Despite my local gas station recently upgrading its pumps with video screens and blasting GSTV – Gas Station TV for those who fortunately have never heard of it – nothing below came from what I was sucked into viewing for the brief periods of refueling the minivan over the past few weeks.

Swim Spox – As I have eluded to in the past (which some say too often), every year my kiddos swim team puts on 2 major swim meets in the summer. Well, except for last year. We were allowed to host them again this year (with a mere 8 weeks to pull them off, but I digress). As these meets means a lot to swimmers and the community, I had the honor to once again be interviewed by a local radio program, Fresh Take on WHBY, and its host Josh Dukelow. You can hear the segment on the WHBY Web site at the 38-minute time code. It’s been a while since I have done an interview like this, and listening to it I thought it turned out well.

To Books and Beyond – Speaking of the community, a little pat on the back to myself as I was chosen to be on the Library Building Project Advisory Committee for the reimagining of the Appleton, Wisconsin Public Library. I applied for this volunteer role and was selected after a call from the city’s mayor. We had our first meeting this past week virtually and I am looking forward to sharing my thoughts and meeting my fellow community members as the city moves towards a new library.

Twenty Years of That’s Weird, Grandma – For a couple of years I had the honor to be on the Board of Barrel of Monkeys, an arts-education organization in Chicago who teaches inner-city school kids creative writing, then takes what the kids writes and adapts sketch comedy from them. It really is as awesome as it sounds. On August 5 there will be the celebration of the 20th anniversary of That’s Weird, Grandma, the show that PlayMakers Laboratory (their recently rebranded organizational name) puts on to showcase this comedy. It will be held in person at The Annoyance Theater in Chicago as well as streamed online. Tickets and making a donation is available here. Where That’s Weird, Grandma is best seen in person, seeing it online with a live audience will be equally awesome.

Master Change – Where we all know a change will do you good, many people don’t make that change. Specifically for small businesses, this can be to their detriment. Barry Moltz is a small business consultant and someone whom I worked with years ago for my past business. He has written several great books on small business and his newest one, ChangeMasters, is coming out this fall. Though I am not in my own business anymore I have pre-ordered a copy as I know there will be much in there I can lean on for my own job. You can sign up to receive free chapters from ChangeMasters once they are available.

Make My Favorite Meme – I don’t always make memes, but when I do it’s either with the Dos Equis beer guy or the Change My Mind scene – where podcaster/comedian Steven Crowder is sitting at a table, sipping coffee, with a sign that has a statement and closes with, Change My Mind. I found this site where I can create my own Change My Mind memes, and you can too.

What’s In a Name? – PBC is a horrible auto-immune liver disease that primarily inflicts women, and I lost my Mom to it many years ago. The acronym used to stand for Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, but new to me is that it was renamed to Primary Biliary Cholangitis several years ago. Why? Apparently the Cirrhosis part only happens late in the process of having the overall disease. Plus, Cirrhosis has a very negative connotation with drug or alcohol abuse, which for someone with PBC may never come into play. I can attest to that, as that came up every time someone asked and I had to explain it. Also new to me is this cartoon video that came out a few years ago where a piano-playing liver named Liverace describes what PBC is. It’s a long 4+ minute video, and still need to show it to my kiddos, but I am interested in hearing anyone’s thoughts on this one. Especially as I am not sure this is the best way to talk about something so deadly.

Fighting Fish Fallout – A headline came and went across my bow a few weeks ago that Subway sub shops weren’t serving real tuna fish, and whatever the substance was didn’t have any tuna DNA in it. Honestly I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it, although the idea of DNA testing it seemed odd to me. Apparently this wasn’t exactly a true story, and the global sub franchise giant has come out with this Web site to combat the fake news on their tuna. I thought this was a well-done, straightforward site detailing the case at hand, the falsehoods and offered the names of their tuna suppliers. Why stories come out like this is baffling to me, but sadly not that surprising. As many Subway sub shops are owned by entrepreneurs, I wish them well.

