6 things about buying a new lawn mower.

Hanging out in the yard during the summer, my neighbors will often ask me about lawn care. What a great compliment it is when your advice on a green lawn is sought after by your neighbors! Now, a couple of the guys are buying new mowers this spring and have been bugging me for the secrets to “green”. Boy, I wish I had more complicated answers than the list below!

It’s easy:

• You need to use the best equipment you can afford that is appropriate for your property
• You need to fertilize on a regular schedule with the correct application
• you need to water appropriately

Taking care of your lawn requires the purchase of pretty neat machine. The lawn mower! In a my arsenal of “cool” machines, my Cub Cadet walk-behind lawn mower is high on the list. Always get the most horse power and torque you can afford! And, I have eliminated electric powered mowers from the decision making process below because, well, electric mowers are not cool.

Below is a list of things I considered before buying:

1. How big is your yard? (For a 1/4 acre to about a 1/2 acre, a walk-behind mower is a good choice. The closer you get to a 1/2 acre, the more beneficial a self-propelled mower will be.) (If you have over a 1/2 acre to cut, a riding mower might be a better choice!)
2. Do you have hills? (A self-propelled mower will help you finish the job in less time and with greater ease.)
3. Consider the shape of the lawn and flowerbeds. (If your yard can mostly be cut in straight lines, then a front wheel drive mower is okay. If your yard has curves around the flowerbeds you might want to consider a rear-wheel drive mower so that you don’t have to constantly push the mower into a turn while the front wheels are trying to pull straight.)
4. How many trees or other yard obstacles do you need to navigate? (If you have a lot of turning to do, the best choice is a rear-wheel drive with large rear wheels or a design featuring caster wheels up front!)
5. Do you bag, mulch or want to be able to do both? (Most mowers have deck designs that allow you to change between rear bagging, side discharge bagging or mulching. The key is to make sure you have the correct type of blade to be able to multi-task.)
6. How often do you need to mow? (Options that are going to help you get the job done quickly are extremely important. Consider how easy is it to start the engine? Can you change the deck height quickly and evenly? What are the speed control options? How quickly can you empty the bag if you don’t mulch? What’s the units maintenance schedule like? How reliable is the brand overall?)

Drive-In Americana.

One of the best memories I have from my childhood is my parents taking me to the Drive-In Theatre. I loved watching the cartoons through the front window of my dad’s Oldsmobile, even though I always fell asleep before the feature movie. When I was old enough to stay out late, my friends and I would hang out at the Drive-In with our Muscle cars all lined up together. We would watch the movies sitting on the ground in front of our cars completely absorbed in the outdoor experience.

I will always remember Clint Eastwood in his early westerns, they were my favorite at the Drive-In!

Last summer, I took my family to the Drive-In and we had a great time. It really made me think about all the closed down Drive-In Theatres around our community. Why would people not want to experience this special form of entertainment anymore? To answer this question, I first wanted to have a good understanding of why people went to the Drive-In when they were really popular.

This is what I have learned:

In the 1930′s the first Drive-In Theatre opened launching a truly unique American venture in entertainment. By 1942 there were 95 Drive-In Theatres in 27 states, with Ohio leading the way with 11 of them, and at least 5 of those were close to the house I grew up in. When WWII hit, gas and rubber were in short supply and the Drive-In business stalled-but by 1948, and with the war over, 820 Drive-Ins across the States were opened!

The 1950′s saw close to 5,000 Drive-In Theatres rise out of vacant fields and farmlands all around our country’s neighborhoods. The owners enticed families to come to the show early and enjoy activities before dark: things like miniature golf, pony rides, train rides, boat rides, animal shows and even talent shows! It was also during this era that all kinds of great food, candy, buttered popcorn, soda and fresh, hot coffee was sought after by patrons.

screen capture of an intermission ad

Food is still one of the best parts of the Drive-In experience!

The 1960′s saw shopping malls popping up around the country and with them came the indoor movie theatre. Boasting air conditioning, comfortable seating and better technology, the indoor theatre started to take movie fans away from the Drive-In.

The 1980′s did significant damage to the Drive-In businees with the lauch of the home VCR and cable television. Everybody wanted to stay home and watch movies. It wasn’t until the 1990′s when the kids of the 60′s started to feel nostalgic about the Drive-In that a “re-birth” started to take place.

Today, there is an estimated 400 theatres left from the days that saw 5,000.

Check this link out to learn more and to support a Drive-In near you! www.driveintheater.com

Cool heads flying.

F-18 carrier operations aboard the USS Nimitz during bad weather.

Okay, the following two videos show our fighter pilots trying to land on an aircraft carrier, in rough weather, in the dark and low on fuel. Do you think driving to work in rush hour traffic is stressful? Upset with the potholes you have to avoid? Frustrated when you are stuck behind a school bus? Watch these videos in order, and you’ll never complain about getting stuck at a red light again! These “cool heads” flying these cool machines help keep us safe, and I am thankful for everyone of them.

One tough Ninja… for a Penguin.

So the other night my kid comes running to me to tell me she is a Ninja now. Well since being quiet and stealthy is the last thing on earth she is, I figured it had something to do with Disney Club Penguin.

Disney Club Penguin (for those of you without little Ninjas)  is a penguin-populated virtual world that really gives your kid a chance to create a persona for a character penguin they play. This game has plenty of activities to increase online social skills like sending postcards, igloo parties, caring for pet puffles and learning how to communicate through selecting from a library of symbols and written sentiments.

“Penguins” also learn to budget money by earning and saving coins that are awarded for completing activities. The environment is loaded with games that require strategy, luck and skill.

