150th Anniversary of the Civil War VIDEO

Fisherman Woes

 Photo of dead oysters

Fisherman are still facing hard times due to the oil spill last year. A man who has been working at Collins Oyster Co. (which has been in business for 90 years) has to close the doors. Nick Collins, who works at his fathers company, says "This is the biggest oyster kill in Louisiana history, probably in the Gulf coast's history....I wish I wasn't part of it. I wish I wasn't here. It's heartbreaking." Other fisherman who feel Collins' pain gathered at a town hall meeting where Ken Feinberg flew in from Washington to speak. Feinberg is the man President Obama has appointed to run BP's $20bn compensation fund, but apparently people have not been compensated.

The people took action and directly expressed there concerns to Feinberg: "You keep telling everybody that everything's fine in the Gulf of Mexico," says oil rig worker Clayton Mathern, "but you're sitting there lying to our faces." Mathern's wife said.... "You told us personally that you would help us. You gave us your personal cell phone number and begged us to keep it secret, but whenever we called, you didn't pick up."Wilber Collins, founder of the Collins Oyster Co., said, "it discourages you so much to see the way the government treats you. For America - it's unbelievable."

I know there is so much more going on in the world right now, but I didn't even realize that the oil spill was still an issue anymore. Like the people at the meeting were complaining about....politicians are allowing people to move important issues aside saying that everything is fine in the Gulf...but according to the BBC article on the matter, the oil spill is still very much an issue that needs to be addressed, but unfortunately it is not. We do not need to be told everything is going to be alright when it is not because that attitude will make become careless and incapable of handling or understanding events that should be of great concern to everybody. 

Revisiting the Civil War

This week, people are remembering one of the most deadliest wars of our nation....it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War
 An article on CNN commemorates the anniversary and looks at 4 ways that we are still fighting some of the same issues that fueled the Civil War.."The shutdown of the federal government, war in Libya, the furor over the new health care law and Guantanamo Bay -- all have tentacles that reach back to the Civil War, historians say." They point to four "weird parallels"...
1) the disappearance of the political center 
2) the question...how much power should the federal government have?
3) unleashing the dogs of war
4) the president as dictator
The article on CNN.com elaborates on the four points to say that the same issues that fueled the Civil War are still debated amongst Americans today and a century-and-a-half after the war ended people still clash over the cause and meaning...this seems to be true as I live in the South and still see many people sporting the Confederate flag which provokes anger in some people (both southerners and northerners) who see it.

Training for the Ironman Triathlon

Helping Japan

Japan's tsunami aftermath from space

The massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan has left thousands of families homeless and has left children with no parents as well food and fuel shortages. Although 91 countries have responded to the disaster in Japan offering aid such as blankets, food, search dogs and military transport, an article on the BBC news website  says the Japanese government is among the best prepared in the world for disasters, which is why they are only making specific requests for help, such as calling for search and rescue teams and there has been no request (yet) for humanitarian assistance from the international community.

Several charities like Save the Children UK, British Red Cross, and World Vision UK are asking for donations. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is usually the first to launch a major fundraising appeal after a disaster, but they are not planning one for Japan. A spokesman for the DEC says that the help needed (after a disaster) in developing countries is very different.

The Japanese government is taking charge to carefully coordinate all of the help being offered. Charities are addressing the worse affected areas in Japan and donations are being made to supply medical care, shelter, food, etc., but Japan is pretty much in control…as a spokesman for the DEC put it, “the danger is almost ‘too many cooks spoil the broth.’”

When I first saw news of the disaster in Japan, I was in shock watching the videos of thousands of homes being destroyed... knowing lives were taken and that the survivors would be left with almost nothing…no shelter, food, or their family. During this tragic time, it is understandable that people have an overwhelming desire to help Japan in any way possible. The responses from charities are wonderful, but it is also fortunate that Japan is a very self-sufficient country that has been very well prepared for a disaster such as this.

Thoughts on Crowdsourcing-according to the world's largest advertiser

A hot topic for ad agencies is crowdsourcing. A panel at the 4a's (American Association of Advertising Agencies) Transformation Conference talked about this idea to make sure their message was clear...the industry better get used to crowdsourcing because it's not going anywhere. Ignacio Oreamuno is a man who knows a lot about this topic as he is the president of crowdsourcing agency GiantHydra. He says "crowdsourcing is very simple: instead of two people working together it could be 15 from around the world, delivering ideas for less money and much less time, you won't be able to stop that." The worlds largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble, uses crowdsourcing to find the best ideas but the digital and e-commerce leader at P&G, Charles Chappell, also says that his biggest fear of crowdsourcing is his loss of control. I think many agencies might be fearful of the same thing, because if consumer reviews of a product are bad then they have to manage that. Tim McClure of a virtual crowdsourcing agency said that "the spirit of competition" and the whole idea of crowdsourcing "makes us all nervous but it makes the work better."

I know ad agencies probably aren't too excited about their brands being controlled by a large number of people, but if they go along with this new model of marketing people will be able to see their company and products in a new and better light.

A smartphone app called "T2 Mood Tracker" was developed for military service members to keep up with their mental health. An article from Wired Magazine reported that 30% of military service members develop some type of mental health issue after deployment within for months of their return home. The app created specifically for service members to keep a diary of their mental health is now available for use on the Android phone and should be available for iPhone users in the near future. Therapists/physicians collect patient information of their moods or symptoms that they experience over the previous weeks and months and research has shown that the way they gather information about a patient can lead to a collection of inaccurate information about mood. Psychologist Perry Bosmajian with National Center for TeleHealth and Technology says "the best record of an experience is when it's recorded at the time and place it happens." The smartphone app works like a high-tech diary for users to express their emotions, behaviors, and daily experiences. Here's how the App works....
1. It tracks specific issues

• anxiety
• depression
• stress
• post traumatic stress
• brain injury
• general well-being  

2. Each issue has a set of 10 descriptions (called feeling or affective anchors) - these anchors let users hone in on just how the issues affect them through a visual scale and touch screen where you can choose a point on a color continuum that reflects your emotions. 

The daily expressions add up over time to produce a trend that can be observed by physicians and therapists.

I've got an iPhone and the "T2 Mood Tracker" is still not available, but I hope it will be soon because I'm interested in seeing how it works or if it's actually effective. I think all of us could use something that help us express our emotions and behaviors, but I wonder if a smartphone app could actually take the place of actually therapy with a licensed physician.