This week I launched my own real estate company. In naming the company, I went the straight forward route of using my last name and the putting the words “Real Estate” after it. Thus I came up with Lugar Real Estate, LLC.

Of course shortly after completing all the licensing for the business, I saw this post by Seth Godin.  Should I have gone the route recommended by Godin and picked a name not related to my industry?  Should I have named my company Felt Tip or Rubber Sole or Mushy Mangos?  Should I have chosen a more obscure name and worked to create a secondary meaning?

However, the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve realized that’s what I did.  Lugar really doesn’t mean anything.  Here in Indiana, there are some political connotations to the name Lugar, so there is some name recognition.  And in Spanish, Lugar means “place”, which for a real estate company really isn’t a bad word association.  But when you really think about it Lugar is a word that will need to gain a secondary meaning.  Sure, it’s just my last name, and sure, I slapped the descriptive words “Real Estate” on the end, but I’m announcing it right here and right now.  LUGAR MEANS REAL ESTATE!

Since I referenced Seth Godin, here are a few of my favorites from him:

I'm sure his real name is John-in-the-Box.

Wake up people!  Not that you really care, but Jack is a nickname for John.  It drives me crazy that so many people don’t know that.  If I had a buck for every time I’ve had to explain that Jack is a nickname for John, I’d be… well, not rich, but I’d have more money than I do right now.

Why do people not know this?  It’s not like I’m the only one to go by Jack but have the given name John.  In fact some pretty famous people share this nickname.

Jack Kennedy – JFK or John Fitzgerald Kennedy was our 35th President.   

Jack Kerouac – Jean Louis Kerouac was a famous writer.

Jack Lemmon – John Uhler Lemmon III was a famous actor.

Jack Lambert - John Harold Lambert is a former NFL linebacker.

Jack Morris - John Scott Morris was a MLB pitcher.

Jack White – John Anthony Gillis is the lead vocalist for The White Stripes. 

Jack Welch – John Francis Welch, Jr. was the Chairman and CEO for General Electric.

Jack Lord – John Joseph Patrick Ryan was the star of Hawaii Five-O .

Jack Wagner – Peter John Wagner, II is a former singer and soap opera star.

Sure the name Jack doesn’t particularly make sense as a nickname for John since it doesn’t shorten the name or make it easier to say.  But to me, the name Jack does seem a little less formal than John and more nicknamey.  Of course there are a few different stories on how Jack became a nickname for John, but you can check Wikipedia for that answer if you really care.

So now you know, if you didn’t already.  Jack is a nickname for John.  I didn’t make it up.  While I was named John at birth, I was called Jack from that first moment.  Maybe soon I’ll join the list above.  Here I come Jack Wagner!

**Post Update: Jack Welch made an appearance on 30 Rock last night. Thanks 30 Rock & Jack Welch for furthering the world’s understanding of the nickname Jack.

Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence created this logo.

Apparently there is a movement by some restaurants to ban patrons who are carrying guns. It’s a pretty silly policy if you ask me, but I definitely support a business’ decision to set its own rules. I’m not sure what they think is going to happen by setting this rule, but more power to them. While California Pizza Kitchen is saying no, Starbucks, to many people’s surprise, isn’t giving in to the anti-gun movement.

The way I see it, the only people who will follow the “gun-free zone” rule are law abiding citizens. A criminal on the other hand, doesn’t care what a restaurant’s policies are. I would suspect that most people who carry a licensed gun have been trained and are prepared to use it when there is a need. Those who carry unlicensed guns are more likely to have never been trained and usually have other motives, for which rules aren’t going to stop them.

It seems to me that the most destructive gun violence, other than some gang infested areas of most cities, is in “gun-free zones”. We saw this at Virginia Tech and Columbine (I’m not saying high schoolers should carry guns).  The same was the case at Fort Hood where, like most U.S. military bases, guns are not carried by military personnel on base.  What might have happened if the good guys also had a gun in these situations?

I don’t carry a gun. I don’t own a gun. Last time I shot a gun was over twenty years ago when I received a very short hunting lesson. Guns are not a part of my culture. However, I’m glad that there are people, law abiding citizens, who want to own and carry guns. Guns can be used for evil, but I believe more often than not they are used for good. Gun laws do not stop criminals. They only stop the law abiding citizens.

