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The Relay of Your Life

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The TRUPERS at Relay For Life, Oceanside, CA, USA, 04/20/2013

The TRUPERS at Relay For Life, Oceanside, CA, USA, 04/20/2013

Everyone has their causes and things they support, and whatever you do that is positive, you’re making the world a better place. So I’m not here to preach or sell. What I will say is that if you’re looking for a fun, positive, low-pressure event that helps to save lives, I highly recommend the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life. I’ve written about it here, here, and here, so I won’t reinvent the wheel in this post, but it is one of the most worthwhile things I’ve ever done. Continue reading

Sweet Home Alabama, and other thoughts

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Since around March 1 I’ve been working remotely from my personal favorite venue among the places I’ve lived and worked thus far in my lifetime: Huntsville, AL, USA. (You may find that quite a statement from someone whose current home base is Oceanside, CA, USA, just north of “perfect weather central,” San Diego.) The Rocket City, designated as such due to the omnipresence of NASA and other aerospace organizations and facilities in the metropolitan area, is home to my high school alma mater, Virgil I. Grissom High School, named after one of the three astronauts who lost their lives in the fiery Apollo 1 disaster.

Stratecast on Twitter

By contrast with the final mission of those three brave souls, my stay here has been a wild and wonderful ride that is not over yet. My current job as a global program director at Stratecast enables me to work remotely from anywhere with an Internet connection and an airport. So I’ve been working throughout the trip on my syndicated research reports, and growth consulting projects for great clients such as HP, based on the Big Data, analytics, and business intelligence market. I’ve even handed out my first technology innovation award for the year, which seems appropriate in a world-renowned hotbed of technology innovation such as Huntsville.

Big Spring Park in Huntsville, AL, USAMy mission on this trip has been personal as well as professional. Being in town from Wednesday through Sunday last July for my Grissom High School Reunion gave me just enough of a taste of the town to drive me crazy waiting for a return engagement. So my non-working hours have been chock-full of fun with friends, both lifetime and new, at Drake’s, Watercress, Connors, Ding How II, The Mellow Mushroom, Humphrey’s, Grill 29, and beyond.

2013-03-04 17.59.46I’ve walked Monte Sano and Green Mountain, as well as Big Spring Park, where I did battle with a duck I am certain was the size of at least one model in the Kia fleet of vehicles.

I walked in the Huntsville St. Patrick’s Day Parade and rocked out that night at The Sports Page to great bands including power-rockers Black Label, who were so good I found myself virtually stage-jumping to the raw sonic fury. Along the way I’ve unleashed MarketPOWER+ social sizzle to help bring #SoMeT13US to Huntsville, and to thank The Rocket/95.1FM for tearing the roof off the Rocket City.

A Jeff's iPhone-eye view of walking in St. Patrick's Day Parade in Huntsville, AL, USAIt’s been a trip filled with work and play and discovery. Time to get back to it…

Slash & Myles, Far And Away: The Real Lyrics

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Slash & Myles: Apocalyptic Love
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators
FAR AND AWAY
Apocalyptic Love

There are a zillion lyrics pages out there. (Okay, more.) Why create one for this song? Because even the best of the best lyrics sites have not, in my good listening ear’s opinion, captured the true lyrics for this epic piece of music. Many come quite close but fall short a “give it tomorrow” here or an “I’m so alone” there. I believe I’ve captured the correct intersection of lyrical sets here.

Those who know me best know I love music across the spectrum from heart-wrenching symphonic movie soundtracks to smooth jazz to rockin’ country to crash-and-burn, deliciously vicious hard rock and metal. What I love most, though, are intelligently-constructed minor key cavalcades, melodic and molten and beautiful, and capable of shaking arenas and stadiums off their foundations. Continue reading

Is Facebook the new email?

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We’ve certainly discussed the pros, cons and security angles around Facebook here and here, and as promised we’ve been adding useful links to one of these, our Facebook Privacy page. Worth mentioning in passing but today I’m thinking more of another entry, Is Social Media Really Bankable, that cited examples of how some of the largest companies in the world—and maybe yours—are starting to leverage social media to build their businesses.

Bloggers normally look outward for suitable subject matter, but in this case my own tendencies have caused me to question whether we’re part of a larger trend. Continue reading