Back in 2020, I found out in a Team meeting that my household celebrates a weird holiday tradition. We wrap the artwork for Christmas.

Well, guess what else we do? We make jack-o-lantern string lights for Halloween! It’s our “weird” Halloween holiday tradition.

Spooky origami?

Maybe this tradition is less weird and more of a simple creative hack. All I know is that for over 23 years we’ve been using Halloween jack-o-lantern string lights for interior decoration!

How Dan, how do you make these strings?

Origami. It starts with a 6-inch by 6-inch piece of orange origami paper.

Then you fold it in half.

There are a lot of folds that follow, as you can see in this image.

Now you’ll find you have a pile of blank ‘pumpkins’.

These are best ‘carved’ with a Sharpie, in this case, Fine Point. Easier to do while flat.

Then inflate.

And finally, hang on a string of white lights, preferably with green wire to emulate the vines.

The light acts as a candle and when you have a long string, the look of the rooms is instantly transformed, and the holiday feels extra special.

You might wonder how long it takes to make this set. You’d be surprised that the time isn’t really relevant as it’s meant to be a family/friend activity. Get a stack of Orange origami paper and a Sharpie. Host a small get-together and make some Halloween holiday jack-0-lantern string lights for yourself and your friends too!

Do you have a weird holiday tradition that is just a little off-kilter? Anything that is special to you that maybe others would like to know? Please share with us on Facebook, and Happy Halloween from me and the team at Marketing Messages!

A parting shot, the selfie! That’s me and the missus, as drawn by her back in the day.

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Name That Cable! Epic Pandemic Move-Out Party Leaves A Mess Of Wires

Why was a asked to “name that cable”? When we recently moved our office, there were a lot of miscellaneous cables kicking around. When you have been producing professionally recorded audio for over 30 years you accumulate a lot of extra wires, cables, and whatnots. Since I’ve helped move the equipment through three different offices and set up countless digital audio workstations for audio editing, and since I’ve built and equipped multiple recording booths, as well as being a life-long fan of audio gear, electronics, and microphones, I have thorough knowledge regarding each terminal type.

However, I’ve been told that not everyone knows one cable from another. Someone decided I should write up descriptions for each. So I asked him to send me some images such that I could detail what each cable is, what it’s used for, and whether or not it was worth keeping.

Where Oh Where Do All These Wires Go?

Being a self-admitted audio geek, I err on the side of caution and personally keep several backup cables for any type I might require. For some of you more space-constrained individuals, allow this blog post to educate you about that funny bundle of wires hiding in the corner of your closet, maybe in a shopping bag, a shoebox, or another container.

I happen to have an old mini pretzels jar full of phone wires just 8 feet from my desk.

Wires? Cables? Cords?

Back to the topic at hand. Name that cable, another cable, and more cables!

Here our model shows us a coaxial cable end. This was good for routing the signal from the wall jack to the back of the cable box when I was a kid. (That means it’s really old!)

In this image, a keen observer will recognize this is an HDMI cable, very useful for connecting high-definition multimedia interfacially. OK, so the other end is somewhat obscured, but it appears to be also HDMI Mini, so likely it can connect a laptop or smartphone to a large display.

Another find! This mono male-to-male RCA cable is great for transmitting an unbalanced signal from one analog component to another. TS, tip-sleeve is another way to describe it.

This little gem comes in really handy when you have two shorter cables but need one longer one. It can connect RCA cables. This one’s shy and hides in the corner so we call it ‘Sneak’, but you can call it an RCA female coupler if you’re seeking one for yourself.

Older PCs and monitors all used these to connect, it’s a male-to-male, SVGA video cable.

Don’t see this special cable too often, when I have it’s for power-hungry hard drives. This is a USB Micro B (aka USB-B Micro Superspeed) cable which connected one of our external hard drives to a PC.

One of the most recognizable, formerly rare, and now exceedingly common in everyone’s household, I present to you the USB Micro. I often have one plugged in handy to charge my headphones, my cordless mouse, or the bike lights.

Finally, to round out the post, one of the first USB cable types I ever saw, if not the first, USB type B, great for connecting a printer to any PC.

I suppose it’s worth mentioning the other end of the USB cables for all of them is USB type A, which plugs into the port on the PC end of things.

If you have a cable you’re wondering about, chances are if you send me a photo I’ll be able to let you know what type it is and several good uses for it. If you’d like to hear more about setting up an editing workstation for producing auto attendant prompts, IVR prompts, professional voice narration or simply to listen to over 80 different language samples from our website you can email me about that too. I’ve been producing audio for Marketing Messages since 1998 so I know a thing or two about cables and more.

