Why is there so much WHITE SPACE

So to play off Nikki’s previous post about the likelihood of things… I am marveling at the growth and resonance of the MaineLine coalition in our state’s business community. What are the odds that a state that is almost as far away from Haiti as you can get in the US — and with one of the smallest populations — would be able to make a real difference? What are the odds that businesses across all industries and sizes would be interested in joining the coalition?

There have been so many amazing things that have started to happen, that I can’t help but stand back and feel grateful. And while MaineLine hasn’t yet started to make an impact in Haiti, the fact that I know it is coming and could prove to be a model for other states to follow, is one of the most satisfying feelings on the planet.

If you are a business that has customers or suppliers in Maine or is headquartered here, I encourage you to consider joining the coalition. Large or small, retail or industrial, if we all come together, we will not only be able to pool together some tremendous resources, but our collective involvement and brand recognition will keep the media attention and the funds flowing from the public as well. Maine has so much to offer Haiti. Even small pledges of support, when pooled together, will make a tremendous difference.

From our vast natural resources to our creative economy, there is no limit to what we can achieve by bringing all these minds and contributions together. Retailers and restaurants could contribute a percentage of sales from a particular month or special product. The timber industry could contribute raw materials for rebuilding houses. Consulting firms of all types can lend expertise and financial support. Employees at companies could come together and raise support. The options are endless and bound only by our creativity and long-respected Yankee work ethic. Learn more and get involved today!

– Kim Stiver

CD&M embarked yesterday on a Healthy Maine Partnerships road tour. Our first stop: Presque Isle. We would leave Portland at 6:30AM, meet in Freeport, one stop for coffee, two stops for a bathroom break and we would be to Presque Isle in no time. Well, 6 hours according to Bob (our boss). Sounds easy, right? Well the journey proved to be a series of “Did you know’s” and “What are the odd’s?” To paint the picture, there are five of us traveling in a mini-van – Karen Barlow (Account Executive), Krista Nordgren (PR), Judy Kelsh (Account Executive), Bob Cott (Supervisor), and myself.

Let’s note that Judy is 34 weeks pregnant (close to full-term), Krista is not an earlier riser and packed her own pillow, Bob’s suitcase was 1/8 the size of all of ours, and Karen’s car was just detailed because of the amount of dog hair in her car. Which, despite her efforts within the first two minutes Bob, who has a strong sense of smell, complained about.

And we’re off…..

When Karen asked if anyone brought the GPS. Bob said, “Why? Just go straight.” And so we do.

In the car ride, many conversations would begin, like…

Did you know that Judy’s dog, Baxter, is named after Baxter State Park where they don’t even allow dogs?

Did you know that the song “Anything For You” by Gloria Estefan was on when Karen and her high school boyfriend broke up. And that her class song was “Little Red Corvette by Prince.

Did you know that Bob doesn’t have a uvula (the punching bag in the back of your throat). Apparently when he had is tonsils removed, the doctors accidentally cut it out. Oh, and he can fall asleep in any transportation.

Did you know that Krista has a major crush on an Olympian? (See last post)

Then came our conversation about how dangerous roller coasters were. I disagreed. I said you had a better chance of dying in a plane crash – so naturally, all of us on our iPhones searched it. This sparked a series of random discussions about the odds of things happening. If you wondered, here are the odds:

Odds of bowling a 300 game: 11,500 to 1

Odds of getting a hole in one: 5,000 to 1

Odds of getting canonized: 20,000,000 to 1

Odds of being an astronaut: 13,200,000 to 1

Odds of winning an Olympic medal: 662,000 to 1

Odds of an American speaking Cherokee: 15,000 to 1

Odds that a person between the age of 18 and 29 does NOT read a newspaper regularly: 3 to 1

Odds that an American adult does not want to live to age 120 under any circumstances: 3 to 2

