Saturday, November 8, 2014

Friday, November 7, 2014

"Amazon Echo (Early Beta Version)"



It sounds like Echo has a bad attitude.

The original commercial:

"Proud To Be a 1%’er – The American People Lose Again!"

From Racine Exposed:

"The results of the 2014 Wisconsin Governor’s race show Libertarian Robert Burke coming in at just 1%, while the Democrat – Socialists Mary Burke received 47% and the Republican – Fascist Scott Walker received 52%. The American People just lost again."

Read more: http://racineexposed.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/proud-to-be-a-1er-the-american-people-lose-again/

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone and welcome back! It has been a long, long week.... Too many hours working and exhausted. Still got much more to go.... Here's your questions.....

1) What commercial has inspired you to buy their product?

2) What commercial has discouraged you not to buy their product?

3) Is there (or was there) any special program on the radio you enjoy hearing?

4) Have you had your flu shot?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday


Purr, purr.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my shivering friends!  How are you? Autumn arrived screaming down like an asteroid and I predict the same for winter. One day it’ll be autumn, the next it’ll be winter.  Winter, three months (or more) of cold, sleet and snow. I can hardly wait.  As my bones age and ache, I may have to move south.  Or just croak. 

The end of Daylight Saving Time is usually easier to tolerate than the start of it.  But I still screwed up and missed three clocks.  The one in my car, of course, I can never remember how to do it. 

No trick-or-treaters at our house.  Everyone is afraid and paranoid these days.  I don’t blame then.

Such an interesting subject: children and Halloween.  Be careful out there. 

I went to have some lab work done today and right at the entrance is a large placard asking you if you have fever plus a whole lotta of other things.  Or if you’ve recently traveled to of from West Africa, they had paper facemasks.

Ebola.  Every couple of weeks there’s some new threat that is going to kill us all.  If it isn’t one thing, then it’s another.  It’s been like this since the Great Recession.

More bad news from the hometown in the form of layoffs at CNH and Johnson Wax.  Those poor families.  It’s real and it keeps getting realer.  Watch the hell are people supposed to eat?

Sorry about the politics, but sometimes one must speak out.  Our city must come together more and more.  We need to slay the dragons of greed and avarice.  They’re just as much a threat as heroin or other street drugs.

The good news is that other 99.99% of the people were perfectly or very well behaved.

I hope the rest of your week goes better than mine.

Love,
Madame Zoltar 

Open Blog - Wednesday


Who would win if Tony the Tiger had a fight with Smokey the Bear?

Monday, November 3, 2014

Local Loyalty - Thankfulness

I know I am being quite unconventional,
 but please indulge me. 
November, a month typically known for thankfulness,
are we really?
I AM thankful. Let me start off this way, then I have story that really left a huge impression on me, to the point I feel very compelled to share.

I am very thankful that this feature has been well received.
I am very thankful for the businesses that have shared of their time with me, a complete stranger, just to tell me about themselves and their businesses.
(I wouldn't have answered the door for me, as I don't like talking to strangers!)
The time they shared with me, to me, is not something I take lightly.
They owe me nothing, nada, zip.
When you visit the locally owned, "little guys", do you express your gratitude for the huge step they've taken in just going up against the big guys?
Do you express your gratitude for an awesome experience, wherever you go?
How much of a difference can you make by simple actions, like a smile, a thank you, or just being patient?
Ok, I actually have 2 stories, one may sound silly, 
but it was a "Wow" moment for me.

A couple weeks ago, hubby and I had lunch at Los Mariachi's. We are creatures of habit, and usually order the same thing. It's good, why mess with that? :)
The platter I typically get, is really good, but my tostada gets a little soggy from it's counter parts on the plate.  This visit, the simplest thing made the biggest of impressions. The cook put a single tortilla chip under the edge of the tostada that is beside it's soggy partner. That tostada didn't get soggy! 
It was so simple, and yet, that one little chip made all the difference. I asked the waitress to let whoever did it know that by doing that one little thing, actually made my day, it was simple genius. I don't know that she let him/her know, so when I saw a comment card, I made sure to put it in writing as well. 
The kitchen crew rarely, if ever, gets thanked. I'm sure they hear the complaints, but really... the wait staff usually get all the praise. I really hope that person gets the word that it DID make somebody happy. They deserve to know!

Fast forward to this week. Hubby and I went to lunch Friday. 
We went to Denny's, and it was crazy busy and packed. 
We were told it would be "a few minutes", which, we could tell actually meant a few minutes shy of forever. Nevertheless, we stayed. We watched the flurry of activity, and could tell they were very short handed. 
Some of the waitresses looked very worn and unhappy. 
I watched one, that looked especially harsh, and hoped that isn't who we would get. 20 minutes later, guess who we had? 
Yup, the one I hoped we didn't get. Boy, was I wrong!
She was super friendly, warm, and amazing!
We didn't say anything about the chaotic feel of the day, or the wait. We weren't crabby for having to wait, we were just glad to be seated. 
She was super gracious, attentive, and didn't charge for the hot chocolate I added, "because you've been so nice", referring to us both. 
I can see why she looked harsh, I can't imagine how many impatient, unkind people she'd taken care of before we ever got there. The line of those waiting didn't slow down at all. 
Just by not being impatient, not stating the obvious about the wait (can only imagine how many times she heard that already), she showed her appreciation TO US! Holy smokes, that blew me away! She got tipped very well. It was the only outward way we could show her our appreciation as well.
To go a step further, I emailed our local Denny's and shared with them as well, asking for her to get some kind of recognition, and shared our experience. 

How often do we bring our unhappiness to a business's attention?
Oh ya, that would be frequently.
How often do we share to the 'higher ups' how wow'd we were by one of their people? Not enough, and I'm guilty of that myself. I am going to change, especially this month, and actually, the rest of the year.
The "holidays season" , that we pretty much consider the rest of the year, can be a very harried time for those in all fields. Let's slow down and recognize that we're all human, and we all need to be appreciated. 
Please look for opportunities to brighten someone's day, especially if they've really done something worth noting.

Go forth, and be thankful!

 

Open Blog - Monday


That last shot of Jack Daniels did it.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

"JC Penney Employees Told Racine Store Closing"

From Racine County Eye:

By Denise Lockwood in Breaking, Business, Community · November 2, 2014

"Employees at JC Penney’s Racine store at Regency Mall were told Friday that the store will be closing because the building at 5900 Durand Ave. has been sold.

"Scott Kister, a lead store assistant at JC Penney, said employees were not given a final date for the closure, but that it would likely close after the holiday season. There are about 70 to 80 employees working at the store, he said.

"JC Penney Properties Inc., JC Penney’s real estate management company, owned the building and listed the 150,000 square foot building for $2.5 million in July. Kister was not aware of who bought the building.

"Sears closed earlier this year, and this past April former mall Manager Curt Pruitt confirmed that Regency Mall is one of several CBL & Associates will sell in the next couple of years."

Read more: http://racinecountyeye.com/2014/11/02/jc-penney-employees-told-racine-store-closing/