http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2nFE_kuyeA

A joyous seasonal ditty that should warm the cockles of your heart.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/sarah-palins-favorite-com_b_787936.html

Sarah may be an ignoramus - but at least she's consistent about it!

Absolutely brilliant, concise piece on procrastination. Drop what you're doing and read it now.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surow...

Happy Birthday Robert Louis Stevenson

Wrote, among many other things, "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "Treasure Island", and "A Child's Garden of Verses". Was friends with J.M. Barrie, (my favorite author) author of "Sentimental Tommy", "the Little White Bird" and one that you might know - "Peter Pan" (although I like his novelized version, "Peter and Wendy" much, much better.
Tonight, let's raise a glass of Scotch to a great Scotsman, Robert Louis Stevenson!

Google adwords slapping us silly

Anybody else been slapped by google adwords recently? Apparently there is an unresolved bug that started about two weeks ago, demolishing quality scores and raising minimum bid rates, sometimes up to 1000%.

It started on EXACTLY the same day that I took over the adwords campaign for a great new client. It's causing us a lot of anxiety because this is the high season for her service, and we're getting hammered by it.

If anyone out there in my circle knows anyone who's been affected, or has any "ins" with adwords gurus, please get in touch with me, OK? I'm putting out feelers everywhere.

If you've had this problem and have no "ins," contact me anyway. If I get some answers, I'll gladly pass them on to you.
Spoly-oly,
Foley

Waiting for the shot...

This ia about my twentieth visit to this eye surgeon to find out that the hell is wrong with my right eye. Getting my third injection right into the eyeball. Oh, boy! I've been here since 11 AM waiting, getting one little exam after the other, one new machine after the next. Nice to get the attention, but it's been 2 freakin' hours! Glad they have T1 internet service here in the hospital, so I can work on some adwords and other strategies for a client.
Glad Mimi's here to drive me home. Can't drive too well after a shot in the eye, eh?

Dumb Things Americans Believe - Newsweek

via newsweek.com

We also believe we have the best schools in the world.

Macintosh Users Group of Oneonta (MUGOne) meeting tonight

Like the first Wednesday of every month for the last ten years (except for maybe twice), I'm off to the MUGOne meeting. 
Today we're getting a lecture about some of the hidden features of iLife '11. I'm psyched. 

Mimi and I got a new MacBook Pro last week, and we're loving it.

My Open letter to Congressman Michael Arcuri of NY, who just lost to his Republican Challenger...

I just sent this letter off to Congressman Michael Arcuri's office. He just lost to Mark Hanna (one of the more reasonable Republicans concerning the threat that natural gas drilling represents for NY).

Dear Congressman,

Sorry about your loss. You were very graceful in your treatment of Mark Hanna, and I think that serves you well. I'm hoping he won't be a total loss, and he'll keep up your work concerning fracking.

I'm sure there are members of your re-election team whom you can legitimately thank for their work. On the other hand...

Every member of your re-election team that I spoke to was instrumental in your loss. I've never seen a more arrogant, ignorant bunch of counter-productive losers.

Let me explain - I was contacted by phone by a young person who will remain unnamed. He wanted me to join in making calls and going door-to-door.

I know that those things are very important, but not everyone likes to be contacted that way, and not every volunteer should be focusing on only those things.

I said I would be willing to help, because I am a search engine optimization consultant, and know how to reach people on the Internet, and make voices heard In a 21st century way.

The person who called me had absolutely no idea of what I was talking about. He said, “We have a communications person doing that.”

He missed the point entirely. You also have people manning the phones, but he wanted more people to do that. That is correct. For a good social networking campaign, you need more than one “communications person,” too.

I tried to explain this to the caller, and in a very offhand manner he repeatedly pooh-poohed the idea, repeatedly asking me to make phone calls, although I repeatedly said, “I don't want to annoy people in their homes.”

I know the traditional theory is phone calls and door-knocking, but relying on those methods alone is why you lost the election.

Finally, I fairly had to cajole this person to meet me in person so I could convince him of the value of what I could have offered you. He was very unreceptive, but begrudgingly made an appointment with me for a few days later at your headquarters in Oneonta.

When I showed up for the meeting, he didn't. I left a note on the locked door at the office, saying I would return in half an hour. When I did, the office was still locked, and he wasn't there.

So I left a note with my phone number. He didn't even have the common courtesy to call me later.

This was not an isolated case. When you came to speak, with Mario Cuomo, in Oneonta, I talked to a woman on your staff, and once again offered help with your Internet campaign. She told me to talk to the same person who had called me and stood me up for the meeting!

I told her that I found that person basically useless, and it was pretty imperative that your people get on the ball, because you are having a terrible time reaching students, and that I could help.

The woman looked at me disdainfully, and obliviously stated that they were doing a good job reaching students. I looked around the room, and mentioned to her that there was not a single student in the crowd. She gave me a resentful look, and that was that.

No wonder Jon Stewart has a segment on the, “Daily Show,” called something like, “How will the Democrats fuck it up for themselves this time?”

It was really disheartening to see the young members of your staff repeating the mistakes that Democrats have made over and over.

Howard Dean must be in his 60s, and has more on the ball concerning modern communication than your young supporters. I'm in my 50s, and when I left after your speech in Oneonta, a row of shiny young Michael Arcuri staff members were greeting people. I took that one last opportunity to mention to them that there wasn't a single student present for you or Mr. Cuomo, and they really needed to work on getting the college vote out.

One of them said, “We are doing that already,” as the other staff members looked on vacuously.

There is no hope for the intentionally ignorant. I just didn't expect to see so many of them on your staff.

A few days later I got a call from someone on your staff asking me if I would make phone calls and go door to door for your campaign!

They're doing a, “heckuva job.”

I wish you much success in anything you choose to do in the future, but if you want to enjoy the success, you're going to have to jettison some of the chaff on your staff.

The bright side is, I have met Mark Hanna, and he seems like a decent man, and if we can believe what he says, it seems like he is against the invasion of the natural gas industry.

Good luck Mr. Arcuri, and all the best to you.

Sincerely,

Brian Foley

The Triumph of the Stupid

Yeah, they hate big government, but they want the government to give them jobs. They praise responsibility, yet it's the fer'ners who they blame for their lack of a job.
Buncha' whiney hypocritical idiots voting against their own interests. And they have the nerve to call themselves patriots and pretend they are restoring some kind of honor.
Not exactly America's finest hour.
Although I feel bad for Christine O'Donnell ever since that house landed on her sister.

Cooperstown Trip

Thought I had a meeting with a client today, but it turns out it's tomorrow. So while I was up in the area I had lunch in Cooperstown. Nice day for a drive.