Tacky, yes, but for a good cause.
That's like our motto. Only without the cause.
Very nice story.
How many cable systems has MSNBC been removed from recently, though? Mine, for one.
Oh man--Spack needs to step it up on the haircut front. I've met the dude--he need not look like a pledge from Return of the Nerds 17.
A smaller tie and tie-knot would be recommended as well. You have to have a giant head to pull off an arrangement like he's got there.
BTW: This job? The one that I was sure of getting? Just went down the shitter on Tuesday. I am so fucking bummed it hurts.
God damnit. The job market for what I do is in the toilet. (Well, for all jobs, really--buit I had this illusion I was insulated.) I think I'm going to have to start my own business, which is too much god damned work for a delicate flower like me.
Aw shit, Chopper. Sorry to hear it.
Oh no! I'm so sorry Chopper. That really fucking sucks.
Yeah, well. I hate that we're going to leave our daycare lady in the lurch almost as much as the fact that I'm going to be a nearly fulltime househusband. (Not actually true, but close.)
(There are some cool side effects--I get to tackle this home econmoics stuff with some skin in the game--being able to just buyt expensive ingredients on a whim has really skewed how we eat. Much more rice and beans in our future--good for our desire to lead a green/low impact lifestyle. PLus I get to see if I can actually pull off founding my own company--which will be weird--running an early-stage consultancy means being a salesperson, and I hate being a salesperson. But if I pull it off, there's a potentially quite bright future ahead.)
C'mon, Chopper. I know you're just letting the nanny go so you can still get your Botox.
(Kidding! Kidding!)
I know what you mean about sales. God I hate that. It takes a really special kind of person to like that. Here's hoping the fact you don't like "the game" and actually believe in the product makes you stand out from the slimeballs.
That haircut really is something else.
Happy birthday, Becks.
My sympathies, Chopper.
I just watched the clip; I'd never seen any of Maddow's show before. Her demeanor reminds me of Jon Stewart's.
A smaller tie and tie-knot would be recommended as well. You have to have a giant head to pull off an arrangement like he's got there.
Nah, just a bigger hairdo. If you look at images of the last great era of wide lapels and ties, you'll notice that what balances them out is the ubiquitous fros/frauxs.
And happy birthday Becks! I always did like you better than Stanley.
And condolences, Chopper, plus best wishes.
I think Spackerman looks great, much classier and more expensively groomed than he once did. It's the new Democratic we-are-the-establishment makeover!
A sad thing is that I think the "hey, Iraq, not so bad in retrospect" attitude that Bush is trying to push may actually end up being pretty influential within the Obama administration.
17: I was talking about this with a friend the other day, who said that we've basically won in Iraq. I tried the line of argument that any standard of victory that would be met by the alternative strategy of not invading, and then announcing that we've won, is probably not a good one.
17: In a world without the economic crisis that might have become true. In this one, the Obama administration can afford Iraq less than ever. I'd be very surprised if they bought into mythmaking about it beyond the standard "they step up as we stand down" bullshit he's already used.
Chopper - what sort of consulty type things do you do? Perhaps some on the blog can throw leads your way.
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No more masturbating to "Deep Throat".
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Not if Linda Boreman has anything to say about it.
Well, that *specific* Deep Throat, anyhow.
OT Bleg:
Wikipedia says, "By statute, New Jersey attorneys may administer oaths and affirmation, and witness documents."
I.e., NJ attorneys can notarize copies of documents just like notaries public. But, wikipedia doesn't have a reference to this, and I need one (something officialish).
So far all I've found is this Borough of Mount Ephraim, NJ website, but for all one can tell it's just pasted in from the wikipedia article. I've searched on the www.nj.gov website and haven't found anything helpful. Anyone have any ideas of where else I could look?
25: Wouldn't New Jersey's OAG have something faxable? Why not call them?
24: What, are there like 30 goddamn deep throats or something?
26: I can't find anything on the AG's website, and calling them would be a hassle (no phone on my desk and I'd have to get authorization to make an out of state call on the unit phone) and it's not important enough for me to be able to go to that much trouble.
We deal with lots of notarized documents and every state has different laws and once in a blue moon we'll get something from NJ witnessed by an attorney. If I could find a reference to a statute or regulation to show higher-ups, we could start accepting these, but it's not exactly a priority so I can't officially spend much time or other resources on it. I just want to because, you know, it's the right thing to do.
