How is it that gas companies can charge nine-tenths of a cent?

Does it really make that much of a difference?

Take a look at the sample pricing from last week (outrageously high pricing notwithstanding):

• $4.17 and 9/10 for Regular
• $4.29 and 9/10 for Plus
• and $4.41 and 9/10 for “V-Power”

Why can’t they say $4.18, $4.30, and $4.42, respectively? What if I buy exactly 1 gallon — shouldn’t I get one-tenth of a cent back? I don’t. So I end up paying $4.18. Multiply that by hundreds of millions and those one-tenths add up, don’t they?

Be Honest with Your Pricing

We should be more honest in our pricing, and I’m not just talking about gas stations, but everything in general. In fact, I propose a simple way to present more “honest” pricing — something along the lines of:

• Under $15, round to the nearest dollar, e.g. $1.00 per song on iTunes, not $0.99
• $20 to $100 - round to the nearest 5 or 10, e.g. $25, $90, $100
• $110 to $990 - round to the nearest 10, e.g. $240, $680
• $1000 - $9,900 - round to the nearest 100, e.g. $1400, $8,900
• $10,000 - 99,000 - round to the nearest 1000
• $100,000 - $500,000 - round to the nearest 5000
• $505,000 and up - oh, who cares at this point? You can go back to pennies, e.g. $99,999,999.99

Don’t you think that would help?

Have a great weekend!

Indiana Jones

Next to the original Star Wars Trilogy, Indiana Jones is probably my next all-time favorite movie franchise.

Whether or not the latest incarnation will be worthy of the original trilogy remains to be seen — I hope so.

Childhood memories

I remember being a teen, and watching The Last Crusade on the big screen. It was probably my first movie where I vivid recalled each and every scene afterwards, and this was only seeing it for one time.

Mind you this was first time I sat in a stadium-seating type of theater, with THX sound, etc., etc. so I think the whole experience simply blew me away.

Up till The Last Crusade, I was either too young and/or too poor to really go out watch movies on a regular basis, or to even appreciate the experience when I did. (I stayed home and played legos).

Inspiration

I know that Indiana Jones creator Geogry Lucas was inspired by the old serials of the 30’s and 40’s, and I’m glad that his creation serves as my own childhood serial

Key Points of Appeal

Here’s what appealed (and appeals) to me about these films:

• Good versus Evil - we get a clear delineation of good versus evil. Indy is good, and he’s always battling the bad guys. You can’t get more simple than that.
• Heroism - Indy normally tries to do the right thing. His sense of fairness and justice is usually right on the mark. He’s not the biggest bruiser out there, but he stands up for his beliefs and doesn’t normally back down from a fight. He’s also smart, and of course, has a bit of (movie magic) luck.
• Romance - there’s a romance to the series, and I’m referring to more than the onscreen flings that Indy might have. I’m referring to it being set in the period right as technology is beginning to come into its own. Today we have “steampunk” fiction, which is set in the Victorian or late-Victorian era: steam-power, the first “scientific fiction”, etc. Indiana Jones, being set in the 30’s and 40’s (at least with the first trilogy) allows us to experience the raw power of then-new technology, with no worries of environment/ecological impact and such
• Enjoying the Journey - sure each film has it’s underlying goal — the “MacGuffin”, as it were. But seriously, who didn’t enjoy the chase scenes, the (campy) Batman-styled fights, and exotic locales. (Speaking of locales, this is how I envision Casablanca would have looked like if it had been shot in color.) In the end, the Indy movies are a bunch of great roller coasters that we love to get on over and over again.
• Music - kudos to John Williams for composing yet another memorable theme — how many has he done? The rousing Raiders March — heroic, uplifting, epic — will live on in popular culture for a long time to come, to be recalled as easily as some of the other great themes — The Pink Panther, James Bond — or William’s own Star Wars or Jaws.
• Happy ending - all(?) of the films have a happy ending, at least of sorts. Things are resolved — Indy has saved the day (or the world). What more can we ask for? This is actually known as the Classic Hollywood ending where boy gets girl, and they live happily ever after. Of course, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the original trilogy, but I do remember feelings of satisfaction from watching. That’s certainly not something I can say with the majority of movies out there.

In the end, I think it was every boy’s dream to grow up to be like Indiana. I still remember wanting a fedora for the longest time.

With apologies to Jackie DeShannon and Burt Bacharach

What the world needs more of are hugs, big hugs
For the smallest tots to the largest of lugs
What the world needs more of are hugs, big hugs,
For friends and “enemies”, and even your pugs.

First off, they’re free and they’re effortless
And they’re warm, and they’re comforting, too
They show compassion, forgiveness and friendliness
And openness, it’s love through and through

What the world needs more of are hugs, huge hugs
It’s the social thing that we often don’t do
What the world needs more of are hugs, sweet hugs,
For everyone from here to Timbuktu

Please don’t let your egos get in the way
As we work to-gether face to face
On the issues that affect all our days
After all, we’re all part of the human race

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
Expressed so simply as the act of hugs
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

No, not just for some, oh, but just for everyone

I’ve always liked the original lyrics, but it’s pretty abstract. Hugs are more tangible.

Have you hugged someone lately?

“A Jack of All Trades, Master of None”

Have you ever heard that described of anyone?

Often, the connotation is negative, implying that the person is not worthy of praise, someone who is too undisciplined, scatterbrained or worse.

I beg to differ.

I consider myself well-versed in a variety of skills: writing, web design, illustration, graphic design, photography and videography.

And I like it.

However, I have learned that earning an actual living required me to focus on one vocation — guess which.

Everything else, however, still come into play in today’s world: website, marketing materials, blog, etc.

And for those of us running our own small business, we wear even more hats: owner, receptionist, secretary, accountant, advertising firm, salesperson, customer service, clerk, shipper, oh, and our actual profession.

That is, until we can (or decide to) find (or afford) a way to outsource — maybe hire an “office manager”, someone who will wear almost as many hats as we originally did.

Even blogging requires a variety of skills: content-writing, design, SEO, social (media) savviness, etc.

For me, being a versatilitist allows me to:

• continue learning - just as I’ve had to learn the different nuances to blogging, it’s the same with my own business, as I learn about marketing, workflow, and plan for the future.
• quash boredom - I often tell my older son, do you want to be a garbage man, someone who drives a truck around all day, along the same routes, emptying cans, every day, for years and years (apologies to all the sanitation engineers out there). I couldn’t do it, even if the pay and benefits are great (according to an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe).
• be self-reliant - I am quite happy not to have a boss to answer to (in the traditional sense, as all my clients are mini-bosses).
• control my own destiny - I’m not beholden to any one (except my family). Vacation? Okay, let’s plan for it. More time for the kids? So be it. More personal reading instead of blogging? Yes. And It’s only recently that I’ve taken that step — that I should be versatile in balancing my work and personal lives.

How about you? Are you versatile?