Scooters get no respect

So about three years ago gas started skyrocketing and I decided to get a scooter to tool around on. I drive it to work on nice days (and on some bad), take it to the grocery store when I just need to run get a couple things, etc. I love the scooter. It's a 150cc with plenty of power to get this 200+ lbs guy well above 55 MPH when needed. I had to get a motorcycle license, and I wear appropriate gear such as gloves, a helmet, etc. I'm out there exposed just like the motorcycles are.... yet, they have their little elite club. Unless you've driven a motorcycle (or possibly a scooter) you may not know about this. But when two motorcycles pass, they hold out their hand in the "motorcycle wave" or "biker wave". (see photo) This is to recognize each other because you're now in a brotherhood of bikers. You're out there exposed to the dangers of automobiles without the protection of airbags and a bunch of steel around you. So you'd think that scooters, being in the same situation, would be part of this little club and get the courtesy wave. Nope. We are second class citizens to the bikers. They don't wave to us. Occasionally I get a wave because they think I'm on a motorcycle (my scooter is actually quite large. It's not a little 25 MPH 50cc scooter). Once they realize that I'm just a scooter, they want to retract the wave. NO! YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE CLUB! I TAKE THAT GESTURE OF KINDNESS AND FELLOWSHIP BACK!

So do the scooters have their own little secret wave? No, not really. We are enjoying buzzing around getting 60-80 miles to the gallon. You know what? Scooters are a lot of fun! We may not get respect from the bikers, but it is a different experience. I've owned a motorcycle. It's really cool, but a total different experience. Scooters are easy to drive, and you can easily get from A to B with little effort. Motorcycles are much better for longer trips. If you're into cruising and road trips, scooters aren't going to be your cup of tea. But for quick trips to the store, or a mega-economical way to commute to work (not on the freeway), they are perfect. My scooter is red. I always wanted a red scooter (Honda Elite) in high school. They are a blast.

As I've travelled on business and pleasure around the world, I've noticed how many other countries use scooters for everyday transportation. In Europe it is very common to see scooters everywhere. Teenagers never have cars, they have scooters. In Taiwan and China, cars are almost more of a status-symbol. You start out driving a scooter until you can afford a car. Parking for scooters is crazy and driving one must be absolutely a wild experience. I've only seen it from inside a taxi cab. I'm posting a picture of scooters parked in Taiwan. I told one of our factory partners there that I drove a scooter to work and he wouldn't believe me. He couldn't understand why I would do that when I had a perfectly good car... again, it's a bit of a status symbol. I'd probably drive the scooter with or without the high gas prices. I just really enjoy it.

So if you're thinking about buying a scooter because of the horribly high gas prices, I'm all for it. The more of us on the road the better. Then the car drivers will get used to us and it will be safer for everyone.

As for high gas prices, it is killing me. I have a really cool old 1969 Chevy pick up that gets less than 10 miles to the gallon. It is draining every penny I have to drive this thing while my car is in the shop getting work done. I put $30 dollars in it yesterday, and after driving up to Salt Lake City, UT and back to Orem, Utah, I had used the whole $30. How are we going to make it with these old cars? As for mine? It's up for sale... and not a lot of interest. Everyone is thinking the same thing. "Let's get a smaller more economical car." It's really affecting business too. It's hard to make any money on bulk CAT5e and CAT6 wire at work. The freight is absolutely through the roof. Heavy cables like DVI, SVGA, and HDMI cables, especially the extra long ones, are the same. The fuel surcharges keep going up and up. It's hard to stay on top of them.

I think we need some solutions, and fast. We have a ton of oil in Utah. Let's drill it baby! Let's drill in Alaska! And while we are drilling, lets get working on a fast track to some alternative energy sources. Whoever comes up with a way to retro-fit these old cars with some money-saving alternative is going to make a lot of dough. Weather it be natural gas, solar, wind, hybrid, electric, whatever. Let's get a move on it. The price of fuel is really starting to hurt.