Odds of injury from fireworks: 19,556 to 1

Odds of injury from shaving: 6,585 to 1

Odds of injury from using a chain saw: 4,464 to 1

Odds of injury from mowing the lawn: 3,623 to 1

Odds of fatally slipping in bath or shower: 2,232 to 1

Odds of drowning in a bathtub: 685,000 to 1

Odds of being killed on a 5-mile bus trip: 500,000,000 to 1

Odds of being killed sometime in the next year in any sort of transportation accident: 77 to 1

Odds of being killed in any sort of non-transportation accident: 69 to 1

Odds of being struck by lightning: 576,000 to 1

Odds of being killed by lightning: 2,320,000 to 1

Odds of being murdered: 18,000 to 1

Odds of getting away with murder: 2 to 1

Odds of being the victim of serious crime in your lifetime: 20 to 1

Odds of dating a supermodel: 88,000 to 1

Odds of being considered possessed by Satan: 7,000 to 1

Odds that a first marriage will survive without separation or divorce for 15 years: 1.3 to 1

Odds that a celebrity marriage will last a lifetime: 3 to 1

Odds of getting hemorrhoids: 25 to 1

Odds of being born a twin in North America: 90 to 1

Odds of being on plane with a drunken pilot: 117 to 1

Odds of winning a straight up on a single number in online roulette: 37 to 1

Odds of being audited by the IRS: 175 to 1

Odds of having your identity stolen: 200 to 1

Odds of dating a millionaire: 215 to 1

Odds of dating a supermodel: 88,000 to 1

Odds of writing a New York Times best seller: 220 to 1

Odds of finding out your child is a genius: 250 to 1

Odds of catching a ball at a major league ballgame: 563 to 1

Odds of becoming a pro athlete: 22,000 to 1

Odds of finding a four-leaf clover on first try: 10,000 to 1

Odds of a person in the military winning the Medal of Honor: 11,000 to 1

Odds of winning an Academy Award: 11,500 to 1

Odds of striking it rich on Antiques Roadshow: 60,000 to 1

Odds of getting a royal flush in poker on first five cards dealt: 649,740 to 1

Odds of spotting a UFO today: 3,000,000 to 1

Odds of becoming president: 10,000,000 to 1

Odds of winning the California lottery: 13,000,000 to 1

Odds of becoming a saint: 20,000,000 to 1

Odds of a meteor landing on your house: 182,138,880,000,000 to 1

Chance of an American home having at least one container of ice cream in the freezer: 9 in 10.

Chance of dying from any kind of injury during the next year: 1 in 1,820

Chance of dying from intentional self-harm: 1 in 9,380

Chance of dying from an assault: 1 in 16,421

Chance of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585

Chance of dying from any kind of fall: 1 in 20,666

Chance of dying from accidental drowning: 1 in 79,065

Chance of dying from exposure to smoke, fire, and flames: 1 in 81,524

Chance of dying in an explosion: 1 in 107,787

Chance that Earth will experience a catastrophic collision with an asteroid in the next 100 years: 1 in 5,000

Chance of dying in such a collision: 1 in 20,000

Chance of dying from exposure to forces of nature (heat, cold, lightning, earthquake, flood): 1 in 225,107

Chance of dying in an airplane accident: 1 in 354,319

Chance of dying from choking on food: 1 in 370,035

Chance of dying in a terrorist attack while visiting a foreign country: 1 in 650,000

Chance of dying in a fireworks accident: 1 in 1,000,000

Chance of dying from overexertion, travel or privation: 1 in 1,428,377

Chance of dying from food poisoning: 1 in 3,000,000

Chance of dying from legal execution: 1 in 3,441,325

Chance of dying from contact with hot tap water: 1 in 5,005,564

Chance of dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000

Chance of dying from ignition or melting of nightwear: 1 in 30,589,556

Chance of dying from being bitten by a dog: 1 in 700,000

Chance of dying from contact with a venomous animal or plant: 1 in 3,441,325

Chance of dying from being bitten or struck by mammals (other than dogs or humans): 1 in 4,235,477

Chance of winning a bingo game where 100 players manage four cards each: 1 in 100

