These companies are designing mask with designs.  You can get everything from a pair of lips to a pig snout on them.  You can even go so far as to get a mask with a moustache and beard or the bottom half of a skull.

One business reports shipping out more than 2,500 masks in the past week to people wanting to protect themselves from the virus.  This ability comes from being able to market their products on the internet.  Since I am in the business of website design and search engine optimization, stories such as these fascinate me.  These stories also help to instill the concepts we preach to our clients on a regular basis.

Your customers have to be able to find you.

They have to like what they initially see.

They have to be compelled to purchase.

If you have a strong internet presence, you have the ability to reach so many more customers than with a simple brick and mortar storefront.  You can become a national or even international company if you so desire.  You also have the ability to change or expand your message or products almost instantaneously.  The designer masks are a perfect example of this sort of marketing. 

While some might say that this is exploiting a bad situation, I strongly disagree.  If they were the only people that had surgical masks and they were selling them for $100 a pop, I would say that is exploitation.  People are going to buy the masks.  If they want something with a little more flair, then they have that option.  They are meeting the needs of their customers.    

The drama unfolded when Somali pirates took over the US flagged Maersk Alabama.  The crew was able to take back the ship but the captain was taken hostage by three pirates who boarded one of the ship’s lifeboats. 

This has been one of the first times, a Somali pirate attack has been thwarted.  Over the past year, pirates have attacked numerous ships, holding the crew and cargo ransom.  In most cases, the ransom is paid, with the amounts ranging in the millions of dollars. 

When people think of pirates, they think of Blackbead, Captain Hook or Captain Jack Sparrow of The Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  However, these pirates have very little charm.  The Somali pirates have vowed revenge. 

Every morning when I come to work, I look out the window of one of our conference rooms and see all of the ships entering and exiting the harbor and wonder if one day they might be captured by the pirates.  As a former crewmember of a navy ship, I have been in the region where this is taking place.

The successful rescue of Phillips and the Maersk Alabama will not stop the pirates.  The only thing that will stop them is a continued show of force.  While it would be near impossible to watch over every ship, it is important to send a clear message to these thugs that this sort of action will not be tolerated any longer.  These terrorists need to be brought to justice.   

Today Southern California had its version of the movie with a real live high speed chase.  The only difference instead of high performance tuner and muscle cars, there was a Scion Toaster car.  I call these toasters because they look like toasters.  It took officers from Orange County, CHP and Long Beach to finally subdue the woman driver.  During the chase, they got up to speeds of 100 mph. 

Now I have a couple of questions.  How in the world did they get that fast?  I have been here for five months and with the crazy traffic they have, you don’t get anywhere fast.  If I don’t have to drive, I don’t.  I am fortunate enough to live close to the office and pretty much anywhere else I want to go.  I walk, a lot.  Personally, I am not a speed demon but even by my slow standards, traffic moves at the pace of a snail.  Also, Why do people think they can get away?  If they do get away, then they are still going to be pursued more vigorously.

I never understood the whole concept of the high speed chase.  Sometimes I think people see it on TV shows and movies and think they have a chance to outrun the cops.  Here are a few things to consider if you are thinking about outrunning the cops, here are a few things to consider.

If you are driving a Scion Toaster Car, you don’t have enough speed to outrun a high performance police car. 

Car scenes in movies are based on fantasy, not reality.  The Fast and The Furious would be a pretty short movie if Vin Diesel got caught in the first five minutes.

Police have helicopters, numerous vehicles and the ability to set up road blocks.  You also have news helicopters that love to film high speed chases.  You don’t really have anywhere to run.

When you try to evade the cops, you are putting lots of people in potential danger.  If you are running away because you have a bunch of speeding tickets, you might as well pay the tickets or maybe go to jail for a little bit rather than deal with potentially injuring or killing an innocent person. 

It is kind of funny that I am writing this right now as the cars from the Formula Drift series are practicing.  I can see and most definitely hear them from the office as they rev their engines and squeal their tires.  So for all of you that want to outrun the cops, think twice about it. 

I was lucky enough to live in Seattle when the whole Seattle Sound movement came about.  I was introduced to a host of really good bands such as Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and of course Nirvana.  The music was loud and aggressive and the lyrics were about alienation and sadness.  It was a radical departure from the good time music of hair metal. 

However, the sadness they sang about was all too true.  Many of the pioneers of this music are no longer with us.  Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, Kristen Pfaff of Hole and Stephanie Sargent of 7 Year Bitch died from drug overdoses.  Mia Zapata of The Gits was raped and murdered.  Numerous other bands dealt with serious heroin addiction.  Cobain himself was a heroin addict up until the time of his death. 

