smart. As a long-time fan of the 60s TV series, I was greatly anticipating this flick -- and was not disappointed. There were a good number of subtle tie-ins and allusions to the show, but not so many as to be excessive or alienate new fans.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the movie. Despite some unnecessary crassness, there were some truly funny parts and on more than one occasion I had tears rolling down my face from laughing so hard. Given the movie's promotion, star power, and success, I fully expected reruns of the TV show to crop up some place -- and I was ready to watch -- but to my knowledge that hasn't happened. (Yes, I know that I could just buy the series on DVD.)

Sitting down in our seats at the theater, I have my popcorn and hand my bride her Snickers. On the back it says "Nougatocity." Apparently, it's been this way for a while, but we're in the habit of eating Snickers -- not reading the wrapper.

Although Snickers is a registered trademark, nougatocity is not. Being the curious sort, I do some investigating after the movie. First, according to Google, there are over 9,800 mentions of "nougatocity" in cyberspace. Several entries date to November of 2007, but I did find a blog mention of it two years ago on August 28, 2006, where Arnold Zwicky indicates that the word (along with others) were coined for a Snickers ad campaign.

Next, although TheFreeDictionary.com doesn't know what nougatocity is, the Urban Dictionary does. However, their definition is not what I expected. Of course the Urban Dictionary often contains explanations that are so slang as to be unfathomable. I'm sure that someone, somewhere may have uttered those words in the manner indicated, but I doubt if there are many who do.

To me, it is self-apparent that nougatocity has something to do with gooey goodness packed inside each Snickers bar. By the way, if you're really into nougatocity, the domain name, www.nougatocity.com, is currently available -- but I think I'll pass.

The main reason I bring this up is that my bride dared me to write a blog about nougatocity.

Bizarre Back to School Special

2008-08-13T19:35:01Z

Yesterday I received a flier for one of the most bizarre promotions I have ever seen.

It was a "Back to School Special" -- to have my septic tank pumped.

I hope that it is obvious that I have never listed "pump septic tank" on my back-to-school to do list -- and it's hard to imagine anyone who would.

To make it even more strange is that in order to get the special discount of $25, I need to convince one of my neighbors to have their sewage removed at the same time. I'm not sure if we each get 25 bucks off or if we need to share the savings.

Although connecting this promotion with returning to school is nonsensical, the basic business behind the deal is sound. Tanks on most sewage pump trucks have the capacity to hold the contents of two standard residential septic tanks. Once the tank on the truck is full they need to make the trip to the treatment plant to "unload." With the high price of diesel fuel, pumping two septic tanks in the same neighborhood makes a lot of sense and should cut their costs.

So as it turns out, this promotion is a good deal for everyone. It's just strange to call it a "Back to School" special.