I believe in freedom as long as it doesn’t infringe on others. People should be able to smoke if they want, and restaurants and bars should have the choice to allow it or not in their place of business (California ruined outdoor dining when they pushed all the smokers onto the patio).  People should also be able to carry guns. As stated earlier, an establishment has every right to say no to guns, but I believe they are ultimately just hurting themselves. They lose customers and advertise to criminals that the only one with a gun will be the criminal.

So I applaud Starbucks for not banning guns in their stores. Not for the fact that I’m so pro gun that I’m fanatical about guns being everywhere. No. I applaud Starbucks for having a little common sense and not falling prey to the overly sensitive political correctness that continually weakens our society.

My oldest boy first played soccer when he was about four years old.  As he ran up and down the field we would cheer him on, encouraging him to run a little harder and beat the other kids to the ball. As many parents will relate, it’s a bit of a helpless feeling to sit on the sideline watching your child play a sport.

We knew he could do a little better… not that it was really that important considering it was four-year-old soccer… but we wanted him to experience some of the joys of success such as scoring a goal, assisting a teammate, or even winning. His team didn’t win a single game that year (for some reason the league created teams by age and the four year olds were competing against the five year olds).

During halftime at one of his games, my wife, Elisabeth, and I offered to give our son a special reward (bribe) if he went out there and scored two goals. So what immediately happened when play resumed? He scored not once, but twice. And then after that? He returned to making a modest amount of effort and never scored again.

We, of course, were in shock. How did he do that? When the game was over, we asked him. “Why don’t you do that for the entire game?” He replied with a wise statement well beyond a four year old. “I don’t have to. I get a trophy anyway.”

He was right. Apparently even four year olds understand that when you reward mediocrity, that’s what you get.

I have been ripped off for the last time.  I’ve had incandescent light bulbs last exponentially longer than Bright Effects fluorescents.  I’ve done what I can to save the world from its eminent demise from “man made” global warming one light bulb at a time.  But I’ve had it now.  I’ve wasted so much money on spirally fluorescent bulbs that burn out faster than the flame of middle schoolers in love.

I want to save energy costs.  My electric bill is outrageous. In an effort to cut my costs (since encouraging the family to turn off lights when they leave a room doesn’t work), I’ve been buying fluorescents. My basement has at least 20 can lights that use the large 65 watt flood bulbs, and practically every day when I come home from work, I find all those lights on and nobody home. My solution has been to use Bright Effects fluorescent bulbs which are supposed to last up to seven years and save me a ton of money on my energy usage. You know the pitch. I pay more for the bulb up front and save more over time.

Well, every Bright Effects bulb I’ve ever bought has not lasted a year. I’ve owned my current house for almost five years, and some of the incandescent bulbs in my basement that came with the house are still going strong. So as you can imagine, I’m a little ticked.

Am I the only one?

I’m glad to save energy. I want to do my part to protect this earth that God gave us, but even more so, I want to protect my wallet. I have not given up on fluorescent bulbs, but I know that I will never buy a Bright Effects product again. I’m giving Sylvania and GE a shot, but I’ve had my experiences with faulty Sylvania bulbs too. So if anyone out there has had better luck with fluorescents, let me know your secret.

If you have an ad that features a star and you have to print their name and then say they are a “star”, doesn’t defeat the purpose?  Why spend a ton of money for a “star” who has so little recognition and name status that you have to tell your audience that he’s a “star”?

I often see a Safe Auto Insurance billboard featuring a picture of Michael Redd.  It says by his picture that he’s “Michael Redd Basketball Star”.  Being a basketball fan, I know who Michael Redd is, but I would never recognize him by his picture.  I would bet that the majority of the US population has no idea who Michael Redd is.  I know he played college ball for a Big Ten team and that he is or was on the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA, but that would be the extent of my Michael Redd knowledge.

So did Safe Auto waste their money by hiring Michael Redd as a spokesman?  My guess is that they did not.  Why?  Because their target audience does know who Michael Redd is.  I have to figure that Safe Auto, or their advertising firm, tested and checked Q scores and found that their target market was familiar with Redd.

