DailyDesertDoodle

Last night I watched the 1932 movie version Hemmingway's "Farewell to Arms" which was published in 1927 and sold 31,000 print book copies back then. But I am guessing fewer print books are sold and more digital books are sold or heard as audiobooks. Everything is going digital. This is not a news flash. Podcasts, I have one and I'm starting another one, YouTube Videos, live streaming, and audiobooks...people are still buying books for sure but there is also a large market for whoever wants devour story content by listening or watching.  Net revenue of the book publishing industry in the United States from 2008 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars) Revenue in billion U.S. dollars 26.5 26.5 27.1 27.1 27.94 27.94 27.36 27.36 27.72 27.72 27.07 27.07 27.96 27.96 27.8 27.8 26.27 26.27 26.23 26.23 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Looking at a graph from Statista.com you will see that revenue in the book publishing industry is f...

Fall really is here isn't it? Here southern Arizona it is about the mid-80's during the day but the lower 60's at night. That change is so welcome. The air is dry and cool in the a.m. perfect for our morning walks skirting wide stretches of desert where we live. And shockingly, copious amounts of snow, up to 2 feet are falling in Montana and portions of eastern Washington. Halloween will be here, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fall College Football. Yep we are in Fall now for sure.  Now that the heat of summer has finely gone for this year it is really outdoor time for sure. We will be spending more time exploring planet Earth, hope you will too. Freezing temps are just around the corner so it is time to go outside and play.  ff

I've really tried to avoid discussing politics especially this Trump Impeachment Thing. It's divisive and peoples' positions have hardened. I am guessing my miniscule blog won't change anyone's mind or have any impact. But I am old enough to remember clearly everything that went on with the Nixon impeachment vote and Nixon's resignation, his resignation before the Senate vote. Trump is in trouble as of today. Giuliani, mentioned 30 times in the Whistleblower report, is in trouble. Countless WH insiders are deciding tonight, I am sure, whether they should lie for President Trump or tell the truth and expose what they know about the criminal behavior and betrayal by Trump. I am not a Republican and I am not a Democrat, I'm not even an Independent. I guess I am a political agnostic. I've given up on all lying, cheating, and stealing politicians. But, I have not given up on my country, the USA, or its founding principles that Trump is tearing apar...

Right now on TCM they are running a movie I never heard of, "State of the Union" starring Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, and Angela Landsbury. Plot, an heiress, Landsbury, wants a self-made man, Tracy to run for President with his estranged wife, Hepburn, by his side. What a cockamamie story that is. And I'm afraid there will be more dead-body movies like this dredged up between now and November, 2020. Just today, Sunday, 9/22 I saw a countdown clock till the Iowa Primary.  For the next year, politics will absolutely rule all public life on television, in offices, and any public gathering. Charges and counter-charges will fly, new scandals, new revelations. We are more than a year away form the general election and I am just sick of it. But like a lumbering 120-car freight train roaring down the track and picking up speed continuously I guess that is the way it is going to be. Is it possible that you and I can avoid the clutter and noise? Some of you wil...

UPSIDE DOWN It bass ackwards. The people and business contacts who you do want to send you email and communicate with you...don't. The people who you Don't want to contact you, sometimes multiple times during the day like robo marketers, annoying friends and family, and debt collectors are relentless in their outreach of emails and do contact you and send you emails relentlessly. I've been trying to come up with a hack or fix or strategy to turn that around and I am stumped. I really don't know what to do other than tolerate email or just abandon it as a method of communications. But we can't, can we? We're all stuck with it I guess. Probably the best way to get rid of annoying emails from marketing nerds is to simply unsubscribe. At the bottom of those annoying marketing or sales emails you will see a link in very small lettering say unsubscribe . Take advantage. Hit that link, unsubscribe, and that should take care of it. It may ask the reason. Just ch...

Why certain thoughts pop into my brain throughout the day...I just don't know. But I always seem to be analyzing the world around me. So, here's my thought of the day. Passengers have loaded into an aircraft, doors are shut, and pushback is about to begin. Who is going to start the engines and begin to throw switches. The 200+ passengers? No. The stewards or stewardesses? No. The two pilots at the front of the plane in the cockpit? Yes. Why? Because of their training and experience. They are able to calculate speed and distance, fuel consumption, ATC frequencies to determine and report aircraft position. They have put in the time and effort to become expert in their chosen profession.  Here's our learning moment for the day. If you want to become expert and professional in anything you do in life, you must put in the time to learn and develop skills. There is just no way around this truism. Whether it is managing a relationship, building a house, or learning ...

Okay, I promise long story short. I open my Adobe Premiere to do a little editing. Alert, your NVDIA video card may, operative word, MAY, not be able to process correctly causing slow...etc.  So, I call Dell, what's up wid dat? Do I need a new card? Tech says, I don't know, I will have to escalate this up but your warranty is up. We'll help you if you give us $250, year two-hundred and fifty dollars. Wait a minute, I told him I could buy a brand new computer from Dell for not that much more. Then he tries to pressure me into buying a computer then and there. I say no and he sends me his email telling me to call when I am ready to buy. Commission? End of conversation. I'll just edit  with Premiere, shut down all running programs, and do my best.  Why does the upsell on EVERYTHING we encounter these days continue to happen. I called for a specific purpose and it spiraled out of control. It just makes you want to just hang up the phone, shut everything dow...