27: I believe you mean "deeps throat".
29: Cool, thanks!
Although that's not quite it, I need to find something that specifically references witnessing documents. But at least I have a place to look now.
Again, thanks!
28: Dammit, I thought lawyers all worked in large gleaming offices with unlimited resources, M/tch. Tread carefully, you are treading on my dreams.
If it's not super-important, you could just use their shitty e-mail form to register the question, and if someone gets back to you, they get back to you, right?
Ah, pwned. And beaten to the joke in 30 to boot.
Although then again, affirmations and/or affidavits probably covers it, but I'm dealing with a non-lawyer audience I have to convince, so it might not work.
Oh and I'm in recovery, DS, no longer a lawyer.
Oh and I'm in recovery, DS, no longer a lawyer.
How's that twelve step program working out, M/tch?
I found a bit amusing/ironic/what-have-you when during the William Ayers crapola flapola it was pointed out that Mark Felt took much of the blame for the FBI provocation activities that resulted in the case against the Weather Underground being dismissed.
Web, tangled, what we weave.
36: I'm just taking things one day at a time, soup.
Chopper, sorry to hear that. It's turned out a bad year, job-wise, for a bunch of us I suspect.
Not to gloat while Chopper's down, but I met with a potential client yesterday who seems to want to hire me for a job that, all by itself, would make 2009 a successful year.
Which is timely, because I've been seriously pondering having to put my practice on the shelf for awhile and work for someone else (possibly not even being an architect for a bit).
So what I should be doing is writing the damn proposal, not commenting here.
So, anyone want to talk about Bush's auto bailout?
Congratulations, JRoth.
But think of Chopper and try not to hog all the luck.
Actually, I'd love to offer Chopper some advice on going out on his own, but I'm pretty much just winging it myself. The only thing I have to say is that it's astonishing how many times you can have a good situation and have it just vanish - so far I've had 3 career-establishing jobs crap out in 3 years. But I suppose that, at the moment, that's not a lesson you need to learn.
45: The Last Train to Lamesville.
[crackle bzzzzt crackle] All aboard Amtrak number 000, the midnight service to Lamesville, with station stops at Dumpsville, Loser City, Pathetic Park, and Philadelphia 30th St. Station. You must have bummed enough money to buy a ticket before you board the train. There is no cafe car on this train. Slim Jims and Forty ounce bottles of malt liquor may be purchased from the kiosk on the platform. All cars are smoking cars. Cell phones may only be used in the foremost car--but really, who wants to talk with you anyway, besides bill collectors? The one good looking girl will be seated in row one of the first carriage. The seat next to her is taken already, so don't get your hopes up. Really it's not, but she things you smell bad and probably have a disease.
PGD would like that haircut.
In fact, PGD has stated that he does like that haircut. Right up there in 17, ben. RTFT!
Ha. Ha. I was watching Maddow that night. So, so great. Anyways, happy birthday, Becks.
It's turned out a bad year, job-wise, for a bunch of us I suspect.
Yup. A friend and I had a guidebook project canceled when we were just days away from completion, and I've been in a funk about it for the last three months. We now have a manuscript we can retool and try to sell, but with the way the publishing industry is going, there's no sense getting our hopes up; a travel writer I know had three books canceled this summer. But whenever I feel down, I just think of those immortal words of Wallace Stevens—"The world is ugly and the people are sad"—and it cheers me right up.
Sympathies, Chopper.
Oh, and happy birthday, Becks.
I keep misreading the post title as "Klassy with an AK". Which could certainly apply to Spackerman.
54: No, Sifu, you capitalist running dog, the purpose of the AK is to bring about a klassless society.
Speaking of capitalist running dogs, my transformation into a member of the oppressor class is now officially complete: I have gout.
One thing I can tell you about gout is, that shit hurts. If I had been in a position last night to order the Home Guard to open fire on the socialist rabble, the throbbing in my foot just might have inspired me to do it. In fact, I probably would have been yelling at the fusilliers, "That one's still moving! Shoot her again!"
56: The Editors have or had gout, but because the Poorman's archives are so messed up I can't find the requisite hilarious post to link to.
Sifu? Can you help?