Chance of dying from a mountain lion attack in California: 1 in 32,000,000

Chance of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000

Chance of having a stroke: 1 in 6

Chance of dying from heart disease: 1 in 3

Chance of getting arthritis: 1 in 7

Chance of suffering from asthma or allergy diseases: 1 in 6

Chance of getting the flu this year: 1 in 10

Chance of contracting the human version of mad cow disease: 1 in 40,000,000

Chance of dying from SARS in the United States: 1 in 100,000,000

I think the best ODD of the day was:

Your odds of getting to Presque Isle by going straight on 95: 0 in 1

You’ve got it. Anyone traveling north, make sure you take the second to last exit, or you’ll end up in Canada! Little did we know our trip would be extended slightly. With no U-turns available we wound up at border crossing. The Canadian border patrol thought we were a bunch of clowns and laughed at us saying: “It’s fine with me, but good luck getting back into your own country. You are the ones that made the passport rules.”

Judy and I were frantically trying to snap photos because we wanted to document it. We were all doubled over laughing. Who would do this? Only us. Only us with Bob!

We did as the border patrol directed and headed back for the USA. As we approached our border patrol Judy and I were still snapping photos. As we reached our patrol he asked us to provide him with all of our license and passports – UMMM… small problem. We didn’t expect to be going to Canada so none of us had a passport. While I’m still snapping photos, the border patrols specifically looks at Judy and I and says, “Have you taken any photos?”

Our answer, as innocently as we could: “No.”

After running our ID’s through the computer we were finally on our way to Presque Isle. It was certainly an adventure! And we’ve got photos to prove it.

(Oh, and it doesn’t take 6 hours to get to Presque Isle. Even with the Canadian detour it took just under 5 hours.)

Stacy and I are back for round two of our Olympic (semi)-professional musings. Eavesdrop while we rehash the first week of thrilling competition:

STACY: So Krista, quite an opening week, eh? I don’t really know where to start! So much has happened since Friday with quite a nice showing from the US athletes over the first few full days of competition. But so sad about the Georgian luger – Opening Ceremonies had a pretty somber feel to start.

KRISTA: I know. I’ve shed tears about 18 different ways so far. Some of them for happy things, though, Including the US’s first gold medal: women’s moguls. As you know, Hannah Kearney graduated from my high school; her mother was actually my gym teacher at one point! Hannah is from Norwich, VT, a town–with Hanover N.H.– that shares the first interstate school system in the country. The area, called the Upper Valley is like a little incubator for winter Olympians, so much so that my ski team’s t-shirts read “Unofficial Supplier of the U.S. ski team.” Norwich has sent at least one athlete to every Winter Games since 1984. If you do the math, and apparently someone has, one out of every 322 residents in Norwich is an Olympian. My guess is that it’s because winter sports is embedded into the culture at infancy. Anyway, her win resulted in a lot of emotional celebration back home.

STACY: Tell me about the tears! I can’t get through one night of competition without soaking through a few tissues. Lindsey really got to me with her emotional breakdown after her downhill gold. And even the Canadian mogul gold-medalist, Alexander Bilodeau and the story of his brother with cerebral palsy – I was a sobbing mess during that story. I guess if USA isn’t going to win every event, I can cheer for our neighbors to the north. I was surprised (pleasantly, of course) that Seth won the gold in the boarder cross. After watching his not so stellar qualifying runs that afternoon, I didn’t think he had a snowball’s chance in hell of defending his gold. I guess the folks up at Sugarloaf started gathering at his bar, The Rack, around noon and were still going strong by the time the event actually aired – even though they already knew he won! And I was totally pumped that Bode won another medal after being out of the game – just really wished it was finally gold. Oh well!

KRISTA: I don’t know who that coach is in Bode’s start box but I love him a little bit. He was in Torino, too. The one with the HUGE booming voice yelling motivational things to Bode “KILL THIS, BODE! PUT THE HAMMER DOWN!” I want to hire him to come to my horse shows and stand ringside. I think he could help motivate my horse.