Go HOMAGO! – When I was on the first Library Building Project Advisory Committee meeting this past week, I learned the acronym HOMAGO, which stands for Hang Out, Mess Around, Geek Out. It is used by the YOUmedia learning labs that are part of the Chicago Public Library system. Where I was familiar with the labs, I wasn’t with the acronym. It harkens back to my days growing up with LEGOs and my TRS-80 computer.

Taking Suck to a Whole New Level – The other day I visited the local Tropical Smoothie Café for lunch, and noticed a couple of summer flavors that came with a lime straw. The staff mentioned it is indeed edible and lasts about 40 minutes. What the heck, so I tried it and saved the straw wrapper to look up what it’s made of. Its brand name is Sorbos, and after looking at the ingredients, I’ll stick with plastic or paper, or heck, just remove the lid and slurp. I’m not even including a link to these things. It’s a bad way to try to add the taste of lime to a drink.

His Beat Was What I Needed – I learned that hip-hop artist Biz Markie died this past week. He was known for the song “Just a Friend” that came out in 1989 and was a favorite on the R&B shows on my college radio station. I saw him perform at SUNY-Albany in 1990 in an on-campus concert series where the Red Hot Chili Peppers also performed. Biz Markie was the last performer, and as we left the venue we saw him come down the steps near us and hopped thru the open window in the back of a station wagon, something to this day I clearly have never forgotten.

Of Course – As I mentioned a few months ago, I have been working out of a great co-working spot in the downtown of my fair city, and as a result I have noticed architectural gems I never did before. Another one is the above-pictured horse’s head atop a building that now hosts a tea bar and a law office. Was it a stable at one point? Not sure, but I am sure it was put there for a reason.

"Privacy isn’t something I’m merely entitled to, it’s an absolute prerequisite.” – Marlon Brando

---

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

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email

What I Learned • (0) Comments • Permalink

It was a short week workwise, and though I was wicked busy, I seemed to be more on auto-pilot than anything. Looking back, about the only real thinking I did was whether or not I wanted to get the early child tax credits the US government for some reason is handing out this year ahead of next year’s taxes.

Do and Deduct Accessibility – Speaking of taxes, here’s a tax credit for small businesses that makes sense. US tax code says you can deduct some expenses to make your business accessible. Though it doesn’t explicitly state you can deduct Web or digital Accessibility, why not? A great question for a CPA or tax advisor as I am neither of them.

Camp and De-Google – For the last several years I have been using Matomo on this very blog. Matomo is a free, open-source alternative to Google Analytics. Though I work with Google Analytics, or GA for short, as part of my job, for myself the less Big Tech I am involved with the better. So I have been experimenting with Matomo along with GA, which I still have here as well. With that long setup, there’s plans for a MatomoCamp in the making. A “camp” is really an informal conference, and this would be for people to learn about and expand their knowledge of Matomo. It looks like there’s a ways to go in planning, but it will be interesting to see how people are using it, especially as I am the only one I know who does.

Elton Encore – Tickets went on sale this past week for Sir Elton John’s farewell tour when it hits the home of my New England Patriots next year on my birthday. While seeing this performance would be a treat, it wouldn’t be the first time I saw him in concert at Gillette Stadium, and up close too. Back in 2004 I was at the season opener of the Patriots as they celebrated another Super Bowl championship. I took the train to the game and it arrived later than planned. As I was running through the concourse to my seats, I came head-on to security clearing a path for a golf cart, and on it was none other than Elton himself, complete with a scared look on his face! Moments later Elton John performed with the Boston Pops, as you can see in this YouTube video. That experience would be hard to top.

