Dealing with a similar, though perhaps not weather related, fatal stage collapse in Israel last month, authorities moved swiftly to arrest four technicians involved with the set up and charge them with negligence.

While the way this incident was handled in Israel may have been driven by the fact that the person killed was a Israeli military officer, it still points to the idea that the only way to really make any progress on this front is hold individuals accountable for their involvement in the disaster.

While the Indiana incident has led to the creation of a safety alliance and generated a report pointing to something called “ambiguity of authority” as being responsible for the deaths and injuries suffered,  the response in Israel has been to hold those who did the work accountable and to address their alleged negligence as a criminal act.

While the U.S. staging industry tries to “meet” itself into a safer way to do business, Israel has chosen to insure that those who are not qualified or not careful will simply not be able to keep their jobs (or perhaps, their freedom).

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

The blog was a Clive Young interview with John Cooper, the front-of-house sound person for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

I was lucky enough to see one of their shows on the Wrecking Ball tour, last month, and it was very informative to get some insight into the person twisting the knobs.

When asked what it takes to make the leap from mixing bands in clubs to working for one of the biggest artists on the planet, Cooper’s response was both insightful and refreshing.  Instead of talking about the latest technology and how to network, Cooper’s advice was “listen to music“.  He pointed out that most musicians have little interest in the sort of “black box” immersion that most sound techs embrace. In order to gain the confidence of performers (read: employers) you need to be able to discuss music with them.

How you hear music and how you make it.  Not how you make it louder.

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What I had not really thought about, until now, is that there is potential for uplink speeds at the same sort of rate.  Most wireless network users stick almost exclusively to downloads, beyond sending a simple email or calling up a web page.

It is the uplink speed that is now revolutionizing electronic news gathering.  Using the commonly available 4G wireless networks, it is now possible for a reporter or camera man to upload high definition video in real time using nothing more cumbersome than a cell phone.

Combine that with a portable HD video camera and a wireless mic, and you have the ability to get real time video on the air from anyplace where there is a 4G cellular signal.  It can actually replace a satellite uplink truck!

Since the signal path is local (phone to tower to network) there is less latency (delay) than you experience with a satellite uplink, where the signal travels for hundreds of miles.  Power consumption is minimal and everything a reporter needs in the field can fit into a small backpack.

Satellite uplink trucks may well be the next victim of the internet.

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He, as we are, was aware of the uniqueness of the product line we offer, and liked the idea that he received his orders from us within one day, without having to pay for expedited shipping.  I appreciate his taking the time to try to shepherd us through the process.

Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to keep him as a customer.  Let me tell you why.

After two days of dealing with voice mail and endless phone chain commands, I was finally able to speak to a human being with the Virginia department who handles this process.  After considerable digging, she told me that we had actually applied to this certification program back in November of 2011 and that the application had been received but could not be processed because it did not have the necessary certification documents.  No one at the  Department of Minority Business Enterprise had ever bothered to follow up.

I was directed to a web site where I could get instructions on how to submit the required documentation.  Here’s what they needed in order for our former customer to buy a case of gaffers tape:

Copy of our federal tax return

Copy of our payroll records

Copy of a government issued photo ID of the company owner

We’ve never provided any sort of information like that in order to set up a customer account, and we don’t plan to do it now.

In theory, I applaud the idea of trying to level the playing field to give minority and small businesses a chance to get off the ground. The practice, however,  as defined by the state of Virginia will never work.  To deny your own purchasers the opportunity to buy from someone that you have clearly indicated that you would like to continue a relationship with, because they first have to pass through some “eye of the needle” that no one really understands, is simply shooting yourself in the foot.

I’m sorry that we may lose some sales to government customers in Virginia, but we will gladly give up this opportunity in order continue to be defined by the quality of service that we have provided for the last 27 years.  That should be enough!

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.

Unfortunately, their good news is not the focus of this post.  Reading about their efforts prompted me to revisit the efforts of Duracell (the maker of the Procell batteries we sell) in joining the recycling movement.