STACY: Hell, I’d like to have him sitting in my office cheering me on! “KILL THIS MEDIA PLAN STACY! PUT THE HAMMER DOWN ON THAT MEDIA REP!” LOL!

KRISTA: Hey, in our last installment I talked about how my Twitter crush, Aksel Lund Svindal was going to kick ass on the downhill. He won the silver! Ja! I’m having that lucky effect on many Twitter friends: Shani D., Apolo, Lindsey, Julia, Evan, Chad, Shaun…(we’re on a first name basis).

STACY: I still have yet to get on the Olympian Twitter bandwagon. Better not start now I guess since I don’t want to jinx anyone. Boy Shani and Apolo are so fun to watch on the ice, eh? What did you think of the Men’s Halfpipe? I was so stoked Shaun won gold and gave a show like we’ve never seen before. The air these guys get is just phenomenal. But I guess when you have your own private halfpipe to perfect it on… And Scotty Lago – another from your home state. Just awesome.

KRISTA: Have I turned you on to the Nordic sports, yet?

STACY: I will admit I was really screaming at the TV during the final 200 meters of the Nordic Combined. Don’t smack me but I’m pretty sure that’s the only part of it I really watched!

KRISTA: But what about the Norway and Sweden battle going on?

STACY: Huh? You lost me there.

KRISTA: Stacy, Stacy, Stacy…to use the words of my Norwegian grandmother: UFF DA!!
I’ll put it into terms you can understand: the Norwegians and Swedes have a Yankees/Red Sox rivalry, especially when it comes to the cross-country events. Because I am 50-50 (half Swedish, half Norwegian) I have a bit of an internal struggle going on, but I’m rooting for Norway. They were completely spanked in Torino and didn’t start off well here. Despite bringing a monster crew of twenty-two wax technicians, the opening race was the worst finish by the Norwegian men EVER in an Olympic event, prompting national hero Bjørn Dæhlie to say: “Call the psychologists, call whoever you need to call, but do it NOW!” I think they’re getting the message. As of last night they had seven medals in cross-country and biathlon. There’s finally some partying in Olso, for sure.

STACY: Yikes, that IS a rivalry! Not sure what kind of life I would’ve had if I had been born half Yankees fan, half Sox fan. I may have hated baseball all together! So I’ll support you and root for your Norwegians!

KRISTA: It’s exhausting to have so many characters to root for, isn’t it? I am sleep deprived and my social life is in a complete holding pattern, but this first week has been simply magical. In the words of US snowboarder Graham Watanabe: “Try to imagine Pegasus mating with a unicorn and the creature that they birth. I somehow tame it and ride it into the sky in the clouds and sunshine and rainbows. That’s what (being at the Olympics) feels like.”

Ever have one of those days where you know you’re not operating at peak performance mentally? I’m talking about those times when ideas don’t come as easy as they normally do or you struggle with simple word choice when writing or expressing yourself verbally. This can be a frustrating time for anyone but especially for those in careers requiring constant creativity and idea generation.

Whenever I find myself in one of these ruts, I like to take a mental break and have some fun. In other words, I like to play mind games – riddles, logic puzzles, paradoxes, optical illusions, etc. I’ve found that taking a short break to exercise the mind can speed my creative recovery time. In case today is one of those days for you, here is a short, and not too difficult, riddle for your “mentalrobics” contemplation. Enjoy.

Masked Men: There was a man one night that started to run straight forward. Then, without hesitation, he turned left. Soon after, he made two more left turns. Then he started running toward home as fast as he could. When he got home there were two masked men waiting for him. Who were they?

- Bryan

P.S. If you think you know the answer to the riddle, use the form below to leave a reply. The first with the correct answer will get nothing special other than the satisfaction of knowing they are today’s master riddler. Good luck.

Problem solved. Healthcare reform starts here. A creative innovation provides more coverage and reduces vulnerability. “Fabulous and aspirational”

Problem almost solved. Marketing professionals should strive for simplicity in messaging. Except when we shouldn’t. “… disfluency, rather than fluency, can sometimes be what’s called for.”

— Scott