Tag Archives: U.S. 1 Newspaper

An article in this week’s U.S. 1 Newspaper, by Dan Aubrey, alerts us to a reception at the Princeton Public Library today (Saturday, January 18) from 3 to 6 p.m. it is for “Concentric Circles of Influence: the Queenston Press, The Woman Portfolio,” an exhibition that was inspired by the United Nation designations of 1975 as International Women’s Year.

Aubrey’s cover story, Defending the Arts Amid a Culture of Fear, has a much different tone. It tells about his ‘bridge closing moment,” on March 25, 2011, and if that sounds familiar, yes, it is about his battle with the Christie administration. Writes Aubrey.

While the current revelations about the Christie administration waging retribution on Fort Lee may be an eye opener for some, it is something I have lived through.

His 4,000 word account is an eye opener. Read it in hard copy or read it here.

Buying Your First iPad. My friend Stephanie took me to buy my first Apple product. We went to the Bridgewater store to see the array and get great advice but I bought it at Creative Computing, out of loyalty to the “buy local” effort. The price is the same everywhere.

Now it’s my turn to pay it forward. Here is the advice I’m giving to my cousin, who is on the verge of the purchase. If you think i’m wrong, please raise your hand. I am not an expert. These tips are only “My Best Guess” and I’d welcome your correction.

Prepare. Read the tip sheet from Doug Dixon who IS the real expert, as printed in U.S. 1. Dixon gives his “what gadgets to buy for Christmas talk” tonight (Wednesday, December 4) at the Princeton Public Library.

Find your passwords. Be sure to bring all your IDs and passwords with you. Do you have any kind of Apple ID, for iTunes or anything else? Also any ID you have for your phone bill. You will need these and you don’t want to end up with duplicate IDs.

Here are some things to think about.

Your iPad or tablet can have any of these talents:

Connectivity: Wifi or always on (like a phone). When you have the always on, you can choose to use it (and pay a monthly connectivity fee, like your phone) or not use it. When you buy it with JUST Wifi you can never add the phone network. I bought mine with just WIFI and now I wish I had paid more to have the capability for always on.

Color: Fabulous versus very good. The latest iPad and all the Samsung tablets have LCD color. This might matter if you show off your pictures on your iPad.

Storage. I got the max storage and after 1000s of photos I run out of space and have to take them out of active use and put them “in the cloud.” More storage, more money.

Picture taking ability: the iPad can take excellent pictures in some situations, especially low light, but is a miserable camera in other situations (lots of light). However it’s great for storing and editing pictures.

Apple technology. I think it’s great but it can be tricky to synch things, like pictures, from an Apple product to a PC. I’m still working on that one. Some PC programs look slightly different on an Apple product, Picasa albums for instance shows up as “web albums.” You can get tablets that are NOT Apple based if you don’t like Apple. Only Apple has the dictation program Siri.

Size: they make a mini now.

Age and price : they continue to make the old iPad 2 and they no longer make my iPad 3. The iPad 2 is much cheaper than the new version. If you get the latest version, it takes longer to go obsolete.

Then, the accessories. I am fond of my bulky rubber waffle weave case because it is very protective. I have dropped it and it was unharmed. The standard slim case folds over the screen and sits up on a table. Not necessary if you are using it in your lap. They also sell carriers. I fit mine in my big pocketbook.

You must get Apple Care (24/7 help line for 2 years). They give you 3 months of it. You want it.

You want a screen cover (thin film) and make them put it on.

I bought a $15 keyboard on Amazon that works just as well as the $75 keyboards. I rarely if ever use it, maybe I will take it on a trip where I have real work today. Otherwise I sit at my PC or poke away at the screen keyboard. AND if you get an Apple product you can dictate your manuscript with Siri. I have tried it and it works great. I dictate emails now.

Lessons: Princeton Senior Resource Center has good intro courses, beginner and intermediate, for low cost. Creative Computing charges a heftier price but maybe they are good too. I don’t know. Also available at the library. Definitely worth taking! I had mine for a month before I knew how to turn it really OFF off. I couldn’t figure out why it was using so much power.

Also the guys at Verizon in Princeton Shopping Center are wonderful at helping. Even though you might not have bought your iPad there, if you have a phone from them or a Verizon contract they happily give you tips.

For the best and straight scoop on any kind of gadget, consult Doug Dixon’s latest tip sheet in U.S. 1 or his website, Manifest Technology.

Chris Kuenne speaks Monday, November 18 at the Princeton Tech meetup . The topic: the Growth Playbook: 5 Cornerstones to Live By. Highly recommended… Kuenne’s latest venture: Rosemark Capital.

JohnSymonsNotQuiteStillLifeThis great photo, entitled “Not Quite Still,” by my U.S. 1 cohort John Symons, makes me want to revist Grounds for Sculpture. It is in a photography exhibit juried by Michael Mancuso, photographer extraordinaire, with whom I used to work at the Trenton TImes (when it was the Trenton Times, not the re-jiggered “Times of Trenton.) Mancuso is still there. The exhibit at Mercer County Community College opens with a reception on November 20.

Hurray for Suzanne at the NYC Marathon!