Good While It Lasted – Amazon announced it is ending its 2% reward when you load at least $100 into your account with the Big Tech retail giant. You have until the day before my birthday to take advantage of this gain, which has a better return than most bank savings accounts offer. Clearly this means Amazon worked out a better deal on credit card processing, which I presume is why they offered this alternative in the first place. You can still load manually or automatically to your account, and if you do the latter they will give you $5 for the first time you do it.

Make Your Own Final Countdown – In recent years I have warmed back up to countdown clocks on Web sites. Perhaps it is because there is one on the swim meet Web site I manage? I have also seen such clocks in email messages and wondered how those were done. This past week I finally looked into it, and this post explains the why and how to make your own countdown clock for email and Web too.

Keep ‘Em Separated Or Else – I have always been a firm believer in the separation of personal and work email. My reasons have been mainly for organizational purposes, but also because your work email belongs to your employer, so why use it for personal use? A group called the Wisconsin Transparency Project wants to make this law, making it illegal to use private email for public business. Their argument, beyond organizational purposes, is that it adds complexity when open record requests are made for emails for a person, and their personal accounts have to be scoured as well as work accounts. Though I am not someone who advocates for legislating common sense, I can get behind this one.

Train Keeps A Rollin’ – A consistent commercial during the 1970’s was for Wausau Insurance. Here’s an example of one, which features the train station in the north central Wisconsin city where the insurance company was based, that was animated in the outro of all of their commercials. As the spot said, the trains aren’t running anymore, and haven’t ran past this station in decades. Heck, the company was acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance and is no more. This past weekend I went there and took the above photo, as the for the past few years the station has been home to Timekeeper Distillery. I also went in and sampled their tasty spirits, taking home a bottle of their Straight Bourbon Whiskey. This will be a new auto stop for me when driving “Up North.”

Happy US Independence Day!

---

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

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email

What I Learned • (0) Comments • Permalink

One could assume I am merely getting into a groove of writing my learnings every 2 weeks, but people who know me would know better. Trying to compress 8 months of planning and prep for an outdoor swim meet into 4 weeks played into this a little bit. Ok, a lot. But it was worth it, and worth sitting down to compile this list is as well.

See The Fruits of My Labors – A lot of hard work went into putting that swim meet together by a lot of people, including new elements required as a result of city mandates which I presume are to prevent the meet from turning into a super-spreader event? One of those elements was livestreaming the meet. Where it has become commonplace for swim meets around the country, we haven’t done it ourselves, and at an outdoor pool to boot. We pulled it off, and if you’re inclined you can see it on the Fox Cities Bird Bath swim meet’s YouTube channel. Believe it or not the view and angles of the pool are very helpful to swim families.

My Morning Brew Means More – Go ahead and accuse me of picking and choosing scientific studies, but I am all over this one on how coffee consumption helps prevent chronic liver disease.

More Reasons Not to Put It On a Hot Dog – After reading this list of rather handy uses for ketchup other than eating it you likely won’t want eat it either. My guess is my new favorite ketchup by TrueMadeFoods I mentioned a few weeks back doesn’t have the same side uses.

So Long Sweet Baby Ray – Larry Raymond, the founder and namesake of the Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce, died at the end of May. Raymond was from Chicago where he was a chef and started the sauce brand over an illustrious career. He later lived in my wife’s hometown here in Wisconsin. His sauce lives on as it is now owned by the same Massachusetts company that makes Ken’s Steak House salad dressings.

Although I have known it for years, I am repeatedly reminded that being a leader comes from action, not from a title.

Accessibility Wins In Bill Loss – Where news coverage portrayed the only people against U.S. Senate Bill 1, or S1, were Republicans, those who are seeking greater accessibility in voting were as well. Why? The For The People Act had a paper ballot mandate, which goes against already existing technology to aid those with impairments to vote beyond a paper ballot. This statement from the National Coalition for Accessible Voting details some of the opposition that goes beyond party lines.

