The History of Daddy Claxton

Zaditor--The Cure for Itching Eyes in Texas

WFAA Weatherman Pete Delkus keeps tweeting to North Texas–If you’re allergic to grass, the pollen is high right now–but you already knew that.

Zaditor, the cure for itching eyes in Texas.

And indeed, one of my daughters has been having a horrible time of it for about two months now and I’ve been skating past–until the past three weeks.  I got outside, get in the car and drive maybe a mile or two and I find I’ve got tears running out of the corners of my eyes. But I’m not crying. And then my eyes are red. And burning.  And then I’m cursing the name of Pete Delkus.  Okay, it’s really not his fault.

So this morning I was talking to my mom, a nurse, who after I told her what the problem was said, go get some Zaditor. It’s over-the-counter and it has antihistamine in it. The other thing she said was it’s expensive.

So I was almost to Walmart today and found my way to the eye drop section and there it was for about $11. Next to it was the Walmart Equate brand for $8 maybe.  I bought the Equate version.

WOW!

So you’re only supposed to use it twice a day but already after one dose, it’s been like, well, when it isn’t grass pollen time in Texas.

This has worked today better than Sudafed, better than Clariton D, better than Visine.

So here’s the pitch. Try Zaditor or the Equate version.  Zaditor, if you’d contact me and send me some samples I’d love to give your product a run, too, knowing it’s the same thing basically. And hey, while you’re here, on the Zaditor Website you can get a coupon for the wonder drug for $1 off retail price. Every bit counts in this day and age and truly, I would have liked to have gotten the brand name, but seriously,  Zaditor feels like it’s the genuine cure for itching eyes in Texas. Really, I suppose it’d work in a state that’s not Texas, too, but hey, few other states do grass pollen like Texas… Ye haw….

And thanks, mom.

Related articles

• BLOG: Severe weather in North Texas
• Could Bees Hold The Cure To HIV?

Cowboy Mouth At Wildflower Festival 2013–Disconnected

Tonight was a great night to be in Richardson, Texas as the Wildflower Festival with NOLA band Cowboy Mouth playing on the Metro PCS stage. The show was great–save for a continual microphone issue for the lead guitar player which set their timing back and ultimately meant they didn’t play my favorite Cowboy Mouth song, Disconnected.

But did my daughters Chandler, 16, and Reagan, 13, and I have a great time!

From watching several weeks of YouTube videos of Cowboy Mouth, I knew the “sweet spot” to stand and watch the show and catch flying drumsticks was on the right/center side of the stage. And lo and behold, Reagan and Chandler watched another 10 feet to the right of me and guess what. Reagan got a Fred LeBlanc drumstick.

Cowboy Mouth Fred LeBlanc autographed drumstick.

Because Wylie ISD Communications Director Ian Halperin was up front taking his usual great pics, after the show I was able to gather up a collection of red spoons thrown at the stage for the band’s perennial favorite Everybody Loves Jill.

So Cowboy Mouth began pretty much at 7:30 p.m. sharp. The show was high energy. Great stuff. It’s 11:46 p.m. and my ears are going to be still ringing in the morning. But as they tried to do a couple of songs with the lead guitarist singing, like Everybody Loves Jill, they twice had to start over because his mic kept shorting out. That slowed things down and put them over on time.

And so the show ended.  It ended WITHOUT them playing Disconnected, the one song I have played religiously over the past six or seven years. I felt cheated. While I was talking to Ian, Reagan kept tugging on my arm and saying she was hungry. And so, after having spent $60 to get three of us in for the night, and having spent $11 on a super corndog and a cup of lemonade, and after learning that I was then driving them from Dallas after taking DART from Galatyn Park to Mockingbird all the way to their mother’s for the night, we decided that was it for the night. No Spin Doctors for me. Plus, since Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong was big before even Chandler was born, I didn’t get much interest in sticking around to hear it.

And so we walked out. Reagan with her Fred LeBlanc drumstick. Reagan wanting some pizza. And me repeating, I can’t believe they didn’t play Disconnected.