Much to my surprise, when I “Googled”  the term “recycle duracell batteries” our battery disposal tips page at buybattery.com came up near the top of page one in the search results.

Now, normally I am very happy to see any of our web pages achieve page one results, but not this time.  If a company as small as ours get these sorts of search results with nothing but a few recycling tips, then efforts to get Duracell products out of the waste stream have a long way to go.

Duracell’s “disposal” tips (the search result directly above ours) indicates that it is safe to dispose of alkaline batteries with regular household trash.  This really misses the point.  Recycling is not about safety (even toxic material can be recycled!).  It is about reducing the amount of material in the waste stream headed for the landfill.

As a distributor of Duracell products, we stand ready to work with them in an effort to end the disposal of their products with regular trash.

It is time for them to step up and take the lead.

We encourage recycling and recycle batteries ourselves, but we will never have the potential to generate any sort of a campaign on a national level.

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We were talking about in-ear-monitors, those little ear pieces that you see lots of performers wearing.  In may cases, they have completely replaced the bulky and loud floor monitors that have been in use for many years to help musicians hear themselves and each other.

My friend was ordering batteries for his company’s in ear monitoring systems (iem’s) and I told him that I was surprised that they owned any, since I had been under the impression that most musicians carried their own systems.

He told me that performers still get their own custom molded ear pieces, but that fewer and fewer of them were carrying complete systems.  Instead, they were choosing to have the sound companies provide most of the hardware.

One of the reasons that pro audio has become such a big business is because musicians were simply never very good at dealing with the technical side of the performance.  They have a completely different set of skills.

I migrated from performing to being a sound person because I was the only one in the band who was interested in setting up speaker arrays, wiring stages and driving trucks. Being “first in and last out” is not  high on the list of most performers priorities.

This attitude seemed to have extended itself into the area of  personal in ear monitoring.  My friend shared with me how often musicians were showing up with broken monitoring equipment, mismatched components and systems that they did not understand how to operate.  It finally dawned on him that the only way to solve the problem was to invest on some systems himself and make them available to touring performers.

Problem solved and a new revenue stream created.

As long as concert performers require complicated technical systems to communicate with their audiences, the place of the pro audio company is safe.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

The North Carolina regional competition was held in Raleigh, NC during the first weekend of April.  I attended on the last day of the event and I still can’t believe what I saw.  The work these kids did was outstanding, and USFirst can count on me as an ambassador of this great program with anyone who is willing to listen.

That is how the man who began this great organization has turned it into a national powerhouse.  Dean Kamen, best known as the inventor of the Segueway scooter, began USFirst twenty years ago because he understood the value of science education.  He also understood that if you build a great organization with a firm foundation, others will do your promoting-your “shouting”- for you.

Now luminaries from science, politics, entertainment, government and journalism are all lining up to sing the praises for USFirst.  USFirst reports in their current newsletter that 60% of Fortune 500 companies sponsor local teams.

We congratulate USFirst on their great accomplishment, thank them for being a wonderful customer, and wish them well on their upcoming national championships in St. Louis, MO at the end of April.

Click here to see some pictures from the North Carolina regional competition.

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While it turns out that what the audience saw was just some clever computer generated editing and projection by a company called Digital Domain.  The producers and the event promoters attempted to convince the audience that Tupac’s appearance was a hologram, but in reality, it was just a very clever projection produced by a company called AV Concepts.

This virtual performance was the latest take on 35 mm film presentations like Natalie Cole’s live film duet with her father Nat on her version of the hit song “Unforgettable” back in the 1990′s.

After seeing how much attention has been devoted to this re-purposing of a 19th century magicians trick, it is probably time to consider whether a concert going audience would actually accept a “virtual” performance and pay for it.

Since the Coachella show was such a hit, there is not talk about an arena tour that would feature Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog in a full blown concert with a virtual Tupac.

Read more about how this show was put together by clicking here.

