August 29th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
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As an Illinois resident and a die-hard cubs fan I have to choose the Cubs. Senator Obama, to me is just another politician running for an office. Granted it’s the presidency, but in another four years we will have somebody else challenging that President. Who knows how long it will take the Cubs to get to the World Series. We need to enjoy it now!
If you’re a regular reader of this blog then you know I work for the Chicago White Sox and may be wondering how a Cubs fan could be hired by the Sox? I’m happy to report the Chicago White Sox supporters of the ADA (American Disability Act) and have to hire people like me.
So which is more exciting Cubs or Obama? Take the poll and let me know why?
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August 27th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Trade shows are one of the best mechanisms for increasing brand recognition to your customers. Unlike any other form of media, trade shows allow companies to pitch their product or service directly to their target audience - both current and new. The cost per lead is relatively low in comparison to other forms of media marketing. A good giveaway can create a lasting impression long after the show. By branding a trade show giveaway, it ensures delegates will remember your company or slogan after the event.
Branding giveaway items with the company name, website, or slogan are a great way to advertise your company beyond the trade show. For example, if you are handing out t-shirts with your company name and logo on it, someone is bound to wear that shirt in public, resulting in a walking advertisement. Selecting the right trade show giveaway such as promotional toys, tote bags or even apparel can set you apart from your competitor. While most trade show attendees are adults, they are not above finding the most amusing toy on the trade show floor.
A unique trade show giveaway can generate more booth traffic than you may expect. However, having dozens of trade show giveaways, no matter how clever they are, will not sell your products for you. While they enhance booth traffic, it’s up to your sales staff to sell your company. Trade show giveaways are merely a device used to generate an interest and differentiate you from your biggest competition. Leave the selling to the sales personal, while the creative unique giveaway creates a buzz on the trade show floor.
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August 26th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
It was a long day and I was finishing my third picnic in 85 degree heat, with a humidity of 90-100%. The sun was popping in between rain clouds the last event was over and the two other balloon entertainers were winding down. I had the tedious task of helping shutdown their lines. Ending a line is never fun, but if you don’t, you’ll be working way into the night.
As I announce numerous times that the balloon lines were closed, sorry we’re done, sorry we’re finished for the day, until I would just look at people and say “Balloon lines are closed!.”
The day was over and the three of us were walking to our cars when I said “I am happy that this day is over, it’s been a lot of work.”
“This isn’t work, this is fun. I love what I do” replied the other entertainer.
I looked at him and said “After 24 years, I consider entertaining work. Work I enjoy, but its work”.
“Nope, for me it’s always a day of fun and people pay me to play with balloons. What more can you ask for?”
Quite often I’ll be entertaining in a restaurant and a customer will tell me “You really love your work.” “No, it’s a job” I tell them. They look at me and smile in disbelief and say “No, you love what you do.”
I’m not sure what these people are really talking about. I love my wife, son, mother, father, sister, and the rest of my family, but entertaining…. that is something I take pride in doing. I guess people nowadays don’t take pride in their work and when they come across people who do consider the person “loves” their job.
I look upon my balloon entertaining as a skilled craftsman. Some, who can take a balloon and twist, bend, stretch, and manipulate it while combining comedic patter all at once. To do it successfully you have to take pride in your work and that shows in your entertaining. Pride in my job is what drives me to be a better entertainer. Love is reserved for the things that really matter, my family.
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August 25th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Early this year California politician Jack Scott was on a crusade to ban the sale of Mylar balloon at retail stores by introducing California SB 1499. According to Scott, at the request of Burbank officials concerned that business, including major movie studios, are losing power too frequently because of Mylar balloon-triggered outages.
After pressure from the balloon industry, the SB 1499 bill has been amended and is passing through the assembly and will go to the Senate for approval and be signed into effect by Governor Schwarzenegger. The new p
rovisions will go into effect January 2009 and include the following:
- Balloon weights cannot be edible or a child’s toy. (The spirit of this rule is so that consumers leave the weight on the balloon.)
- Retailers are required to notify consumers of the risks of releasing metallic balloons either by posting a warning notice or informing customers at the point of sale.(The spirit of this rule is to educate consumers on what can happen if metallic balloons are released)
- Distributors must send information regarding the CA balloon regulations in every order. (This is to ensure all retailers are educated on the regulations.)
- The warnings printed on balloons will be uniform.
- The fine will change from $100 to $250 per incident.
- The bill does not ban balloon sales and does not require a study to find alternative materials (the utility companies did not want to help pay for the study).
For more information about the bill and its activities go to:http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_1499&sess=CUR&house=B&search_type=email
Was this a problem or just a way to increase a fine?