Until next time

The Cable Guy

http://www.professionalcable.com/

Redbox, The Internet, and Friday Night Videos

Times have sure changed since I was a teenager. Flashback to 1985 when I was 15. I would look forward to the weekend so that I could watch "Friday Night Videos". I would watch videos by artists such as Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Erasure, New Order, etc. I would not see these videos anywhere else, so I "Had" to watch it that Friday night. During commercials, it was a battle royale to get to the bathroom, grab a drink, pop popcorn, etc. before the show came back on. We did not have cable TV. That would have at least given us MTV, which some of my friends had. When I'd go to their house, we would sit up all night watching music videos. I would usually record Friday night videos on a VCR tape to compensate for no MTV. I'd sit next to the TV and VCR so that I wouldn't miss one of my favorite songs.

Fast-forward to the present. Our lives are much easier now. I have one show every week that I "Have" to see. (hint... it's not Friday Night Videos)... It's The Office. I love this show. It makes me laugh out loud every week. Do I worry about missing it? Not really. I can set the TiVo to record all the episodes. This is handy because then I can watch it whenever, rewind it to hear a funny line again, and pause it whenever. If I'm watching live, I can pause live TV, go to the bathroom, get a Diet Coke, and pop some pop corn. I miss nothing. I come back, resume, and get to fast forward through all of that paid advertising.

Last week I missed the episode of The Office. So I actually went online and watched the whole episode at NBC.com. I could pause, rewind, but I could not get around the commercials. But you know what? I was OK with that. They paid for me to watch it free online. I know a lot more about the new Palm and 2009 Toyota line up. I'm good with that. Lastly, there is Red Box. How many of us on the way home Friday after work get the call from the wifey that goes like this.... "Hi Honey. I don't want to cook tonight. Can you pick something up? Also, do you want to grab a movie to watch after the kids go to bed?" That happens to me almost every Friday. So how convenient is it to have a Red Box at the McDonald's where you pick up the food? We have one at the local grocery store as well! So if I'm picking up some bread and a rotisserie chicken, I can grab a Red Box DVD all in ONE STOP! I love the one stop! And, being Mr. Cheapo that I am, I love me the $1 DVD rental. Long live Red Box. It's an amazing system... I hate the long lines... but did I mention ONE BUCK FOR THIS DVD RENTAL?

The cool thing about 2008 is that you can watch these programs or music videos with Mega-big, super-crystal-clear HDTVs with an awesome surround sound home theater system.... A tad bit better than the little TV with one mini-speaker that we huddled around at our place in 1985. Nowadays you do have more cables to choose from than just your composite RCA cables. This can be a challenge if you are setting up that dream machine of a home theater. You have Component Cables, HDMI Cables, DVI Cables, S-Video Cables, Toslink Cables, SPDIF Digital Coax Cables, SVGA Cables, and RG6 Coax Cables. You better make sure that all of your devices can talk to each other and have the same connections all the way through so your killer home theater doesn't fall short of what you're expecting.

So there you have it. In 1985 information and entertainment was harder to come by. You had to work at it. In 2008, it's everywhere. (So much so that it can make it hard to get your work done!) You have a variety of ways to watch your favorite TV program. You have a variety of ways to watch music videos. (MySpace.com, FaceBook.com, Youtube.com, etc. etc.) If you have a computer, it's out there.... Just like this blog. You don't pay a thing to read. Back in 1985 you had to buy a newspaper or magazine to read.

Until next time
The Cable Guy
http://www.professionalcable.com/

15 Years flies by - Ahhh La France!

So it's been 15 years since I stepped off of the plane, coming home from my LDS mission, having served 2 years in France.

