Duck It Up
Blog home of Andrew Pinzler: JHU '03, Kellogg MBA '09, Currently at BBC Worldwide and Co-Founder of BandsNearby.com and PoorSquare.us
These thoughts are my own and do not reflect those of my employer.
It all started during an IM chat with a friend of mine…
Friend: I have a lunch today with the new director and our VP today
do I want, Pizza with Ricotta and Spinach or a Seared Duck Breast Salad?
Pinzler: well, I would imagine the duck is more expensive?
Friend: actually, it’s not
Pinzler: oh, well then, Duck it up!
Friend: lol
… then a few minutes later ….
Friend: oh, but I smell something pizza-y now…
Pinzler: DUCK IT UP!
Not long after this exchange I realized that this wasn’t a half-bad life philosophy. A sort of portmanteau of “Do it up” and “Duck”. Take things seriously but don’t be forget to have fun too. Do something with purpose while not taking yourself too seriously. Duck it up.
Then I found (stole) the perfect mascot. The Cadillac Catera (1997-2001) was marketed as the “Caddy that zigs” and featured advertisements starring an animated red duck called “Ziggy”. According to Cadillac, “Ziggy has the sole mission of bringing fun to the luxury of Cadillac.” Duck it up, indeed.
So, duckitup.com will serve as my blog home for the funny, cool and/or interesting things I come across, usually related to tech or media, that I need more than 140 characters to explain.
Finally, as an added bonus, if you tweet with the hashtag #duckitup (after passing through a screening process enabled by ifttt.com) that tweet will be posted on this blog. Don’t abuse it.
It looks like the most “amazing” thing to come out of CES this year is the iNuke Boom. Pictured above (yeah, that’s not the booth, that’s the actual product), the iNuke Boom is an 8-foot, 700-plus pound iPod dock that can push out a staggering 10,000 watts, and it only costs $29,999! I’ve always wanted an accessory for my portable music device that requires a truck and a team of movers to travel with. #DuckItUp!
So, I recently completed federal jury duty for the Eastern District of New York. (The Eastern District covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Nassau & Suffolk counties.) I’ve been going back and forth about how to write about this in a public forum. I decided that I don’t want to share some of my experiences here that, while I think are quite amusing, might in some way inadvertently unravel the outcome of the case I spent four days on. (More than happy to talk about it privately!) Also, the case was reported here: http://forward.com/articles/149459/
One of the many things in the “grab bag” of gifts I got for my secret santa at the office. That’s right, not one heart but double hearts! (Other items in the bag included a silver tiara, a santa hat, a DVD of the 1971 movie “Evel Knievel” staring George Hamilton, a pill dispenser actually called “The Pill Popper”, and some hot pink ear muffs.)
