Series is tied 1-1 and Jay with the help of Alica took the house down with that performance.  Oh and on another note, Jay is seriously killing it – Yankee Stadium in the Bronx at 7:30 to London, Ontario at 10:30 pm.  Canada you better show Jay love for that one.

via Nah Right

About a year ago, Yahoo slowly rolled out their new homepage design.  Making it less cluttered and organizing content has elevated time on site by 20%.  Now, we all know that time on site isn’t always the best measure of performance (users can actually be confused leading to more time on site trying to find out where things are).  Other measures are also climbing – users are really happy with the app area with 75% of them customizing the apps and feeds they use most.  40%  use between 6 and 11 apps on a regular basis.  Additionally, recent figures have shown a 10% lift in CTR on their frontpage ads.  Yahoo brings a lot to the table – big reach, consumer engagement, a higher CTR.  File this under “the next chapter in the portal wars”!

This is cathartic for me I guess. Not that easy to do given the close proximity to the “event” which I’m speaking of, but still something good for me (I think), and something I should just express. I’m speaking about my choice to “put down” my 11 year old Chocolate Labrador Java, and now writing about her.

I’m not that “sentimental” of a pet person, although I’ve always had dogs as pets my whole life. I grew up with dogs, and always took interest in taking good care of them and training them well. All of my dogs have been of varying quality in both behavior and performance (intelligence, well-composed, affectionate, home protector, loyal, and a hunter). In all of the dogs I’ve had and worked with, none have been able to muster a high-degree in all of the criteria I’ve outlined. That’s not bad, just that I expect a lot from a dog, and most fell a little short. That’s not to say that I didn’t love my dogs – I always love my dogs and treat them well. I just realize that coming across a dog that can achieve all from my demanding list in not at all common.

Java was a dog that met all the criteria, and with the odds against her. She was a rescue from a broken home, and was obviously mistreated – at least verbally (yelled out frequently I know, and I suspect hit on occasion). She cowered quickly when anyone raised their voice, and she did anything in her power to get out of the room. But over time, with a lot of love and confidence building, she rebounded from the fear she experienced and began to respond to affection, as well as not cower when voices were raised in the home. I believe she recovered because of her high intelligence – especially for a dog. How many dogs can learn how to stop, then carry a full plate of food without spilling it, back over to the rug under the sink where it no longer slides across the ceramic floor? She would do the same on the deck outside, picking the plate up from the edge and returning it to a same location in the middle of the deck where she could complete the meal. Just one quick example of a higher-order canine.

Along with her intelligence, she never once displayed anger at any one of my 4 kids or others, attacked another dog, or disobeyed my command. If I called her, she came – no matter what. She retrieved from the woods and any body of water no matter how cold or tired she was (she is a Lab after all), and was not a bit gun-shy. She was loyal to the core, and never moved from the floor by my side throughout my tribulations of back surgery and the aftermath. She ran with me by my side for miles, never with a leash, and kept one eye on me at all times. Her best feature was her protective nature, barking only when necessary, as if knowing that too much barking would annoy me, and too little would have no affect on the perceived threat outside our home. How she could discern the subtle difference I’ll never know, but she struck the balance well, and was the best home-protection dog you could witness. She made her presence known, and never with violence.

I put her to sleep yesterday, after her short and painful battle with cancer. She survived a bout with the Parvovirus a year ago, a virus which killed several dogs in the vicinity. But the cancer was too much for her. Going against every voice inside telling me she can fight on, I made the painful choice to put her to sleep. How much pain must she endure just to satisfy my need to have her around? She would have fought – she was a fighter and extremely strong. But it was my selfishness and fear of loosing her that had to be tamed this time around. And so she’s gone.

Perhaps one day I’ll find another dog with such superior qualities. I doubt it though.

Seems like only yesterday the first banner ran …. wait, it kinda was. Fifteen years ago today, the first banner dropped on HotWired.com – the digital version of Wired magazine.  The first banners received an incredible 78% ctr.  My how things have changed.  The first advertisers – MCI and Volvo.  Today, the industry is estimated at $24 billion – can you say WOW!!  All in fifteen years.  That is incredible.

Check the full story here:  AdAge Happy Birthday

What are you going to be for Halloween?  My GF decided to go as Spectre from the Watchmen.  I on the other hand do what I always do best and wait till the last moment.  The guys in the video above obviously love two things – the first Apple’s iPhone and the second bad ass costumes.

