While we don’t expect it to be the type of interface that’ll replace touch screens anytime soon, Bandai is certainly forging some interesting new ground with its so-called Tuttuki Bako device, or “poking box,” which actually lets you stick your finger right into the device to control the on-screen finger. That’s apparently done with the aid of some motion sensors which, as you can see in the video after the break, seem to work at least reasonably well. In addition to boasting various “games” like poking a panda, poking a face, or poking a stick figure, the device also doubles a desk clock, and it’s available your choice of red, black or lime green. As you might have guessed, however, it’s not available ’round these parts just yet, though you can apparently pick one up in Japan now for the rough local equivalent of $30.

[Via Today and Tomorrow, thanks Lennart]

Continue reading Tuttuki Bako “poking box” lets you torment low-res creatures

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Tuttuki Bako “poking box” lets you torment low-res creatures originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shared by rodan32

I’m pretty sick of this BS. No more bailouts!!

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (more commonly known as the Wall Street Bailout Plan) was passed under the presumption that $700B was needed to buy up troubled assets such as mortgage backed securities (which is why the program was originally called TARP - for Troubled Asset Relief Program). The program was supposed to work by taking the troubled assets off the market and off bank balance sheets thereby enabling the banks to regain their footing and not be forced to sell these assets at fire sale prices.  The plan was supposed to stop the downward price spiral of mortgage related securities, free up capital for loans, slow foreclosures and stabilize the financial markets.  That was the plan anyway…

But the act placed very few restrictions on how the money could be used. So its not surprising that the use of the funds changed from purchasing troubled assets to direct injection of capital (taxpayer provided) into a handful of financial institutions who promised to make those funds available for loans. It now appears that some of those institutions have chosen to pay bonuses and dividends that they would not otherwise been able to afford without the injection of government funds.

Representative Henry Waxman (D. - California), Chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, sent this letter to Mr. Vikram Pandit, CEO of CitiBank. in which the Chairman observes:

Earlier this month, the Treasury Department announced plans to invest $125 billion of
taxpayer funds in nine major banks, including yours, as an emergency measure to rebuild
depleted capital. According to recent public filings, these nine banks have spent or reserved
$108 billion for employee compensation and bonuses in the first nine months of 2008, nearly the same amount as last year.

Some experts have suggested that a significant percentage of this compensation could
come in year-end bonuses and that the size of the bonuses will be significantly enhanced as a
result of the infusion of taxpayer funds. According to one analyst, “Had it not been for the
government’s help in refinancing their debt they may not have had the cash to pay bonuses.”

Chairman Waxman states that his committee will be investigating these claims and requested information from CitiBank.

For reference, the financial institutions which received TARP cash injections are listed below. The rest of the approximately $350M which has been spent so far under the program was used to shore up AIG (in the form of loans and purchase of troubled assets).

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Nissan

Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2009 Nissan 370Z

Nissan dropped the final cover off its all-new 2009 370Z at the LA Auto Show today. While we’ve been looking at pics of the two-place coupe since last month, today Nissan gave us pricing (base MSRP of $29,930) and a slew of technical info at the roll-out (follow the jump for the details). Regardless of how you feel about the new styling, it will be hard to dismiss the significant improvements Nissan made to the interior of the new car. The materials, fit, and finish are all excellent… especially if you compare the new car to the old side-by-side. Addressing poundage (another significant complaint about the previous-gen 350Z), Nissan put the new car on a serious diet. Paying close attention to the little things, engineers dropped several hundred pounds off the curb weight compared to the outgoing 350Z. The svelte standard model with a 6-speed manual now tips the scales at just 3,232 pounds (the 2008 350Z Enthusiast Model was about 3,350 pounds). More power, a stronger chassis and a much improved interior. Enthusiasts will find a lot to like with the new model.

Continue reading LA 2008: Nissan debuts all-new 370Z [w/VIDEO]

LA 2008: Nissan debuts all-new 370Z [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Photo by Miller

I got a text from Quinn asking me if I would write a little bit about 2006’s final drive. Detailing my thougts and feelings on the final drive. I think for the rest of my life whenever it is the BYU vs Utah week I will always be reminded of that game in 2006. Even as I sit here typing, I have above me on a shelf the ball I took the final knee with. I wanted the ball that Johnny caught, but I don’t know if anybody knows where that ball currently resides. I just held on to the next best thing.

