Why is it that smoke detectors only start emitting their high-pitched, ear-piercing “low battery” warning beeps in the middle of the night? I cannot recall a single smoke detector that ever started BEEP!!!ing at me at a “decent” hour. Always in the middle of my sleep cycle, never mid-afternoon, or during breakfast, or even while [...]
The phone which earns me a 15% discount by not being used got a call today. This is an oddity, because no-one knows that number, not even me. The phone usually just occupies space on the Shelf of Discarded Technology(c)(tm), but I recently charged it so that Ryder could play with it. When answered, there [...]
Lately we’ve been giving the recommendation machine over at Netflix increased credence. If Netflix’s computer says that we’d give a certain film 3.8 stars, we’re more likely to queue it. 4.2 stars or higher, and we’re even more likely to watch it. I’m simultaneously thrilled and appalled when a computer can predict my taste so [...]
Driving home from today’s family adventure, I spotted a neighbor’s car with the vanity plate: “VEGAS 71.” My first, and best guess, is it is the city and year they were born in. Which immediately led me to wonder just how much action I’d get if I drove around San Francisco with the city and [...]
If I were a stand-up comic, I would focus my “differences between men and women” routine on men’s addiction to outcome. Or, at least, my own personal addiction to outcome. There aren’t a lot of sporting events I plan on sitting down to take in: Golf’s Majors, Cal Football (until the 3rd quarter, when they [...]
Fundraising auctions are a really interesting study in human psychology. There are the obvious archetypes: the people who need to make a donation in public, the adrenaline junkies who love the thrill of the chase, and the extremely competitive must-winners, to name a few. There are also the people you could never dream up, not [...]
7/17/07: Post 1.018 Dogs can smell death; you can see it in their eyes – especially at the pound. Tolstoy could, for sure, and he was thankful as all hell when a familiar face came to get him at the San Francisco animal shelter. The year was 1994, and I had just driven across the [...]
1/23/07: Post 1.017 It must have been the way we were dressed, and the fact that all three of us got out of our car and made our way over the garage attendant. It was a nice day, and Michele was looking cute – dressed for the weather – Ryder looked dapper as ever, and [...]
11/22/06: Post 1.014 I was afraid this would happen. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to start trying to write regularly for my site. Sooner or later, in my life, timelines tighten. Work picks up, life gets crazy and the first thing I’m willing to let go of is standing at my computer [...]
10/6/06: Post 1.013 Before I found my path as a fundraising auctioneer I worked in the wonderful world of liquidations. A client that did live and online auctions convinced me to leave my marketing consultancy behind and brought me in-house to run their interactive marketing. The company was relatively small, and it was a requirement [...]