Archive for January, 2007

Man of 10,000 Sound Effects

Sgt. Larvell Jones. Who? Uh…Michael Winslow. Police Academy. The radar technician from Spaceballs. If you still have no idea just go click on the “X” in the top right corner of your browser and never return here. I found this video on YouTube (but I like break.com, so…) while searching for Super Bowl commercials, although I can’t remember what keywords I used. Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.

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WANTED: Pontiacs…And Some Rest

I’ve been so busy this week. I’m catching up to get back on schedule with my 8-to-5 job…er…my 9:30-ish-to-3:00-or-so (I’ll let you guess my profession) job. I’m even surprised I could stay awake long enough to write the Clear Channel post. So, in addition to my career responsibilities and my personal and family responsibilities, I’ve added some more to my plate. Yeah, I know. Woe is me. I’m only mentioning this since I haven’t posted much lately with regard to useful content.

You see…for the 5th year in a row, myself and some cronies of mine have organized an event called the Alamo City Shootout. The Alamo City Shootout began as a regional Pontiac Grand Prix event that included a car show and racing in a 2-day period, not to mention the Thursday night of drinking involved…making it a full 3-day bender. Last year, we added Pontiac GTOs to the mix. This year, we’ve decided to add ALL Pontiacs to the mix (F-bodies, GTOs, Grand Ams, Grand Prixs, classic Ponchos…uh, Soltices…G6s — if it has arrowhead emblem, it is welcome…yes, Fieros too). And High Performance Pontiac is coming to cover our event for the first time. Problem is we’ve only got 20 cars registered. 20. That means I have 5 days to find 30+ more Pontiacs to participate…or we need to cancel the race portion, which is the most fun. So, I’m stressing about that. Each year, we attract 50-60 cars and a couple of hundred spectators, rent out the local drag strip and go at it. That’s not cheap. The vent we were aiming at replacing was called the Pontiac Southern Nationals. Check out my 15 minutes of fame pic (the black one). That event brought 100s of cars. I have 20.

Anyway, I know this is a random post. I don’t even have a “filler” video for you guys. Just thought I’d vent. You guys get to be my “Dear, Diary” recipients today. If you want to see what our event is all about, check out the website.

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Clear Channel $18.7 Million Buyout Deal Finds Opposition

According to an article released tonight on Yahoo! Finance (via the Associated Press), Clear Channel Communications Inc.’s biggest shareholder, Fidelity Management & Research, will cast a vote against the deal at a shareholder meeting set for March 21 according to an anonymous source. The mutual fund company owns 11 percent of outstanding Clear Channel shares.

The offer for the nation’s biggest radio station operator is considered by Fidelity to be “a significant discount to the true value of the company,” said the person familiar with Fidelity’s position.

This and other opposition may come as a result of the increase in Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CCO) over the last 52-week period. The stock price has risen 66.9% to $31.14 (as of 01/29/2007 close). If you aren’t familiar with how a proxy vote works, each publicly-traded company is required by the SEC to disclose its methods and procedures includes instructions on how to contact the Board of Directors; the number of votes FOR an issue that constitutes a majority; and, above all it gives shareholders an opportunity to vote on an issue or issues without having to attend an annual or special meeting. Shareholders receive one vote per share, unless they own shares carrying additional voting provisions.

According to a Press Release issued today on the Clear Channel website, “approval of the merger agreement requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders of the outstanding shares of common stock. The failure to vote or abstaining from voting has the same effect as a vote against the merger agreement. Accordingly, please sign, date and return the enclosed proxy card promptly in the envelope provided to vote FOR the merger! If you hold your shares through a bank, broker, or other custodian, that custodian will not vote your shares without your instruction. Please follow the procedures provided by your custodian to ensure that your vote is represented at the special meeting.

This news has been alluded to sometime throughout the last couple of weeks in the Wall Street Journal. You can read the rest of Michelle Roberts’ Yahoo! Finance article here. And for more information about proxy voting, visit Investopedia.com.

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Stephen Colbert Explains The History Behind The AT&T Name

Remember my post about Cingular changing its name to AT&T, which was announced immediately after it was named the exclusive provider for the Apple iPhone? Well, Steve Colbert does an excellent job of explaining the rich history behind the company name and even gives us a Kramer-like reco at the end. Geez…it’s so hard to promote the ridicule of a company that is based in my fair city, but they asked for it. Steve, take it away!

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Try This Trick At The Bar

In case you and your friends run out of things to do at the bar this weekend, give this a try. And you get an elementary physics lesson as well. BTW, I love British shibboleth. Tenner? Ok…sorry. Just watch…and learn.

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101 Dumbest Moments in Business for 2007

A friend of mine sent me an interesting link today. The title of the article is 101 Dumbest Moments in Business: The year’s biggest boors, buffoons, and blunderers. If you subscribe to Business 2.0 Magazine (I did once upon a time in college; I got a free T-shirt out of the deal), you’ve seen this article before. This is its 7th iteration. The article exploits “bungled layoffs, customer-service snafus, executive follies, and other madness”. Here are a few highlights:

• #2, Northwest Airlines – In July, bankrupt Northwest Airlines begins laying off thousands of ground workers, but not before issuing some of them a handy guide, “101 Ways to Save Money.”
• #6, Steve Wynn – Wynn struck a deal to sell the popular Picasso painting “La Reve” for $139 million. While showing the painting to a group of visitors in his Las Vegas office, a gesture hits the painting with his elbow, causing what’s later reported as “a distinct ripping sound.” Wynn cancels the sale and spends $85,000 to have the painting restored.
• #25, BBC – In May the BBC invites IT expert Guy Kewney to its studios for an interview about Apple’s iTunes Music Store. But when the cameras start rolling, BBC correspondent Karen Bowerman finds herself talking to the wrong Guy – namely, Guy Goma, a computer technician who was waiting in the lobby for a job interview. See the video here.
• #43, Paris Hilton – When responding to her drunk driving arrest in September 2006, the Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s spokeswoman and supreme blowie giver said “I was just really hungry, and I wanted to have an In-N-Out burger.” DOH! That’s hot.
• #45, Cryonics Pioneers – The bodies of Raymond and Monique Martinot, pioneers of the cryonics movement — which seeks to freeze the newly dead in the hopes that future scientists will be able to revive them — thaw after a freezer malfunction. Son Rémy had them cremated.
• #56, AOL – In June, AOL customer Vincent Ferrari calls to cancel his membership. In a call that lasted 21 minutes, “retention consultant” named John doggedly tries to retain Ferrari’s business even though he specifically asks to cancel 18 times. Hear the call here.

See the rest of the list on CNNMoney.com here.

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Introducing iBlinds

Serge Lipski and James Provan provide a satirical look at what might be possible in the future, and ponder how far will the ‘i’ generation take us?….and how much of is actually needed. While I didn’t find it overly hilarious, I just appreciate the amount of time that Serge, the video’s creator, put into this. James provides the original music for the “soundtrack”.

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