And so as we walked past the fencing back toward back stage of the Metro PCS stage toward the DART rail station, there stood Fred LeBlanc on the cell phone. He’d already changed clothes. And as we got toward him (he’d hung up the phone) I asked if he had a Sharpie so he could autograph Reagan’s drumstick. He was impressed that she’d gotten one. And out came the Sharpie.

As he was signing Reagan’s drumstick I asked “Why no Disconnected?!” He looked up and said, “Well, you heard we had some technical difficulties. We just ran out of time.”

I got some good questions in.

How long have you been at this?  “Twenty-three years.”

Are you thinking about … any time soon?  “Hell no! We just signed a new recording contract.”

Fred-LeBlanc at Wildflower Festival 2013 with Chandler and Reagan Claxton.

How old’s your son that you mentioned? “A year and a half.” Do you get to see him much?  “Oh yes.”

Where are you off to next? “Austin! Short weekend.” (Yes, I’ve been thinking about going down for the show tomorrow so I can see them maybe do Disconnected!)

Then he was kind enough to do a picture with Reagan and Chandler. And of course, he gave Reagan her autographed drumstick.

How about all that? So if they’d played Disconnected, we probably wouldn’t have been as draggy to get out of there. Might not have stayed behind and talked with Ian. And might have missed as special a part of the evening as seeing the entire show–Meeting the voice and man behind it all.  Funny how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?

During the show, Fred pointed out they’ve played Wildflower Festival more than any other band. He kept talking about being back next year. Hopefully Disconnected won’t be at the end of the play list –better yet, maybe they could start off and then close with it just to keep things in the universe in balance.

There are two more days and nights left of Wildflower 2013. We also left before Charlie Daniels played tonight.  But my guess is he just finished playing and that drive to drop off the girls wore me out…..

AT&T Smart Limits Acting Stupidly

I have made no secret about it before but I absolutely HATE the AT&T website. I have built and used my share of websites over the years and theirs has got to be the worst.

But the problem I have with them right now is that their Smart Limits function, which I pay $4.99 a month for, has a glitch in it.

AT&T Smart Limits

THE EX-FACTOR

Yes, even though I have kids by my ex wife, I do not like to talk to her. I don’t want to talk to her. I don’t want to get text messages from her. I don’t want to get calls from her.

And so, I pay to have her phone number blocked. Her husband’s phone number is blocked, too, because in spite of the fact that he has zero need nor business to talk to me, after several years he’s still not been smart enough to figure that minor point out.

And so, I pay to have him blocked, too.

MY DAUGHTERS

I also have teenage daughters, twins who are 13. Let’s just say that 13-year-old girls like to talk on the phone. Well, they like to eat up data, too, but let’s just stick to the calls and texting. One month, one of them had 8,000 text messages. I had 5,000 because of Twitter. And the other twin had somewhere around 3,500.

THEORETICALLY, with AT&T Smart Limits, I can have their phones turn off at a certain hour of the night, 10 p.m and turn back on at 6:30 a.m. That way they don’t get bombarded by texts all night and they get something called SLEEP.

One can set up a list of ALLOWED Calls per user. One can also set up a list of BLOCKED Calls per user.

THE PROBLEM

The twins have their phone limits activated and I have a list of BLOCKED numbers. No where in their list of blocked numbers is their muther’s nor step-father’s phone numbers. No, they’re on MY list of Blocked Calls.  But guess what?  Yeah, the twins can’t call their muther nor step-father because I have them blocked on my user list.

I’ve talked with AT&T about this and been told “that shouldn’t be happening.” No, it shouldn’t but guess what. It is. It does and it has been for a very long time.

I’d love to work with AT&T to resolve their issues, maybe sit in on a focus group or 20 about the functionality of their Website and it’s navigation. I HATE using their website.

And as I say all this, I want to emphasize that as a service provider, I’m all AT&T.

Heck, I should get a discount for the wireless, home, DSL, U-Verse, Mi-Fi, and iPad services. But to get them all switched on to one account would cost a small fortune, but that’s another blog post all together….

