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I have received more parking tickets in the past year than in the previous 20 years of driving.  I have not changed my habits or parking in different places.  I believe it is extra enforcement because of the tight city and town budgets.   So, how do they get revenue?   Start writing tickets.

 

I have received eight tickets from six different towns.   One time I just stopped by for two minutes to drop something off  and got nailed.   Another time, I paid for two hours (at 25 cents every 15 minutes) and received a ticket at 12 minutes past the two hour limit.

 

Technically I am guilty.   I get it.   I don’t have a leg to stand on in court.   Yes, I was over the limit.  I almost always pay for parking.   I run late every now and then.  But there is no leeway anymore.   It is just part of the harsh attitudes people (via government) have towards one another these days.

 

The other thing that is oppressive about parking tickets is they give you 30 days to pay or it doubles.  If you are late beyond 60 days, it doubles again.  Plus the tickets themselves have gone up.  I regularly pay $25 a ticket — wait a few months and it can be $100.   Just for an extra 10 minutes!  It is horrible.

 

Again, I know I am guilty of ‘stealing time from the parking spots.’  So I have to pay.  But what happened to a little leniency?   I am not intentionally trying to get one over — most of my tickets have come from doing a bit more work or shopping in the stores.   I have actually stopped going to certain towns to shop because of the parking.  I have started shopping in towns with free parking or those without these over-zealous parking commissioners.

 

Maybe in the long run the revenue from lost sales taxes (because less people will want to deal with the parking) will overcome the extra parking violations.   Or maybe not.  But it seems like this policy is just one more way of the government taking money from people and creating nothing of value to help the economy.

 

Unintended consequences?

I lost my sunglasses today.   I think I know where but by the time I realized it, it was too late.

 

I stopped buying expensive sunglasses a decade ago.  I buy ‘cheap sunglasses.’

 

Of all the items in the world, designer sunglasses seem to be the most overpriced of all.  People pay $800 for a pair of sunglasses?   Is it a fashion statement?   Does it show you are so shallow that you want to be defined by your over-priced specs?   Or is it a sign of having throw-away cash?   I guess if one has the disposable cash, it is theirs to do what they wish.

 

I was a bit bummed when I realized my glasses fell out of my coat pocket.   I think it was in front of St. Patrick’s.   Oh well.   Afterall they are cheap.

 

I have to get a few new pair of shades tomorrow.

 

…”And go get yourself some cheap sunglasses”  — ZZ Top

 

…”The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades” —

 

…”I wear my sunglasses at night” —

Amazon is notoriously secretive about how many Kindles they have sold.   A recent analyst projects there will be 5-million sold in 2010; 7.5-million in 2011 and 11.5-million in 2012.  WOW!   It all adds up to almost 25-million Kindles in a few years.   Even if he is way over, conservative estimates have at least 15-million sold.

 

But that is just part of the market.   Kindle has an App for the iPad; the iPhone; the iTouch; Droid phones; Macs and PCs.  So basically anyone will be able to read an eBook through Kindle no matter what device you own.  That comes to hundreds of millions of views.

 

This is not a commercial for Amazon.   But they have made it very easy to read eBooks.  They continue to push publishers to add content.   They keep pushing the price of eReaders down.   The downside?  Kindle is a closed system.  To read books on Kindle, one must buy books on Kindle.  The other systems are open and don’t force a device on the reader.   Will this change?   No one knows, but I am hopeful.

 

Amazon had 93% market share a few years ago.   They essentially created the current eBook market.   They have remained steady in believing in eBooks.   Their share is down to 60-70% (although the market is much greater so their business is healthier).  With increased competition, their share will probably move south of 50%.   At that time, maybe they will open up?

 

But, regardless, it is important to do business with Kindle.  But it is also key to do business with the rest.   It is never good for one company to own the market.  Play with everyone and reap the benefits.

 

Had a hard time getting started this morning.  So I set my iPod to play some Stones.   I love the blues, rock n roll, English-bent music of Mick and Keith and Charlie + .   My favorite albums come from the late 60s — when Mick Taylor joined the band (Charlie and Bill were on drums and bass).  This was after Brian Jones and before Ronnie Wood joined the band.

I find EXILE ON MAIN STREET, LET IT BLEED and STICKY FINGERS some of the best music ever.   I guess I could extend the late 60s to the early 70s and tap into SOME GIRLS and EMOTIONAL RESCUE.   I love it all.  I do listen to the later music but find myself coming back to these albums over and over.

