August 2006 Archives
Aug30

Katrina Anniversary (367 Days Later)

Posted at 9:16 AM • View Comments

I  wrote this over a two day period at a Starbucks in NYC.

So, it has been 1 year since Katrina ravaged my home town and the coast alongside it. I’ve experienced so much that I can’t believe it’s only been a year.  I remember sitting in our temporary home of Livingston, Texas thinking what the landscape of New Orleans  would look like one year later.  At the time and now, it is nothing as I could have imagined.  I remember thinking, ‘If the national media is this bad right now, then they’ll focus on everything that should’ve been done.’  I was correct in my early assertions. I remember thinking how important it was for the good leaders to step up and for people not to be selfish. 

One year later everyone and their brother is focused on how the situation was botched and things should have been handled.  I’m not going to do that.  I will say that it was an unprecedented situation and it’s ridiculous to treat hindsight like 20/20.  It was a lose-lose situation for anyone that was in a position of leadership.

It’s been an odd year for me and everyone else down south.  Not 2006, but just the last 367 days.  When most think back to 8/29/05, I will think back to 8/27/05.  For some reason, I think about so many odd things the Friday before ‘she’ hit New Orleans.

I was set to close on my first home purchase on the 29th. so I was at my insurance agent’s office trying to get binder for my closing.  However, since the non-threatening Katrina was in the Gulf, the company couldn’t issue it.  I remember no one, including myself, made much of a big deal about it.  It was just another part of the weekly summer drill in south LA.  Two minutes later, my agent asked me if I wanted to grab a bite to eat at Ruth’s Chris.  Naturally, I accepted.  On top of being headquartered in New Orleans and being a great place to eat, they are my biggest client.  So we went to eat at the original Ruth’s on N. Broad and Orleans Ave.  I’d never been to the one that rested on the edge of the 9th Ward before.  I was eating in a dark room of power.  The walls had been witness to some of the most powerful politicians in the state and nation for years.  That day was no different.  Anyone who was anyone was eating within 5 feet of me that day.  Everyone was calm and joyful.  Less than 48 hours later, those same people were unnerved and panicked.  The historical restaurant…gone for good.

After lunch, I remember leaving work for the day.  I had made a sales call in Metairie and decided to call it a day around 3.  I was excited about going to see the Saints pre-season game that night.  I figured between the game, hanging out with a friend and my new house it was going to be a sweet 3 days.  In my car on my way back, I thought to myself, ‘Damn, I left my laptop.’  Due to my self-directed weekend projects, I never left it at work.  At some point early on Monday  morning, it was destroyed.  All of my work and I couldn’t have cared less…it just wasn’t that damn important anymore.

I picked up my friend for the Saints game around 6.  Her dad was glued to several cable news channels about Katrina.  Until that point, it had been forecasted to hit FL somewhere.  We, the seasoned veterans that make up New Orleans, paid little attention to it.  We knew the drill.  We really paid him no mind and headed off to have a good time.  We didn’t expect much from the team as it was preseason.  We left around the 3rd quarter to go grab some coffee and just hang out for a few hours.  I got home around 2.  I remember turning on the weather channel from my bed to see the latest.  The path had changed, the strength had increased and New Orleans was now in sight. 

7 hours later I awoke to the local news people urging people to get the hell out of the city.  I saw one woman seemingly fight back tears.  I called my older sister to see if they were leaving with the two kids.  I called my dad, who was in AL, at the time to see what he wanted me to do with my younger sister.  His advice to me was to stick together with my family and work as one.  And so, we took Airline Highway out of the city towards TX…the rest.

I think back to so many situations for me personally that were odd about the weekend.  The little things that I did differently.  Looking back, it seems completely serendipitous.

Aug22

IPTV: Part Deux

Posted at 8:40 PM • View Comments

Over a year ago, I wrote about the Future of IPTV.  My questions from the post have yet to be answered as there hasn’t been enough growth, but eMarketer recently released a new study that shows its increase in popularity.

Here’s a sweet quote, "…the total number of broadband
households worldwide will grow to approximately 422 million by 2010. Of
that number, 139 million will have sufficient bandwidth to receive IPTV."

I can’t wait to see where this goes.

Aug22

Generational Networking (That Box)

Posted at 5:59 PM • View Comments

Last night, I was speaking with my dad about the intangibles that people often overlook such as networking and being my own entity no matter what I do.  This is one of the things I have been taught from an early age…all done completely by design. Lately, our conversations on this topic have increased as he is now looking for a position.  We have been back and forth offering help to one another.  He mostly helps me with experience and I with the new ways that are vital to networking in the world today.

One particular aspect we discussed last night is that people try to create these boxes for us to fit into.  My dad has never been like that and as a result I was never raised that way.  For instance, my dad has run small companies for over 30 years; so now, when people want to interview him they have trouble putting him into a category.  The same is true with me.  My resume shows me striving to wear several hats at each stop along the way.  I get responses from HR people like, "Oh, you’ve done well in sales; but you also did marketing and…"  I’ve become accustomed to seeing that confused and eager look in their eye.  Another scenario is that they think they are just getting a typical media salesperson so they expect me to rant about only my medium  When I discuss my outlook on the industry as a whole, they are taken aback.  It’s like I’m 5 years ahead in my thinking of where I should be.

