Rain Brings Out the Crazies

March 12, 2010 · Filed under Random Rambling

I’m not sure what it is about this area but when it rains (or snows heavily as we have learned) it brings out the crazy drivers in this area. Case in point, I’m cruising along Prince St. in Old Town Alexandria this morning on my way to work after dropping off E and a lady decides to run through a red light (that has been red for 30 seconds) as I’m going through the intersection. Fortunately, ever since E was born I no longer take for granted a green light and always keep a wary eye to cross streets and was able to slam on my brakes with enough time to stop about 3 inches from her passenger door but it brought to mind a few things I was thankful for this morning:

1) that there was no one behind me
2) that there was no one behind me on a cell phone
3) that I wasn’t on my iPhone or texting (we are all guilty of it, come on)
4) that the lady wasn’t on her cell phone
5) most importantly, neither Lauren or E was in the car with me

I would have hated to end the week by having to file an insurance claim that while not my fault would still have been a pain in the ass.

Please guys… Pay attention when you are driving, especially when it is raining, and avoid the crazies and avoid being one yourself! TGIF!

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Social Media Sensationalism

February 24, 2010 · Filed under Social Media

After a crazy past few days at the office, I’m finally now sorting through the various articles that pepper my inbox and fill my Twitter feed. I just finished reading this MediaPost article that makes the “profound” announcement that social media is not the “preferred” recommendation source. The article then goes on to say that young adults value (age 18-34) advice from friends and family members over social media and online ads. Duh. The article then says (and if you already read the article I apologize for repeating ) that “oddly” younger consumers believe “search” has more influence over online ads and social media.

I’m not sure where to start in responding to this.

First of all, it annoys me when I see sensational-style headlines such as “Social Media Not Preferred Recommendation Source.” Are there people out there that thought social media WAS the preferred source? Are we, as marketing consultants, telling people it’s a preferred source to clients? If so, shame on us. Social media is a lot of things and is a great marketing tool, but it has a LONG way to go to EVER replace a reference from a friend or family member.

Second, I do not like to see surveys use such blanket categories like “search” or “social media,” especially as search continues to evolve, the lines between the search and social media continue to come closer and closer together. Often, when you “search” on something, the results include forums, message boards, review sites like Yelp, and Twitter content mixed with your traditional brand websites. So, when a young adult says they turn to “search” I’m thinking that they are thinking of it as a mechanism for finding the content they seek, not as content itself. Personally, I usually search on a product first, but make my end decision after reading forums, user reviews, etc. Isn’t that social media?

Which leads me to my 3rd issue with this article… what social media was included in the survey? Did it include forums and message boards, Yelp, etc. or did it just include social media sites like Facebook and Twitter? Social media is more than just Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter (the four sites mentioned in the article). Come on.

Listen, I freely acknowledge that I don’t know the full extent of the survey and am merely responding to what little information I have about the study. But I suppose that is part of the problem too. Don’t publish these types of summary articles without access to more information. There are people out there which include “gurus,” consultants, and clients who will read the title, and skim through the article and then begin spouting this off as breaking news.

That’s dangerous and it does not help those of us who understand how the interactive mix complements the more traditional sources make any progress with educating our clients and peers.

Back to pushing that boulder uphill.

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It’s What’s for Dinner: Jambalaya

February 22, 2010 · Filed under Recipes · Tagged ,

As some of you may or may not seen yesterday, I was in the mood for a little jambalaya for dinner last night. Maybe I’m still hungover from the Saints rousing Super Bowl win or maybe the wife and I were so sick this weekend, I just wanted something easy I could throw in the slow cooker. I think it was more the later than the former. But anyway.

A quick search online for “jambalaya + slow cooker” revealed a handful of recipes and after sorting through, I decided to combine these two recipes from About.com and The Food Network.

