http://www.relationship-economy.com/?p=9557

But we may be even father behind in communications technology, despite private and public efforts. Most people’s eyes glaze over when you mention ” broadband”.

Here’s a good article that presents a different meme, “soft infrastructure”. While it will never overcome the focus on Dancing with the Stars, maybe this can better capture our group consciousness and attention, so we can really do something about it.

http://archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=4404

It didn’t have a lot of success over the past 40 years. Then along came the tsunami of economic forces, and inter-generational households are back with a vengeance.

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1528/multi-generational-family-household

http://www.relationship-economy.com/?p=9564

strategic planning: innovation: management:success

THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO KILL A MOUSE

When stuck looking for a new solution to a persistent problem, look for a novel approach. Here’s an example of collegiate ingenuity.

BEER INDUCED CREATIVITY

The fraternity poker game participants were locked in mortal combat as Tom staggered into the dining room (a.k.a. the poker emporium). Tom was fresh from his self-described part-time job (6 hours of sitting at a nearby tavern letting patrons buy him drinks while he scooped loose change off the bar). He made a few boisterous comments and then disappeared as quickly as he came in. The poker game renewed its heated intensity. Everyone assumed Boston Tom was in dreamland hitting home runs over the Green Monster at his beloved Fenway Park.

About 45 minutes later, a huge glass breaking sound arouse from the kitchen down the hall along with a loud blood curdling chant, “I got him, I got him!” It was Tom celebrating his trophy kill. The poker throng rushed into the kitchen to see an industrial sized jar of peanut butter smashed on the floor. In the gooey brown glass encrusted pile was a dead mouse. The slain rodent had been the bane of the kitchen for several weeks. A problem solved with a truly creative approach.

Tom’s mind, purified by massive quantities of Olde Pub, had conjured up an inventive solution. Since a mouse hole was under the cabinets, Tom’s plan called for an attractive pile of cheddar cheese to tempt the varmint. Then Tom patiently sat in the corner on the cabinet with the gargantuan jar of peanut butter and waited for the mouse to take the bait.

Few people appreciate the stamina that “hops” must provide. Despite his apparent condition when he came home, Tom sat patiently until the rodent went for the tasty snack. Demonstrating an uncanny sense of dexterity, Tom hit his target “dead on” (pardon the pun). The pledges would clean up the untidy mess tomorrow. It was now time for a tribal celebration with the beverage that made it all possible. Cheers!

Moral: Never underestimate the Power of Beer! The Elixir of the Gods.

Greg Pashke , CMC is  President of Pashke Consulting and provides business mentoring, strategic and tactical planning, and financial modeling services. Greg is a big proponent of The One Page Plan approach to managing the day to day performance of an organization. He is committed to continuous learning and skill development. Greg’s mantra is “to get a lot done & have a lot of fun”.
Website: http://www.pashkeconsulting.com/

Music & Arts:Take A Listen at the Mayville Bluegrass Festival
By Nick Corsi

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR

Nothing much in the world is more soothing then sitting in a field and listening to acoustic guitars, fiddles, mandolins, stand up basses, sweet vocals and all the other sounds come along with Bluegrass.

THE ATMOSPHERE

The Mayville Bluegrass Festival is one of the most memorable staples of the Raven Sound summer. The view overlooking Chautauqua Lake, the hospitality of the people, and pure sounds of Bluegrass makes this festival a must see.

THE SWEET SOUNDS…

On our end of things, we received more comments this year then ever before, System Engineer Matt Hrinko designed a rig with 5 flown A-Line Acoustics AL-10s, 2 AL-10 side fills, and two EAW 850 Subs per side. Two words…High Fidelity… This high gain, low SPL application allowed for maximum equalization and the nicest of condensor mics on stage. The CAD E100 and the 2 Pro-37s were the stars of the show, whether used as spot or crowd mics. The sound through the PA was like listening to the instrument acoustically from a few feet away. Transparency is everything in an event like this, we aren’t going for anything more than reproducing the original sound of the instrument being played…

RUNNING A BLUEGRASS STAGE

Bluegrass festivals have a much quicker pace on the set changes then that of any other festival. We left six Shure SM-57s and six Shure SM-58s(some betas) on the foot of the stage, and let the 3 condensors float. Set changes are under five minutes between acts; performers approach the front line and all you have to do is look at their instrument and ask if they need a vocal. Mandolins, acoustics guitars, and fiddles got the Pro-37s or the CAD E100, and banjos, and other acoustic guitars got SM-57s. We also had a Direct line for the Bass that floated up-stage, every stand up base we saw this weekend had a pickup… Plug in the Bass…Mic the instruments… and let the Bluegrass begin!

