There once was a time I traveled so frequently for work that I had no time to think about what to pack. These days I travel so infrequently that I always forget what to pack. Both situations had one common denominator – my travel checklist.

What started out as an on-going list so I wouldn’t realize I forgot something when I got to my destination became an essential tool for every travel excursion, from overnight to weeks at a time. Whether I’d print it or simply reference it after I packed, the checklist has been invaluable to me for years.

Perhaps it will be to you as well, which is why I have decided to share it. You can get your own copy of my time-tested, evolved travel checklist in PDF format here. Go ahead – take it, edit it, adapt it for what you need for yourself or others and use it. You can see it is geared towards an individual male, but you can add whatever categories or accessories you need for yourself, partner, kids, pets, electronics, etc.

If this travel checklist comes in handy for you, please let me know in the comments. If not, any critique is also welcome as well.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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When going through a junk box of stuff recently I found the above-pictured cassette tape. After pondering what was on it for a bit, I realized what it was.

It is my Boston radio commercial debut, dating back to the mid 1990’s.

The commercial is for Fleet Bank, and it was aired during radio broadcasts of the Boston Red Sox, throughout the Boston area as well as in other parts of New England. Thanks to a couple of friends I converted the audio to a YouTube video and you can watch the embedded video below, or listen to it directly from this link to YouTube.

So why was I in a radio commercial for a bank for my baseball team?

And Now For The Rest Of The Story

It was a summer night in Boston and I was going to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Prior to the game, as I would do for most games, I would have a pint or two of fresh-brewed beer at Boston Beer Works, a brewpub across from the ballpark. This night – and I forget the exact date or even the year – I recalled seeing some people with a digital audio tape recorder and a microphone. Being the former college DJ that I am (was?) I approached them and asked them what they were doing. They explained they were with an ad agency recording stories from fans for a series of radio commercials for the Sox for Fleet Bank, and then they asked me if I had a story. The story you heard in the commercial is what I told them, with a little editing I am sure.

After I recorded the story a couple of times for them, they asked me to sign a form with my name and address, indicating if they wanted to use it they would contact me. They gave me $10 for my time, and went on to talk to other people, as I went to the game. Several weeks went by, and one day I got a voicemail message from the ad agency, Arnold Fortuna Lane, saying they wanted to use my story and needed me to sign paperwork.

What? Me, on the radio? Cool! I called and confirmed my information, and they sent me a non-union talent contract to sign. They said in a few weeks the spots would run on the air and I would even get paid. What? Me get paid for being on the radio? Cool!

The next thing I knew, people were calling to tell me they heard me in the radio spot. I then made a point of listening to entire games on the radio, and there I was, telling people this story. My Mom, who was an avid listener of Red Sox games on the radio, would call me to tell me each time she heard me. Another friend said her Mom almost drove off the road when she heard me. The ad did not run every game, and as it aired later in the season it stopped its run in October. For my voice talent and my story, I got paid US$150.00 - surely not enough to retire on, but a nice bonus nonetheless. They also sent me the copy of the commercial on cassette tape.

That Was Then And This Is Now

I recall it was the mid 90’s as Fleet Bank had just bought another bank in Boston, Shawmut, and was making a big radio campaign with an end-goal of customer retention. Fleet later merged with BankBoston which was later acquired by Bank of America. The ad agency is now known as Arnold Communication. Unfortunately for me the phone did not ring seeking my golden voice endorsing other products, but I went on to a career in the Internet that has led to this recording being unearthed and released for all to hear once again. The Red Sox made some changes since then as well.

Special thanks to 2 distinguished gentlemen who helped me get this cassette to the Web. My good friend and DJ extraordinaire Eric Patel transferred the cassette audio to MP3 format, and veteran Chicago filmmaker and historian Floyd Webb took the audio and made it into a video.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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It’s a question that comes up several times a year, and people have been asking me it for decades now. As many times as I have answered it, I have yet to write it down. Why I haven’t I don’t know for sure, but there’s no time like the present.

What is the question? Why do I sign my email messages as I do, with “mp/m”? And here’s a warning, it is a little retro-geeky!