Tallying Recounts with Existing Technology – Where I have seen a lot of coverage on the recounting of 2020 election ballots in Arizona, what I haven’t seen much coverage on is an easier way to audit the vote. This way was proposed by a trio including Larry Moore, who I had the privilege to work for in the past and has helmed 2 digital voting firms. Perhaps it’s the lack of sensationalism that explains why the coverage is so sparse?

Looking Google In The Eye With Your Web Site – People often lament to me the challenges they have with their Web site’s ranking in Google. Perhaps these straightforward missives from digital marketing guru Chris Abraham will help with tips on what work you should be doing on your Web site for Google to notice and this 3-part series on how to deal with the Big Tech firm’s latest algorithm changes.

Then There’s What You Have to do in Ontario – Larger firms in the Canadian province of Ontario also have to ensure their Web site meets accessibility standards. They have to do so not because it’s a great idea, but because it’s the law. And they can get fined for not meeting those accessibility standards.

Bene There, Done Them – A staple of early Web sites in the 90’s were small, rectangular animated icons promoting other Web sites or technology. I recall making some myself and adding others to various Web sites. If you don’t know what I am talking about see for yourself – this site has literally thousands of these 88 by 31 pixel icons.

Maybe I Should Start Everything Like This – I came across this video of a classical singer warming up for a performance with a true classic, the theme to Star Trek: The Original Series. I need to take a timeout and think about how I can break the monotony of the daily grind and infuse a little “wow” into it.

Bridging the Virtual Gap – When I took the training from Mike Cohn of Mountain Goat Software to become a Certified Scrum Product Owner the takeaways from the course were the materials and experience that made it well worth it. The cherry on the sundae was the gift box they sent me afterwards, which I just opened the other week. I commented on the branding of their materials and Web site, but this gift blew me away! Pictured above, there’s a custom designed box complete with goat pictures inside and out. Inside was a hand-written note from Mike, a notebook and a deck of Planning Poker cards, used for planning in Scrum. For fun there was a pen with a USB Flash drive built-in, stickers and temporary tattoos. This was a treat and excellent way for the virtual course to come 360 with something tangible.

---

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

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email

What I Learned • (2) Comments • Permalink

Time. That elusive thing we all can measure and manage but still escapes us and we tend to let other things manage it. Though long ago I realized I cannot “make time” I am still working on the measure and manage things. As a result, a week went by where I didn’t write this collection of seven days of observations and learnings. So much for my year plus streak! But life goes on and I still kept taking notes, and here they are.

But First, Please Subscribe – I may have mentioned over the years that my kiddos are swimmers and I am involved with making the swim meets happen. Some of you have even suggested I need to spend more time away from chlorine, but I digress. In any case, we are live streaming swim meets over the next month and I need to make our new YouTube channel “legit” – can I ask for a subscribe to our YouTube channel?

Click Here to Subscribe to the YouTube channel

Thanks in advance for your support!

Brackets Begone – I don’t always write code, but when I do, I have used Brackets as my code editor. When I recently opened it up to do some coding magic, I got a message Brackets is being discontinued. Apparently software giant Adobe owns this open source project and is abandoning it. Not quite sure if someone is continuing it or not. It has worked well for me, and I am sure I will find an apt replacement.

Branding Jumpstart Gets Better – My good friend Emily Brackett (no relation to the previously mentioned code editor) and her agency Visible Logic have recently launched a new version of Branding Compass, a service for businesses and individuals to build a brand on a budget that still speaks to their business or personal goals. I have seen this service evolve over the years and it is a great resource. Of course if you have the budget to do a full brand, hire Visible Logic for that. But if not, this is a must-do to project the image you want without the big spend.

Squinting On The Edge – With a recent install of a new version of the Microsoft Edge Web browser, I noticed the text in the address bar was smaller. I apparently wasn’t alone in this observation of smaller text in Edge. Not sure why anyone would want to do this, or give the option to not adjust it, but I find it highly annoying. Edge has been my “primary” browser but with what I do I am usually in literally a half-dozen browsers over the course of the day, so it has been tolerable.