____________________

Quick update-Two morons explain how this was done.  Skip  to 3:30 to bypass the mindless discussion.

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Located in North Hollywood, CA, since 2008 Ecoset has operated a warehouse where production supplies can be recycled.

Items such as set pieces,  plastic water bottles, office supplies, gels, electronic waste and construction materials can be both recycled and re-purposed in order to keep them out of the waste stream.  These services are available during preparation, actual production shooting and wrapping up after a production is finished.

Non-profits have access to reusable items like construction materials and non-reusable things like food waste and electronics can be recycled rather than being sent to the landfill.

You can see some testimonial videos by clicking here.

Click here to learn more about their new warehouse.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

When you are producing concerts and other outdoor events you find yourself either using a noisy and smoky construction generator, a too small extension cord run from the nearest building, or waiting forever for an electrician to install a temporary (and very expensive)service panel.  None are a good solution.

Kleege Industries, a long time player in mobile staging, has created a new and potentially revolutionary solution to this problem with their Helios 250 mobile stage.

This 32′x24′ mobile stage and load bearing roof is equipped with a 5000 watt solar array that generates enough power to operate a full size concert sound system.

It was tested extensively on last year’s Country Throwdown Tour with Willie Nelson, and according to a Kleege press release, it performed flawlessly.  It is also equipped with a backup biodiesel generator, but the genset was not needed a single time.

The Helios 250 is a collaboration with Sustainable Waves, a leader in the field of alternative energies.  They adapted their solar array technology to Kleege’s mobile stage to create a staging solution that works for a show anywhere the sun shines.  Onboard battery storage even allows the show to continue after dark.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

Today I came across what might be the most unusual use for gaffers tape that I have seen in 20+ years of selling the stuff.

Font designer Jason Gregory of GBH, working with Puma, the show and sportswear manufacturer, used gaffers tape to design a new typeface for Puma’s “Make Football Anywhere” campaign.  In this case we’re talking the English version of football, soccer.

The designers at GBH actually folded pieces of gaffers tape into different shapes to create the individual letters.  When they were finished, the digitized images of the folded tape to make the font.

Not only did they create something that was eye catching, the new font also reads well and stands out on the football field when used on players uniforms.  Click here to see examples of Puma’s “gaffer” font.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

Future mics need to be more digital and more controllable.

The article goes on to point out the obvious, that sound is inherently analog, involving the moving of air and that there is no electrical signal to digitize until the physical energy of moving air is converted into an electric current.

While there are seemingly unlimited opportunities to digitally manage and manipulate sound after it has been converted to electricity, the beginning of this signal chain is going to stay analog until it is possible to capture the electrical impulses in our brains that turn into sound before any air is actually moved.

Consequently, it does not seem possible for “future mics to be more digital“, since whatever a device may do to sound after it is digitized, that device is not a microphone, no matter what you may call it.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cords and OnStage Stand mic stands. Yes, we do sell analog microphones.

Unfortunately, the finding by the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration to levy $80,800.00 in fines did nothing to improve concert performers’ and audience members’ safety.  It just shifted the focus away from where it needs to be.

Particularly surprising was OSHA’s inclusion of the local stagehands union (IATSE) on the list of those that were fined.

I was reminded of a time when I was the vice-president of our stagehands local (also IATSE) when a Pink Floyd concert was held at our local arena.  It was a sort of “greatest stunts” tour, and it included the flying of a giant pig over the audience’s head.

At the time I thought little of it, as the riggers on the tour were clearly competent, and they took lots of time to test the installation and make sure that it was safe for everyone in the building.

Had I known that I was potentially putting the financial well being of our union in jeopardy, we might have been forced to deal with the flying pig in a very different way.

Stagehands, who are hired by the local promoter or venue to assist the performer’s touring crew, are in no position to make the final determination on whether the installation is safe.  Even if engineering diagrams and stress and load bearing engineering specs were made available to us, we were not qualified to analyze them.  That’s like requiring the popcorn vendor to certify that the popcorn was packaged in a sanitary manner.  Their job is to sell the popcorn.

