Observations... older, Budweiser.

The World According to Him – The other week comedian Jackie Mason left this mortal coil at age 93. I was first aware of the Sheboygan, Wisconsin native from his comedy album based on his Broadway show, The World According to Him. He went on to star in movies and his career got a boost from that time. Years later I was walking along Michigan Avenue in Chicago when Mason was walking towards me. I stared at him, and he stared back at me. I should have thanked him for the laughs.

All History Is Local – As someone who grew up in New England and often would say you can spit from one historic site to the next, I naturally became interested in local history, not just there but wherever I have lived. Serendipitously my wife and I came across the Appleton Historical Society. I had seen the unique building but had no idea what was in it. There’s a plethora of pictures, memorabilia – even a recreation of a old hat shop – all chronicling the history of this city which, interestingly, was named after a New Englander.

Take Your Shot – Benshot is a unique business that makes glassware with things stuck in them. They got their start by putting bullet shells into glasses and can insert just about anything… including a referee whistle. The coaches and officials gifts for this year’s Bird Bath Invitational swim meet were custom designed, etched and had a whistle embedded into it. An added touch to these glasses is that Benshot is located a few miles from where the meet was held.

Stop Drinking Coffee and It Could Happen Anyway – In the on-going study battle if coffee is good for you or not, the latest is on the bad side that high coffee drinking could cause dementia. I’ll be holding out for the next study, providing I remember to.

Anchors Away – Anchors are hyperlinks within a Web page that used to easily navigate you up or down the content on the page. Here’s a good HTML anchor tutorial if 1) you didn’t know what the heck I was talking about and 2) want to know how to create them yourself.

That’s Haaahgan To You – I finally got around to watching the independent comedy Captain Hagen’s Bed and Breakfast. It had been on my watchlist as my good friend and member of my one-time improv group Andrew Cornelius was one of the stars. It’s a cute comedy and I highly recommend it!

Less Beer to Cry Over – A friend in the Boston area shared with me the Boston Beer Works chain of brewpubs has permanently closed their doors. Beer Works opened across from Fenway Park shortly after I moved to the Boston area and was a year-round stop destination for me. Among other memories it was where this radio spot I was in was recorded. On stops back to the Hub I would always make a stop and have a blueberry ale when I went to stock up on Red Sox gear. It will be missed and hopefully someone can bring this tradition back to life.

I Got It The First Time Apple – I am manually setting up a new iPhone as this is how I roll with any technology. One thing I discovered was whenever I got a text and did not unlock my device to view it (I usually read the notifications on the Lock Screen) I was getting a second audio notification. Fortunately you can extend or turn off a second notification on iPhones.

Say No to Business Algos – Lately on LinkedIn I realized I was seeing the same posts in my timeline over and over. I then noticed this little drop-down selector, highlighted below, where you can select Top or Recent posts in your timeline feed.

I quickly changed this to recent and I then saw all new content. On subsequent visits to the networking site, I had to keep resetting it to recent. Look for this option to bypass the Microsoft algorithms and see what is truly new with your business network.

Scribble to Quality – I learned that scribble is the term for the first matter that comes out of a 3D printer. I also learned 3D Scribble is an amazing business that makes high-quality 3D printed items and is owned by my good friend and serial entrepreneur Steven Benjamin. The business also has a wicked cool logo to go along with the cool things they make and how they make them.

Flying for Eyes – This past weekend I went to EAA AirVenture a global gathering of aviation enthusiasts that happens to be about 20 minutes from me in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Over 600,000 people attended this year, plus over 7,000 flights in and out of the airport, making it the busiest airport in the world for the week. Among the experimental and vintage aircraft was the above-pictured MD-80 converted to a flying eye hospital for Orbis a global non-profit which brings eye surgery skills and equipment to people in need. The plane is literally a flying classroom and surgical hospital. I was impressed by the work this organization brings to people around the world, and have added them to my support circle.

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

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