Scotts stated that he was trying to protect the public by enacting a law that would protect people from electrical outages. So if this was his major concern, then how did the new prevision solve the problem? Mylar balloons are going to be release; they will get tangled in power lines and this “California power outage problem” will still exist. Did Scott fabricate this problem just to increase revenue? Either way, I think California residents should look closely at Scott judgment when it comes do writing legislature. Is he really writing laws to help protect the California community or is he looking to craft bills that underlyingly creates a new fine.
Are politician like this really what we need in government? What are your thoughts?
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August 25th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
A recent study conducted by Harvard University found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.
Another study by the American Medical Association found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.
This means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.
Kind of makes you proud to be an American. I’ll drink to that!
You may think balloons are only for kids, but Dale’s multiple balloon twisting is not your normal balloon animals, but latex art. Mix art with comedy and you will have the comedic balloon twisting of Magical Balloon-dude Dale. Dale has taken balloon twisting to a new level, which will amaze your adult guests.
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August 18th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
I just spent an hour of my day cutting the lawn when I remember reading about the Zero laser mower. A mower that removes grass blades with the futuristic power of laser beams. If I had this mower, I could sit back and relax, spend quality time with my son Carter or give the dog a haircut. I really need to figure out the proper way to give my dog a haircut. She’s a good looking dog and not one of those ugly dogs you see on the Internet.
After a quick daydream, I walked into the house to see Carter contently sitting on his little couch with his hand plunged deep into a kid’s cup filled with Gerber Graduates Lil’ Crunchies poofs watching TV. When on came an advertisement for Noggin’s weekly TV lineup. As I sat their listening to the Noggin lineup they talked about the kids show Lazytown, which one of Carter’s favorite TV shows.
Lazytown’s objective is to teach kids fitness is fun and everyone should be encouraged to participate in physical activities. The show has been a success and airs in 103 countries. Its popularity among the kids is causing some parents to dislike Lazytown because the kids getting are hooked on the music. Just like Barney was fun the first time you saw it, but after the 100th time your kid demands to see it, you start to make up lyrics about killing Barney.
In the middle of the Lazytown advertisement they talk about the new Lazytown Internet game which struck me funny. Here is a TV show about getting off your butt and exercising, participating in sports, and doing physical activist, but instead, telling kids to go sit in front of a computer and play a video game. What is more ironic is that you sit in front of a TV and become a couch potato while watching the TV show. But really, do little kids really sit long enough to become a couch potato?
At that moment, I figured it was time to shut the TV off and play with Carter. We found a long balloon that I gave him earlier to play with and we took turns smacking each other with the balloon animal and running around the house. This was an hour not wasted, but enjoyed. Maybe I’ll start working on teaching him some balloon animals. This way I can stimulate is creativity along with improving his dexterity. He’ll have to get his own balloon kit, because dad’s balloons are off limits.
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Twisted Thoughts
August 12th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I’ve been playing golf most my life and only have two goals. One is to have fun, and two, beat my father-in-law. One of my glorious moments came when I hit 145 yard 7-iron, for a hole-in-one, while golfing against my father-in-law. What a great day!
What I have learned over these years is how to improve my golf game. So if you’re looking for tips on how to improve your golf game then consider these suggestions.
- It’s a game - have fun!
- Play only a couple times a year - It’s easy to drop 10 - 15 strokes off your game this way
- Practice putting, remove 1 put per hole reduces your game by 18 strokes
- Keep your head down
- Stop thinking - more you think about your swing the worse it gets - have fun
- Unless you’re a professional, hit a second ball
- Select a golf courses that meets your skill level - playing difficult course can discourage the best players
- Get golf shoes, the extra grip of the spikes will keep your feet from slipping
- Everybody hooks and slices the ball, learn to use that to your advantage
- Play against somebody you enjoy golfing with - in my case it’s my father-in-law
So these are my tips on how to improve your golf game. Are they the best tips to lower your score? Probably not, but they are tips that have helped me improve my golf game. If you’re an avid golfer, I’m sure you have some tips that you could share, let me know.
Until then, I’m sticking to my day job as a professional balloon entertainer, yah that’s right. I twist balloons for a living, go figure. So next time you’re at a country club for a holiday event and you see a guy twisting balloons, check to see if it’s me and let me know if any of my golf tips helped your game. It can’t be any worst then those golf contraptions they sell on TV.
If you’re having a golf outing and looking for an entertainer who understands the joys and miseries that are associated with golfing then consider me, Magical Balloon-dude Dale. I would love to entertain you and your guest, and what the heck, play a round of golf too. So call me and we can discuss it over a game of golf.