Well where do I begin.

When Dan Coats caught the touchdown on the goal line off of the play action I really thought that was the go ahead TD that would seal the game. Although Utah had a good amount of time left on the clock with the ball in their hands I believed our defense would hold the Utah offense and we would be back out on the field to run the clock out.

Yet, because of past games in my career I hesitated for a moment because there are so many crummy variables that every game is filled with. I knew that the offense needed to keep their heads in the game. Understand that our last TD wasn’t close to being the final play of the game. If we had to go out there and get a first down to seal the game or put another drive together we needed to be ready. I remember I was walking the sideline and I found Jake Kuresa and told him that we needed to make sure everyone was mentally prepared for whatever could happen.

After refocusing the offense I turned my attention to the defense.

There was a play where Aaron Wagner almost intercepted a pass to end it. I remember it played out in slow motion to my eyes because I knew that could have sealed the deal. When it wasn’t caught I had a feeling that Utah kind of got a second life. At that point I knew the offense was going to need to be ready. When Utah started getting some plays in big chunks my first thought was, “you’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way it can end like this.” We had been in games over those last few years that had ended so crazy and somehow we ended up losing. To that point there had only been a few games where we had come from behind to win, but for many of us we remembered games like Stanford in 03, Boise St., UNLV and NM in 04, TCU, Utah and Cal in 05, and Arizona and BC in 06. Games where we fought so hard to get right there to win and in some cases even scored what we thought was the game winning score, but somehow still fell short.

When they continued to move the field I went back to the offense and said it looked like we are going to have to get ready to go into our two-minute offense and we would probably need to score. The best thing about that moment was nobody looked at me like “you think so” or “really”, they just nodded and said OK.

Moments later Utah hit that screen play for the TD and the stadium erupted. Looking back I’m glad that we got together as an offense before they scored because in our minds we were already prepared for what we needed to do. When Utah scored there was no quick rally needed. From that point until we took the field no words where needed, we were simply focused on the task at hand. Each person in their own way had already mentally prepared themselves for the final drive.

The last Thought I had was, ” I’m not going home with the game ending like this.”

Before games Matt Allen and I used to joke around and say “let’s just go out there, win this one, go home happy and kiss our wives.” At that point in the game , for whatever reason, that phrase was also what was being repeated in my head. I wanted to make sure I went home with the game ending with us on top. So after Curtis Brown returned the kick Coach Anae got the offense together on the side and basically said. “it was a two minute situation and we needed a touchdown to win.” I can remember glancing at the clock knowing we had over a minute and just running through all our two minute rules. No sacks, if you need to use a time out, get out of bounds to stop the clock, when do we take time outs and when do we want to spike it, than we took the field.

There are certain plays in that drive that stick out to me as key plays.

First was the catch by Bryce Mahuika. Bryce did a great job of avoiding a tackler and picking up an extra 5 yards and in 2 minute offense, every yard is crucial. There was also a play where I checked down to CB and he made a few guys miss to get out of bounds. That “fight” in Curtis to shed those tacklers is what gave us the few extra seconds we needed at the end.

On the fourth down to Johnny I could tell that the Utah student section had come down on the field thinking that they were going to rush the field when the play ended. I just kept my mind on my reads and knew if they rushed two or three men I wouldn’t have to force anything and I would be able to move defenders with my eyes and feet and make a play to keep the drive going.

As it turned out they only rush a three, so I had the time to move defenders and it opened up Johnny in the middle for the fourth down conversion.

The big play to McKay Jacobsen was really what set us up for the final completion. When we lined up for that play I knew I would have to squeeze the ball in a tight window, but if I could hold the nickel defender  with my eyes, using Johnny to pull him towards the middle, McKay could push the defense vertical, break his route of sharpe and we would be able to pick up the yardage we needed.

McKay did a great job of feeling the hole and settling and the play worked, just as I had imagined.

The next play I took a shot to Johnny on a fade, because Johnny had man to man coverage. He had been winning all night and they left him matched up on another defender besides Weddle. I thought it would be a sure thing. The defender made a great play so we were down to 3 seconds and the last play.

