Have you ever had a major event happen and when it was over there wasn’t great satisfaction from it? That happened to me this past week. But at least I can look back at some lighter learnings over the last seven days.

Keeping It Real Human – I get a lot of comments on my blog. Unfortunately most of them aren’t real – not from real people, not real comments, and a combination of both. This week I was able to integrate Google reCAPTCHA on the comments form for each post thanks to the Hinder add-on. But don’t take my word for it – leave a comment and say hi!

Sweet and Guilt-Free Season – I have been a fan of the tortilla chips by Siete Foods for a long time. These Paleo grain-free chips taste great. Buñuelos are a traditional Hispanic treat for the holidays, and Siete has adapted a version of them to be grain-free and equally tasty. If you can’t find them at your local store you can order them online. It’s nice to find guilt-free holiday treats, as I did when I adapted my Mom’s pizzelle recipe to be grain-free a few years ago.

Honorable Nonetheless – I caught the “acceptance speeches” by Depeche Mode and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Where there was no musical performances, it was cool to see these music legends I have been listening to since college.

Web Site Unseen – I was referred to a local restaurant this week and went to check out their Web site. The SSL certificate (for the non-technical, the thing that puts the S in HTTPS and displays the lock symbol in your browser) had expired, thus I got a warning message that the site was unsafe and the world was coming to an end… ok, I am exaggerating, but it display the warning. So I tried calling the restaurant and left them a message. Several days later the site is still throwing the error and no call back. This unfortunately was another case of trying to contact a business about their Web site problems with no resolution.

Breaking Thru As An Author – I met Mark Boeder several years ago. He is an executive search pro and leads WarHorse Executive Search, and over the years has been a great career resource to me. He offers more of that great advice in the new book out this week he has co-authored Brilliant Breakthroughs For The Small Business Owner Vol. 4: Fresh Perspectives on Profitability, People, Productivity, and Finding Peace in Your Business. I ordered my copy and am looking forward to reading his and the other author’s wisdom for small businesses.

End of a Great Era – Ken Smith, the long-time Executive Director of YouthBuild Boston, has announced his retirement, and will be succeeded by Brian McPherson. YBB offers young adults in Boston training in the building trades, as well as the support they need. I met Ken almost 2 decades ago when I was back in Boston, and have been honored to help with their Web needs over the years. He is a leader in the truest sense, and his impact on the community is immense. Best of luck to Ken and his family on whatever is next, and to Brian as well – he has big shoes to fill, but I am sure he will make an equal mark on Boston.

Moneywise Advice – When I was in Chicago I had the good fortune to have connected with Jonathan Hoenig. He is a successful hedge fund manager and a TV business commentator. I got word this week he is giving a presentation next week Tuesday, November 17 on How to Buy A Stock. The presentation is free, and I am sure will be valuable way above and beyond.

Belated Trick – Just before Halloween I decided to unsubscribe from the Omni Hotels rewards program newsletter. I have only stayed at an Omni once, and though it was awesome, getting messages about hotels these days when I likely won’t be staying in one isn’t desirable. Interestingly, when I did I got an error, and of course in these days of marketing Big Data they knew it. The next day they sent me an email with the graphic above saying that I would be getting a “treat” if I stayed on the list. But I never did, so I decided to unsubscribe after all. Not sure why they would make such an offer and not fulfill it. But as I indicated above, contacting a business about their technology is futile.

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

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