When It Began

I have used this signature for my emails dating back to when I was a kid. Then, the messages I was sending were over dial-in bulletin board systems (I have included a link to its definition if you don’t know what one is!). I would typically sign my messages with my initials, “MPM.” But why do I sign it now in lowercase, and what’s up with the slash between the P and the M? Here comes the geek part!

There was a single user operating system for microcomputers popular in the 1980’s called CP/M. It had a multi-user version called MP/M. When I learned of this I was intrigued – it was the same as my initials! I thought of signing my messages with “MP/M” but didn’t want any confusion with the operating system name, so I made the letters lower-case, thus “mp/m” was born as my signature.

Dial-in bulletin board systems were replaced by dial-in services like CompuServe and AOL. Those were replaced by Internet email. Yet through the decades, my signature remained the same.

That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

Go ahead – comment away on this, you won’t hurt my feelings!

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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To all my fellow Americans and to those who love the United States as much as I do, a happy Independence Day!

For the second year in a row, my family celebrated the Fourth of July with friends in Indiana, where we experienced what I consider an old-fashioned celebration with fireworks and a kids bicycle parade, where everybody decked out their bikes in red, white and blue. It reminded me a lot of the celebrations I had as a kid, especially the fireworks. In the town I grew up in, we lived next to the high school where they launched the fireworks from every July 3, so whenever I see fireworks, I always think of the Fourth of July.

Now before you make a comment on how I am forgetting the true meaning of this holiday, I am certainly not! As a US history junkie who grew up in Massachusetts, where you can barely spit without hitting a historical marker I know well about the roots of this nation. Growing up a few miles from the first US armory and the site of the first revolt against the newly-formed government I know well what effort and sacrifices went into making this country, greatly appreciate them and am taking every opportunity to teach my little ones today. So the meaning for the celebration is not lost in me, but neither is the celebration either.

However you celebrate Independence Day, even if you were working, I hope you had a great day and got to enjoy the symbols and remember the deep meaning behind them.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Typically I close posts here on The Hot Iron by asking questions. This time, I am opening by asking one, and it’s personal.

Please support me in the Liver Life Walk on June 22, 2013 in Chicago to support the American Liver Foundation (ALF). This great organization uses money raised to fund research and provide support services for patients and their loved ones who are affected by the many forms of liver disease.

Sadly, liver disease can affect people from newborn to the elderly. Yes, even babies can be born with a form of liver disease, with many being autoimmune and even acquired later in life. Some are curable and some are not, and that’s where the research comes into play. As well, many patients need a liver transplant as their only option. There are even some liver diseases that affect certain demographics, for example women only,

Why My Family And I Are Walking

I will be at the Liver Life Walk with my lovely wife and my little ones on June 22 in the memory of my Mom, Adeline. It’s in her memory in spirit that we call our team The “A” Team and we will be walking.

My Mom was diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis, or PBC. PBC is an autoimmune liver disease that afflicts women. Earlier in her life she actually had been tested for some of the warning signs of PBC, but as liver tests are expensive and not routinely given to patients (not to mention needing to be justified to the nth degree for health insurance, but don’t get me started there!), it wasn’t until it was almost too late that she got the diagnosis. Her doctors did much to comfort her and cure the symptoms, but ultimately there wasn’t anything they could do to cure the PBC.

When she was diagnosed in Boston, the ALF chapter there was a great resource for us to learn about the disease. My family became active in the chapter there and my wife and I were proud to be asked to be the co-chairs for the Walk for Research (as it was called then) in Boston in 2004, which was shortly before we moved to Chicago. When we arrived here we were introduced to the local Illinois chapter and participated the the Walk here, and I was honored to have been chair for the 2005 Chicago Walk.

Join Us, Donate or Both!

We would be honored to have you be a part of The “A” Team by donating, not to mention joining us on June 22 as we walk along Lake Michigan.

Any size donation is welcome, and your presence there as well will be a great support for the cause.

Back in the Saddle for Liver

With participating in the Liver Life Walk this year, it marks our family’s “return” into the fold of the local ALF chapter. A few weeks ago I literally ran into Jackie Dominguez, who has returned as the Executive Director of the local chapter based in Chicago. Her spirit and leadership energized my lovely wife and I to register us for the walk and we are excited to be back on the overall team. Go Liver!

Thank you in advance for your support!

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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