We called a timeout and went to the sideline to discuss what we wanted to do. When they had played man-to-man the play before Zac Collie and been open in the back of the end zone. We thought if they went with the same coverage Zac could get open again for the score. If Zac wasn’t open, or they went to a different coverage we would just read out the three receiver side and find the open man.

 When we took the field CB was the first to ask me what I wanted him to do. I just said if I don’t get the ball off quick just try to get open somewhere in the end zone. When we got closer to the line Johnny asked the same thing, I told him to “run a fade again, but if the fade isn’t there find a way to get open when I’m scrambling.”

 When I got to the line I surveyed the defense and recognized that there was no way they could play man coverage in their presnap alignments. I knew they were going to drop 9 or 10 into coverage.

That is when my thoughts took me back to the quarterback meeting room in November of 2005. I know all of those close losses -which I mentioned earlier- were tough for a lot of BYU fans, but I also know that there’s no way anyone had a harder time swallowing them than I did.

 I hated losing! I couldn’t take another lose… and I wouldn’t.

After the 05 loss to Utah I decided I would sit down at the computer in the QB room with a pad of paper and the game film and make a list of all the things I could have done differently to insure our team wins that game in overtime. Especially on the last play. I remember closing my eyes with my hands on the remote thinking of every possible scenario, decision, even steps that I could have made to win that game.

I don’t even remember how long I was in that room but when I walked out with a sheet full of ways to win. I felt that if I was presented with a similar scenario, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

As I stood on the 15 yard line and glanced up at the clock, then back down to the defense and my teammates, I took a deep breath and had a feeling like I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I knew from their alignment they were only going to rush a couple -it was just like the year before. I knew I would just buy as much time as I could with my feet and throw the ball only when I found an open guy.

When I was shuffling left pointing, I knew I would eventually find an open receiver because they were working so hard to get open. My receivers where running all over and the Utah defenders where stationary, I knew we had them.

After the snap when Johnny and Zac were covered, it turned into a school yard play. Where you tell everyone to “get open and I’ll find you”.

When they brought the LB to put more pressure it forced me right and I felt everyone move right. I knew I was going to need to locate the initial rusher to determine how much time I was going to have before I needed to throw it.

It was than that I saw this one white jersey cutting through the flow. I knew if he could get through the clutter he would be open. I took a few more steps to my rigth, as I saw him clear the last defender, I let it loose.

As I jumped to throw it I knew it was going to be a touchdown. When I was on my back looking through my legs I saw Johnny go to his knees -and for a second I thought, what if the throw wasn’t long enough and he’s on his knees out of the endzone!!

But when there was a huge roar and I saw Johnny get up to he’s feet in celebration I knew we had done it. I ran straight to my line and jumped up on Travis Bright. It was pandemonium. BYU fans, reporters, cameras were all in the mix, I was wondering how so many BYU fans got the field so quickly?

There was a moment during that celebration where I was hoisted on my teammates shoulders and I got to hold my helmet up towards our fans -kind of sounds like that part from Nacho Libre when he says ” do you remember when I  ripped my blouse. That’s a moment I will always remember because of the effort that went into the performance. 

I grew up on an old tape called “Greatest Moments In BYU Football History”. I would gather the neighborhood kids and have them watch the beginning of the tape to fire them up before we played pick up games in the street in front of my house.  I actually brought that tape into the locker room at BYU and we would watch it on the TV’s.

Guys laughed because I knew the narrator’s part word for word. BYU’s tradition meant so much to me and at that moment when I held up my helmet and was on my teammates shoulders I felt lucky to be apart of another great BYU moment.

I get asked all the time about that Utah game and when did I see Johnny and how did it feel. That one play was definitely a great moment and one I will always remember, but to be honest it was a culmination of many things, of years of work, that made that game and that play so special to me. In that game there was a group of guys on our team, on both sides of the ball that had been through so much adversity. Through all the adversity we never lost the belief that we could do it. The road to get to that opportunity was a difficult road to travel. The thing that made it so special was that everyone was prepared. Everyone wanted it so bad because we wanted to overcome the hardships that we had been through and just go out there and win it…and we did!

