Toluu

The World According to Dave

Long Term Value of a CustomerDecember 23 2008

A few weeks ago, I went to Lowes to pick up some baseboards to complete a flooring project I have been working on in my house. While I was there, I also picked up some odds and ends, as one is wont to do in a hardware store.

When I got home, I realized that I had tied the baseboards to the top of the car, and forgot to throw the bag of odds and ends into the car. So I went back to the store and before going an buying the items - AGAIN - I went to the customer service counter to see if someone had turned in the bag. Of course nobody did. I'm sure whoever found the bag was looking for some wood putty, some razor blades and whatever else I had in the bag. As I was about to leave the counter, the customer service agent told me that the store would replace the items for free. I must say that this was a complete surprise.

On my way home, it occurred to me why they did it, and why it was a sound business move on their part. From this point going forward, I will always drive the extra 4-5 miles to go to Lowes, instead of Home Depot. My lifetime value as a customer, being an admitted tool junkie, will go well beyond the $38 (retail) of the items that they replaced. I'm sure my name is on some list of potential fraudulent clients, but that's ok, I'll be more careful about putting everything in my car from now on.

Granted, I will still go to McGuckins, a local Boulder hardware store, because their service and inventory kick a**. But when it com

Helping a Worthy CauseDecember 15 2008

The last couple of years, I have been an officer of the Boulder Rugby Athletic Club. Holding such a position certainly has its challenges and rewards. One thing that is constant among all clubs, is that it only takes one "oh sh*t" to wipe out 25 "At a Boy"(s).

On Sunday, we were written up in the Daily Camera, as the Volunteer of the Week. We were awarded the honor largely because of our annual volunteer efforts to help the Share-A-Gift organization. This will be our 11th consecutive year helping distributes toys, bikes, books, and jackets to families in Boulder County who can use a bit of assistance. Last year, Share-A-Gift helped families provide gifts for over 10,000 kids in the area. It's a great organization that is run by some really great people who spend the better part of a year collecting donations and organizing the event. Good ink or not, volunteering for Share-A-Gift is a tradition with the club. It's a long day, but one of the things you can do that actually gives you the sense that you did something worthwhile.

Addendum: We also got a write-up on the Volunteer Connection site: http://www.volunteerconnection.net/profiles/vols/VCBoulderRugby.html


The fly of the day is the

All Quiet on the Negative FrontNovember 7 2008

Anyone else enjoying the lack of negative noise that has been dominating just about every form of media? Even with Tivo, the negative campaign ads were difficult to avoid all together. The last few days have been noticeably calming.

Of course, forward thinkers like John Boehner are back at it already. He wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post, with the conflicting assertions that he would work together with the other side of the aisle while fighting the leftist agenda to help the country get out of the economic crisis that the Republicans have to take just a little bit of blame for creating.

I guess we can thank Boehner for at least declaring his intentions to be an obsturctionist, pain in the arse.

I think we can guarantee that congress will pass Obama's initial economic package without much resistance other than the ususal CYA saber rattling. Grudgingly, they will also accept the war in Iraq as a lost cause and opt for whatever quiet exit strategy comes around, as long as they don't have to do it under W's watch. What will be interesting is the hearings after Obama's first selection for the supreme court. The same people that jumped all over Joe Biden for making Alito's wife cry are going to pummel the nominee.

Anyway, enjoy the relative lack of noise now, because it is going to return to the same old

Trim the bottom 40October 23 2008

Most of the time I look at presidential and other elections and think that what you see is a repackaging of the same old cr*p. When McCain picked the little known governor from Alaska, I thought to myself that this is really odd. Then I saw her speech at the convention, it was fairly impressive in it's delivery, not to mention a bit frightening. In the next weeks, it became obvious that there was not a lot of depth to be found. At the end of the Vice Presidential debate, it was clear that all Palin was capable of was rhetoric, and claiming to be a Maverick, which I'm not entirely sure she can spell.

Over the last few days, the theme in the media is how she is dragging down the ticket. One poll said that 55% of people thought she was incapable of being president, while 40% thought she was.

This morning in the Washington post, I saw this quote:"Overall, 52 percent of likely voters said they are less confident in McCain's judgment because his of surprise selection of Palin; 38 percent are more confident because of it. That represents a marked reversal from the initially positive reaction to the pick."

The other day, she told Brian Williams that the Vice President is in charge of the Senate. Um, maybe one of her handlers ought to have fed her the right answer after blowing it a few weeks ago. Those pesky ambush journalists.

My question is, who the F*ck are these morons that make up 2 out of every 5 adults? From which planet, or pa

On the ShelfOctober 3 2008

One of the facts of life if you play a contact sport, is that you run the risk of getting injured. You are guaranteed to have soreness and pain if you play hard, but actual injury is one of those things that you would rather avoid.

It's never a good idea to blow up a joint or crack a bone, but more of a nuisance than the pain and discomfort, is the amount of time that you will spend going to doctors, getting X-rays, killing a day of work for the surgery, and the next 3-12 months going through the frustrating experience of rehabilitation. It's been 8 years since my last significant injury, but the memory of the seeming eternity that is rehabilitation is still clear in my mind.. The key to a successful rehab is that you fundamentally have to start over and refrain from doing even basic exercises. Even though you can take stairs 2 or 3 at a time, you need to take them one by one until the doctor gives you the green light. Even though you know you can start doing slide drills, you have to work with the little rubber band for the next two months. Arghh...


A couple of weeks ago at Ruggerfest, I ended up at the end of a string of passes "through the hands". It was almost like we knew what we were doing. (Oh yeah, we're old and we've been playing for a long time, we're just slow.) I had the angle to the corner, but there was no way I was going to beat the last defender to the try zone. After an amazingly deft move, amazing in that I couldn't believe that he bought it, I turned back toward the middle and was running toward the posts. With each step, I was getting closer to scoring (This happens about every 2-3 years). Right as I was getting to the try line, the defender dove and swept my ankles. As I was about to lose my feet, diving seemed to be the thing to do, as I figured I could reach the try zone and set the ball down. Somewhere shortly after I set the ball down, the rest of my body followed. At this point, the shoulder attached to the arm that was holding the ball buckled (that's technical term). I figured I twinged it pretty good, but no major damage. Guess again, Dave. I've yet to meet the person who has had an MRI and not had surgery, which will likely be my fate in about a month.

Long story short(er), I'm out of action for the next while. One thing that is important for any rehab stint is to have a goal event that you are getting ready in time for. While this may sound strange, my target events are Cowpie and Mother's Day, as in the Cowpie Classic rugby tournament in Steamboat, and the Mother's Day caddis hatch on the Arkansas river. May and July are a long way away, but they'll get here soon enough. About the only thing I'll be able to do between now and then is tie flies, so all is not lost.

The fly of the day is the spent caddis. A particularly hot fly, right after a hatch. (This particular video features A.K. Best, an angling legend in these parts.)