Firearms Friday: Exposure

When my wife and I took our son to the doctor for his annual checkup we expected that he would be getting shots and additional testing done. Whenever we know these are coming up we also know that there will be questionnaires associated with each of those tests. This time around one of the optional tests that was discussed involved out son’s exposure to lead. To determine whether the test would actually be done my wife and I had to fill out a questionnaire… largely innocuous in nature we had no issues eliminating the need for pulling out another needle.

However, one of the questions got under my skin a bit. I could see that if we were in an older house (built prior to 1985) or one of our jobs involved being around lead all of the time that the test would be necessary. However, in the form it also asked if one of our hobbies involved firearms. Well, that would be none of your business people and unless I am sucking on bullets throughout the day (unjacketed of course) or made a nipple out of a 9mm cartridge, it has no bearing on this test. While annoyed at the question and skeptical of the actual reason behind the query, I wasn’t surprised at all to find it included on the form.

Unfortunately, prodding questions such as this are a part of daily life now due to the lack of backbone displayed time and again by politicians and the rabid naiveté of a public more concerned with the radical media agenda and what is says about their urban social standing. It is a darn shame because these misguided views are causing thousands to succumb to lead poisoning in the United States this year not by exposure but by direct injection. Although, come to think of it, their mass psychosis could be the result of exposure to lead over a long period of time.

While I doubt these ‘advocates’ would ever admit to their addiction, the fact of the matter is that the question on this form was not about exposure to lead, it was a means to expose law abiding gun owners so that the delusional mass could get their self-righteous fix. These people, addicted to the utopian ideal, fail to live in the real world where bad things happen and inequality exists. At the same time they also fail to acknowledge the fact that we have individual rights to firearms, religion, opinions, and a self-reliant ability to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We don’t try to trick you to take away your ability to speak your mind or any other right you embrace (yet scold others for embracing who don’t share your opinion). We don’t initiate these underhanded methods. We believe in the rights of the individual. And while I know that these questions won’t come to an end any time soon, I can pretty much guarantee that they will continue to annoy me just as much as they do right now and I will continue answering or not answering in the same way. However, for all those who continue to deceive and outright lie about their motives I do have a final question for you… when exactly are you going to feel the burn? I’m pretty sure that it won’t be during this election cycle.

A Good Ending To 2015

Things were a little hectic at the office in December. It is usually a busy month but this year it seemed to be more jam packed than usual. There were also a few pleasant surprises scattered across the weeks that had me wanting for the month not to come to an end. And all of this really started months before in our planning process.

At the beginning of the year, we put together general outlines for the public relations and media activity for each of our clients. While nothing ever goes exactly to plan, we have a good handle on where the high and low points are going to be during the year. What this means for us is basically we are able to adjust our focus slightly from month to month depending upon whether more research, input, writing, or media outreach needs to take place. Well, December is not a time to be prepping, the final month of the year is one of action.

The conversations that I have with those in the media during this month are the ones that will color the following year and being able to provide them with what they want, within the frame of our pitching efforts, is what can make or break the season. And I make it a point to make everyone happy with the outcome of our outreach. By the end of the month we were able to provide publications with some great interviews and articles and our clients were happy to see themselves included in publications such as CNBC, Yahoo! Finance, The Chicago Sun Times, The Arizona Republic, USA Today, MSN Money, and Credit.com.

It was a great way to end the year and our clients entered the new year with a pleasant sense of satisfaction. For me, it was nice to be recognized by the clients for not just the work that we did in December but throughout the year with our clients seeing an increase in coverage, year over year, of approximately 40%. Back in the office, it was also the time of year when the owner of the firm recognizes all of us for the hard work and long hours that we put in throughout the previous year… it was time for the annual bonus which is always welcomed and greatly appreciated.

However, with all the great things that happened at the end of the year, it was also time to start thinking about the overarching annual plan for 2016. Not only are we coordinating those hours allocations mentioned above but also setting the goals for the new year. 2015 was great but 2016 is going to be even better and I am already excited to see the results.

You Have Been Wheatoned!