 On a side note:

I also get asked what Weddle and I were talking about when we were walking down the field together before I took the knee to end the game. Earlier that year, during the summer, a couple of my buddies and I were fishing at Fish Creek down by Scofield Reservoir. One of my friends was also friends with Weddle and had told Eric that he was going fishing with me that weekend. I guess Eric likes to fish also and wanted to come. I told my friend to tell him No… that I couldn’t fish with him until after the season, I wasn’t going to fish with a Ute that I was going to be playing later that year.

As Eric and I were walking towards the ball we were joking about our future fishing expedition to Scofield Reservoir and the fish we would catch.

Like all of you I hope BYU can get it done this weekend. I believe they will and I think they believe they will. Sounds to me like this one could be. . .another great moment in BYU football history!

Go Courgars.

I've just arrived in Baghdad and am waiting in the Green Zone for a flight to my unit elsewhere in the city.

Traveling to and around Iraq is a horrendous pain in the ass, but flying over Baghdad in a Blackhawk helicopter is always a treat. Below are some photos from my flight in today.

Bicycle + Guitar Hero = Bike Hero. This is so mesmerizing, I found myself leaning into the curves. Props for the work that went into planning and executing this stunt. The music is Prisoner of Society by The Living End.

Leave a comment on this story.

This is Tip #12 of the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge.

Today’s tip is to save money on eating out using services that offer incredibly steep discounts. I eat out a lot, so this one is saving me tons of money.

You can get big discounts on eating out if you plan ahead and are willing to use coupons at a restaurant. If you live in a city and restaurants tend to be more expensive, saving 10% or 25% or 50% per meal — even once a week — can add up quickly. Here are the tips I’ve started using for a huge drop in my monthly spending on eating out.

1. Restaurant.com is offering 80% (!!) off its gift certificates. Note: This expires on 11/20/08.

• Get $25 Restaurant.com gift certificates for $2 (no joke)
• Get a 12-month Dinner of the Month Club membership for $24

Remember, those deals expire in 2 days today. Use code “SURPRISE” to get the discounts.

2. The 2009 Entertainment Book
Remember these from elementary school? They used to cost $40 and seemed unreasonably expensive…until I started having to buy my own food. I bought a copy of this a couple days ago after checking out the site to make sure their coupons were good for my area. I’m forcing myself to use at least two coupons per month — so if I’m planning to grab dinner with someone, I’ll consciously grab a coupon from this book (which I’m going to keep on my desk) and try to pick a restaurant that applies. Note: This works if you already eat out, but if you buy the book and then force yourself to use it — spending more than you normally would have — that’s probably not the best way to save money. Duh. These are $25, so check the coupons to see what it will take for you to save money.

I ordered mine a couple days ago.

Check out the Entertainment book site.
3. Along the lines of involving your friends in the 30 Day Challenge, here’s a tip I’m using to save money on eating out. The other day, one of my friends was talking about she loves to cook, but hates cleaning up. My eyes lit up because I don’t mind washing dishes, but I’m horrible at cooking. Could there be a win-win situation here?

Everybody wins: We all get to hang out, eat food instead of letting it go rotten, and my friend doesn’t have to worry about cleaning up. If each meal saves a $20 dinner out and you do that three times/month, that’s $60/month.

There are also a bunch of other coupon / eating services out there, so if you have suggestions, leave them in the comments. It depends how much you eat out, but to share my friends’ biggest expense, it’s eating out by far, so this tip alone will save most of them over $1,000 over the next year. If you eat out a lot, it’s even more.

Total saved: $50 to $3,000

Note: If you were subscribed to this list, you just got a special bonus tip from me about saving more money on eating out.

* * *

Last thing to do
1. Check out the other tips in the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge
2. Leave a comment on this post describing how much you’re saving with this tip and any unusual techniques you use to make this tip work.
3. Want to submit your own savings tip? Submit a money tip here. If I use your tip, I’ll send you something cool.

Shared by rodan32

Please buy me one. And a nice garage to put it in.

Filed under: LA Auto Show, Economy, Japan, Hatchbacks, Nissan

Here it is. It’s “tomorrow” in Japan, and Nissan has unleashed the motherlode of new Nissan Cube photos — including three showing the US-Spec version that’ll be rolled out in L.A. tomorrow. There’s no accompanying press release at the moment, but the Japanese media is running their stories as we speak. JDM Cubes are equipped with a 107 hp/109 lb-ft 1.5L four mated to a CVT. Front- and four-wheel drive versions are available. We’ll get a different engine with more power that should deliver fuel economy in the Versa neighborhood. More on that tomorrow from our team in L.A.