Friend or Phishing Scam? – Several of my clients got emails similar to this which are phishing scams that can lead to ransomware installs that seize your computers. Often I am asked how to tell if something is a legitimate email or not, and my answer is to simply do a Web search on the opening line of the email, as I did with this one which led to the link I have presented here.

Stop the Ringer From Going Low – There’s nothing like helping someone to setup a new iPhone and you discover “features” you didn’t know existed or how to remedy them. One such is when the phone starts ringing, the ringer gets quieter. Why anyone would want that is beyond me, but here’s how I found how to stop the ringer from doing that.

File Under Why, Why! – I learned about Amazon Sidewalk, a “service” where your Amazon Alexa device becomes something similar to a WiFi hotspot. With all of the spying talking tubes do as it is, this is a privacy nightmare! It can be turned off – as I don’t have an Alexa, I can’t vouch for any links out there, but they do exist.

Graphic Tools I Used – As I have mentioned I use these posts as personal reference materials as well, so these links on how to set transparency of an image in Gimp and how to create outline boxes in Photoshop are more things I am filing here.

Enough Tech Mike, How About Some Music? – I realize as I wrap up the last few weeks, most of what I learned was tech heavy. So this list of the top alternative songs of 1989 as compiled by Matt Sebastian and his Slicing Up Eyeballs blog is certainly welcome. A fun fact is the name of his blog comes from the song Debaser from the Boston band The Pixies that is on the list.

Coffee Sunrise – The above photo was taken from the balcony of our hotel in St. Ignace, Michigan as the sun rose over Lake Huron. A family getaway to nearby Mackinac Island – just a short ferry ride from our hotel – included biking, mini golf and a ton of fresh made ice cream. It also included not running on any time schedule. I share the photo to you and if you click on it you can see a larger version, suitable for your computer wallpaper or Zoom background.

---

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

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email

What I Learned • (0) Comments • Permalink

This was another week of “no news is good news” at work where I gave presentations and got little feedback from the audiences. The optimist in me is patting myself on the back, but why is the realist in me is looking over my shoulder?

Lethal Weapon? – I had heard a tale from people that if one of your kiddos gets their Black belt in karate, you need to add a rider onto your liability insurance. According to my insurance agent, this is not the case. But my inquiry was due to the fact that one of my kiddos did get her Black belt this week, and I am extremely proud of this hard-earned achievement!

Final Separation – eBay has been peppering me with emails the last few weeks about how it is no longer paying into people’s PayPal accounts when they sell something on the auction site and will instead direct deposit to your bank account. I finally read one of these messages and went into my account, but they didn’t force me to enter specific account info as of now. This appears to be the final separation since eBay spun off PayPal several years ago.

Marketing Gets Into the Fun Too – There’s such a thing as the Agile Marketing Manifesto. It’s a work in process, and here’s its current status.

Step-By-Step Thinking – This week I watched a great Q&A with agile experts Roman Pichler and Mike Cohn where the Ladder of Inference was discussed. I had never heard of this before, and it’s a model for how people make decisions, often times with 2 people making different decisions.

Easter Egg Omelet – When I opened Microsoft Excel today I decided to pause and look at the templates that are available to me. I have never looked at these before for if I am opening Excel without a file, I am creating one new. Among the templates is the Periodic Table of Elements. Who knew? I didn’t.

The Good Old Mobile Days – I watched the 2017 documentary The Rise and Fall of Nokia Mobile whose title says it all. Where I was around and involved with the influencer community of the one-time mobile device giant, this story interviewed many of the people who were integral to its successful rise, all to be let go from the firm as it exited the mobile handset space it virtually invented.

Where I may not know Jack, I agree with the message he has on the back of his truck.

---

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

---

Did you enjoy this? Subscribe to The Hot Iron by RSS/XML feed or Read by Email

(0) Comments • Permalink