There have been some moments from time to time when I have considered submitting a blog post or two to other publications for consideration. The impetus for these thoughts has always been quite simple… exposure. Because I keep this blog as a hobby and simply enjoy writing the posts, sharing my thoughts, and generally keeping track of life that is all I have really been looking for in the placements. This has always been my motivation with regard to all of my creative endeavors regardless of the genre or medium in which I seek dissemination.

This has always been my choice and when the tables have been turned, the few times that I have been asked for permission to reprint, I have gladly given that permission under a couple of standard contingencies… I retain the copyright and future reprint rights and that the article/blog post is properly cited to reflect the correct name in the byline or, as had been the case recently, the link back to this blog. Nothing groundbreaking or unreasonable. Would it be nice to get paid? Of course it would but, again, this is my hobby not the means by which I support myself and my family.

That is my mentality regarding the writing that I have produced and published in one form or another over the last decade and a half. No surprise, this is not a view that is shared by everyone which what drew me in to reading a blog post by Wil Wheaton, yes that Wil Wheaton, that was shared in my Facebook feed. In the post he writes about a recent encounter with a Huffington Post editor. The basic back and forth can be summarized simply in that Wheaton was contacted by the editor to request permission to republish a recent blog post for no pay but a lot of exposure. As Wheaton points out, it would be one thing if he submitted the article but they reached out to him in this case. Needless to say, he doesn’t need the exposure and declined their offer.

He then took to Twitter and posted a few tweets in quick succession:

The two above were also followed by the following tweet: 

“This advice applies to designers, photographers, programmers, ANYONE who makes something. You. Deserve. Compensation. For. Your. Work.”

This is something that I personally agree with and don’t agree with at the same time. I believe there is a fine balance when your creations are the source of your livelihood. One should get paid for that which they create but there also needs to be a means of advertising your creativity. Sometimes it is well worth forfeiting the nominal pittance that would be offered by a publication such as the Huffington Post in order to showcase your creative skills and gain greater exposure. Of course, I would still push for retaining the copyright along with the contributor byline.

Keep in mind that this applies to a wide variety of publications, situations, formats, genres, and skills. I say all this not ever expecting to have a blog post picked up by the Huffington Post (many of my views and posts don’t play well with the ideologies that are regularly on display on the site) but if I were ever asked I would stick to my usual requirements. In the end, whether you support yourself with your creative endeavors or you pursue them as a hobby, exposure can be more valuable than the pennies that would end up in your pocket if you hold your financial ground.

Continuing The Debate: Genealogy Roadshow Returns

A couple of months ago I posted a blog about the preferences that many of us have for Finding Your Roots or Who Do You Think You Are? This lead to a tremendous discussion on LinkedIn (in a few groups) about the pros and cons of each and, in many instances, what is missing from each show. Keep in in mind that all of those who participated in this back and forth have been researching their own family history and so many of the sticking points surrounded the lack of process demonstrated in each program.

Another prevalent point made was of the disconnect from those of us actually doing the work. Many of the participants in each of these shows are, for the most part, along for the ride without actually doing the work themselves. We all know the hours, days, weeks, years that this journey takes to make the kind of progress depicted in a 60 minute program. So the back and forth continued regarding these two current programs with a few references made to other shows that were no longer on the air.

One show that was brought up for both its positive qualities and because of the things that it lacks was Genealogy Roadshow. Many of us had seen the program when it was on but many others completely missed it and wondered what it was about. We didn’t discuss it much further than that because, at the time, it was not currently showing and none of us expected to see it return to PBS. Honestly, the conversation continued and I once again completely forgot about the short lived series until a few weeks ago when I got a press release in my email.

Simply put, Genealogy Roadshow is back! New episodes will be airing on PBS beginning on Tuesday, January 13 at 8:00pm ET. In the end, all genealogy shows are going to have faults but the important thing is that they are on the television and people are slowly becoming exposed to the importance of knowing who they are and where they come from. While I am sure there will be continued debate on this subject, for now I will simply leave you with the episode descriptions for each of the six episodes that will air this winter:

New Orleans – Cabildo (January 13^th) – A team of genealogists uncovers fascinating family stories at the famous Cabildo, home of the Louisiana State Museum. A couple whose ancestors hail from the same small Italian town explore the chance they may be related; a woman is desperate to find out who committed a gruesome murder in her ancestor’s past; a home held by one family for more than a century renders a fascinating story; and a woman discovers the difficult journey her ancestor took on the path to freedom from slavery.