The three shots of the U.S.-market bodywork show, as expected, the reverse of the JDM car. Kudos to Nissan for doing a second body for left-hand drive markets. Inside, the simple appointments of the current Cube are updated with better shapes and, hopefully, a bigger, more upscale mix of materials. The bench seat returns in the JDM car, and there’s no reason to believe we won’t see it here as well. A water-droplet theme introduced in that silly teaser video we showed you last week is present in the cupholders and also available as ceiling trim inside the passenger compartment. Check out the galleries below for photos of just about everything, including the Japan-specific Lifecare (disabled access) and Autech Rider versions.

Come back tomorrow, when the gang in L.A. will deliver live coverage of the U.S. car’s debut. We liked the JDM version, and we’re really looking forward to trying out the Cube again, now that it’s been engineered for our market’s needs.

[Source: Nissan] Officially, Official: The new Nissan Cube! (JDM, with US tease) originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Euro, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volkswagen

AutoCar readers have voted on the year’s best car commercial, and unsurprisingly, it’s not from America. Neither is AutoCar, sure, but that still doesn’t quite explain why we get GM’s Our Country ads and the rest of you get ninja kittens and singing dogs. We’re not even sure how singing dogs sell cars - which might be why we don’t get them - but they’re a lot more fun. The dog can try to explain himself in this year’s winning video after the jump.

[Source: Automoto Portal]

Continue reading VIDEO: AutoCar Ad of the Year - Volkswagen’s Singing Dog

VIDEO: AutoCar Ad of the Year - Volkswagen’s Singing Dog originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Shared by rodan32

. . .what? ?

Filed under: Trends, Hybrids/Alternative, Sports/GTs, Green, Videos, Dodge

A few days ago we showed you some pics of the Dodge EV concept at a local car show in Southern California. It appears that the Dodge-branded, battery-powered Lotus Europa made a few other stops in the area as well, one of which was at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Alongside the EV, the Dodge boys were displaying, among other things, a Challenger SRT-8. Well, one thing led to another and before long a battle between ’60s retro muscle and modern electric power was underway. Lucky for us, someone was there with a video camera to capture the fraternal pissing match. This impromptu drag race doesn’t give us any clear indication of times, but you can definitely see the EV’s advantage of light weight and instant-on torque from a stop. The concept electric vehicle jumps ahead at the start, but the Challenger hangs on. Just when the big HEMI seems to be getting a full head of steam, however, they run out of space. We’ve embedded the video for you after jump. Check it out and let us know how you think this battle would play out on a real 1/4 mile drag strip.

[Source: ALLPAR]

Continue reading VIDEO: Dodge EV vs. Dodge Challenger

VIDEO: Dodge EV vs. Dodge Challenger originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continuing with our cat theme of the week. Have a cat and a Roomba robot vacuum you can have hours of fun.

More videos after the jump.

Continue reading Roomba Cats…

This is tip #11 of the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge.

Today’s tip is to never pay retail prices for clothes again using some sites you’ve heard of, and a bunch of sites I bet you haven’t.

How much do you spend per year on clothes? Think carefully about that question — if you buy a $300 coat, for example, you’re spending a minimum of $25/month on clothes. I don’t even buy clothes that often and I easily spent over $1,000 on clothes last year.

Now, if you’re a mom or on a strict budget, saving money on clothes is nothing new: You’ve already been checking price tags carefully. But many of my friends buy what they want, when they want it. While these tips are applicable to everyone, they get the most mileage if you’re buying expensive clothes. What you’ll see below is that you can actually get same clothes you buy at Macy’s — or better clothes — for a lower price.

Let’s watch Paul Singh from Results Junkies talk about how he gets custom-made shirts (which would normally cost $200+) for $30:

(He referred to CTshirts.com in the video. Sign up for their free newsletter, then wait a couple weeks until they email you about their monthly clearance specials.)

There are also lots of other places where you can save money on clothes.

