I just gave out some bagels to some guys who wait near the road for work. While giving out burritos, burgers or bagels about a dozen times or so, I have noticed that you can't always get the conversation in if you're pulling over. I have enough time for "No trabajo. Tiene hambre?" and a thumbs up to the guys.
Public radio reminded me about Twitter yesterday and you can see me at:
http://twitter.com/BigManWalking
Twitter lets you follow the happenings or questions or conversations, etc... of the people that you choose to follow. Looks pretty interesting so far. Join me on Twitter!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Come Play BME
Our calendar has finally reached 080808 and the start of the Beijing Olympics and today I am starting The Burrito Multiplier Effect blog.
I have given food to some hungry people who were pretty grateful. (I haven't actually seen each person start to eat, but they all said thank you in one way or another.) It hasn't cost me too much so far and I expect to get some business owners and managers involved soon.
I stopped at Santana's in the Bay Park community of San Diego on the way down to catch the trolley in Old Town. My son is used to me doing things like this, so there wasn't too much discussion of how crazy I am/were/can be.
After taking the trolley to the San Diego Convention Center, we waded in and I soon excused myself to find someone who wanted a burrito. I think I asked 4 people before I got a yes. The first person I spoke to was David, who seemed to have plenty of food in front of him. He was fine with me offering and then choosing a friendly 12 yr old from Lemon Grove named Jacob. Jacob agreed to give five burritos away during the next year and off he went.
David asked me about my project and proceeded to tell me that burritos were not originally from Mexico. He said that they were invented in the United States. I then told him about Jim Gaffigan's comedy routine about how he says the French told Mexicans that marketing Mexican food to Americans would definitely work. I found most of his routine and the French water/Mexican food part starts about 2-3 minutes in. Jim Gaffigan is funnier than my description. Give him a listen.
Now, as for today being the 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year of this century, the number 8 is significant to a whole lot of Asian people. I was able to find out at the end of an article in the Contra Costa Times that the Chinese calendar year is 4706, so I'm not exactly sure how the compromise with the Gregorian calendar works. I guess 080808 will actually come in two years for the purists (unless their months are different and I haven't looked into it that far...).
The number 8 means prosper according to TrendSniff.com and that is consistent with what I have heard over the years. I remember reading about people selecting addresses and phone numbers (think 800 or 888!) because there were two or more eights such as 15088 Elm Street. Some might even gamble based on these ideas. Click on the title of this post to see an Asian-Nation.org article on gambling. Here's an excerpt:
Numerology also plays a crucial role in many Asian cultures. The number 8, for example, is considered extremely lucky by many Chinese, while 4, when spoken in Mandarin and Cantonese, sounds like the word for death and is avoided.
Tomorrow, the calendar will change and there will be a nine in the middle of two eights. I don't personally buy in to the significance of the numbers, but I find it interesting that so many people do. Of course, as something of a nerd I look forward to days like March 14, pi day (3.14) and September 10 or 10/09/08 (descending sequence of numbers - did you miss June 7th? 06/07/08). I am not claiming any significance to these days, just curiousity, something slightly out of the ordinary, and maybe a little fun. No matter what numbers show up on the calendar, I will still be having fun and giving away burritos to smiling faces.
***
The Burrito Multiplier Effect
I started giving away burritos and other types of food at San Diego Comic-Con 2008. I ask you to give away 5 burritos during the next year and ask those who receive them to do the same thing. That way 5 burritos become 25 which will become 125 and then 625, 3025, 15125 and so on. Where will this lead? Will I make money? Will my nonprofit idea get more visitors and contributors? How many people will visit the Burrito Multiplier Effect? Come play!
What do you think about The Burrito Multiplier Effect? Can you give away burritos? Have you? Did the person who received the burrito/food agree to do the same thing and keep the multiplier effect going?
I have given food to some hungry people who were pretty grateful. (I haven't actually seen each person start to eat, but they all said thank you in one way or another.) It hasn't cost me too much so far and I expect to get some business owners and managers involved soon.
I stopped at Santana's in the Bay Park community of San Diego on the way down to catch the trolley in Old Town. My son is used to me doing things like this, so there wasn't too much discussion of how crazy I am/were/can be.
After taking the trolley to the San Diego Convention Center, we waded in and I soon excused myself to find someone who wanted a burrito. I think I asked 4 people before I got a yes. The first person I spoke to was David, who seemed to have plenty of food in front of him. He was fine with me offering and then choosing a friendly 12 yr old from Lemon Grove named Jacob. Jacob agreed to give five burritos away during the next year and off he went.
David asked me about my project and proceeded to tell me that burritos were not originally from Mexico. He said that they were invented in the United States. I then told him about Jim Gaffigan's comedy routine about how he says the French told Mexicans that marketing Mexican food to Americans would definitely work. I found most of his routine and the French water/Mexican food part starts about 2-3 minutes in. Jim Gaffigan is funnier than my description. Give him a listen.
Now, as for today being the 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year of this century, the number 8 is significant to a whole lot of Asian people. I was able to find out at the end of an article in the Contra Costa Times that the Chinese calendar year is 4706, so I'm not exactly sure how the compromise with the Gregorian calendar works. I guess 080808 will actually come in two years for the purists (unless their months are different and I haven't looked into it that far...).
The number 8 means prosper according to TrendSniff.com and that is consistent with what I have heard over the years. I remember reading about people selecting addresses and phone numbers (think 800 or 888!) because there were two or more eights such as 15088 Elm Street. Some might even gamble based on these ideas. Click on the title of this post to see an Asian-Nation.org article on gambling. Here's an excerpt:
Numerology also plays a crucial role in many Asian cultures. The number 8, for example, is considered extremely lucky by many Chinese, while 4, when spoken in Mandarin and Cantonese, sounds like the word for death and is avoided.
Tomorrow, the calendar will change and there will be a nine in the middle of two eights. I don't personally buy in to the significance of the numbers, but I find it interesting that so many people do. Of course, as something of a nerd I look forward to days like March 14, pi day (3.14) and September 10 or 10/09/08 (descending sequence of numbers - did you miss June 7th? 06/07/08). I am not claiming any significance to these days, just curiousity, something slightly out of the ordinary, and maybe a little fun. No matter what numbers show up on the calendar, I will still be having fun and giving away burritos to smiling faces.
***
The Burrito Multiplier Effect
I started giving away burritos and other types of food at San Diego Comic-Con 2008. I ask you to give away 5 burritos during the next year and ask those who receive them to do the same thing. That way 5 burritos become 25 which will become 125 and then 625, 3025, 15125 and so on. Where will this lead? Will I make money? Will my nonprofit idea get more visitors and contributors? How many people will visit the Burrito Multiplier Effect? Come play!
What do you think about The Burrito Multiplier Effect? Can you give away burritos? Have you? Did the person who received the burrito/food agree to do the same thing and keep the multiplier effect going?
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