Chopper- one bit of unsolicited advice. As an independent, you are in the lead generation business. Get into that mindset. Nothing happens without the lead. Leverage your contacts, i.e. get everyone you know to be a referral source. You have to ask for the business, and ask for the referral. And the people you know can do it for you, if you remind them.
56: Ouch. My grandfather had gout. It sucks. He used to swear that eating cherries helped with flushing the uric acid crystals out of your system.
I have gout
Um, if you're not going to finish those sweetbreads...
56: My father had gout and my brothers both have/had it. All of them spend/spent their time drinking red wine and cooking so no surprises. Also! One of the gout medicines is fucking poison. Seriously -- my pops ended up in the hospital for nearly a month with some kind of mystery ailment until it dawned on someone that his gout medicine was half killing him.
57: no. It sure was funny, though!
Well, KR, you know what the French say, "to each his gout".
Just my luck, I made my ploy for sympathy just as shamhat tells us how the child protective system tore her family apart and ruined her life.
Honestly 64 is an even weaker plea for sympathy.
65 is great.
Sifu? Can you help?
57: no. It sure was funny, though!
My understanding is that the entire Poorman archives are safely ensconced on a stack of 5.25" floppies formatted in BASIC for a TRS-80. They'll be back online any day now.
Close, but it's audiocassette tapes and a Commodore 64.
Pff, 1" tape and a pdp-1. Poor Man rocks it old school.
Chopper- one bit of unsolicited advice. As an independent, you are in the lead generation business. Get into that mindset. Nothing happens without the lead. Leverage your contacts, i.e. get everyone you know to be a referral source. You have to ask for the business, and ask for the referral. And the people you know can do it for you, if you remind them.
OK, I wasn't up for advising before, but this inspires me. I'm also not a good salesman; rather, I'm good at selling myself, but terrible at getting the opportunity to do so. But, just in the last couple of months, I've had some sort of breakthrough in being more aggressive about getting myself out there. I can't explain what changed, but I've been making more phone calls, actually proposing projects to people, etc. The thing is, once you're "out there," badgering even a couple familiar contacts, you start getting more action: "Well, Project X isn't happening anytime soon, but I heard about Project Y that's just coming into being...." That's exactly what this new (potential) job is - the guy only closed on the property 10 days ago, but I was talking to the right person at that time, so my name was passed along.
Some of it is critical mass: do enough work (under your own name), and a sufficient number of people will think of you when they need whatever the hell it is you do (pork curing?). In October I got a small but very high margin job through the alarm guy on another job - I had just done a drawing for him, so when this other thing came up, I was on top of his stack of business cards. You can't plan those things and, indeed, it's hard to make them happen when you're new.
I guess what I'd say is that, when you're first starting, you need to rely on your existing network. After a certain amount of time, you've exhausted that network (either they've no more work or you can't keep begging), but by then you have to hope that you've built up a new set of contacts.
Poor Man rocks it old school.
But can't afford the electrical bill to keep the PDP running.
70: grid electricity's so new school. We rub our coconuts together.
Are you sure those are your coconuts, NPH?
I have it on reliable authority that The Editors is currently transferring all his archives onto 10" 78rpm shellac disks.
64 is an even weaker plea for sympathy
What if I said the gout was in my cock?
75: the picture collecting ended long ago, KR.
Re: 75. I was interested to learn that the etiology of gout and kidney stones are fundamentally similar, so "gout of the cock" isn't entirely impossible, notwithstanding the fact that there is no cartilage in there.
I was interestedhorrified to learn that the etiology of gout and kidney stones are fundamentally similar, so "gout of the cock" isn't entirely impossible, notwithstanding the fact that there is no cartilage in there.
Typos are an unfortunate side effect of gout, I hear.
So, anyone want to talk about Bush's auto bailout?
This is the one time in his administration he's exceeded my expectations. There are even a few things about it that are preferable to the Congressional version -- e.g. because no "car czar" is named (god, so stupid) then Obama can more easily designate his own oversight people when he comes in. And the nasty UAW concessions the plan calls for are not binding.
I nominate Optimus Prime for car czar.
As an aside, I'll note List of Autobots is a good candidate for a Wikigroaning pair.
And the nasty UAW concessions the plan calls for are not binding.