When I heard Cobain committed suicide, I was sad but not shocked.  He never really seemed comfortable with being a rock star.  I’m not going to pretend to know why he decided to take his own life.  I’ve heard everything from him not wanting to be a rock star to having incredible stomach pain.  Many have speculated on his reasons.  Truth is, nobody probably knows. 

Time moves on.  Most of the bands of that era are no more.  I haven’t been to Seattle since 1992.  We all move on to different jobs and our interests change.  Kurt Cobain would be in his 40s now.  It would be interesting to see what he was like now.  Would he have the same intensity?  Would he even be playing music anymore?  The truth is that we will never know and that makes me sad.  Rest In Peace

For those of you who don’t know who AJ Allmendiner  is, the is a NASCAR driver.  Allmendinger’s story began a few years ago when he made the transition from open wheel racing to stock car racing.  He signed with Team Red Bull, a Toyota based organization making its initial foray into NASCAR.  Allmendinger had many obstacles to overcome.  He had a start-up team, new manufacturer and had never driven stock cars before.  It showed.  His first season was pretty dismal.  He failed to qualify for numerous races and when he did, the finishes were pretty bad.

He started last year with more of the same.  He failed to qualify for races and was replaced by veteran NASCAR driver Mike Skinner on a temporary basis.  Allmendinger could have sulked and pouted but he did the exact opposite.  He was at the track every week learning as much as he could from Skinner and the others.  When he got behind the wheel again, his improvement was dramatic.  He no longer had trouble qualifying for races and started to have some decent finishes. 

You would think things were sailing smooth for AJ but that wasn’t the case.  Red Bull had a hotshot driver named Scott Speed who formerly drove in Formula 1.  Speed was a developmental driver for Team Red Bull and was having some success in the ARCA Remax and Craftsman Truck Series.  Red Bull decided they wanted Speed to be their second driver, leaving AJ out in the cold. 

It would have been very easy for Allmendinger to go back to open wheel racing.  He was a hot commodity in that discipline and his services would have been valued.  Allmendinger continued to move forward.  He signed with Gillette Everham Racing to take over the #19 car driven by Elliot Sadler.  Sadler didn’t appreciate this and filed an injunction keeping him in the car.  Once again it looked like Allmendinger was out of luck.  He finally signed with Richard Petty Racing with only six races guaranteed.  In addition, he didn’t have a spot locked in for the Daytona 500 so he would have to qualify on speed.  He not only did that but finished 3^rd in the biggest race of the season.

His sponsorship was extended another six races.  Since then, Allmendinger has gained additional sponsorship which will take him through the first 26 races.  He is currently 20^th in points and doesn’t have to worry about qualifying on speed.  Speed on the other hand has already missed on race because he didn’t qualify and has not run very well.  He is dealing with the same problems Allmendinger did his rookie season.

Chances are Allmendinger will end up running the entire season.  If he continues to run as well as he has recently, he shouldn’t have to worry about the problems he’s overcome in the last three years.  However if he does, I’m sure he will continue to overcome and be successful.    

This week is the Formula Drift competition.  For those who don’t know, drifting is a form of racing where most of it is done in a slide.  It is actually pretty cool.  I hope to be attending the event this weekend as well as attending the Grand Prix the next week.  However, there is one problem with this, the noise.

Both events are run through the streets of downtown Long Beach.  It would be an understatement to say that these cars are very loud.  The Blue Sand offices are on the 10^th floor of a complex in downtown Long Beach.  You would think being that high up and in an office you wouldn’t be able to hear them.  That is not the case.  It is only Tuesday and already the cars are on the track practicing. 

You are fighting a few impulses.  First you want to stop and look at them and second you want the noise to cease.  It will only get worse over the next couple of weeks.  While my thoughts are on website design and SEO, all you can hear sometimes is the roar of engines. 

The Indy Cars will be even worse.  I can hear those from my apartment complex and on that weekend, it usually is my alarm clock.  The engines are different so instead of a roar it sounds more like a herd of angry bees. 

It is worth the aggravation because the events are truly top notch.  As a racing fan, I love nothing more than the roar of the engines, just not when I am trying to work. 

One of the things I’ve noticed is with anything, you get abuse.  You get people who are constantly talking on them.  They are taking personal calls on the job, keeping airplanes from taking off because they won’t get off the phone after they have been told to do so by the flight attendants or having loud conversations that are annoying to those around them. 

