Category Archives: Helpful Hints

What Slow Cookers Teach Us

I’ve been using a slow cooker lately and it seems like a good topic for a Foodie Friday. Maybe you call it a “crock pot“, maybe you call it “that thing we never use.” I call it my new kitchen BFF and have been producing all kinds of soups, chilis, braised meats, and stews; the kind of stuff that’s perfect wintertime fare.

a slow cooker Oval Crock Pot

Image via Wikipedia

I’m sure you’re not a regular reader of the screed for cooking lessons so I won’t explain all the ins and outs of successful slow cooker use. I will, however, attempt to explain how slow cookers can teach a great business lesson.

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Filed under food, Helpful Hints

Posts of the Year – 4

Here is today’s recap of the year’s most-read posts on the blog and it’s another one featuring a Bill Murray moment.  Unlike yesterday’s, which happened in real life, this one occurred in reel life – “Stripes,” to be specific, and was called “Your Big Toe.”  Enjoy.

I was thinking about this quote this morning:

An army without leaders is like a foot without a big toe. And Sergeant Hulka isn’t always gonna be here to be that big toe for us. I think that we owe a big round of applause to our newest, bestest buddy, and big toe… Sergeant Hulka.

OK, it’s really the tail end of a speech and you’ve all probably seen Stripes enough times to recite it yourself, but for some reason it popped into my head and I wanted to pop it into yours.big toe love

We’d all fall over without them, and I don’t mean the ones on our feet.  I mean the folks who provide the stability in our lives.  The subordinates who make us look good, the friends who pick us up when we’re down, the loved ones who hug us until we feel better.  Heck, as long as we’re appreciating appendages, let’s send some love to the bosses that recognize we have lives beyond work, dreams that work make possible, and treat us like humans, not employees.

So today’s brief note is nothing profound, just a thank you to all the big toes in my life and some encouragement to you to do the same to yours.

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Filed under Helpful Hints, Reality checks

Posts of the Year – 3

Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...

Image via CrunchBase

This post was written after the one of the many recent updates done by Facebook.  It was called “Failbook” and I was not happy about what they’d done. I’m not any happier now with the timeline, the news stream on the right, etc.  Are you?  Anyway, read on for a rant and a business lesson.

Unless you’re in a cave someplace or have abandoned it for Google+, you’ve probably noticed that Facebook did an overhaul last night.  I logged in this morning and while I’ll admit I’m not the brightest guy in the world, I was thoroughly confused.  Many of the new features are clearly designed to compete with things found on Google+ and Twitter, such as circles.  For those of you struggling to make sense of the new layout, Gizmodo did a nice job color-coding everything in a cheat sheet.

I’m a believer in continuous improvement.  I’m not a believer in keeping up with the Joneses.  Here’s why. Continue reading

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Filed under digital media, Helpful Hints