Domestic Geek

Companies spend tons of money every year on promotional products to get their name in the face of consumers and clients. I think one of the biggest mistakes they make is not considering that prospective customer's needs before choosing a product to distribute. For instance, plastic key chains? Who really uses those? Magnets? I have enough, thanks. Provide me with something useful or out of the ordinary and I'll not only use it, I'll definitely think of your company when I need services or products such as yours.

One of the coolest things I ever received is an Illuminated Mouse Pad and USB hub from CDW. Not only is it something I use daily, but it is related to the products they offer.

Edited to add on 2/27/2014: The company I now work for is the worst at this. As employees, we get some of the same things they give to our clients. This year, a picnic blanket with the company logo. Previously, tons of camping chairs, flashlights, etc. Not related to the printing industry whatsoever.

So, it was a little warm driving home from work today. I face was just throbbing and I was sick of being in traffic. I pulled off into a convenience store to get a beverage and decided I'd get an ice cream instead. Well, I set it on the table when I got home and used the restroom, got a drink and plumb forgot all about the poor ice cream. D'oh! I found it before it became a total puddle, so I threw it in the freezer and just now got to eat it. I wanted one last little treat since I don't know how long it will take the old mouth to heal after the surgery. Some days, I wonder where the old brain is hiding!

Have you, dear readers, been noticing the changes occurring in the way we can get our televised entertainment? With so many networks offering their programs up for viewing online and the reasonable prices to buy programs on iTunes, not to mention that you can get movies online, through the mail or at rental kiosks, I strongly suspect that cable and satellite services as we now know them will soon be a thing of the past.

A few months ago, I wrote how Marcus and I downgraded our Dish Network package. The other day we went down to only the most basic package available. For one thing, we rarely watch live television anymore. The programs we do watch are all on local stations except for just a couple (like Mythbusters or the stuff on USA-Monk, The 4400, etc). I've been watching most of my programming online since the networks keep moving stuff around. I watch 24 on DVD from Netflix. We watch The Office through iTunes. Why would one continue to pay a satellite company for multiple useless channels of crap? I don't need a dozen shopping channels and I shouldn't have to have Spanish-language stations that I can't watch. Even stations I used to watch religiously like HGTV or SciFi run the same old tired programs. MTV and VH1 can't even really be considered music television anymore.

Then there are scenarios where the companies shoot themselves in the foot. Take for instance what happened to my father. In an effort to get him to upgrade to a more expensive digital package, they took away his on-screen program guide. Seriously, is this any way to keep your customers happy?

If they're smart, they'll change their practices and offer a more a la cart service. Otherwise, they'll get left in the dust.

Once I'm over my oral surgery, I am getting serious about getting fit. One major problem I have is that I've never been big into calorie counting, so I really have no idea how many calories I'm consuming when I eat. Today I joined a totally free site called MyFitnessPal.com that I am hoping will help educate me as to the caloric and nutritional content of the foods I'm eating and ultimately allow me to make better choices.

In addition to the free calorie counter, the site offers an online food journal, an exercise log, a way to monitor your progress and a forum. There is also a way to look up how many calories a particular activity burns. That was really cool.

Once I start using the calorie counter and all the other tools available through the site, I'll be one step closer to realizing my goal of a healthy, trim body.

This is a sponsored post.

This test was posted in a forum to which I belong and wanted to share the result here. I just love Katherine Hepburn and I can only hope to be as classy as she.

Link: The Classic Dames Test written by gidgetgoes on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test