The end result was amazing though I admit I cut out the cayenne pepper from the recipe as I had tried to make this before and definitely put way too much cayenne in the mix.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 pound andouille sausage, diced
  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes (I bought the kind with green chiles – it was perfect)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
  • 1-2 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 pound frozen medium-sized peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
  • 2 cups of brown rice

Directions:

Honestly, it was very simple. I basically just combined everything on the list up until the shrimp and threw it into the slow cooker for 6-8 hours (whatever you have time for). With about 2 hours or so left, I dumped in the brown rice to let that cook. And then with 15 minutes left I added the shrimp.

The end result was awesome and would easily serve about 8 people so it’s safe to say we will be eating jambalaya for the rest of the week. As I said before, if you do like your jambalaya to have a kick, add 2-3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper. That will certainly do the trick.

Bon appetite!

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Still Not Sure What All the Buzz is About

February 14, 2010 · Filed under Social Media · Tagged

Last week, amid the mad snow that fell throughout the DC area Google launched Google Buzz, their social media “solution” that is intended to simplify sharing “content” with your family and friends. Buzz links up with your existing social media sites like Twitter, Flickr, RSS feeds, etc. and pulls that information into your Gmail rather than pushing information out. Google attempted to simplfy the friending process by automatically having the people you email and chat with most follow you, while you followed them in return. This annoyed me at first as I may not necessarily want people I’ve emailed in the past to be following my every move. Apparently, I was not alone. The people complained and Google responded promptly by switching to an auto-suggest model rather than an auto-follow model.

Given that I spent most of the week digging out from the record-breaking snow I have not had the proper time to dig into Buzz fully, but from what I’ve seen so far, it certainly puts what your friends are doing front and center IF you use Gmail as your primary mail client. If you don’t use Gmail, I’m not sure whether or not you will use Buzz that much. Also, I’m assuming that to really start using Buzz frequently, your friends have to be avid users of Gmail as well. If not, they may never stumble upon it.

Today, Mashable posted that they think Buzz is really going to change the social media landscape and will be digging into it over the next week or so. Given how tight for time we’ve all been lately, I’m looking forward to seeing what they have to say. Until then, I’ll be buzzing around as much as I can.

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Easy Guac Dip for the Snow OR the Super Bowl

February 6, 2010 · Filed under Random Rambling

Whenever I am experiencing a “storm of the lifetime” or caught in a “Snowmageddon” I like to cook. As you know, last night I made ham and green bean casserole, and this morning I started making my favorite chili for tonight (I’ll post that recipe later). But, it’s lunch time, and the chili is still a good 6 hours away from being done, so what are we having guys?

The answer: tortilla chips and guac, and a classic snow day standby, mac and cheese!

So, if you are in the mood for a tasty guac treat as well, this simple recipe is for you!

Ingredients:

  • 1 avacado
  • 1/4 red onion
  • 2Tb of honey
  • 1/2 a packet of taco seasoning

Directions:

  1. Take the avacado (remove the skin and pit obviously – though I have learned that one cannot assume people know to do this) and give it a good mashing. Sometimes I use the mixer, sometimes if it’s ripe enough I’ll just use a spoon.
  2. Dice the red onion up into fine pieces and add to the avacado in a mixing bowl.
  3. Finally, add the honey and taco seasoning to the bowl and give it a good stirring.

Done. Seriously, it’s that easy and it is oh so good… Bon appetit!

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It’s What’s for Dinner: Ham & Green Bean Casserole

February 5, 2010 · Filed under Recipes

One of my favorite cold weather meals, particularly when we’re in the middle of an official “snowmageddon,” is ham and green bean casserole. A quick Google search a few years back revealed this gem on Cooks.com.

1 med. onion, chopped fine
 3 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. sour cream, light
1/2 c. chopped ham
1/2 c. pimiento cheese spread
2 (1 lb.) cans French green beans, drained
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Saute onion in butter, blend in flour, salt and pepper. Add sour cream and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add beans, ham, pimiento cheese and pimientos. Turn into baking dish. Top with cheese, onion rings (yes, so you can snack out of the can while you make it) and cracker crumbs. Bake for 20 minutes. Serves 6.