Related articles

• Ann Brenoff: Breaking Up With Your Phone Number
• Text message Contacts, no Avatar
• 6 Things Twentysomethings Are Afraid Of
• SEO Positive Responds to Google Changing Rules on Phone Numbers in Advertisement Text
• Serveboard Launches on iPhone, Looks to Bridge Gap Between Public and Private Communication
• 3 Stupidly Simple Reasons Why Most People’s Photography Does Not Improve
• Take A Hint…
• Text Blocker Apps for Your Phone
• Mailing list guidelines
• Is this your kids idea of socializing?

Hi, if you’re visiting from the Press Club of Dallas site and wondering what I’m going to talk about Saturday morning, you’re not going to find much here. The real action for the business is over on ClaxtonCreative.com. That’s where the magic happens these days.

Regardless, I want to welcome you to DaddyClaxton.com. This has been a six-year project and it continues to this day, though just not as often. I find that the busier I am with work, the less time I have for blogging…. Imagine that.

So do you have something in particular you want me to address Saturday at the Press Club of Dallas event? I’m happy to work that in now.

My talk is going to center around the difficulties of becoming a freelancer and making the money flow. Lord knows I’ve got some experience in that arena. Some stories we’ll just have to save for private, too.

Thanks for stopping by. We’ll see you Saturday. If you have an iPad, bring it. I’ve got a few surprises to show you!

DC

Eating Your Own Dog Food–American Airlines Doesn’t Need To Rush Merger With US Airways

A friend of mine tweeted a few hours ago about how she was on a US Airways plane somewhere on the Right Coast and having a miserable experience. I can relate. I’ve flown a good deal on US Airways, enough to know NOT to do it anymore. My preference remains to fly Southwest, one ‘cos it is closer to go to Love Field than to go to DFW.  My next preference is to fly American Airlines.  (Frontier is pretty cool, too, and Continental isn’t bad) but US Airways is just a whole ‘noter beast and one I prefer not bother to spend money on.

departing LAX (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why?

It’s the whole clientele it attracts–the fairs apparently are cheaper, and then so are the people who tend to fly it in coach. That also includes parents with kids who tend to not listen, don’t put on their seatbelts as instructed, try to fit bags into the overhead bins which are SMALLER than any other planes in the air, and who are bouncing up and down throughout push back and the whole seatbelt bit. “Please remain seated doesn’t compute.”

And as my friend noted, at least for her experience today, “has the rudest most unpleasant employee ever,” working for it. Whomever my friend encountered, generally isn’t alone.

“Merge With US Airways Now”

Yesterday as The Dallas Morning News began posting pics of the new painting style for American Airlines, I couldn’t help but notice the commentary, quoted below from the Allied Pilots Asssociation, per spokesman Dennis Tajer:

“A new paint job is fine but it does not fix American’s network deficiencies and toxic culture, so we continue our steadfast support of a merger with US Airways and not doubling down on the network strategy that brought us into bankruptcy.

“American’s network needs more than cosmetic changes to compete with Delta and United, simply put, it needs to merge with US Airways now.”

And so it is I suggest to American Airlines pilots who are encouraging a rapid merger with US Airways, when you’re already complaining about bad morale within AA, why in the HELL you would want to fold in the elements that are going to come with US Airways.  Two wrongs aren’t going to make things better here.

Perhaps AA pilots should take a few days and buy some tickets and ride in the coach section of US Airways flights. Maybe all pilots should spend a little more time in coach on all airlines, not in uniform, but looking like a normal Joe and see the world like the rest of us.  Eat your own dog food, they say in the PR business. Don’t ride in the jump seat or whatever. Sit in the back with the rest of us who have paid the cheaper rates and paid for it.

No, new paint on AA aircraft isn’t going to change the heart of what’s going on within AA. But my God, it’s a far better operation externally than I’ve had the misfortune of exploring in the back of a US Airways flight.

They say fools rush in.  Hopefully, someone at AA will see maybe they shouldn’t be moving so fast….