In the case of the Indianapolis stage collapes, Local 30 of the IATSE was fined $11,500.00 for four violations related to securing the roof.

I don’t mean to make light of any safety concern, but if a stagehands local is going to be ultimately responsible for an equipment package that they are exposed to for a single day, then it could bring the concert industry to its knees.

The only solution here is for the structures that are used for outdoor events to be certified by the manufacturers and for the users (promoters) of these structures to honor the limitations that the certification mandates.  No “after the fact” fine levied on somebody why was just doing their job is going to change anything.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.

Granelli Audio Labs has finally found a way to improve, or at least change, this classic microphone without modifying its sound.

They’ve taken a real (not replica) SM57 and bent it at a 90 degree angle so that it takes up less space on the drum riser or in the studio.The maker of this unique product claims that the sound of the mic is unchanged and that it maintains identical performance specifications to the original.  Unfortunately, the modified unit costs roughly double what you will pay for an SM57 off the shelf.

If you’d rather try bending one yourself, we’ve got ‘em here.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.  We’ve got wired and wireless mics at buymic.com.

I had resisted using the online versions of some of these journals because they were cumbersome and did not lend themselves to being used in the way I normally like to read.

Recent upgrades in the subscription version of  Mix Magazine (Mix Online) have made me rethink how good digital magazines can be.  This journal for audio professionals has a cover price of $2.95 for the printed version, but is available free to those in the trade.

The  internet subscription version of Mix is different from their web site, Mixonline.com, and you must subscribe in order to access the full blown digital journal.  It’s still free, but instead of simply going to the Mix site, you access the online journal through a special url that arrives through email.

This adaptation is fully searchable, has an active table of contents, and can be scrolled page-by-page the same way you would read the printed verson.

It even has a handy “help” feature that lets you set up the pages in the manner that works best for your reading style.

Mix is a big magazine with lots of good original content, and while it is advertiser supported, their editorial policy appears to be one that does not unfairly favor the companies whose ads appear along with well generated content.

It even has a zoom feature that keeps from from having to reach for my glasses.

If you want to take a look before you  subscribe, just click here.

Goodbuyguys.com is a collection of web sites (including buytape.com, buybattery.com,buymicstand.com, buyextensioncord.com, buyaflashlight.com and buywireties.com) designed to deliver a great selection of production supplies.

The end of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last night brought another revelation regarding where the television is headed.  Here’s one more reason to not count on the future of tv manufacturers.

I signed up for the NCAA  “March Madness” computer app (the first smart phone app I have ever bought) so that I could watch UNC play their first round game from my office, where I have no television.  I ended up watching another one of their games online in the round of 16 as well, since CBS opted to not broadcast it.  The app was not particularly well designed, but it was better than the radio, and I made it through the game.

Last night I was doing some work at home at my desk when I realized that the championship game was about to start.  Even though there is a big screen high def television in the same room as my desk, I found myself logging on to my NCAA “March Madness” account and watching the game (buffering, countless ads, jerkiness and all) rather than turning on the televison, because I needed to continue working.

It seems that convenience and content trumped high quality.  I didn’t even realize what I had done until the game was over.

As more and more content becomes available online, whether free or paid, the use of a dedicated device that only does one thing, like a television, seems doomed, regardless of the quality of the viewing experience.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Permacel gaffers tape,Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB  extension cordsand OnStage Stand mic stands. Need an extension cord for your obsolete big screen tv?  We got ‘em!

The buyers guide of Front of House magazine for February 2012 features digital audio snakes.  These replace the standard audio mic snakes (multiple mic lines bundled into a single jacket) that have been the pro audio standard for ages.

The standard mic “snake” or multi-cable almost always uses the XLR standard connector at both the female (microphone) and male (mixer) end of the cable.  This has been in use for decades.  Consequently almost every manufacturers’ microphones will work with almost every cable makers cables and will interface with just about every mixer manufacturer’s products.