Retail stores: Because I’m Indian, I love Ross and TJ Maxx. I just bought a Ralph Lauren coat at 50% off the other day. Even Target can have cool clothes. The funny thing is, as young people, we think shopping there is “weird” because, let’s face it, it’s mostly moms who shop there, and who wants to be caught buying a pair of pants at Target? This actually mirrors personal finance: Spend money on the things you love, but cut costs mercilessly on the things you don’t care about. For example, if you love a blazer at Macy’s, save up for it and buy it guilt-free…but cut costs mercilessly on pants if you don’t really care what they look like. You have to prioritize. Plus, for people who think it’s “weird” to shop at TJ Maxx: I can get over that weirdness when I’m saving $200 on clothes each time I go in there.

Buying abroad: Recently, I detailed how I saved $700 buy buying a suit and eyeglasses in India. Good news: Instead of walking the streets of Rajouri Garden in Delhi, you can do all of those things from your computer. Zenni Optical offers eyeglasses at $25 (and they’re not the only one — search for “cheap eyeglasses“). You can get custom suits made for $200, and a local tailor in your neighborhood will make the final adjustments (search “cheap custom suits“).

Buy clothes online: I know, I know, people have been telling me to buy clothes online for years, but I always have this nagging feeling that things will never fit. But when I saw the prices, I was saving 75% off buying it at stores — making it worth the experimentation. Plus, every retailer understands your hesitation to buy clothes online, so they make it insanely easy to return clothes. I like eBay and Overstock.com. Also try Shop It To Me, which lets you enter your size/style and you’ll get targeted emails about exactly the clothes you’re looking for. Frankly, I’d recommend trying buying clothes online once. Pick a brand whose size you know, and since returns are free, it’s literally no money out of your pocket if you don’t like it. Note: I have invites available for the invite-only site Gilt.com, which gives you access to high-end retailers (John Varvatos, Ted Baker, Chip & Pepper, etc) for steep discounts (i.e., hundreds of dollars off). If you want in, click here for an invite.

Buying something expensive? Use the Savings Goal strategy. Finally, there’s one bonus tip for buying something nice: If I see an expensive coat or jacket I want, I can either drop the cash right then, or go home, decide if I really want it, and set up a savings plan. You can probably guess what I do most of the time. Here’s how:

Remember how I wrote about my sub-savings accounts?

Let’s say I want to buy a blazer that costs $200. I set up a “Clothing” sub-savings account and set up an automatic transfer of $100 each month into it and set up a calendar reminder to let me know when I’ve saved $200. This does two things: First, it forces me to save for any large purchase. Second, by the time the second month comes around, I sometimes realize I didn’t really need that thing anyway. You can use the Savings Goal strategy for any large purchase. Here’s the ING account I use.

Be careful about buying clothes. People love to rationalize that they’re “investing” in their clothes for the long term, which is a complete lie because they keep buying stuff every year. Only buy something new when you get rid of something old. Pay for quality, but hold it (and wear it) for a long time. Cut costs on stuff that nobody sees, like your headbands or socks. And ask yourself if dressing in the newest Kenneth Cole shirt or Prada bag really gets you to your goals.

Total saved: $50 to $500

* * *

Last thing to do
1. Leave a comment on this post describing how much you’re saving with this tip and any unusual techniques you use to make this tip work.
2. Want to submit your own savings tip? Submit a money tip here. If I use your tip, I’ll send you something cool.

Shared by rodan32

Oh boy. . .

We look forward to hearing success stories about how you’ve implemented Google Analytics Tracking For Adobe Flash!

Posted by Nick Mihailovski, Analytics Specialist

You hear yourself saying:

“First, let me apologize for the lighting. We tried very hard to make the screen brighter, but we failed. Before I start, I want to thank seventeen people by name… Now, on this third slide, we see the dynamic effects of our incendiary marketing strategy… Just a few more minutes here… I’m sorry, I don’t know why the web connection isn’t working quite right… For those of you that remember my talk two years ago… As I was saying to Sir Reginald…”

What the audience hears:

“Blah, blah, blah… interesting tidbit… blah, blah, blah… exciting insight… blah, blah, blah, etc.”

My suggestion is that you eliminate all the blahs, eliminate the apologies, eliminate the thank you’s, eliminate everything except two interesting tidbits and all the exciting insights.

No audience member, in the history of presentations (written or live) has ever said, “it was exciting, useful and insightful but far too short.”

I think I wasted money buying a clarinet for my daughter’s music lessons. (Thanks, Dave!)