Sure, from a practical standpoint, it’s ridiculous to pay a star who is not really one.  That is a waste of money.  But to pay someone who, while not a true star of the Brangelina stratosphere, is a star in a specific community may be very profitable.

In Safe Auto’s case, why pay for Kobe Bryant when you can get a much less expensive Michael Redd and have a similar impact?  It makes sense.

While I had a good laugh at the Michael Redd billboard at first, the more I thought about it, the more I could appreciate it.  The target market was addressed by showing Redd’s image and name.  The rest of us who are just curious about who this Michael Redd is and why he’s on a billboard are provided the answer with the description “Basketball Star”.

Is Redd a star in the truest sense?  Possibly.  While he’s not a megastar like Kobe or LeBron or Shaq who transcend their sport, he’s enough of a star to generate face or name recognizability.  In fact, the more I see his billboard, the more it is ingrained in my mind that Redd is a star.  However, not a star for basketball.  In my mind, he’ll be a “Safe Auto Billboard Star”.

I’m a big fan of coupons.  I stock pile them.  I keep coupons just in case I might go someplace I’ve never been to before on the remote chance that I just happen to apparate there and need that coupon. 

I really hate coupons too.  I hate the two for one coupons the most when it comes to restaurants.  I don’t need to eat two sandwiches.  My wife would never eat the same sandwich as me.  And it’s a little awkward to invite a friend to lunch and tell them you’ll buy if they’re willing to eat the same sandwich.

To get cute, retailers have labeled this two for one coupon the BOGO (Buy One Get One Free).  It’s bad enough that the coupon irritates me, but they have to be all clever by branding the “bad” deal.  To me, BOGO stands for “we just suckered you into eating at our shop because you thought you were getting a deal, but you didn’t really because you otherwise never would have come in here and spent your money in the first place.”  I know it’s long and doesn’t really go with BOGO,  but I didn’t want to put the effort in to something really clever.

While I think most BOGO coupons are a real turn off, I guess there are some coupons that could be worse.  Actually, there are some business that probably shouldn’t offer coupons at all.

For example, when exactly do you present your coupon at the funeral home?

I can only imagine haggling over the price of burying a loved one while they lay there assuming room temperature?  What if the funeral home offered BOGO?  You can hear Grampa in his best English, Monty Python accent saying in the background, “I’m not dead yet.”

And what if the casket had that “As Seen on TV” sticker on the side?  How about a free set of Ginsu Knives?  But wait!  For only three easy payments of 19.99 we’ll throw in this beautiful urn!  Of course, you’re asking, “If we’re using a casket why would we need an urn?”  And they offer to give you fake ashes as a keepsake for your mantle…

I’ve never seen it, but I’ll bet QVC does a special episode offering a bargain price on caskets.  I can just imagine the hostess climbing in the box to show how comfortable and roomy it is.  I thought I’d seen it all when I saw that Costco was selling caskets.  As I left the store, it was positioned right next to the car they were offering for sale.  Not a good pair for BOGO.

How about BOGO for plastic surgery.  It exists.  Buy a nip, get a tuck.  BOGO breast augmentation.  Actually, this makes some sense.  If you’re doing one, you might as well finish the project and do the second.

So let me encourage restauranteers and retailers to start creating valuable coupons.  Don’t just try to make a sale or make me temporarily feel like I received a deal.  That deal feeling fades pretty quickly (kind of like that feeling when you see a movie and the further removed you are from it, the more you realize it was crap).  Don’t make me feel like a BOGO BOZO later.  Make me a deal, and I’ll comeback.  Give a great value and truly value me, and I’ll value you.  If restauranteers and retailers did that, I’d actually come back even without a coupon sometimes.

Cover Option 1

Cover Option 2

I’ve been fiddling around with some potential cover designs for The Starving Artist’s Diet.  Here are a couple prototypes.  I’d love to get your feedback, so post a comment here, write on my Facebook fan page, or post something to Twitter (@jackodile & @StrvgRtistsDiet).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Not that I really want to focus on yesterday’s Super Bowl because my team lost, but having made so many previous posts on the topic, I feel obligated.