The digital version of the mic snake is designed to take an analog signal generated by the microphone, convert it to digital data, transmit it to the mixer position and then either plug directly into the mixer or turn the signal back into analog audio so that it can be introduced to the mixer as a re-converted analog signal.

I counted no fewer than 12 different digital protocols in use in the buyers guide, which means that one company’s  equipment will not work with another’s.

While it is great to have device that reduces the amount of wire and the associated weight and bulk, having a system that will work only with itself means that sharing, cross renting, short term supplements (all practices that has helped lots of small companies grow and larger ones exploit more opportunities) is no longer an option.  Your stuff is not going to work with their stuff.

Until the pro audio industry adopts a standard for the transmission of digital audio like the xlr connector was adopted for analog audio in live sound systems, this is really going to be a problem.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB extensioncordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.

Now the offer is set to end.  The last day for a qualifying purchase is March 31.

This offer is part of a larger campaign that Duracell has developed to promote its sponsorship of the 2012 Olympic games in London this summer.

Their latest effort, “Rely On Copper To Go For The Gold” will feature athletes in training for the London games.  The elite athletes will share their personal stories and appear in video and print ads that let the world know what it takes to make the Olympics.

You can see some of these athletes in training at the Duracell Youtube Channel, and don’t forget about the gift card promotion.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB extensioncordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.

One of the worst audio connectors ever invented appears to the the one that will last until the end of time.  That’s the quarter inch connector.

This common audio connector dates back to the 19th century when telephone switchboards were first created, and it is almost unchanged in today’s version.  It is a two or three conductor connector and is used on millions of musical instruments and audio components.

The way the male version of this connector is designed to mate with the female version means that the center “hot” (signal carrying) conductor must touch and “short out” with the sleeve “cold” (ground carrying) conductor in order to be completely connected.  This almost always results in a loud popping noise in an energized audio system and may cause speaker or amplifier damage.

The standard version of this connector has no latching mechanism, so it is easy to unplug an instrument by accidentally stepping on the cable or tangling it up.

The reason that this connector will probably survive forever is that it is the standard that was adopted for electric guitars.  Because vintage guitars and vintage amplifiers are in such demand by today’s musicians, it means that the quarter inch standard must survive.

Otherwise, a guitar player with a collector’s edition guitar couldn’t use a new amplifier or a player with a new guitar couldn’t plug in to a vintage amp.

Unfortunately, this bad piece of design is with us forever.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB extensioncords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

Recently, I have completed a home security system using four internet-enabled robotic cameras that cost about $60 each and can be controlled remotely by my smartphone.

I can’t believe how well it works, and once the cameras are purchased, there are no monthly charges.

Here’s what I did.

The wireless security cameras can be placed anywhere within the range of your home computer network’s wireless router (usually a range of up to about 100 feet). Data connection  to the router is wireless, but the cameras will need power from a standard wall outlet or extension cord.

Once the router is configured (a complicated process, but it only has to be done once), the cameras can be accessed through a standard web browser that can be run on any desktop computer, smart phone or tablet computer.  That means that you can see what the cameras see from any internet enabled device.

After downloading a free app (advertising supported), to your mobile device (works on both Apple and Android smart phones and tablets) you can see what the camera sees on your mobile device screen, pan and tilt the camera and set it to automatically record for a preset length of time if its motion detector senses activity.

It even sends me an email with an image of what it is seeing when the motion detector is activated.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB extensioncordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.

I told him that I was in the business of selling extension cords, and the conversation quickly turned to his assessment of how China was moving to become the world’s dominant player the copper trade.

A recent article in Bloomberg Business Week brought me back to that conversation.

The article was titled “Copper: China’s Red Gold“, and it lays out in detail how China is aggressively moving to control as much of the world’s supply of this common metal as they can and how no other governments seem to be paying attention.

China has spent over $100 billion buying up mining and energy companies since 2008 and at least $5 billion of that has been for copper mining reserves all over the world.

