“It’s a strange profession, isn’t it? Not an artist, yet hopefully with an artist’s taste, not even a critic, yet certainly with a critic’s judgment. Indeed an impresario is a critic who puts his money where his opinion is, a man making his living not so much off the artist but through the artist. A man who presents, but first has to choose; a man who encourages, but first has to discern; a man who spreads a message that he first has to receive. And also a man who lives dangerously not only on his own wits, but on the wit of others. To some extent, like a critic, he is a parasite, but, even more than a critic, he has to be symbiotic with his host. He has to help others before he can help himself. And he also lives a hell of an interesting life."

--Clive Barnes (in the introduction to Under My Wings: My Life as an Impresario by Paul Szilard [link])

When dining out, some people (people who, it seems from my experience, seem more often than not to be females --but that's neither here nor there) have trouble deciding upon a dish to order. I propose Discounted Semi-Random Ordering as a solution. DSRO works like this:

The indecisive diner points out to their server a number of dishes they are having trouble narrowing down to a single choice, and agrees to let the chef decide which to make for a price reduced by $1. The benefit to the indecisive diner is relief from having to make a choice. The benefit to the diner's dining companions is relief from having to wait for indecisive diner to make said choice. The benefit to the chef is being able to pick from a number of options -- and thus avoiding making one that he/she is under-prepped to make, or perhaps just doesn't particularly like making. The benefit to the restaurant is offering a quirky discount that people will mention to their friends, enhancing a bit of word-of-mouth marketing.

Were I to be considering a new city to live in, I'd check out yard sales as a way to guage neighborhood quality. There are yard sales where filthy people in sweatpants and tanktops sell rusty coffee cans and urine-soaked stuffed animals; and there are yard sales where middle-aged women wearing boutique running shorts and tennis visors sell over-priced curtain rods and bed ruffles still in the package. And then there's a middle ground of yard sales between the two, with treasures and charm and character, and the people don't look like they're battling meth or cocaine addictions. These middle ground neighborhoods are where I'd want to move.

As part of my walk home from work, I cross a major street. Often, I will watch for a break in traffic and jay-walk across, instead of waiting until I get to the intersection a ways down. As I was headed home earlier this week, I spotted a break and was about to cross, but then noticed a black guy approaching me on my side, about 10 yards away. I thought, If I run across the street right now, it's gonna look like I'm crossing to avoid him. And so I didn't. And then I felt kinda stupid. I'm a white dude in a place where there are an awful lot of white folks, and perhaps I'm prone to trying too hard.

Or perhaps I'm just obsessing.

Several exciting projects coming:

August 7th -- The Not Too Late Show with Sherry Japhet begins! Produced by AWESOMEST entertainment, it's Boise's first late-night talk show. Comedienne Sherry Japhet will host guests and talented individuals in the monthly show, which will also feature sketch comedy and live comedic commercial by sketch group Tired Heroes. Filmed live at Liquid at 8pm.

Sometime in May 2011 -- First annual Boise Comedy (and sandwich) Festival. Showcasing talented stand-up comics, sketch comedians, and improv performers from the Northwest and beyond. More details when I have 'em!

Now and ongoing -- AskThemForMe, a Boise pervasive gaming community. I've been intrigued by pervasive gaming for awhile, and have wanted to play some established games (a great list is at Ludocity.org). I had an unused domain, and decided to put it to use!