Just noticing: A habit I seem to have developed is wishing people a “great day” or “great night.” Somehow it no longer suffices for people to have a merely good day. I wonder if I’ll have the urge to sell Amway stuff soon. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. And that last — that’s a cliche right out of “Seinfeld” reruns.
Patented: Putting a few idle moments to work during my own great day, I had the following idea: a Web page promoting a campaign for reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions by reusing plastic coffee-cup lids. The page would suggest people hang onto the lids (while recycling the paper cups on which they come), rinse them off and use them again the next time they go for a triple big white Russian espresso. Related merchandise: Reuse Your Lid stickers and buttons, naturally. Also: exclusive hand-crafted lid wallets (sewn from organically grown hemp cloth and thread by free-range Tibetan lamas earning a living wage). If the financing for this idea comes through — I’m having confidential talks with deposed bank tellers in Burkina Faso — this will be big.
Radio drama: Today I started a one-month (more or less) temp job in the news department at KQED-FM, one of the local public radio stations. I haven’t actually edited anything yet that has gone on the air, but I’m close to realizing my long-held desire to add radio to my overly peripatetic media resume (print, Web, magazines, and television; oh, sure, and blogging, too).