This recipe is perfect if you have leftover ham after a holiday meal, or if you are a ham and green bean person like I am. Either way, bon appetit!

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Missing the Snow… Again

January 30, 2010 · Filed under Random Rambling

As a closet weather geek (I should probably do something with that meteorology degree some day), I live for big storms. It can be any kind of storm… thunderstorms, wind, rain, whatever. But when you live in the DC area, the one kind of storm you so rarely get is a good snow storm. As most of you in this region know, we are usually met with disappointment after a week of hype. We’ll get 2 inches before it switches to rain and washes away, or we’ll get an inch of ice, which is cool while it’s happening, but a pain in the neck logistically when it’s finished.

Well, this winter we’ve actually had two bona fide snow events and I have missed them both. For the snowpocalypse event, we were on the Eastern Shore of Maryland visiting my wife’s family where we only got a mere 3″ of snow, and today I’m up in New Hampshire where all I have is sub-zero temperatures (no exaggeration), but no snow.

I admit that my feelings are somewhat mixed on the snow: while I enjoy a good storm, the aftermath is certainly annoying. And given how long the aftermath lasted following the 16″ we got in December, I think I’m actually over snow for the season. Having said that, it’s still fun to watch it fall – which I’m currently missing.

Anyway, to all of my friends in DC, I’ll be thinking of you this afternoon when the snow really starts to fall according to the latest from the guys at the Post. Make a snow angel for me.

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My New Favorite Show

January 26, 2010 · Filed under Random Rambling

After just three episodes Human Target has quickly risen as one of my favorite new shows. In a TV landscape so full of unnecessary violence, predictable outcomes, and unneeded stress, Human Target is one of those shows that allows you to put the mind on cruise control and enjoy the action. Granted it doesn’t tickle the funny bone quite like Modern Family does, but it certainly does the trick for me on a Tuesday night.

If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

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Back in Commission

January 21, 2010 · Filed under Random Rambling

Funny how a little virus can knock you flat on your back for a couple of days. This past weekend our family joined up with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend in the Shenandoahs for a nice weekend of hiking and just relaxing in the mountains. Of course, within 3 hours of arriving, I was vomiting like I’ve never vomited before in my life, and spend the next 11 hours running to the bathroom every 15 minutes. As fate would have it, my wife joined me around 1am and we began the sick dance until later the next day.

I don’t think there is anything worse than being sick in a place other than your home, nor the feeling that you are 2.5 hours from your bed (and your own bathroom). Add to it that you have a 9 month old child to take care of, and you are almost overwhelmed by a feeling of complete helplessness. Before E’s arrival, we probably would have sucked it up and stayed the long weekend, but you when you are moving at a snail’s pace, and bright lights and loud noises make you nauseous, you want to be on your home turf. So, we piled into the car and hightailed it over the river and through the woods home.

The point of this little anecdote is that we’re back in commission. I have been completely out of what’s going on with the world, with the obvious exception of the going-ons in Haiti. The media coverage (TV, radio, social, and online) have done a great job in getting the stories and images out, as well as driving donations. Speaking of which, I read that text-based donations have surpassed $22M which is amazing, but also shows the power of mobile-based campaigns. I’m also very impressed with the Red Cross’ social media participation – they definitely get the power of it, and have figured out how to do it right.

Anyway, time to hit it hard and play some serious catch-up. I hope everyone is feeling healthy and motivated.

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I’m So Excited!

January 8, 2010 · Filed under Random Rambling

Listen, I think you know that I love social media, technology, etc. But what I love even more is talking about it, especially with friends, family, coworkers, and clients. And lately, it seems like the winds of change are blowing, and more and more people want to talk. Maybe it’s the new year. Maybe people are finally coming around. One this is for sure. I’m excited and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

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