In India, they are taking this problem very seriously.  The government has noticed in increase in public rudeness and are looking at adopting measures that would put the most serious offenders in the clink.  In addition, they are looking at installing cell phone jammers at schools to keep students from talking as well as installing devices that would not allow cell phone use on roadways.  An even more interesting possibility would be to jail civil servants for talking on their phones during office hours. 

Now I don’t know if all of that is necessary but I do find it interesting.  When I use my cell phone, I always try to be as respectful as possible.  When I go to the movies, I turn it off.  When I talk on it, I usually try to find the most private place to have the call.  Now that is not to say that I haven’t had a few social faux pas when using my phone. 

So for those of you out there that continue to abuse your cell phone privileges, beware.  You never know when the day might come when you get thrown in cell phone jail. 

One of the big stories as of late is the huge contract that basketball coach John Calipari signed to take the helm for the University of Kentucky program.  The thought is that as states are taking federal money during a tough economic time and then paying Calipari a boatload of money. 

Here is the issue that most people don’t understand.  College basketball is a business.  If the program has the right coach, the university can fund pretty much most of their other sports programs, even the ones that don’t generate revenue. 

The University of Kentucky is one of the most storied basketball programs in the country.  It generates a ton of revenue for the university.  The investment in Calipari will ultimately pay huge dividends, if he wins.  Besides, the majority of his contract is paid through sponsorships, radio and television contracts as well as conference revenue sharing.  Only about $400,000 is actually paid by the university.    

I know of a similar situation the University of Texas with their football coach Mack Brown.  People in Austin were constantly complaining about how much money he makes but the reality is that he is probably underpaid.  The Longhorn football program generates millions of dollars.  It is one of the richest programs in the country if not the richest in terms of generating revenue. 

Yes there are a lot of professions that are underpaid.  Teachers and law enforcement are two that come to mind quickly.  However in this case, I don’t think this was a bad investment for Kentucky basketball.  If you are generating revenue, you should be paid accordingly.  Do I believe there are people out there that are overpaid?  Absolutely!  However, some people are worth the money.

During Monday’s truck race at Martinsville, Virginia, he was nudged out of the way by Kevin Harvick with about 10 laps to go after leading for most of the race.  With Martinsville being the smallest track on the NASCAR circuit, there is a lot of beating and banging.  What Harvick did was completely acceptable and knowing Busch’s reputation in the past, he would have done the same thing had the tables been turned.  This put him in second place.  With a couple of laps left, a caution came out and while Busch was trying to rub up against the wall to dislodge a crunched in fender, he was penalized for a commitment line violation so he was placed back in 17^th place where he finished the race. 

The race finishes with Harvick as the winner and then the fun begins.  The camera goes to Busch who takes off his helmet and gloves and throws them on the truck.  He then goes tromping across the racetrack and leaves the track.  I guess he needed to be somewhere.

This is the most recent of many occasions in which Busch has shown less than good sportsmanship.  Heck, I don’t even want to call it sportsmanship.  It is more than that.  It is more about not being a jackass and embarrassing yourself.  I’m tired of people trying to defend Busch say that he just really wants to win.  Every driver out there wants to win.  You don’t see Jeff Gordon doing it.  You don’t see Tony Stewart doing it.  Ok bad example with Tony but I like him and he has mellowed out considerably. 

I’m not going to get into the whole role model thing because I think it is highly overrated.  More than anything else, I feel bad for the guy because he comes across as a petulant child.  It doesn’t seem to bother him but it should. 

I can’t imagine having something bad happen at work and venting by throwing computer keyboards and notepads across the room.  People would think I was a nut.  I can understand the guy not liking to lose and even getting upset about it.  However, have the self respect throw your tantrums in private.

There have been many comparisons of Kyle Busch to the late Dale Earnhardt.  Other than they win a lot and weren’t afraid to driving aggressively, I don’t see much of a comparison.  Earnhardt didn’t complain or throw tantrums.  He would get even on the track by winning.

Right now, Kyle Busch, in my opinion, is the most talented driver in NASCAR.  He is fearless and can do things with a race car or truck that defy physics.  Anytime he crawls into a car or truck, he is a favorite to win.  He is still young so hopefully he will grow out of the tantrums.  I’m sure he is probably a pretty decent guy.  I know he works with charities and when things are going well, he can be, dare I say, charming.  I like that he is cocky and that he doesn’t endear himself to the fans.  When he does his bow after winning a race to thousands of booing fans, that makes me laugh.  However the tantrums have got to go.  You are too good of a driver to be acting like a little kid.