I think Disney, an obvious leader in family entertainment, does a really nice job of keeping the virtual world updated with events that capture the imagination of kids everywhere. (And, well, a few dads too!)

umm, my "Penguin Ninja" and her Puffle

Top 10+ guidelines for young ballplayers.

Our city baseball and softball seasons are about to start again and several of you have been asking for a list of guidelines that might give some insight on how to best prepare your boys and girls for the summer season. Now as most of you know, I am just a baseball dad (with a kid on a championship team!) that loves the game and developed a few simple guidelines over the years to help my kids have fun at the ballpark!

Guidelines:

1. Always play the game for fun. Always. (when your kid plays for fun, winning will take care of itself. Kids that enjoy playing usually win.)
2. Winning is important. (sure, it’s not politically correct to play to win any longer, but if you understand guideline #1 you’ll realize that it’s fun to win!)
3. Don’t vicariously play the game through your kids! (that totally screws up guidelines #1 and #2)
4. Always rely on common sense. (remember your kid is not a pro, don’t expect your child to perform above conceivable levels of play. Example: I heard this from a parent last season, “What! I can’t…geez, damn…I can’t believe you didn’t hit your cutoff man! Did you ever see Sizemore miss his cutoff man?! what’s wrong with you?!”) (Okay, guidelines #1, #2, #3 and yep, #4…all broken.)
5. Understand the game itself before you try to teach it. (you can’t explain things that you don’t understand yourself)
6. Expect them to try their best, it’s not okay when they don’t try. (if you broke guideline #3 kids usually stop trying)
7. Teach them the meaning of team. (nothing better than when your kids learn how good it feels to contribute to a cause greater than themselves)
8. No coaching your kids during the game! (umm..it’s too late pal, if you wanted to teach your kid how to field a ground ball-doing so while the game is in progress is ridiculous)
9. The manager is in charge, find a seat and use it. (when your kid sees how you respect the manager, they will learn to as well.)
10. Swinging at the first pitch? Not good in most cases 8 and younger. (patience at the plate is the key to good hitting because it takes what I call “plate time”, not just “at bats” to learn how to hit.)
11. Watch games together…at the park! (going to a game and having discussions about the action is incredibly important to understanding how the game works as a whole. When kids start to play, they only understand pieces of the game; seeing all the action first hand, from one point of view, will help them solve the puzzle. Even TV, at best, will just give you a split view.)
12. Practice at scheduled times. (be consistent with practice, kids like to follow routines. Incentivise practice with a small reward for having a good practice. It gives your kid the extra immediate goal to reach. Practicing while trying to win something helps kids stay focused. Example: In practice, every fly ball caught equals a 1 minute later bedtime for my kid. the max is 20 fly balls that must all be caught in a row to stay up an extra 20 minutes-if one is dropped, the count goes back to zero. I give my kid 5 tries at 20 in a row. Oh…and staying up an extra 20 minutes is max!)

Brand rumble. 2nd gear.

As Harley-Davidson reached their 25 year anniversary, they knew changes needed to be made if they were to survive. The vehicle market had changed dramatically since Harley’s inception and another powerhouse brand began to take hold of the country’s vehicle market. That brand was the Ford Motor Company.

Harley-Davidson no longer could position their product as a daily driver, the automobile won that battle and Harley’s brand voice would forever be changed.

Since approximately 1935 Harley positioned themselves as the vehicle choice for fun! Long before the modern campaigns of today, Harley identified with the “lifestyle” of the owner.

How the dealership I bought my bike from looked in the 1930's

A sample of the corporate identity of the 1930's

The ad on the left uses a traditional picture window format, while the ad on the right takes advantage of a full page illustration format

Now, even though the target market for Harley had changed with the automobile on the scene, the Company still made huge sales to both the Military and the Police.

The ads above depict how the motorcycle was the first to respond in times of crisis. The Police would race to try to save the lives of people in auto crashes-and, of course, the lone hero on his Harley speeding to the front lines to fight for freedom!

Below you will see a sampling from a campaign that reminded potential customers that it was possible to be “part of nature” and outperform all other kinds of outdoor recreation on a Harley.

These ads involve the reader in stories about outdoor experiences that only could be had on a Harley (notice the call to action would allow the marketing department to capture the names of potential buyers)

One of the last series of ads I wanted to share with you in this ongoing post, shows Harley making a call to Fun! The illustration in the ad (on the left below) shows a motorcycle in a location that a stock automobile of the day would not be able to get to. This imagery reinforces Harley’s call to the great outdoors. The ad on the right (below) was designed to “prove” to the reader that like the greatest athletes of the day, only Harley-Davidson had the “heart” to take your adventures wherever you wanted to go.

The ad on the left uses the basic Gestalt principles to gain attention while the ad on the right relies on color to show the reader the main message

If you enjoy this series of posts, you would really enjoy a trip to the Harley-Davidson Museum.

Museum.jsp?locale=en_US

Gee-whiz!

The Pontiac G8 GXP is the best performance sedan you can buy for under $40,000. Period.

It’s easy to see that this is the perfect car for the dad that hasn’t thrown-in-the-towel, given in to the pressure of his wife’s nagging and decided that the purchase of a mini-van would indeed be the best decision. (C’mon guys…you know better! A mini-van is never a good decision.)

Well, now you can tell her the Pontiac G8 is a 2009 Consumer Guide Best Buy! General Motors and the Pontiac team have done a fantastic job on this world class vehicle. It’s sad that the Pontiac brand will be slimmed down in the near future, however niche models like the G8 will remain for at least 2 years! It’s my understanding Pontiac models will be available through your Chevrolet dealer in the future. (thanks Nuria – @GMBlogs)

415 hp out of a 6.2L V8!

415 lbft of torque!

6 speed manual! (if you want it, and you do want it.)