Related articles

• American Airlines unveils new logo, aircraft graphics – VIDEO
• American Airlines new logo: Farewell to the ‘Silver Bird’ fleet and welcome ‘Team America’
• Joint statement of US Airways and American Airlines
• US Airways pilot leaders approve transition agreement in case of American-US Airways merger
• New look unveiled for evolving American Airlines
• US Airways, American Airlines announce employment terms for pilots
• Merger details for US Airways, American pilots released
• Merger of American, US Airways would mean an extra $522 million for pilots
• Mergers Are in the Air (Literally)
• American Airlines unveils new logo, look

Obama Re-Elected–The Summary

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Your daughter has been away at an expensive college for the past four years.  She managed to bring her GPA up to a C- last semester. You’ve been borrowing on credit cards, have taken out a second and third mortgage, aren’t sure if you’re going to have a job in the coming weeks, and instead of having her come home, go to a local school, get a job, work and help pay down some of the expenses she’s running up, you just sent her a new credit card.

That’s what happened in America yesterday with the re-election of Mr. Obama.

The Definition of Insanity

Americans voted for status quo yesterday.  Nothing has changed. The House got more Republican, the Senate got more Democratic, and the White House stayed the same.  They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.

Things just got critically insane.

Related articles

• Obama wins re-election
• Obama re-elected to 2nd term
• US elections: a victory for Barack Obama and good judgment | Editorial
• Election night: A convincing win for Barack Obama | The Economist
• Obama re-elected as US president
• As California Goes, So Goes The Nation: Obama Wins Re-Election
• Celebration As Obama Wins
• US2012: Obama wins, makes history again
• Obama wins 2nd term: ‘The best is yet to come’
• President Obama wins re-election

You can say you read it here first, but if the election results of the 2012 presidential election come out as vastly different from what the majority of polls predict this year as I suspect they are, the election polling accuracy, or more to the point, inaccuracy, may very well force the major networks to overhaul how they do polling, much like they were forced to do in 2001 as a result of the exit polling debacle that happened with the Voter News Service.

Image via CrunchBase

There has been so much criticism of the system used this go around, the oversampling of Democratic likely voters and registered voters, etc. that if the network and major media outlet projections are as out of whack as they appear at this writing, there just might be enough pressure for groups like the Associated Press to take the lead, much like it did back in 2001 with the problems that happened in calling the election between Al Gore and George W. Bush, and require a certain level of standards to be followed before anyone goes with a poll among the AP and the major networks. One can certainly hope, regardless.

I don’t see the networks or the news media doing away with polls. Indeed, it makes for good ratings and readership to say you’ve got the latest numbers, and frankly, it is a good tool if used wisely and honestly.

But I feel, sitting here in the typical haunting quiet of an Election Day, with the feeling that the system this year has been compromised and frankly abused.

Maybe it’s time to have a discussion about why a public poll really is conducted.

I feel that in 2012, it’s been used by the national media to try to influence the outcome of the election.  We’ll have a better idea at the end of the day, but it’s clear that groups like CNN, in particular, have been using weighted samples to at least get the results up to parity between the two candidates. They couldn’t stand the thought that Mitt Romney might actually be winning any more than Candy Crowley could resist defending the president in the second debate where he said he’d called Benghazi a terrorist attack on Sept. 12, when he clearly hadn’t.  If you’ve not now also seen the 60 Minutes video of him clearly saying he didn’t want to call it that on Sept. 12, well, I don’t know what else to tell you.

It is clear at this point in the day, that the system is broken.  In a few hours, when we see the results, we’ll have a better idea of how right or presumably wrong, the national polls have been in calling this contest.  When we see that their results were as accurate as the botched calls in November of 2001, it will be interesting to see how much pressure and will the networks, the AP and pollsters have to adopt some sort of conventions to use in the future.

For several days now, I’ve been being told that Mr. Romney wins decisively tonight.  And, and here’s one I’ve not heard anyone talking about, the GOP takes back the US Senate. We shall see….

Related articles

• My election prediction: The polls will be right and Obama will win with 290 electoral votes
• 2012 Presidential Campaign: Can Internet Advertising Influence This Election?
• Is knowledge power online? Digital media shifting the balance of power.
• The Rise of the Poll Quants (or, the Demise of the TV Pundits)
• Dear #undecided voter: You are an idiot. Love, Twitter
• First result exactly split between Obama, Romney

I just read a Facebook post from a friend in Huntsville, Alabama whose son chose to sleep on the couch last night following a bad dream that Bama had lost this weekend to LSU. It is this kind of team spirit that has been killed by the coaching, playing and management of Gene Chizik, Tony Romo and Jerry Jones, dis-respectfully.