Why should you care?

If you are in the sound, lighting, concert or special event industry, copper cable is central to your life.  While it is possible to move the transmission of low voltage data to fiber, the only practical method for moving the high energy required for lighting stages and pushing speakers is copper.  If you need to move high amperage electricity from one place to another (like a dimmer rack to a lighting fixture or an amplifier to a speaker cabinet), then copper is your only choice.

Modern large scale concerts and major theatrical events depend on tons and tons of copper cable, and it looks like that in the future this is a market that the Chinese will control.

Back to my airline seatmate.  His company was so focused on their African mining project that he expected to be on the job for at least two years before he was given a break to visit his family back in China.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties.  We sell copper cables from Hosa, Mitee and Century Wire & Cable.

The teleprompter tech was the last to show up, got to spend his time working directly with the corporate executives, and had his gear packed up and was on his way to the airport an hour after the show was over.  It might have not been the most exciting job in show business, but it definitely was the easiest.

I came across a new application for the IPAD today that puts a whole teleprompter into a brief case. Using the Ipad with some proprietary software and something as simple as a microphone stand, anybody can create a prompter on their own.

Even better, you can download a free app from the Apple Store and with a piece of glass, you can make your own for about $5.00.  It even makes use of the IPAD box!

And, of course, you’ll need duct tape.

Here’s a video that shows you how.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB extensioncordsand OnStage Stand mic stands.

One of the things that was most enjoyable about the show was how video was used.  The Wrecking Ball tour reverted to “old school” image magnification, something that used to be the industry standard, but which has been replaced by flashy active screens.

The three projection screens just magnified (made larger) the images of of the performers. No video inserts, no airplanes landings, no man on the street interviews, just the show made larger.

Best of all, it did nothing to call attention to itself.  The screens were not  the overly bright, in-your-face active screens that demand that you look at them, sometimes in a way that completely washes out the performer.  Best of all, because the images were projections, they made use of very high resolution video, giving detail that active L E D screens are not capable of delivering.  All image and no pixels.

We tip our hat to the set designer, and Pete’s Big TV’s, the video production company, for a job well done.

GoodBuyGuys.com is your online source for Shurtape gaffers tape, Duracell Procell batteries,  Nashua duct tape, Bay State wire ties, Hosa and HB extensioncords and OnStage Stand mic stands.

The larger and more prominent the site, the less likely it is that phone contact will be an option.  Even though it can be terribly irritating, I understand why.  Let me explain.

I’m an internet content creator.  I spend most of my day adding content to our web sites to provide what we hope is useful information to customers and prospects.  That includes detailed explanations, product specifications and comparisons and “how to” animations and tips. We’ve been at it long enough that we feel that our sites far outstrip our competitors when it comes to providing information that supports what we sell.

We are blessed that most our sites do well in what is called “organic” search, which means that they show up in search results when you seek out products and information using standard search protocols.  If you search for something like “gaffers tape” or “Procell battery“, you’ll always see our sites on page 1.

For some people, finding us through search simply means that they look no further than the phone number.  Rather than take time to look through the site using a very powerful built in search function, they just reach for the phone.  Almost without exception, there is a more useful and illustrative answer to their question on the site than anything I could possibly tell them on the phone.  Every time I get one of these calls, I’m tempted to bury our phone number more deeply in the site (or at least no longer make it toll free!).

Oh, and while we’re on the subject.  When you send us an online request for our catalog, how about including your mailing address.

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An article I read today might just turn me in to a skeptic again.  It details the decision of a Tennessee church to upgrade their sound system by using a computer (PC) based digital mixer that they put together by assembling components themselves that use the processor and other capabilities of a standard desktop computer to control their sound system.

The director of audio for the church estimates that they saved about $15,000 by taking this route, getting a high end digital mixer with 48 inputs and 48 outputs for just $6000.