THE PERFORMERS

Josh Williams Band
Chuck Pyle
Sierra Hull with Clay Hess
Will Callery
Creaking Tree String Quartet
Foggy Hogtown Boys
The Doerfels
Angelica Grim
Hard Ryde
Kate Lee with No Strings Attached
Cory and Jerrod Walker
Digger Davis and Tombstone
Straight Drive
Kati Penn Band
Doug Yeomans and Mountain Run
Dirty Mountain Band
Winde River
The Roe Family Band
Old Dawg Bluegrass
Amanda Barton and Bill Ward

There are no words to describe our 9-year experience with Raven Sound. Artists continually come and tell us they had the best sound on their tours. To a man, the Raven folks are friendly, helpful and extremely courteous to our artists and us and their acoustic sound reproduction and lightning-fast band turnaround times are absolutely amazing. I never consider other offers or suggestions – they are that good. Thanks, Phil and gang!
– Bill Ward, Mayville Bluegrass Festival

Nick has beenback on the trail with Raven Sound, pushing gear and turning knobs…blog posts are coming slowly but surely… Follow Raven Sound’s summer action on Twitter – @RavenSound and on our Facebook page “Raven Sound”

TED.COM – MALCOLM GLADWELL ON BEING EXTRA CHUNKY

A year ago, my fellow blogger Nick Corsi, showed me this great clip of Malcolm Gladwell on spaghetti sauce.

Malcom makes a great point through out this piece.  The food industry really can’t ask you everything you want in a series of .  People don’t know what they want. This however, does create a opportunity for marketers, developers, designers.  Sometimes, it is what lies just behind our questions that will actually allow us to reach our market.

Next week, I will continue to speak about this line of thought.  In addition encourage you to bring up points that you agree or disagree with in Gladwell’s analysis.

Alexandra Gergar is caterer in Pittsburgh, Pa.  In her field, she studies how and why people buy their products, especially in the food industry.  See her cooking blog, Lemons in Water.

Food & Design: Buying Local

We are all feeling the pinch of the recession. Times like these makes everyone look at their spending and see where the can cut back and conserve. One noticeable changes individuals can do to save money is to cut back on their weekly grocery bill. Clipping coupons, choosing wisely on their meal plan or just being aware of what you buy could save people hundreds of dollars in a year. However, being aware doesn’t mean cutting corners.

BUY LOCAL
Emmaus is a small town on the eastern side of Pennsylvania.  For the past seven years, Emmaus has hosted its own farmers market on every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from May to Thanksgiving. What an unique feature about this market is that all of the vendors are from a 75 mile radius around Emmaus.  This ensures that these sells have a direct line to their goods and that they know the growing process of their goods.

In the grocery store, the buyer rarely knows where their food is coming from.  In addition, this isn’t helping your community.  By buying local you are making sure that your money is staying in your region, which will help build a stronger community as well as a stronger local economy.  As I learned from Christi Dunning, Emmaus Farmers Market Manager, the Emmaus Farmers Market (EFM) keep strict policies for their vendors.  Dunning explained that they have turned possible vendors away because a part of their product wasn’t grown or established in the area.  The EFM wants to provide their community with producer only products.  By keeping everything locals allows the customer the ability to talk to the farmers who grew the fruits and vegetables.  These customers can find out more about their food but it also gives a face to their food producers.

SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE AVERAGE JOE’S?
Now I am not here to tell you about statistics in fair trade practices or even give a lecture about keeping your food local.  I am however going to give you benefits with having your farmers close.  When you grow locally, your food will taste better.  Local food is normally picked within the past day or two which keeps more of the flavor.  Studies have showed that the average distance food travels from farm to plate is around 1500 miles over a week-long period.  This delay changes the chemistry of your food which then decreases its nutritional value.  Also when you buy locally supports your local community, and not just benefiting the farmers but also you.  These farms protects open-space, which could have gone to land development.

There will always be pros and cons for staying local and organic.  I have provided just some of the pros of doing both but their are several more ways local and organic products can help you.  To find farmers markets near you check out the site LocalHarvest.org.  They have addition information about staying local, as well as the network of finding markets that are local.  Find farmers markets, farms restaurants and grocery stores in your area.  Also, I encourage you to check out documentary Food, Inc. that is due on June 12, 2009.

Alexandra Gergar is an active lover of food.  Starting a food blog, Lemons in Water, she now resides in Pittsburgh where she is a local caterer.

Follow me on Twitter: AlexGergar