Largely, it no longer exists in the hearts of most Auburn fans after last weekend’s loss to Texas A&M, the worst loss since 1917, and it’s certainly been drained by multiple interceptions and multiple losses and failures by the Dallas Cowboys under the crap playing of Romo and the egotistical foolishness of Jones.

ARLINGTON, TX – OCTOBER 23: Quarterback Tony Romo #9 bumps fist with Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys before a game against the St. Louis Rams at the Cowboy Stadium on October 23, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. The Cowboys defeated the Rams 34 to 7. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

So Gene, Tony and Jerry, tell me the last time you heard about a five-year-old boy with a dream like this about how you have coached, played or managed:

Mom: Son, why did you sleep on the couch last night?
5-year-old boy: I had a bad dream.
Dad: Bad dream? What was it about?
Son: Bama lost to LSU.
Mom: I would have ended up on the couch, too.

There really isn’t much to say about that, save for the fact that a coach with a losing record from Iowa State wasn’t going to come into the SEC and produce a powerhouse football team.

I saw a tire commercial here in Dallas the other day and they said if you bought three or four new tires, they’d give you a Dallas Cowboys jersey and showed one with number 9 on it.  It’s a sure bet that that isn’t helping sell any tires.

And if anyone coached or played as bad as Jerry Jones has done in getting good players who aren’t thugs, loudmouths or assault their moms, he would have fired them.  Well, maybe not, which explains the problems of the Dallas Cowboys.

So as this weekend comes and you think about putting on your Auburn gear, your number 9 jersey, or getting ready to head to Atlanta to watch another dismal performance that you later describe as a move in the right direction that might lead to a trip to the Playoffs in a year forward uncertain, think of all the young boys and girls out there who once dreamed of playing on your teams, who would have been up last night worrying about whether or not we’re going to beat New Mexico State or Atlanta this weekend. Because I can promise you, the numbers, like the scores this weekend will be, don’t look so good.

Related articles

• Jerry Jones Booed Mercilessly During Cowboys Game and Deservedly So
• Tony Romo, Interceptions and All, Will be Dallas Cowboys’ Starting QB in 2013
• AUBURN – FIRE GENE SHITZIK (Chizik)
• NFL Rumors: Are Jason Garrett, Tony Romo in the Dallas Cowboys future?
• Tony Romo pushing for Cowboys’ offense to play like they’re losing
• Tony Romo and Dallas Cowboys Need to Part Ways Now More Than Ever
• Fantasy football: Don’t be confused – Tony Romo is elite
• Dallas Cowboys: Can Tony Romo Win a Super Bowl for Jerry Jones?
• Tony Romo on Dallas Cowboys fans: ‘I would have booed us, too’
• America’s Team Has Lost It’s Way

Dear Mr. Romney,

Romney (Photo credit: Talk Radio News Service)

So the press jumped on you earlier this week for being critical.  For my money, you’ve not been critical enough and it’s time to kick things up.  WAY UP.

Remember what happened on Inauguration Day when President Ronald Reagan assumed office?  By the time he took the oath that day, Iran had our hostages, who had sat there in the benignly weakened days of the Carter Administration on a plane on the way out of the country before he could get the military officer’s launch codes “Football” by his side. The Iranians knew that if they still had the hostages in place when Reagan took power, we would be bringing battle cruisers and bombers to what they had assumed was a knife fight.

That’s where America is again, sadly.  Our president as you say, went on an “apology” tour when he took office and bowed down to nearly every foreign leader he could find.  He even sought out and shook hands with Qaddafi.

Your campaign has had you trying to be too much of a nice guy to show you’re personable.  I disagree with that strategy at this point. We need to see your pissed side.  Think back to an instance of candidate Reagan pissed that he wasn’t going to get to use the microphone he had paid for in a debate. We haven’t seen that in you and neither have leaders in foreign countries who are quite happy to keep having an American wimpy president who hesitates to take action when Americans are in harm’s way or dictators are slaughtering their own people by the thousands; who would rather be on Letterman than talk to Ben Netanyahu; who would come to them and bow down.