It all sounded great until I got to the part where they talked about using a Dell computer for the heart of their system.  I’ve never used a desktop computer that didn’t deliver up the “blue screen of death” or otherwise do something that demanded rebooting at least once a day.

I’ll be surprised if this solution to sound system upgrading proves to be workable.

“He Is Risen” takes on a whole new meaning if life after death requires a three minute boot cycle.

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However, one thing that I have noticed that is a real problem is the difficulty they all seem to have with eye contact.  If  there is any sort of a screen present (computer, tablet, smart phone, laptop, whatever) they almost always prefer to watch the screen rather than to look at me.

While I’m the first to admit that I’m not much to look at, I don’t think that these young people realize the potential cost of failing to look at the person who is speaking to them.  If I have a promotion or pay raise, a better assignment, or a little bit of useful knowledge to pass along,  they are much less likely to get their hands on it if they can’t look me in the eye.

Regardless of how much time they spend in some sort of virtual world, the young person who takes the time to  understand the power of looking at someone when they are speaking to them has a very useful skill and, potentially, a strong competitive advantage.

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I think that Apple is missed their opportunity and this will never happen.

I remember how excited my family was when we got our first high definition tv.  I hooked up a computer, interfaced a dvd player and our old vcr, subscribed to satellite tv and installed an antenna on the roof to get broadcast HD programs. We even have surround sound with a sub-woofer!

The thing hasn’t been on in weeks and I can’t remember the last time either of my kids sat down in the family room to watch television.

It is clear that they would all rather watch whatever they are watching on their laptops, their smart phones or their IPads.  The ability to watch what they want, when they want to, and wherever they are is clearly much more valuable than a big screen, good quality audio, and a high definition image.

That is not going to change, and no matter how “smart” and interconnected an Apple television might be, they are too late.

And the high definition tv in our family room  that cost $900.  You can now by a comparable unit for $199!

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This is a great way to be reminded to take care of this simple, but critical domestic task twice of the year.

We also tip our hat to First Alert (maker of smoke detectors) and Duracell, who have partnered to give away 100 smoke detectors with Duracell batteries as part of the campaign to change your detector batteries this weekend.

You can learn more about the giveaway by going to Facebook and searching for “Duracell”.

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First off, his application for M1 was the removal of mildew. Most of our customers use it to get adhesive residue off their cables, so mildew removal was a new application for us. I am going to give it a try. This customer says that it is much better than chlorine bleach.

The more interesting part of our discussion was posed by his question “Why is this stuff so hard to find?”. M1 is made by a small company in Georgia and you won’t find their products in Home Depot or Wal Mart. No surprise there. These national retailers make you jump through lots of hoops to get on their shelves and lots of small manufacturers don’t even try. Even if you do succeed, pricing pressures by the retailer may mean that you never really make any money.

He found us on the web, using a Google search . I tried it myself, and was amazed to find that our site, thetapeworks.com was the first site on the page. It struck me as odd that we would score better than the maker of the product. In fact, the maker of this stuff could not be found anywhere in the first five pages of search results. I finally got tired of looking.

While we are happy to have a page 1 ranking, it is really surprising that so many businesses continue to miss out on such a powerful tool for building brands and selling their products.

Got a suggestion for using M1 or an observation about brand building on the web? Let us know.

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I grabbed a couple of items and jumped in the express line.  To my right, each of the next three lanes had at least two young mothers with one or more children in tow.  My items cost less than six dollars, but their overflowing carts suggested that they would spend a hundred dollars or more by the time they left the store.

What sort of thinking would lead the store management to allow me to jump in a quick serve line, but force these loyal high dollar customers to line up one behind the other and wait to be served while they attempted to keep their kids entertained?

Seems backwards to me.

Why not have a “moms only” line, one where the store would provide a little extra service while assuring that these valued customers were able to get in and out with as little complication as possible?

Parents purchasing for the family will be back to the store over and over again, yet grocery stores continue to serve the lowest dollar customers with the highest level of service while they buy items that they may not purchase again for weeks.

Just something to think about.

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