Captain Digital

Random musings on politics, society, and pop culture from the Internet's marketing curmudgeon.

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common sense

The Energy Mess.

Okay. It seems that everybody and his cat has an opinion on the energy problems we face here in the good ‘ol U. S. of A. I’m no different. The difference is that unlike most of the pundits out there, I don’t have any other axe to grind other than speaking what I see as the truth. No liberal bias. No conservative bias either. In particular, I am beholden to no special-interest groups.This shouldn’t be a liberal versus conservative issue (which is part of the problem). It should be strictly an American problem, and it should unite us.

In light of this fact, I’m going to share with you some common-sense bullet points that I hope will reframe the discussion on what to do to get our energy prices under control. [Read more…] about The Energy Mess.

Fire.

I live in the Texas Panhandle.

As you may be aware, the Panhandle has been in the news a lot lately, for a series of devestating wildfires that have consumed over 100,000 acres of land. Life here has been pretty strange, lately. My Mother-in-Law’s farm and ranch survived, but they lost some crops and some livestock. The problem? Rain, or to be more specific the lack of it. According to the National Weather Service, we’ve had less than an inch of rain since November of ’05. That puts us squarely in the “draught” category. Not good. Here’s the weird thing, though. Up here, while the fires are headline news, there’s a sense that this is all just part of life in the Panhandle. Weird.

[Read more…] about Fire.

Between Iraq and a Hard Place.

Despite our best efforts, it seems the world is a more dangerous place today, than it was yesterday. Understand, that’s no knock against President Bush and our troops. Quite the contrary, I think they’ve done an amazing job, given they’ve had to fight an unconventional war against an enemy with no uniform, not to mention fight against a mainstream media who tells only the story they want to tell (and not the whole truth), and the liberals here at home who want Bush to lose, no matter what the cost. But like an insane, global version of Whack-A-Mole, the bad guys just keep on popping up, daring us to do something about them.

[Read more…] about Between Iraq and a Hard Place.

Hunting Pwospects!

Elmer Fudd & Prospect.Marketing – or more specifically, the “advertising” part of marketing – is a lot like hunting. In this case, you’re hunting prospects, and not rabbits, but the principles are the same. Hunters have, basically, two types of firearms from which to choose – shotguns and rifles. In marketing, most customers prefer the shotgun approach. Savvy marketers prefer rifles. Here’s why… [Read more…] about Hunting Pwospects!

Banking on Intelligence.

My wife is a brilliant woman. One day I was casting about for a creative idea to use as the nucleus of a website demo, and I asked her for some ideas. (I was stumped.) Out of the blue, she said, “why don’t you create a bank for intelligence?”

Wow.

In a flash, the whole thing hit me. It was a “V-8 moment” if ever I had one. [side note: A friend once started to tell me about a sketch he’d seen the night before, watching “In Living Color” with two guys in a phone booth, as the “Homeboy Shopping Network.” He didn’t have to say anything else – I could see/hear the entire routine in my mind’s eye. This was the same kind of experience. [Read more…] about Banking on Intelligence.

Iran to USA: “Bring IT!”

Remember what I said a while back about “Playground Logic“? Today, Iran told Uncle Sam to “bring it on, baby!” They’re upset that we had the unmitigated gall and audacity to question their sincerity regarding their nuclear program. You see, Iran has more natural gas and crude oil than the world needs. They have no need of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However, they could certainly make use of a spare nuclear weapon or two, as their leaders believe that Israel doesn’t deserve to exist, and they should be the ones to bring about its destruction. [Read more…] about Iran to USA: “Bring IT!”

The War – Here and Abroad.

The Eagle, Globe & Anchor
Got some news this morning. My Marine Reservist son is scheduled to ship out to Camp Pendleton in April, then out to Iraq in September.

A lot of people have wondered openly if my support for President Bush and the Iraq War would change if my son was involved. I’m happy to report that if it has, it’s only made me more resolute in my support.

What the mainstream media and the left fails to grasp are several fundamental truths. First, when someone wants to kill you (Al Qaeda) you have to choose: fight or flight. They carried the fight to our shores, so there is nowhere to run (even if we were so inclined). It’s far better to fight on their turf than ours. You’ll notice that a large number of fighters captured in Iraq are from parts beyond Iraq. Therefore, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist (but evidently more braincells than Alec Baldwin posesses) to see that the terrorists have traveled to where the fight is (Iraq) to fight us.

Here’s a clue for you liberals out there. This is a good thing. [Read more…] about The War – Here and Abroad.

Patently Ridiculous.

Can we stop for a moment and talk about patents? I’m a creative guy. Over the years I’ve come up with any number of creative ideas. Some of them could/should be protected, intellectual property. Some were just great ideas. As a creative guy, I’m generally in favor of some kind of protection for those who come up with some useful new invention. On the other hand, I’m for the immediate dissolution of the U. S. Patent Office, and the creation of a new agency that understands what in the HELL they are doing.

Here’s the deal. Let’s say you invent something. Nobody ever thought of it before. It’s useful. It’s cool. You don’t want somebody to steal your idea, so you apply for a patent. Your product takes off. You make millions. At some point, your patent runs out, and everybody and their cat decides to market a me-too product, turning your product from a unique gadget into a commodity. You resign yourself to make less money.

This is how patents are supposed to work. [Read more…] about Patently Ridiculous.