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Heading Back to Green
I’ve spent the last week in Vegas on business and I can’t wait to get home to NC. I really miss the color green, and although it was something like 900 degrees in Vegas I wouldn’t know because I was in a conference center, thus I’m also looking forward to seeing the sun again.
BTW, it rained in Vegas while I was there and I learned that the news folks there treat rain like we treat snow in NC. They rolled out team coverage with quadruple Doppler technology to let everyone know that when you get a cloudburst that produces 1/10 of one inch of rain the ground gets wet and the roads get slick. They also want you to know that the cumulative rain total for June is 1/10 of one inch and that they are just as capable of finding the dumbest people in the city for “man on the street” interviews as the news folks in NC are. Oh,, and 109 is frickin’ hot.
Yep, looking forward to getting home. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Amazon.com Throws Me Overboard
Amazon.com is in a tax tiff with North Carolina and as a result any North Carolinian based person or business is apparently no longer welcome in the company’s Associates Program. Not that it means a whole lot to me because in the however many years I’ve been a member I think I’ve earned a grand total of $6 which is less than the minimum they require to actually go to the trouble of sending me money, and now that I’ve been tossed I’ll never attain my goal of becoming an Amazon gazillionaire. Despite the fact that this means literally nothing to me I still feel like I’ve gotten a “Dear John” letter…oh wait, I guess I kind of have. Anyway, here’s the text of the email they sent to gid rid of me:
Subject: Important Notice from the Amazon Associates Program
We are writing from the Amazon Associates Program to notify you that your Associates account has been closed as of June 26, 2009. This is a direct result of the unconstitutional tax collection scheme expected to be passed any day now by the North Carolina state legislature (the General Assembly) and signed by the governor. As a result, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com after June 26. We were forced to take this unfortunate action in anticipation of actual enactment because of uncertainties surrounding the legislation s effective date.
Please be assured that all qualifying referral fees earned prior to June 26, 2009 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with our regular referral fee schedule. Based on your account closure date of June 26, 2009, any final payments will be paid by September 1, 2009.
In the event that North Carolina repeals this tax collection scheme, we would certainly be happy to re-open our Associates program to North Carolina residents.
The North Carolina General Assembly s website is http://www.ncleg.net/ [ http://www.ncleg.net/ ], and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/ [ http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/ ].
We have enjoyed working with you and other North Carolina-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program, and wish you all the best in your future.
Best Regards,
The Amazon Associates Team
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
links for 2009-06-26
links for 2009-06-25
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I got an email from a researcher for the teevee program Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, asking for recommendations in the Triad. "We are looking for restaurants that serve fresh, made from scratch, homemade interesting food. It is always helpful if…
TV Research in 2009
Yesterday I got an email from a researcher for a Food Network show called Diners, Dives and Drive Thrus (or something like that) asking for suggestions for local joints to feature on their show. I offered up one or two and suggested she contact Esbee and Ed Cone since they know way more than I do about local eateries. I also figured that they would post the question on their blogs and get a ton of suggestions since they have lots of readers who are, uh, enthusiastic in their commenting. (I don’t know if she contacted Ed or Esbee before or after I suggested it, but it doesn’t really matter). Sure enough Ed posted it and the last time I looked he had over 24 comments. http://bit.ly/QouK2
Through this process we learned that the researcher had reached out to lots of local bloggers and, most importantly, to Smitty who HAS to know more about local eats than anyone. How did she find them? I know she found me via my blog and I’ll bet she found Smitty’s Notes simply by doing any kind of search on Winston-Salem. And really, what better way to do local research than to “crowd source” it to a bunch of people who love nothing more than writing about local happenings.
BTW, if you have a local joint you’d recommend for the show feel free to leave it in the comments and I’ll email it to the researcher. Locally, family owned and unique are the basic criteria. Also, I’d say anything froo-froo is out. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
links for 2009-06-24
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Man finds a python in the bathroom of his apartment in Winston-Salem. I hate snakes.
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As Ed wrote, the BCBSNC numbers in this piece are eye opening.
links for 2009-06-23
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"Charlie always had a knack with animals and children and ladies." Obviously the third is the most important knack.
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Jordan Green's article on the negotiating process that Greensboro was involved with over the proposed Jordan Lake Rules.
links for 2009-06-22
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An increase in organ donations as a reason to repeal helmet laws?
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My wife and I both got the text messages referenced in this story about a scam that uses a local credit union as a cover.
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Lex points to an article about a bill sponsored by some Republicans that would ban Medicare and Medicaid from using comparative research on the efficacy of medical devices and drugs to deny coverage. Think they're looking out for patients? Right….
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I like Ed's FD column, and have to say that he's right to point out that even though we've discovered that it's okay for men to show emotion, it's also okay to be stoic.
When is Kid’s Day?
Today, Father's Day, is what my Mom always referred to as a "Hallmark Holiday", one of those days that she's convinced was created as an excuse to sell greeting cards and other doodads. I tend to agree, but I'm also willing to take advantage of an opportunity when I see it, so I spent today lounging around the house eating things I probably shouldn't eat and doing it in great quantity. Given all that leisure time I had a bit of time to think about this whole Mother's Day and Father's Day phenomenon and I started to wonder why we don't have a Kid's Day? Before you scoff, hear me out.
I started down this road of thought when I read the quote from President Obama that said, "Any fool can have a child. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father." He's right, of course, and another way to look at it is to say that fatherhood isn't the act of siring a child it's the ongoing series of decisions to remain in that childs life and to lead your life so that you provide as much benefit as you can to that child that makes you a father, or mother for that matter. What we often forget is that at some point the children also begin to make a series of conscious decisions to belong to their families, to adhere to the values set forth by their parents, and to be "good kids" as much as it is in their abilities to do so. Of course there are rotten kids out there just as there are rotten fathers and mothers, but there are far more good kids and we really do forget that they are good because they decide to be.
We really do spend a lot of time celebrating our children, what with all the birthday parties, the graduations, the baptisms, the confirmations, the little league team parties and who knows what else. But when you think about it there isn't a celebration that's dedicated specifically to acknowledging the kids' commitment to their parents and families, to being good kids. I'm not sure that we need to create one, but it seems to me that if we're going to give moms and dads a day then we should give one to their kids too.
While I'm at it let me say this: Thanks Michael, Erin and Justin for making me the proudest Dad I know. It's an honor and a privilege to be your father.
No that doesn't mean I'll be giving you any money.
Love, Dad.
Befuddled 