Whatever they do, they have to figure out how to make a car for a profit.
The fact that there are no buyers for cars right now affects them all, foreign and domestic.
Jeez, I walk away and there's tons of good advice when I come back. Thanks everyone. Anyone not interested in a quick sketch of the business model I'm contemplating, go ahead and skip.
As to what I do--marketing communications for the medical technology industry. I've worked at two of the big three cardiac companies as well as at a smaller pain management/physical therapy company, as well as having worked in a few agencies/creative departments around town. I have two thirds of an MBA (I dropped out after my most recent job started working me 60 hours a week with lots of travel--not possible to do that,a ttend school, and have two children under 3).
Anyway, the business model I'm contemplatingg is this: Since the med tech industry is fairly robust in the Twin Cities, I'd like to set up a consultancy/virtual agency that can help a startup or recently downsized company to align their communication strategy with their corporate goals and available dollars, doing everything froma soups-to-nuts takeover of the Mar Comm function or just helping them identify appropriate vendors. I/we could shepherd them through transition to outsourced literature fulfillment or print on demand, advertising planning/scoping, direct mail automation, market research and so on.
Where I don't know how to do something (graphic design, flash animation, etc.) or can do but would prefer not to (copywriting, proofing), I know a cost-effective freelancer or vendor that can do the job.
I'd see myself making money a few different ways:
1) Direct consulting fees
2) Percentage shares of referred work (essentially, commission)
3) The usual x% for advertising placement
and so on.
I have a fairly extensive personal network to leverage, plus there are some great local med-device networking groups (plus LinkedIn). Because I wouldn't be employing anyone, and other overhead is low (I already have a desk, computer, and cell phone), it should be pretty easy to launch--and I know enough designers that I can trade copywriting/proofreading/etc. work to for the website, identity work, DM, online ads, etc.
So, a bit more mulling to do in the next few weeks, but I think this will nicely thread the needle between being just another freelancer/consultant and having to take out a huge loan for start-up costs.
We'll see. Advice and comments are appreciated.
82. On working your database: separate your prospects in to several categories- Those with immediate need, near future, someday, and maybe.
The only way to be sure is to ask. Be sure to ask for referral.
Keep in touch with them all by an email drip or something, but spend 80% of your prospecting time on the first two.
Prospect every day. Even a little. Force your self to make the call.
The worst part will be keeping time to prospect so as to keep your pipeline full. Do not spend all your time on the project, spend some time on getting the next one.
PS this is why people hate building contractors. The successful ones are starting the next job before finishing yours.
sorry if this is too Tony Robbins, but part of what I do is train new agents.
The fact that there are no buyers for cars right now affects them all, foreign and domestic.
Toyota just announced that they'll lose money on cars & trucks this year (I guess they make other stuff elsewhere).
They should go bankrupt! They can't make cars that people will buy!!!!!!1!!!!! [/Ryan Avent]
82: Hey! My (potential) new client started as a pacemaker/defribbilator salesman. Now he's mostly in real estate, but he still consults on it, for a firm in CO.
And 83 is useful for me, as well. Thanks, TLL.
Unfogged: the world's most meta employment consulting agency.
You should refer him my way, JRoth; I've got a nasty case of the fribbles.
Yes, we do wish you'd get that cleared up, ben.
I had no idea that was a real word or so apt.
I've got a nasty case of the frouble with fribbles
85: We know people who know each other, then. The job I was hoping for was with that company.
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Mineshaft, thanks for the music. My wedding DJ is very pleased with "Heavy Heavy Heavy" (Tweety) and "I Want You Back (Apo).
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i've watched the video only now and think SA is very sympathetic how he keeps smiling while talking about pretty serious matters, so cheerful and young
the haircut's also very sympathetic, i recalled how when i first came here everybody male had their front hair fixed upwards, don't know how it is called that hairstyle
i had awesome unizushi today, pity, my niece threw it up
91: Funny.
87: I doubted my spelling, but Google came up with plenty of hits under that one, including some reputable-looking ones. There's only so far I'm willing to go to fact-check an Unfogged comment.
96.2 my niece threw it up
Central Asian food processing techniques are hardcore!
everybody male had their front hair fixed upwards, don't know how it is called that hairstyle
In college we called it The Duckbill, but that wasn't official or anything.