Yesterday, the better team won.  Ouch.  That hurts to say, but it’s true.  I felt that the teams were very evenly matched, and when you look back on it, which I’d prefer not to do, the final outcome really hinged on three or four plays, and for the most part, those plays went the Saints’ way.

Having made a pregame case as to why the Colts would win, here is what a friend wrote to me after the game:

“As I was saying…Better defense and a well-balanced offense is superior to a team that depends heavily on their QB, who somehow decided to turn in desperation to his anemic running game, which could only do so much in a game of this magnitude. Your thoughts?”

Here was my long winded response:

“Unfortunately, someone has to lose and it was the Colts this year. I will refrain from making excuses since I didn’t play the game. All I could do was yell at the TV. The other great thing is that my team was in the Super Bowl this year. They were there in ‘07, and I’m pretty confident they will be knocking on the door next year and possibly for a few years after that. Most fans can’t say that. So I will enjoy the fact that the Colts went back to the Super Bowl and now enjoy an offseason where I will get a few more things done on Sundays.”

I’m disappointed that the Colts lost.  Probably not as much as those who spent a few thousand dollars to go to Miami and see the game live… although they got to go to Miami, while I shoveled snow here in Indy.  Ultimately, I’m just trying to enjoy the fact that my favorite NFL team is so good.  They’ve gone to the playoffs for eight straight seasons and had seven consecutive regular seasons with twelve or more wins.  This will not last forever.  Things can change quickly.  One day the Colts will not win twelve games in the regular season and they will not make the playoffs.  So while it hurts to see my team lose the big game, I’d rather feel this pain than the pain of my team being one and fifteen at the end of the season.

Now I’ll take some time to recouperate over the offseason and get some other work done. 

Congratulations to the Saints and Go Colts!

Oh, and one other thing, was it just me, or did pretty much all of the commercials stink this year?

The Super Bowl is almost here and my sports related posts will soon come to a close, but considering that I live in Indy and the Colts are in the Super Bowl, I have a few more football posts left in me.

Tonight I was watching the news and I saw Queen Latifah say that she was rooting for the Saints because they were the Cinderella team.  Since when?  If I remember correctly, the Saints only lost three games this season.  They dominated almost every team they played with a high flying offense and pounding defense.  Brett Farve was hit so hard two weeks ago I think they knocked his dentures out.

A Cinderella team is one that is not on equal footing with all the other teams, but for some reason is still competing and winning.  We see it every year in college basketball during March Madness.  A Cinderella is George Mason going to the Final Four, or NC State winning the whole thing.  The Cardinals of last year’s Super Bowl were more of a Cinderella team than the Saints.  I wonder if Queen Latifah was cheering for them.

Nothing about the Saints this season says “Cinderella”.  Sure the franchise has been a disaster for generations, but that does not make them a Cinderella.  Actually, for the past two or three years, the Saints have turned their franchise around, which is directly related to Drew Brees and Sean Payton.

In fact, the Saints remind me of the Colts before Peyton Manning showed up followed by Tony Dungy (Bill Polian had a big hand in there too).  The Colts were awful for so many years.  The only reason they were able to draft Manning was because they were flat out horrendous.  And they weren’t just bad for one or two seasons.  It spanned decades.

I get the fact that the Saints are the darlings of America right now.  It’s a great story.  A loser of a team for generations finally makes it to the Super Bowl.  The city is still rebuilding from Katrina.  And they’ve never won a Championship.  I would have been cheering for the Saints if the Colts had not made it.  I’m a huge Purdue fan, so I always want Brees to be a dominant QB in the NFL.  So it makes sense that the majority want to see the Saints win.

But let’s not kid ourselves.  The Saints are a high powered team that rolled through the season.  They are no Cinderella.  They’re an elite team.  One that is better than every other team in the NFC.  They are on equal footing with the Colts and should make the Super Bowl a spectacular event.

With that said, I still feel pretty confident that the Colts will win.  Maybe it’s destiny, but I think Peyton is on his way to three of four Super Bowl rings.  So my prediction for this one is Colts 35 and Saint 27.