Ciao for now my cable-loving amigos.

Dan

What’s This, We’re Not Done Playing, “Name That Cable, Dan!”?

That’s right friends, it’s time for the bonus round. Answers can be submitted to me via email using the link above.

1. Which cable type is most likely used when producing an onhold message for playback on a USB Digital Announcer?
2. Which cable type was most prominently featured in our Holiday YouTube video?
3. Which cable type is the newest?
4. Which cable type would you recommend for reviewing an auto attendant prompt prior to loading?

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We wrap the artwork for Christmas.

Each year as we start decorating for the holidays (and yes, this year we started before Thanksgiving because I felt the need for extra seasonal celebration and joy) one step is to take down each piece of artwork in both the living room and dining room.

Each piece gets dusted off and then carefully wrapped like a present.

Then it goes back on the wall to await New Years Eve.

After the stroke of midnight, we let our guests (most years, this year it will just be our family bubble) unwrap the ‘gifts’ while pretending to be amazed and awed by the beautiful objects.

The look of the rooms is instantly transformed, and the holidays feel extra special.

Do you have a weird holiday tradition that is just a little off kilter? Anything that is special to you that maybe others would like to know? Please share with us on Facebook, and Happy Holidays from me and the team at Marketing Messages!

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Recent studies have found that as many as 20% of millennials identify as LGBTQ, with a growing number of individuals rejecting traditional gender binaries.

Honoring and respecting a person’s preferred pronouns is one of the easiest ways to show support for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. Services like OK Cupid and Lyft have increasingly given their customers the ability to make preferred pronouns part of their profile, while Oxford English Dictionary and the AP Stylebook have expanded to use “they/them” as an acceptable singular identifier.

Per a recent article on the subject in Oprah Magazine (link below):

Non-binary and gender non-conforming people have identities that fall in-between or outside of the man-woman gender binary. And they often use gender neutral pronouns like they/them instead of he/him or she/her. You may also see some individuals use ze/zir. In addition, there are gender-neutral titles like Mx. instead of Mr. or Mrs.

Other best practices outlined by the article include:

1) If you don’t know what pronoun to use, listen first.

2) Don’t single out transgender and non-conforming people.

3) Know that it’s OK to make mistakes. When you realize one has been made, apologize quickly and move on. Avoid making a big deal out of the situation.

4) At meetings and events, set an inclusive tone.

5) Avoid gendered language. Words like “sir” and “madam” can be eliminated from salutations.

6) Consider accommodations for transgender and gender non-conforming people.

None of these practices, or including pronouns in email signatures, is the only solution towards making the workplace as inclusive as possible. But they are all small steps that we can make as compassionate and empathetic people to make sure that our co-workers and customers feel welcome and safe in business and in life.

At Marketing Messages, our mission is always one of communication and clarity, and we hope that with even these small gestures we can communicate, clearly, our support for a more inclusive business world, and a more inclusive world even beyond that.

For more information on the importance of respecting pronouns, you can read the original Oprah Magazine article here.

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Thank you New England for all your splendor! On a recent trip to Newport, Rhode Island, the beauty of a New England Fall was evident everywhere. Flaming Maple trees against a cerulean sky. Seagulls swooped over the harbor that once played host to tall ships laden with goods and sundries bound for the colonies. Indeed, the resplendent Beaux Arts mansions that lounge along Bellvue Avenue is a louche comparison to the narrow downtown streets lined with small immaculately kept Revolutionary War era houses.

In our corner of the country, where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, we savor the season acutely. And although it is pouring rain at the moment today (which makes me wonder how like uncomfortably wet sheep the Pilgrims in their wool clothing and damp houses felt on a similar day), and forecasted to be more seasonally freezing tomorrow, many of us will be warmed by family, friends, the bounty of the season.

Of course, not all of New England, and elsewhere in the United States, are so fortunate. For those who wish to share their good fortune with others, here’s a gentle reminder that there are food banks and shelters looking for donations and volunteers. There is one in your area that would be delighted to hear from you – and not only tomorrow but any day of the year.

2013 has been a year of remarkable transition for Marketing Messages. We say thank you to our many clients and to our talented voiceover artists with whom we’ve collaborated along the way. And we wish peace and happiness to you and yours at Thanksgiving.

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When one pauses at midday, looks up from the digital editing workstation, and ponders, “Is there life outside the studio?”, how exactly should one respond? Although Boston is a major metropolitan area with some 4 million people, you don’t have to drive too far out of the city limits to find yourself in bucolic surroundings.

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