Summary: Reko Rivera (Left) John Savio (Right) – This all started two years ago Reko Rivera and Bobby Hartman created a wearable large iPhone costume with a real 37″ lcd tv. An iPod was attached with a looping video of a real iphones screen in normal use. This time with the help of John Savio and John Matthews the team created yet another amazing rendition of the new iPhone 3GS. Savio loved the original idea but wanted to take it to the next level and make it thinner and actually work with user imput! With some heavy researching and some solid determination Savio finally found a solution. He managed to modify the software on the iPhone to allow a live dual image output to the large 42″ lcd tv while maintaining the image in landscape mode. Reko originally came up with the idea and really pushed to see his vision come to life two years ago. This year John and Reko plan to compete in most of the local and online contest to win back all the money they invested in the costumes. The team has about $2000 into the two costumes and has no regrets!

Damn Burger King, can America get no love!??  This burger looks delicious and would no doubt tear it up after a late night of social gathering.  The only sandwich in the market to challenge this beauty is probably the KFC Double Down.  So while American’s throw their lame parties and write reviews, the Japanese are once again showing the world how you really celebrate a product launch.

I love this vid from FunnyorDie.  This certainly has been a stressful time in our country with the healthcare debate raging out of control at times.  We’ve blogged about it here quite a bit over the last few months. 

This vid, staring Will Ferrell shines a spotlight on the real tragedy – the suffering insurance company executive.  Watch it and the message is clear:  “If my kid falls of his bike and breaks his leg, he should have to pay that money out of pocket! Out of his allowance.  How else is he going to learn?”

I found it very funny as did many others – the vid pulled almost 2.8MM views.  It also stirred up the debate even more with about 10 different “response” videos posted on YouTube.  Now the healthcare debate has really gone viral – every pun intended.

I’ve just reached a new level of lame!  Wow!

Well Windows 7 is here!  Microsoft’s rebuttal to three years of bad reputation and poor performance that Windows Vista has brought since November 8th, 2006.  I must say Windows 7 is great.  That’s right, you heard me – GREAT!  On a fresh hard drive it took me a blazing 25 minutes to install, and three hours later I was up and running with all my applications installed and zero bottlenecks.  Let me just mention “All my Applications” include development tools, office tools, video tools, Creative Suite, Voip software, and virtual machines.  That’s right – in under 3 hours I have my complete workstation together running without any problems – something I haven’t experienced – ever!   Be sure to let us know your experiences.

It has been a tough few years.  No doubt about it.  Unemployment approaching (or above in some areas) 10%, the banking collapse, the housing collapse, the collapse of the American auto industry, people concerned about the stimulus package, a major division in our government, the health care debate – the list is long and heavy. 

Over this same time period, the ad industry has been crushed as well.  Ad budgets are down, friends and colleagues have been laid off and all the major agencies have hiring & salary freezes to protect their bottom line.  While certain areas of television marketing and most of the digital category has sustained (not grown) ad revenues, magazine, newspaper and radio budgets have been severely reduced.  To that point, so many publications have shut down, streeting their staff Pubs such as Blender, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr Magazine, Southern Accents Magazine, Vibe, and the biggies, Modern Bride and Gourmet (both 50+ years old).

Today, things are looking a bit better with the Dow hitting 10,000  last week, unemployment has slowed and the housing market indicators inching up a bit as well.  The government’s cash for clunckers worked well to stimulate the auto industry,  but I think it helped the Japan economy more than the American auto markets.  There are positive signs.

This morning, I was pleased to read about the success our friends at Meredith are having.  During difficult times, smart companies find a way to evolve and push forward.  Meredith has done just that by focusing hard on their relationship with the consumer.  Making a promise to “her” that they will maintain and commit ”no matter what”.  Meredith launched several new initiatives while simultaneously embracing the digital channel to connect with consumer needs.  They launched Meredith 360 – a full-on integrated marketing unit and realigned the corporate sales group under one mission.  They re-branded the entire company:  Meredith National Media Brands and the moves have paid off with the award of Publishing Company of the Year! 

In tough times, winners find a way to create, invent and excel.  Inspiring news indeed!  Read the full story here:  AdAge:  A List Publishing Company of the Year:  Meredith Corp.

BBC’s latest nature documentary entitled Life is hands down the greatest footage ever captured.  Simply UNREAL!  10 episodes will begin airing between now and Christmas.

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