Authentic by Design

I create a flier/poster for the Library each month named "Check It Out". This will usually showcase a few titles (books) that have a similar theme and offer a quick, one or two sentence synopsis of the book. There are usually seven or eight books that are reviewed each month.

We offer this as recommendations for users (Library patrons) that might need a starting point for a new book to check out. An example is last months Check It Out for June 2009;

We have to scan each of these book covers, clean them up a bit and then lay them out in our publishing software along with the textual descriptions.

Mike has been scanning them for the last few months and I do the layout. He showed me an unusual book cover for the upcoming July flier for a book named "9Tail Foxes", a sci-fi murder mystery. The cover he scanned in had a few worn edges and stress folds in it, which Mike started to clean up a little until he noticed that the book was printed that way. There were no folds or worn edges, it was an effect that the publisher had printed on the book to help it appear as if it was an older, worn, used book.

I thought this was unusual, but in reality, its been done before but with a different product. Blue Jeans are almost never found "new", they have been washed, faded and put through a few processes to appear worn-in. Thirty years ago, jeans were dark blue and people would have to earn that worn look, by actually wearing them and washing them several times.

Now we are seeing this with books. An old book, like old jeans, have character, they have been used and enjoyed several times over and this has an implied value, like a worn copy of On the Road by Kerouac.

I wonder if this has translated into a few extra sales for this book?

I'm Not Trying To Sell You Something...

If you hear this statement, run. Or tell that person that you are not stupid and walk away if you can. This person, no matter what they just said, is trying their hardest to sell you something.

I was at the Shell station today filling up my car. I noticed that some guy was helping a woman that was getting gas next to me at the adjoining pump. He seemed very helpful since she was signing something as part of a transaction, which I initially thought was for full serve. I saw her get into her car with three spray cans of something, but it didn't hit me as to what was happening until...

Some guy comes around the pump with a spray can of that same product and says, "Would you like to hear about this..." and I stop him and say "No."

He says, "I'm not trying to sell you something." and I reply, "I 'm not interested." and he sulks as he walks away.

In his mind, he wasn't actually trying to sell me something, he was just going to pester me about this great product and then offering a great price, at which point I could buy it, if I was inclined. No selling at all.

This tactic is used with telemarketing people sometimes, they say, "I'm not trying to sell you something." This would be illegal, because I am on the do not call list and everyone except desperately lonely people hate telemarketers. Heck, telemarketers hate telemarketers. Its a sales tactic, if you can allay the fears that prospective buyers have by removing the fuse to their fear, you have their ear for about a minute, until they figure out that they are being told a sales pitch or they decide that they don't need the product.

A few people fall for it because they don't want to seem rude and listen to the whole spiel, most will just find a good interruption point and say they aren't interested. It only has to work a few times.

I really resent these guys, who have started their sell technique by basically lying to you. Its like they don't actually care if you aren't satisfied with the product or if you even need it at all.

Don't fall for this tactic, unless you want to see a lot more of it.

I Wonder...

...how well these are selling?


Spotted at TJMaxx next to the checkout. I just can't see a product doing well with the words "Crab" and "Nuts". Did someone run this by the Marketing office or did they call a audible on this and go with their gut? Probably the same guy that came up with the brilliant move to put these in a discount clothing store as their main distribution channel.

Methinks that they may have swung and missed on this. Or maybe they didn't go far enough, maybe they should just leave out "House" and play on people's curiosity or market their snacks to the thrill-seeker crowd.

I didn't even know crabs had nuts. Next someone is going to tell me that Moths don't have balls... really? You're kidding.

Good Visit

Karen came into town and stayed for the weekend, it was good to see my sis again. How many times did we go to Starbucks this weekend? Too many or not enough, depending upon who you ask. I did get to go to "Rosemary & Thyme", which has some pretty decent pizza, so I will have to keep that one in the mental rolodex for artisian wood-fired pizza.

Spent some time throwing the ball with the dog in the back yard and trying to get the boy to hit the baseball, he's getting closer to actually holding the bat and taking a swing, but likes to act like a pitcher more.

The Courtyard Marriott is niiiiiiice. We went inside and they have this 50" screen that displays local restaurants, maps, weather info (all local) and you can touch the screen to zoom in or out. Kate says they have one at Headquarters an is hooked-in to the same thing. Why don't more hotels do cutting-edge stuff like this and be like Marriott? Cause they're not Marriott.

We got Karen into twitter and I think she may start using it. Before she was like, "I'm no twenty-something, besides, it looks stupid". Ten minutes later, she is open to the idea and another ten minutes later, she is signed-up and posting a tweet. Welcome to Web 2.0, Karen.