St. Louis – Central Library (January 20^th) – At Saint Louis’ historic central library, a team of genealogists uncovers fascinating family stories from Missouri’s famous gateway city. A mystery writer discovers her mother has hidden a life-changing secret; a woman finds out if she is descended from the infamous pirate Blackbeard; a mother and daughter seek connections to a famous author; and a young man seeks connection to the Mali tribe in Africa.

Philadelphia – Franklin Institute (January 27^th) – At Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, a team of genealogists uncovers fascinating family histories. A man learns that the event that drove his family to the City of Brotherly Love changed the course of history; a man may be a Viking descendant; another’s family could have part of one of history’s biggest scams; a young man hopes to confirm his relation to a signer of the Declaration of Independence; and two sisters learn their ancestors were part of the great Irish migration.

New Orleans – Board of Trade (February 3^rd) – A team of genealogists uncovers fascinating family stories at the New Orleans Board of Trade. A local man seeks to recover essential history washed away in Hurricane Katrina; a woman discovers she has links to both sides of the Civil War; another unravels the mystery behind her grandfather’s adoption; and one man explores a link to the famous New Orleans Voodoo Queen, Marie Laveau.

St. Louis – Union Station (February 10^th) – At St. Louis’ historic Union Station, a team of genealogists uncovers fascinating family stories from Missouri. A musician hopes to find connections to a famous St. Louis jazz composer; two sisters explore links to a survivor of the legendary Donner party; an Italian-American woman finds out if she is related to Italian royalty; and a schoolteacher who has all the answers for her students has very few about her own past.

Philadelphia – Historical Society of Pennsylvania (February 17^th) – A team of genealogists uncovers fascinating family histories at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. One woman’s ancestor may have sparked historic labor laws; a pastor may have an outlaw in her family tree; a woman learns about slave genealogy and, with the help of DNA testing, gets the answer she has waited for; and another woman learns her ancestor may have helped others escape the Holocaust.

WTF Of The Week: Exposing Their Giblets

Throughout this week I have been noticing the countless stories about the cloud hack that resulted in the mass dissemination of naked celebrity photos. Yes, famous people had their giblets exposed to the world and without missing a beat the ‘victims’ and the mass media jumped on the bandwagon commenting on this ‘heinous’ crime. Basically, it was a huge pity party for all those with their naughty bits scattered across the web.

While it is a shame that this happened to these people in the end who cares? Frankly, no one should be surprised that celebrity winkies, tatas, and vajayjays are blowing in the virtual breeze. After all, this is not something new. The only things that was different in this situation is that they were pulled from the cloud (some having thought that the photos had been deleted). Although, even that situation is nothing that hasn’t been done before. I guess the truly unique nature of the offense was the fact that the hackers went after data kept by the significant others… even though it is incredibly shady you have to give them credit for thinking things through.

However, the act itself, while an invasion of privacy (the same privacy that most of these celebrities campaign against though other political means and endorsements) it is something that happens and quite regularly. And it is only getting worse. My question is… why the heck are you allowing your giblets to be digitized?

The best way to stop this from happening again is to keep your goodies off the computer, away from the cloud, and far from the internet. While ‘creepy’, you should know that as long as you are ‘famous’ and there are people in this world that want to see if the carpet matches the drapes, there are going to be constant attempt to get snap shots of your hoohoo and gazungas or twig and berries. Why in the world would you provide them with greater opportunities to have access to your naughty bits?

So, I guess the lesson to be learned in this media circus is rather simple… keep it in your pants. The only time that giblets should be exposed are during Thanksgiving. By putting such information in so many different places, especially in the cloud, you are exposing yourself in more ways than one. While we are not talking about drugs I think it is time to resurrect one of the more prominent slogans… when someone has a camera, just say no to showing your crack.