It’s time to spell out the Romney Doctrine.  Go to Montgomery, AL and stand outside the gates of Maxwell Air Force Base with the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College, or go to West Point, but go somewhere with military significance and somewhere people will listen.  Affirm to the world that when an American soft target like an embassy or the like is attacked it will be regarded as an act of war.  Affirm that we won’t be leaving our State Department ambassadors in a near-war zone with little or no protection.  Affirm that our State Department won’t be advising our forces around the world everything is going to be normal on an anniversary of 9/11, but rather that it will be heightened security here in America, in our territories and on outposts in foreign countries.

Speak loudly and affirm you have a big-assed stick called the American military, which our current president refuses to decide if he’s going to slash further, and if provoked you will use it to protect our interests here in America and abroad.

It’s time, Mr. Romney for action.  We’ve had four years of talk.  We’ve had four years of thinking that reading a national security briefing report is the same thing as talking to the security experts.

Time is running out and you’re dropping in the polls, Mr. Romney.  This president has weakened our presence and perception in the world and it is past time for someone to step forward and lead.  Remember all that pride in America stuff you talked about a few weeks ago at the convention?  It’s time to live it.  It’s time to use it in a patriotic way and inspire.   It’s time for the Romney Doctrine and it needs to be clear, tough and something that can be read in English, Arabic or any other language in the world and mean one thing–Don’t screw with America or we will come settle what you’ve started.

And one more thing, it’s time for a wardrobe adjustment.  You looked like Michael J. Fox in a life preserver from Back to the Future today where ever you were talking about what’s going on in the world.  NO ONE is going to take you seriously looking like that.  It’s time for a coat and a tie in certain circumstances and that was one of them. And it’s time to stop with the soft smiles.  It’s time to look like John Wayne or Ronald Reagan. America is taking it on the chin.  There’s nothing to be laughing about right now.  We’re out here hurting, financially struggling and our fellow Americans around the world are in dangers.  Worse, our president doesn’t know what an ally is or is not…. It’s time, Mr. Romney to set all that straight.  And your time is running out.

Related articles

• REPORT: Obama administration was warned about attacks, did nothing
• Romney Tries to Defend Embassy Lies
• Mitt Romney 2012 v. Ronald Reagan 1980: A Brief Study In Contrasts
• During Iranian Hostage Crisis, Reagan And Bush Responded With More Dignity Than Romney Does Now
• Romney’s ‘GMA’ interview: The highlights
• Mitt Romney, nationalist
• Romney’s Embassy Attack Response in 2012: A Far Cry from Reagan in 1980
• Romney’s Libya Blunder Reflects Larger Failings
• Editorial: Obama’s Foreign Policy Is A National Disaster
• Romney: Obama may lie in debates

I just stumbled upon this interesting What About Me? app designed by Intel.  It takes my Twitter stream and Facebook posts and turns all that information into an analytical infographic.  And great marketing for Intel, they put their logo at the bottom to do a little extra branding.

So, it was an interesting read, at least for me, of what I post, when I post and who I seem to be talking with the most, most seemingly over FB, and not so much Twitter. (I ran it a second time and added my YouTube feed, but it made no difference whatsoever.)

So here it is.  Enjoy.

Related articles

• 12 useful and incredibly well designed infographics on social media (prdaily.com)
• Intel Creates Infographic Generator That’s All About You (mashable.com)
• What About Me? – Create an Infographic About Yourself (freetech4teachers.com)
• Easel.ly lets you create HTML5 infographics for free (techerator.com)
• Intel infographic: What happens in an Internet minute? (nextlevelofnews.com)
• “What About Me?” Twitter Party #IntelSocialButterfly (scrapsofmygeeklife.com)
• Visualising Social Via Intel (michele.me)
• How to spot an Instagram junkie [infographic] (holykaw.alltop.com)
• Easel.ly Makes Infographics Easy… But Should It? (readwriteweb.com)
• How to open a food truck [Infographic] (matadornetwork.com)
• Communicating data with Infographics (susanhendrich.wordpress.com)
• What About Me? (dougpete.wordpress.com)
• OTR Links 05/27/2012 (dougpete.wordpress.com)