Over the past 15 years, since I came back to America, I met my wife. I started my career. I have returned to Europe several times. I lived in Holland with my wife Jen. We had our first child, Julienne, in Holland. We lived in England for a short time. I've travelled to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong several times. I finished my BA degree at BYU. I started my own business with a friend, grew it into a successful company, and sold it. I got my MBA from Colorado Tech. I purchased my first and second home. I've travelled all over the USA. I've purchased a gaggle of cars. (a fleet might be more appropriate). My brother served a 2-year mission in California and learned to speak Spanish. I've had 3 children since coming back to the USA, for a total of 4 children. I have started another cable supply company and have seen success. There has been a lot that has happened. Life has been good to me. Yesterday was my 15 year anniversary on coming home from my mission. Today is my 13-year wedding anniversary (married 2 years after coming home, almost to the day). I never could have imagined all of the things that I would see and do that day back on May 5th, 1993. Now I sit at my desk, at my company, and I wonder in amazement, what do the next 15 years have to hold for me and the world? 15 years ago I hadn't heard of the Internet, e-mail, cell phones, etc. I had not heard of any of the common terms in the cable industry such as: HDMI, Wii, X-Box, Plasma TVs, LCD, High-Def, HDTV, FireWire, USB, SATA and SCSI. The world really was different 15 years ago. I would guess that the world will be different 15 years from now.

Here is to another 15 years of peace and prosperity.

Until next time

The Cable Guy

http://www.professionalcable.com/

Digital Signage - Giving the Printing Industry Heartburn

Have you noticed how well digital signage works? Say you walk into an electronics store and there on massive screens, are advertisements about the TV, Camcorder, iPod, Cell Phone, PDA, computer, or whatever department you are browsing. In the past, stores would spend big bucks on designing the ad/poster, printing it on a large format printer (probably outsourced to a printing company), laminating the poster so it could withstand public traffic touching and bumping it, mounting it to a board, and then putting it up in the store, possibly just for a seasonal promotion, or even a weekend. Think about how much effort this would take in a department store, or a grocery store! Now, with an investment in digital signage, you change your ad with a click of a button. You can have the ad rotating with other ads, so when shoppers are in line at the check out, they see your specials, your promotions, or maybe your promotions for next week, reminding them to come back. If you are in retail and you are not taking advantage of digital signage, you need to rethink your advertising strategy.

Digital signage comes in all sizes and therefore you can do it on a small budget, or go all out and really make a splash. This is now an industry to itself. You basically need a computer to run the ad (and there are some basic boxes on the market for under $300 that can be dedicated to running digital signage), at least one display monitor, (this can be an HDTV or even a computer monitor), and the cabling, (you didn't think that I'd leave that out did you?) and you're set! Professional Cable's high-quality HDMI cables are being used in retail stores that are raking in big sales thanks to a good digital signage campaign.

Don't have a big budget for digital signage? Alex Para, manager of the University of Utah Bookstore had no budget for this, but knew he'd get big results with them running ads and information about products found at the bookstore. So what did he do? He went to his vendors and sold them ads on his new digital signage...which they paid for. Now that it's paid for, 100% by his vendors, he is seeing the impact of the digital signage in his store. His department is getting noticed. Students are walking in to the computer department asking about the Apple (MacBook) Air laptop computer that they saw on the digital display. Some are saying that they hadn't even noticed that the bookstore had a computer department until they noticed the signage. He'd had the good old-fashioned posters up before He'd used giant banners before. But what caught their eye? The big HDTV showing all the fancy gadgets the computer store had to offer.

As you are putting together your digital signage, consult a professional. There are many companies that specialize in the design and installation. If you are doing something real basic, you'll probably be OK doing it on your own. Give me a call. I can help point you to some of the hardware that you'll need, like our HDMI multipliers. It allows one computer to run the ads, and splits out the signal to multiple HDTVs or monitors via HDMI cables. We also carry the same thing in SVGA. SVGA multipliers have been used in this setting for a long time, often in classrooms, airports, and conference rooms.

With retailers moving by the dozens to digital signage over the regular posters, large format printer manufactures like HP, large format printing companies like FedEx Kinkos, and laminating companies like GBC are having a bit of heartburn over lost sales and are scrambling to try and figure out how they can take a part in the newest wave of in-store retail advertising.

Until next time
The Cable Guy
http://www.professionalcable.com/