We tried to watch a movie, but the Netflix movie they sent couldn't get past the FBI warning and kept just playing it over and over. It was caught in a loop and just couldn't make it around that, which was frustrating because I have had this movie for the last four weeks, so its like I had something invested in finally getting around to watching it. Yes, I did take it out and polish it to make sure a stray hair wasn't on the disk causing to to loop. I even tried it in a different DVD player, to no avail. So maybe I don't need Netflix anymore.

BTW, The FiOS is up and working well as far as the TV goes. My computer is connected to the net (obviously), but I had to hard-wire it via ethernet instead of wireless since my computer is a bit old.

Enough about technology, Karen left today and flew back to Hotlanta, had to get back to the boys who I am sure, were missing her. The drive was easy considering we didn't run into any doofuses on the way there. (OK, on the way back I did see someone cross four lanes of traffic to make his exit, but that is almost par)

Had a great time with you, Karen, stop by and visit anytime, and bring the boys next time and we can do touristy stuff like the Washington Monument or the Zoo.

Driving

We have some of the stupidest drivers around here, let me give you a few examples lately: last week I went to Wegmans to meet Kate for lunch and while walking through the parking lot, I see this. I don't have a problem with the guy parked on the right, its the guy on the left who initially fouled-up his parking and everyone else has to compensate for that one guy. Why not make a commitment and just take up both spaces instead of leaving just enough room to make it tempting to park? The lines on the ground are a guide, all you have to do is park in between them and you are good. Naw, some people just can't manage that simple instruction...

Example #2:
I went to Dulles Airport to pick up Karen on Thursday night. I went to hourly parking and meandered to get to the ticket machine, which spits out timed tickets so they know how long you were there and charge you accordingly. I just followed the signs to get there, no fewer than three separate signs directing you to the hourly parking. I am the fourth person in line to get a ticket and the girl up front in her Mini Cooper decides that, after making it all the way to the front, she doesn't want to go in hourly parking. Her reverse lights are on and she is waiting until four cars behind her back up so she can bail out. Everyone was much too nice to this dolt who couldn't follow some simple directions and now wants to bail out. I went to a different line and as I passed her, said thanks. I didn't stop to see how she was going to back up into oncoming traffic to get back to the turn-off point several hundred yards back. At least she was out of my way.

Example #3:
After I picked up Karen, we got to the car and headed off, we get to where you pay to get out and the I get into the cash line. The line does not move for almost ten minutes (I kid you not). I get out of the car to figure out what is the holdup. Its some guy in a white Range Rover (very expensive car) with the license plates "MR QTAR" who is filling out some paperwork. He apparently has no cash, no ID and no credit card. He also had no ticket. I would have called the police to checkout Mr Qtar since he was driving without a license, but I don't work there. He finally finished his business and we got to move along, but man, what is wrong with people these days?

My solutions? If you screw up, you are in the wrong lane or just plain ignored the signs, eat it. You made the mistake, don't make everyone else pay for it. Don't inconvenience your fellow drivers because you did something stupid and compound the problem. Just go through and find a way to turn around later. That's the great thing about driving, the roads are all connected, so rarely do you go somewhere where you can't turn around and go back.

Sfizi

We went to dinner at Sfizi (which is italian for "little treat") the other day and it is good authentic italian food, so authentic, its made by actual italians!

Sfizi is located right next door to Dolce Vita, which is practically legendary for its food around here. The parking lot overflows each Friday and Saturday night into our neighborhood. Sfizi is more of a market, with a variety of olive oils, pastas, fresh cookies, prepared meals, pizza, wines and a cappucino machine. It even has outdoor seating so you can enjoy a nice dinner (or lunch).

The food is great and the service is too. The owner, Lino, is a friendly guy who talks with customers and takes a lot of pride in the food and service and it shows. If you get a chance, stop by and check out Sfizi. Jack liked it, too.

The New Coupon Booklets Are Here!

The Summer Reading Program (SRP) is a huge deal for the Library each year. It was developed to provide incentives for kids to read over the summer, when school is out. We also have special programs like animal shows, science entertainment programs and even a drawing program
(yes, that one is mine).

The coupon booklet is a key component in this because it is given to those who sign up for the SRP and read 10 books (for teens) or 15 books for those 12 and below. It sounds like a lot, but it isn't. Any book will do. You can even read to your kid if they can't and that counts as well. We read two books each night before bed each night, so I will make the quota pretty quick.

The coupon booklet has coupons for a free ice cream cone, $5 off at any Book sale, Coupon for Borders Books, Free tickets to a DC United and Potomac Nats game and many more.

I made the coupon booklet and the Calendar as well and we printed at least 45,000 copies this year and another 35,000 of the booklet.We also had to create and print the book logs I am just glad that the printing part is over and now I can concentrate on something else at work.