Don’t forget to tell me your tips on improving your golf game.
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August 8th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Have you noticed the stupid people are increasing in number? They seem to be everywhere. I’ll be balloon twisting and have a line of thirty people standing in front of me and an adult will walk to the front of the line and ask for a balloon.
“There is a line” I tell them.
“Oh” they reply with a dumbfounded look on their face and walk away.
What were they thinking? Thirty people just instantly decided to create a Congo line in front of me?
I think we should mandate kids on the high school honor roll worked at fast food restaurants or work where I shop. I would love to be able to go through a fast-food drive through and order a cheeseburger with no cheese and actually get the order right.
High school students who receive A’s in math must be required to work the cash register. It would be nice to have a clerk that actually knows how to give correct change back, without using a calculator when you give them an extra nickel to reduce excess change.
I’m encouraging scientists to figure out how to resurrect the dinosaur. Just bring back one giant carnivore where I can place a sign in front of it that reads “pet me”. It wouldn’t matter how many people it ate, idiots would still stand in line to pet it.
Recently, while working a trade show booth, a teenager (16 years old) walked up to my balloon display and asked for the giant Mickey Mouse on display.
“Sorry that’s part of my booth display” I said.
“Please, can I have it” she said.
“No” I replied
“Why, not”
“Because it’s my display and I said No”
“Please, can I have it?”
“No! What part of No don’t you understand” I said.
“Please, I really want it. Please” she mumbled.
“Are you really that dumb that you don’t understand the word No?” I said.
“You’re mean! All I want was a balloon”
“No, you want my display and besides aren’t you doing your community service work here?”
“Yes - But I want the balloon” she exclaimed
“Well, I want world peace and for you to leave” I told her.
Who is teaching their kid’s if you say please you can get what you want. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE parents teach your kids the meaning of the word “NO”. There I’ve said it, please and according to stupid kid’s, who normally have rude, obnoxious parents, it is now decreed law. If it was only that easy, the world would be some much easier place to entertain.
Have you had dealing with stupid people lately?
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August 6th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
What is a balloon sculpture, but a twisted piece of art?
Balloon sculptures are artwork that deflates.
Balloon sculptures can mimics real life situations.
Getting a haircut
Balloon sculptures is what I do for a living.
Feel free to post your own ideas in the comment box below.
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August 5th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
As fuel prices skyrocket so to have day-to-day operations in every business. The balloon business has been one industry that his weathering the storm and is starting to feel the increasing pressure to raise prices. Pioneer Balloon Company, the leading balloon manufacture, announced to distributors that a 7% increase will be starting in July, 2008. “Distributors have started increasing prices and will quickly show up in wholesale prices” say Michelle Obrochta operations manager for online balloon retailer www.mbd2.com. “We have a small profit margin because of the manufactures distribution chain. We have to buy from our distributors who sell retail and online. So distributors are quick to pass on the price increases, but slow to changing their retail price, which makes it difficult to compete fairly.”
Many balloon companies have seen profited by selling on the Internet, but e-commerce companies are feeling the pressure by major shipping carriers by adding fuel charges to the shipping cost. “We do 99% of our business over the Internet and people want to know ‘How much shipping is going to cost?’, and that’s a fair question”, says Obrochta. “We calculate the shipping charges and pass that directly on to the consumer, but days later we receive a UPS bill with a fuel surcharge. These fuel charges can be from 9.0-10.25% addition to the shipping cost. This is a price that we as a businesses have to absorb”, says Obrochta.
As fuel cost increase, local governments are increasing sales tax to offset the loss in revenue. The city of Chicago has increased their sales tax 1.75% to make them the highest sales tax at 10.25%. This leads New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston which follow behind. Customers looking to avoid sales tax are going online to save money or applying for retail sales licenses to be tax exempt.
Companies like mbd2.com are working to improve their profit by increasing distribution outlets. In March 2008 they started an affiliate program which allows balloon entertainers, hobbyist, or any person with a website to become an affiliate of mbd2.com earning a percentage of every sale that goes through their affiliate link. The affiliate store is a duplication of the mbd2.com which offers Qualatex balloons, Mac Pumps, Twist’em Up Aprons plus 300 other products.
Mbd2.com offers customers reward points on purchases. “The reward points are designed to offset shipping cost and save repeat customers money”, says Obrochta. For every purchase you make, you earn points. These points are allocated towards purchases or shipping. We feel loyal customer deserve a reward and the points are our way of saying thank you.
Gas may go down, but the price increases are here to stay.
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