Monday October 20th

Usual morning, up at 5:30 to feed the dog, but delayed walking him until about 6:30 so I had more light. It was cool this morning, but should be up around 76 today. Fall is amazing, cool nights and warm days. I noticed the sunrise had lots of orange in the sky. Tool the dog for a 1.33 mile walk. So excited, I walked up to a parkette that has blue dog pooh bags, they are scented and smell great.

Sunday October 19th

It's Warm today High of 75. There was a beautiful sunrise, it was a pretty orange in Eastern sky. Fall in California is amazing, warm days and cool nights. Picked up groceries from Gelson's. The Gelson's team always does an amazing job. Went to the 12:00 pm Mass. It was good, the priest’s homily was a bit long. Took, the dog for a couple of nice walks. Watched the Washington Commanders get beaten by the Cowboys on FOX, Watched some of the NASCAR race from Talladega. I was very happy Chase Briscoe won, the race and has made it to the championships. I always root for the Toyotas. All in all it was a relaxing Sunday.

Sunday October 12th

The weather was mild, warmer than I thought it would be, Mid 70's. Made a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast. Had an interesting Jelly, caramel and cinnamon, made the toast taste like french toast. Went grocery shopping at Gelson's, actually ordered online and picked up. The Gelson's associates are very nice, both came out to deliver the groceries to the car. I always bring Sam, the Lab, and the associates give me treats (that I provide). The trip to Gelson's is a big part of Sam's week. The rest of the day, was sports oriented, did some yoga and walked Sam for about a mile. Watched some of the NASCAR race. I was glad that Denny Hamlin won. He has raced a long time and never won the championship, so it would be good, if he wins it this year. Spoke to my daughter for about an hour as she plans for her wedding next year. End of the evening watched two new K Dramas on Netflix, “Genie, Make a Wish”, about a genie who seems to be falling in love with the love interest. It's interesting, the Genie is supposed to be evil, and one of the villains is an angel, who does not seem very angel like. The love interest appears to be very jaded and has no feelings. She has been known to take pleasure in hurting others, like dissecting frogs but her Grandmother convinced her that so long as she follows rules, she will not hurt herself or others. The other Kdrama I am watching is “Typhoon Family”. It's interesting there is a son who seems more interested in growing flowers than taking over the family's business, of import/export. It's set in 1997 during the South Korean financial crisis.

Saturday October 11th

The weather was mild high about 75 low 65. Look the dog to the groomer, visited my father in law in Orange county. Went to Big 5 with my wife and picked up some gym equipment.

Friday October 10th

Got up early, took the trash out and walked the dog. I had a job interview for a social Media position, I really hope I get it. Took the dog for a walk while listing to Spotify.

October 3, 2025

A brief summary of today, got up at 5:30 am, feed the dog. Did meditation and took a nice 1.5 mile walk listing to the Grateful Dead's Working Man's Dead. What a great album, from 1970 with tracks like Uncle John's Band, Casey Jones and Cumberland Blues. It's country blues type album with songs that showcase the working man theme.

Two Really Good New Books

I am reading Seth Godin's new book "We all are Weird" were he talks about the decline of normal and the rise of the new weird. The old normal was based on consumers wanting to be like their neighbors and conform to what society said they should be. Industry and commerce were built on producing few products with limited options that appealed to the widest audience. During this period, mass media, especially TV, allowed advertisers to reach a large audience at the lowest costs per thousand (CPM). Advertisers were reaching the great middle and selling products with limited differentiation. In the new normal consumers are free to explore whatever they want in whatever niche appeals to them. Today, consumers have choices not only in the products they choose, but also where they spend their media time. With the rise of the internet and the proliferation of media outlets, a person can find the content they want when they want it no matter how strange or esoteric. You can find a blog or site that focuses on whatever passion you happen to have. Speaking about me, I love new media, surfing and Dr. Who and there are plenty of sites for me to stay current on all those activities. For new media, Mashable, Gizmodo, Venture Beat and All things Digital are just a few of the sites I visit regularly. For surfing, Surfline and Magic Seaweed are two of my favorite sites. Dr. Who is easy, BBC and YouTube. I also love watching old episodes on Netflix. For that matter, my Twitter newsfeed pushes stories to me, about surfing, social, Dr Who, whatever I want. For an advertiser it is all about finding and targeting smaller and smaller groups of consumers. However, these smaller groups of people represent consumers that are passionate about their activities and hopefully passionate about your brand. What an advertiser may miss out in terms of the size of an audience they make up with passion and commitment of that audience. However Seth Godin says an advertiser needs to embrace this new normal and embrace these new groups not with a token commitment, but a total commitment to make products and marketing communications that reflect what this group actually wants. The other book I am reading is “On-Demand Brand” by Rick Mathieson who has the premise that consumers no longer want to wait, instead they want what they want now. He uses Burger King’s famous phrase, “Have it your way” as evidence of a change in consumer behavior. From a macro perspective, Rick is correct. Media choices have evolved from having to wait to watch a weekly TV show to first VCRs and DVRs which allowed you to time shift your favorite show to iTunes, Hulu or Netflix where you can instantly watch whatever you want when you want and on the device you want, TV, tablet, or mobile phone. I love the example of music. In the old days, you listed to a top 40 radio station and if you heard a song you liked, you had to wait until they played the song again. With the rise of online radio stations such as Pandora. Slacker, and Jango you now can listen to groups that are similar to what you wanted, but not your exact song. You can also game these stations, but that’s another story. Now with the rise of Spotify, Rhapsody and others you can listen to whatever song you want when you want and on the device you want and all for about $10 a month. Obviously, iTunes also gives you music on demand but makes you buy the music whereas with Spotify, it’s more like renting than buying. When you combine these two ideas Marketers now must appeal to these smaller groups and must appeal to them with content they want when they want it. We live in an exciting time.