Journal

Can I tell you how glad I am that the Battlestar Galactica series has reached it’s conclusion? Now if only ABC’s Lost would hurry up and have a point to the whole story I can write that off as well. As an adult I really never watched television until these two episodes came on and friends suggested it. I had missed their first seasons and played catch-up thanks to Netflix’s DVD subscription.

Growing up I was a big reader. My imagination combined with the author’s story are much more powerful and rewarding than television. I’ll confess my book and other print reading has suffered thanks to the internet. Blogs and news sites have filled that time instead. Like a book, the Web has no boundaries and I consume it. The difference with the internet is that I am a contributor.

I have just cancelled my subscription to Direct TV and to Netflix without remorse. With network television providing full content in HD online, what is the point? With the technology we have in outlets such as Hulu, Boxee, Apple TV, Windows Media Center, why bother? I need to mention the legion of podcasts out there as well. Speaking of Hulu, here is a clip of their ad wherein Alec Baldwin sarcastically asks: “what are you going to do, turn off your TV AND your computer?”

Yes, I will not let my brains turn into mush.

Don’t get me wrong, television has been a powerful and informative tool since it’s inception and I am not trying to be negative. Just simply saying I am over it. This is the Mojo and I am signing off.

There will always be people who conform to an environment or transform it. Do you fit in or stand out? Is this a position you enjoy or do you want to be that other person instead?

If you want to stand out, don’t be different. Be outstanding.

Have you ever had too much going on and felt like you had too little control about it? I’m there.

Good luck today, it is Friday the 13th!

Mojo Risin IPA beer from Boulder, Colorado. Not available in Texas so I may have to import it.

Howdy!

As of 11:30AM today, I am a Texan. This isn’t as difficult to accept as I always imagined it would be. As an Okie by birth we are bred to dislike our border neighbors. However, I moved out of Oklahoma 13 years ago so the dislike has waned. To be fair, the people of Texas and Houston in particular have embraced us with open arms. We’re happy to be here!

I finally registered my second vehicle and got a driver’s license. My integration process is still not complete until I either acquire a pair of boots, a cowboy hat or both.

I love these license plates that represent the “whole other country” idea that is Texas.

daddy’s little blue belle

Wonderwife, DVD and I jumped into our car for a quick day trip to Brenham, Texas and back today. It took us about an hour and a half to get out of Katy (just west of Houston) thanks to a donut stop and a department store. The store visit was promptly after opening an over-pressurized chocolate milk bottle.

Just before reaching Sealy, Texas we pulled off to visit Stephen Austin’s memorial site and state park near San Felipe. Little DVD romped and played through the area and bluebonnet fields. This was one of the main reasons for the trip was to capture the mandatory bluebonnet portraits.

After sampling some BBQ beef brisket in Sealy, we headed north to Brenham and the Blue Bell creamery. Of course the best part of any tour is a sampling of the manufactured goods and this was no different. Once 3 scoops of ice cream had been devoured, we went back to a field covered in Texas’ state flower for another photo session. By this time the very patient, fun-loving girl had been away from home for too long and Wonderwife was chewed on by a few ants. So we grabbed a few shots and made our way back to the house in Katy.

Testing WordPress app from Apple’s ipod Touch.

Thanks to surging fuel prices last year (this year too?) and economic woes, fueling stations/convenience stores now treat all customers with contempt. They assume everyone is out to steal their fuel with drive-offs. Yes, there is that but why should the 99.5% of us who pay for our consumption be inconvenienced?

If I would like to actually go inside and purchase a beverage or watermelon/raspberry/mango Hubba Bubba bubble gum, why do I have to have two transactions? Pay at the pump AND pay inside? I’d like to make one transaction, please.

Oh, and since I am paying at the pump with my debit card and ask for receipt, then by golly you can ensure that a roll of paper is filled so I do not have to come inside to fetch it.

Why do water bottles have an expiration date on them? Water is 10,000 years old already.

$7 car wash (discounted a dollar with fuel purchase)?? Give us a break. How inconvenient.

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Confession: I do not click advertisements on websites or blogs. Ever. The very idea that a site’s content is so crucial to my daily reading that it would not be possible without sponsorship is hooey. In fact, the bigger blogs annoy us with posts every Friday about how great their sponsor’s products are. New media is looking like old media and I do not like it. Whatever happened to enthusiasts who do something well because they enjoy it?

I’d agree that there are startup costs, server space to pay for, equipment, etc but after that, is it reasonable for you to expect us to pay for your salary? There are no more niches. You are not unique anymore. There is too much competition now. If you start charging for your content on top of your advertisements on sites, embedded inside feeds, in podcasts, you will get unsubscribed.

For the past 5 years (web 2.0), we have enjoyed social media apps that are free to use and laced with advertisements. Even though they can be ignored or even blocked with scripts, they are still present and distracting.

Is this a good business model? I cannot believe I am alone in my loathing for web ads but the internet is a new frontier for companies. How often do new markets come around, after all?

I’d love to get your feedback on this, please.

This is a blog post from Mojo Denbow For more content like this, subscribe to the RSS feed, Twitter & Disqus.

CountM’ Butu plays the conga drums with the Derek Trucks Band. House of Blues, Houston Texas

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness…"
— Charles Dickens, Tale of Two Cities

The economy is in the toilet. Companies are irresponsible and reward those that they rely on with layoffs & cutbacks. Current events from across the globe are negative. The United States is still waging war on 2 third world countries. Depression? Recession?

Upon reflection, this is a wake up call that will help us rise out of this mess. Financial responsibility will be priority one from households to boardrooms. We will innovate and create. The world will rebound and we will find ourselves better and smarter.

We will not find hope or change with our governments. We have hope and desire change through ourselves and each other.

What are you doing to make yourself better? How are you innovating, becoming more responsible? Add your comments with either text or video replies!

This is a blog post from Mojo Denbow For more content like this, subscribe to the RSS feed, Twitter & Disqus.