MyPublisher book on trip to Armenia December 7, 2008
Posted by Me in fun, travel.Tags: armenia, book, mypublisher, photo
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Click on the image to look at the book I made with MyPublisher.
I gave my dad this book last week when I visited for Thanksgiving. I used MyPublisher, thanks to recommendations from Ed Brill, Carl Kriger, and more. I was really impressed with how it came out. It looks very professional – the pages are thick, the cover glossy and substantive, and the general layouts and options produced a really slick look. It took him a moment to realize I made this book (err….designed it).
Coca-Cola Cooler Restoration December 7, 2008
Posted by Me in fun.Tags: acton, coca-cola, coke, cooler, picnic-cooler, restoration, soda-machine
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I bought a vintage cooler for my brother for the holidays and will be doing some restoration on it. Since I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know I have a blog let alone read it, I think it’s safe to discuss the process and get feedback from anyone who has experience with this.
Someone in Greece is selling a similar but smaller model on Craiglist (CL is in Greece now?). I borrowed the general stats and photos from their posting and changed them to fit the model I bought. Vintage Vending also has an image of an old advertisement with the cooler listed as one of the items.
1940’s “Six Pack” Acton Picnic Coolers
High-16.5″ – wide approx. 17″- deep- 12 “
Made by the Acton Mfg. Co. Inc.; Arkansas City, Kansas
US Pat.No 86 Folio D-152580
2570300 2576874
Can Pat No. 86 Folio 15064
other patents pending



The Restoration Plan
1. Unscrew and take the cooler apart into pieces
2. Stencil the letters on the side for paint later. Will need to purchase templating film from art store, pencil in the outline of the letters, and cut them out with an Xacto knife.
3. Remove paint. First try to remove paint with a wire brush and sandpaper. If that doesn’t remove enough, use chemical paint stripper. Sand with 80 grit sandpaper and then again with 120 grit sandpaper. Will need proper gloves & ventilation.
4. Clean galvanized metal with soap and water.
5. Repaint. Recommended by ColaMachines.com: Dupont Centari Acrylic enamel, paint code for red 60807-A. For the white, paint code 6731-A. Use stencil to do white lettering after red paint dries.
6. Polish corners and handles with Noxon metal polish.
7. Put it all back together.
Any other suggestions or recommendations?
Trip to Vienna and Berlin November 12, 2008
Posted by Me in travel, work.Tags: berlin, luis-suzarez, mary-beth-raven, vienna, web2.0expo
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Last month, Mary Beth Raven and I took a trip to Vienna to deliver a keynote address at the Lotus After Business Event. We went a few days early to do some sightseeing around Vienna and Bratislava. Click on the picture below to see our video, feature St. Stephen’s, an interview with a previous Vienna Boys Choir member, and some of my following trip to Berlin. For the photostream, please see this link.
The next trip I went on after Vienna was to Berlin to deliver a presenation at the O’Reilly Web 2.0 Summit. Here are the slides I presented.
While at the Expo, I was able to catch Luis Suarez, fellow IBMer, giving his 10 minute talk on how to eliminate email from your day and replace it with social tools. View the video here: http://www.viddler.com/explore/tekmoda/videos/9/.
Armenian Independence Day September 26, 2008
Posted by Me in concert, event, fun, travel.Tags: armenia, independence-day, republic-square, yerevan
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Here is a video I created of some of the scenes at Republic Sqquare in Yerevan when the independence celebration was going on.
Eating in Yerevan September 26, 2008
Posted by Me in fun, travel.Tags: food, yerevan
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A short movie on some food and drink:
Yerevan street scenes September 25, 2008
Posted by Me in travel.Tags: yerevan
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Some of my favorite scenes from around Yerevan.
Woman sells sunflower seeds on busy high end shopping street. She tears pages from a book to make cones to fill with the seeds. Behind her, an Adidas superstore and an Armani (not viewed) contrast the old and the new.
A typical street flower stand.
Men playing chess. You can find them around the city playing chess or backgammon.
Republic Square
Many cafes line the parks of Yerevan.
Victoria’s Secret! And in Armenian. Other stores I saw around town included Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Dolce & Gabbana.
One of few street cars.


