The Rolling Stones bill themselves as “The World’s Greatest Rock n Roll Band.”   It’s hard to argue with that claim.

They have been together for 50 years.

Some of my favorite songs (in no particular order)

TUMBLING DICE

SWEET VIRGINIA

MIDNIGHT RAMBLER

GIMME SHELTER

LET IT BLEED

YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

BEAST OF BURDEN

DEAD FLOWERS

SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

But I have many, many others I love to listen to.

The American League playoffs are almost here.   There are 8-10 games left but the teams are pretty much decided.  The Rays, Yankees, Twins and Rangers.  An interseting mix for Tampa and Minnesota represent small-market teams, the Rangers a bigger market (but less rabid fans) and of course the biggest of big – New York.   MLB has always been a sport of have and have-nots.   The Yankees have been buying players (they purchased Babe Ruth from a bankrupt Red Sox owner) since the onset of the AL.   On the other hand, the Twins were almost eliminated — given the death sentence — a few years ago by the Commissioner.  Yes, the league actually tried to kill them?   Tampa is the youngest franchise and has had some success.  But their owner announced this week that he may need to dismantle the team because it is too expensive.  How can you even be a fan of the Rays with ownership like that?   Then there are the Rangers.  They were bankrupt earlier this year and had a judge decide their fate.   All I do know is HOF pitcher Nolan Ryan is somehow involved and former prez GWBush was a part owner many years ago.

So what is the point?  

Baseball is like life.

Baseball is not fair.

Life is not fair.

But even with the odds against you — you can still make the playoffs.

I love my iPhone.  I enjoy reading eBooks.   But I hate it when the ‘Loading…” screen comes up.  I never wait for my pBooks to “Load.”  But there are obviously many weaknesses of each format (and of course many advantadges).   I read on both formats.   This is why it is important to provide content in the format readers want to consume.

So, I hope publishers will all jump in and convert their physical assets to eBooks and digital content.   A lot of new readers can be found and authors re-discovered.   Bring on the eBooks…. but never give up on the physical ones.

“Loading…”   Could you add up all the seconds waiting?   Over a lifetime, it could be many, many days or even years.

 

Twitter and Facebook get all the press.  But there are hundreds of social network tools and sites available.  I use both Facebook and Twitter but also am a fan of Tumblr and Foursquare. 

Tumblr is a blend between Twitter and a Blog.  Many use it as a blog.  I prefer it for photographs and art.   It is much more visual than Twitter and the posts mean more.  A post on Twitter is for a fleeting moment — it is disposable.  But a post on Tumblr is more meaty.

Tumblr just hit 1,000,000,000 posts.

Foursquare is a location tracking device.  Basically the user ‘checks in’ at every location they visit.  If they visit enough, the user can become the mayor of the place.  It’s fun but also a bit stalkeresque.  I do see how business can use it to promote.   For example, I was in Starbucks the other day.  I went to my Foursquare account and checked in.   Then I looked at the nearby stores.  The Gap was about three stores away and had a special 30% off for Foursquare users.  I went in and shopped.  Location-based sites have just started to blossom.

Foursquare just hit their 3,000,000 user.

Web-based marketing, social networking, living on the web — it is all growing.  It is fundamentally changing the way we live.   Embrace it for it will not be going away…. ever.

Enjoy.

 

Take a break.  Go to the playground.  Relax.   Rechage.  Return.   It’s always important to let your brain rest and just wander.

The media world is going through dramatic changes.   Newspapers, magazines, TV shows, movies, books, music etc are all going digital.  The ways to market these items are also going through revolutionary times.   So, experiement.  Try it.  Get your feet wet and jump in.   The world is changing at a rapid rate.   

Think back — enter the time machine (I will admit we watched THE HOT TUB TIME MACHINE last night) and go back….   How different was everything just last year?  Three years ago?  Five years ago?   10 years ago was a lifetime!

Other movies about time travel:

• BACK TO THE FUTURE (and the two sequels)
• STAR TREK XI (and numerous tv episodes)
• THE TIME MACHINE (the original movie better, the book even better than that)
• BIG, 18 AGAIN, FREAKY FRIDAY (ok a bit off subject, but it is still a character reliving part of their life)
• THE TERMINATOR (the first movie was amazing, the others fair)

But back to my original point.   Time flies past and before you know it, the game is over.   So experiment now.  Try it.  Join in.  Do it.   And then correct what needs to be fixed — and do it again.

“Back Jack, Do it Again…”