Hurricane Ike struck the Texas coast on September 13, 2008. The damage from that storm was estimated to be $20 Billion. That is called the costliest hurricane ever to strike Texas, but does 'costliest' equal most damaging? In other words, if the 1900 Galveston storm were to strike today, how would it compare to Ike?
The SciGuy blog on the Houston Chronicle's website did a post based on this very question. It was interesting to learn that when you factor in how much damage past storms would cause if the made landfall today Hurricane Ike is only #3 on the list.
Most of those that read this blog know that Mary has been in the world of marketing and advertising for as long as I have known her. In that time I think a little marketing knowledge has rubbed off on me. One of the first things I think I picked up is the importance of a good first impression for a business. Well, apparently a number of businesses have not:
YourLogoMakesMeBarf.com is intended to be a humorous look at what can go wrong when an unskilled person (your neighbor’s brother’s uncle’s friend anyone?!) designs a logo. Good logos require time and involve great forethought. A good logo should be a financial investment but also something that will benefit the long term growth of a company.
So leave the designing to the designers and browse through some of these fine examples of what not to look for in a logo. Barf bags recommended.
Pinnacle Security is recruiting Mormon Missionaries for their Door-to-Door sales force. The article linked below is an interesting read.
Managers at Pinnacle Security, founded in 2001 by a student at Brigham Young University, the Mormon Church-owned school, say missionaries simply have the right stuff. Many speak foreign languages learned in the mission field. All have thick skins from dealing with the negative responses that a missionary armed with a Book of Mormon and a smile can receive.
A while back my cousin Tim was kind enough to provide me with some music education. I thought I would pass this along to the blog-o-sphere so others could benefit from this knowledge. So, with no further delay, I bring you "How To Sing The Blues - A Primer"
Most Blues begin, "Woke up this morning..."
"I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes...sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, And she weighs 500 pounds."
The Blues is not about choice. You're stuck in a ditch, you're stuck in a ditch - ain't no way out.
Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken-down trucks. Blues don't travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles. Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train, blues NEVER go on the northbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain't even in the running. Walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.
Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.
Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain.
A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause an alligator be chomping on it is.
You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
Good places for the Blues: a. highway b. jailhouse. Bad places for the Blues: a. Nordstrom b. gallery openings c. Ivy League institutions d. golf courses
No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old person, and you slept in it for the last 6 months.
Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if: a. you're older than dirt b. you're blind c. you shot a man in Memphis. Not if: a. you have all your teeth b. you were once blind but can see c. the man in Memphis lived d. you have a 401K or trust fund now
Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got leg up on the blues.
If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: a. muddy water b. nasty black coffee. The following are NOT Blues beverages: a. Perrier b. Chardonnay c. Snapple d. Slim Fast
If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.
Some Blues names for women: a. Sadie b. Big Mama c. Bessie d. Fat River Dumpling
Some Blues names for men: a. Joe b. Willie c. Little Willie d. Big Willie
Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Debbie, and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.
"Make your own Blues Name" Starter Kit: a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Kiwi, etc.) c. last name of a President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.) For example: Blind Lime Jefferson, Pegleg Lemon Johnson or Cripple Kiwi Fillmore, etc. (Well, maybe not "Kiwi.")
I don't care how tragic your life: if you own even one computer, you cannot sing the blues. If you are reading this on a computer - maybe you cannot sing the Blues - but you sure can listen to it…
Pinnacle Security is recruiting Mormon Missionaries for their Door-to-Door sales force. The article linked below is an interesting read.