I took a colleague of mine to lunch today.  He is in his early 30′s, and to put it mildly, extremely accomplished for his age.  Through a story, he worked hard to bring me from his mid-20′s to the present.  He thought he was preaching to me, but I told him that I was engulfed.  The man is with a company now that recently went through an M&A process, so they are in a transition phase.  The bottom line is that he has his eye open for the right opportunity.  Frankly, we’re both surprised he has yet to open his second company.  Anyway, one thing he commented on is that when a hiring manager finds that rare person with experience beyond their age (that box) they’re supposed to fit into, they aren’t quite sure what to do.  That’s where the selling comes into play.  My friend broke it down like this:

20′s: Having fun and trying new things.
30′s: Starting to create a path of where you should be going.
40′s: It’s time to arrive and make some noise.
50′s: It’s time to start giving back.

I called my dad immediately after lunch to tell him about it.  I found it somewhat serendipitous that the conversations that had taken place in the past 24 hours.  He agreed and had more to comment.  I deduced that my dad at 23-45 was about 15 years ahead of where was supposed to be.  My friend is easily 8 years ahead of the curve.  My self-assessment is about 3-5 years.

I think there are those of us out there who are hungry and don’t fall into these categories.  The resume gets us in the door, but it’s up to us to prove the experience and forward-thinkingness.  It’s one thing to discuss our progressive thoughts; but I think what has to be proven is that as experience is gained, we know how to utilize it properly once attained.

Aug21

Top 10 Most Beautiful Cell Phones

Posted at 9:51 AM • View Comments

Often times, I get annoyed that US cell technology is not up to par with our European and Asian counterparts.  I have two emotions when I see/read about progressive cell technology…frustration and relief.  Relief because I would be broke from constantly trying to sport these looks.  Damn, they are fine though.

Aug5

Sports Shorts 7/30-8/5/06

Posted at 1:41 PM • View Comments

Back in May, I wrote about Reggie Bush’s marketing power for the New Orleans Saints.  I think we (the fans, the city, his sponsors) became a little nervous earlier in the week when camp opened.  A few talked about how he might hold out until the next draft.   Honestly, I had no doubts that he would sign because it would have been marketing suicide.  My worries lied more with his learning curve.  The NFL is a completely different beast than the NCAA.  Cedric Benson is a prime example.  Also, I’m tired of hearing all the preseason hype on him.  No one has a clue how he will do.  Obviously, the potential is there, but give the man some time.  Anyway, I’m looking forward to being in the Dome for the home reopener versus the Falcons.  I spoke to a very knowledgeable person in a coffee shop Wednesday night from AZ.  She commented on how hopeful and optimistic she was about the Saints.  It’s good to hear that from someone that isn’t a Saints fan.  It also gave me a better thought process from my previous ideas about outsiders.

The Other Trojan
Matt Leinart has yet to sign  I’m fearful he will turn into this year’s Cedric Benson.  It’s unfortunate because, unlike Benson and the Bears, the Cardinals have some serious talent.

The Braves
It’s almost surreal, in the loosest form of the word, to see the Braves on a run to not make the playoffs.  I remember when I was 10 back in 1991 the call, "From worst to first!"  Now, I fear this year I could possibly hear, "From 14 years of divisional titles to last."  We are 14 games behind the Mets and they are nearly running on all cylinders.  We are 5.5 out of the wild card, but 9 teams are ahead of us.  Bobby Cox is no one to be argued with and I will give him the benefit of the doubt because he has been so successful.  They better make the move though.

I will be at the TED during the last weekend of September for the season finale against the Astros with one of their fans.  I hope I’m watching a wild card playoff series.  Of course, they’ve been killing teams on the road but not at home…Why?  Because they’re all offense and most parks are designed for HRs.  The offense reminds me a lot of the 2003 Braves.

On another note, the Braves put Andruw Jones on the waiver wire and was claimed.  I’m not going into the details but basically it’s a technical way to trade someone after the deadline.   It goes on all the time, but Andruw is a headliner.  Schuerholz knows what he’s doing.   He’s not going to be traded, but I’m a little surprised by the response from fans.  I understand the frustration that comes from watching him at the plate.  He’s always swinging for the fences instead of going to the opposite field for RBIs and doubles, but he has over 90 RBIs with two months left in the season.  Moreover, he could be the best CFs to EVER play this game.  Too often, defense gets overlooked in this sport because there are few official stats.  That alone warrants him staying in Atlanta.  We’ve been spoiled having him for 10 years (he’s still on 29) and I guarantee if he left, we’d miss him sorely.

NCAA Football
Ok, preseaon polls are a terrible idea.  They should come out about 4 weeks into the season.  Don’t get me started on the BCS either.   The coaches poll came out this week.  Iowa at 17.  I have a feeling they break the top 10 by week 2.  Leadership combined with an easy schedule.  Those boys can play. 

OU lost their QB for taking cash outside the job.  He was kicked off the team and needs to be accountable.  My beef is with the critics.  All of a sudden everyone says they’re going to drop out of the top 10.  Have you seen Adrian Peterson play?  Have you seen their defense?  It proves that people are itching for college football to start because they’re creating unnecessary drama.

MLB Notes
The world series champion is coming out of the AL this year.  If the Twins can get the wild card, I say they win the whole thing.  Their pitching over a 3 game period is unbelievable (think 2001 D’Backs).  If the Twins are home in the postseason, the Red Sox will take it.  Their pitching has lacked some consistency, but they (namely David Ortiz) are money in the clutch

Floyd Landis
Not many in America care about cycling unless they’re in it or an American is winning (which is only known via Sportscenter).  Lance put us on the map.  Mr. Landis comes out of nowhere to win.  Long and short he’s been fired by his team and stripped of the title. because he tested for high testosterone.  I’m not sure what that means, since I’ve never juiced; but can you imagine how many more women will be calling him for dates now.