Around Town,

Here is a partial list of those Princeton-area residents who finished the New York Marathon, courtesy of the Times of Trenton,  including  those at the top of the roster — and at the bottom. I will try to add more later. Congratulations to all! And as well to those who ran the Princeton Half. Wish I had been in town to see the excitement.

PS: The residential locations I chose are the areas in which U.S. 1 Newspaper is distributed. But surely there were many more runners who WORK in the U.S. 1 circulation area. Congratulate your colleague and add more names as a comment! How many of them train with Princeton Running Company?

Special congratulations to you all, especially Suzanne P. Wish I had her gumption! 

And for all you race coordinators out there (I’m thinking of the UFAR Riverblindness 5k) here are some athletes for your invite list!

26, Ryan Johns, Princeton, 02:25:08.

72, Robert Dennis, Kingston, 02:36:01.

216, Mahesh Sambasivam, Pennington, 02:47:29.

1480, William Cicoria, Jamesburg, 03:09:58.

1548, Martin Zastera, Trenton, 03:10:38.

2619, Hillary Schmitt, Princeton, 03:19:24.

3188, Russell Forsythe, Trenton, 03:22:55.

3737, John Brailsford, Princeton, 03:25:58.

4869, Yuji Hata, West Windsor, 03:30:03.

6196, Gennaro Faranetta, Lawrenceville, 03:35:24.

6779, Steven Enis, Monroe, 03:37:28.

7739, Neil Conley, Trenton, 03:40:21.

8704, Fehmeed Lodhie, North Brunswick, 03:43:27.

**** gap *****

Aditi Patel, Monroe,

Arun Prasath, Plainsboro,

John Giudice, East Windsor,

Alexandra Kachala, Monmouth Junction,

Cynthia Cirri, Trenton

Paul Legato, Princeton,

Adriane Vera, North Brunswick

Aditi Patel, Monroe,

Arun Prasath, Plainsboro

John Giudice, East Windsor,

Suzanne Podolski, Princeton.

What Your Parents Did — It Sometimes Matters

Business, , , ,

Clara Lippert Glenn, the female CEO of one of Forrestal Village’s prestigious firms, The Oxford Princeton Programme (TOPP), was interviewed for the Corner Office column of the New York Times on Sunday. TOPP, a global training resource for energy professionals.  After founding the Princeton Energy Group in 1992, she merged it with an Oxford-based firm, and now runs more than 200 public courses around the world.

She was profiled by Anna Cunningham in U.S. 1 Newspaper in June.  “Lippert Glenn, a liberal arts language major, has parlayed her love of other cultures into a long, successful career in learning and development for energy professionals all over the world . . . Today the one-time languages major may have forgotten much of her French, allowed her Russian to get rusty and let her Spanish slide, but she is fluent in the international terminology of energy power… “

The New York Times interview revealed that her husband’s death, when he was 56 and she was 48, changed her views on work-life balance. “. . . a well-adjusted, well-rounded employee, in the end, is going to stay with you longer and produce better work. It’s not worth it to push people to where they’re putting in 12-hour days. And I’m going to force you to take your vacation, and I don’t want to get e-mails from you while you’re on vacation.”

However, the NYT did not indicate how this language arts major got into the energy industry, starting as a trader, in the first place.  That’s because U.S. 1 reporters are required to ask “What did your parents do?” Answer:  her father had various positions in the oil refining sector, including starting a company that manufactured additives for use in refineries’ catalytic conversion units.

My conclusions: Rarely does the apple fall a big distance from the tree. And  — talent will out, no matter what your major!

Buttons: World’s Smallest Antiques

Around Town, Dance and the other arts, , ,

Buttons like these will be on display at the New Jersey State Button Show and Sale on Saturday, May 11, 9 to 4 p.m. at the Union Firehouse in Titusville. Here is the article in U.S. 1 Newspaper. It’s fun to see all the different kinds of buttons — and you might just find some you “have to have.”

One of the categories for this show is enamel buttons, as on the left. Below, a card of buttons that are are actually in the shape of what they depict: bird, rooster, crab, bear, elephant, flower, thimble, etc.

The NJSBS show is held twice a year for New Jersey and tri-state button enthusiasts who enjoy the artwork and history of buttons, including their manufacture and design. “Our shows attract quilters, crafters, antique collectors, reenactors, and those seeking special buttons to wear,” says Lillian Buirkle, president of the 71-year-old organization.

The fire hall is at 1396 River Road (Route 29), at the intersection of Route 29 and Park Lake Avenue in Titusville, opposite the Delaware River and D&R; Canal State Park (within easy access to the canal park), a half mile north of Washington Crossing State Park in Hopewell Township, and some five miles south of Lambertville and New Hope, PA. Admission is $2 for adults at the door, free for juniors to age 17. Also that day is the New Jersey History fair across the road in the Washington Crossing State Park. 

Johnson Frazier, a button historian and dealer, will present a 1:30 p.m. program, “Banners on Buttons,” showcasing buttons that display ribbons and flags in their designs, some as early as the 18th century, along with a brief history about the buttons pictured. Throughout the day there will be a variety of activities, including the judging of button trays entered into competition, an educational display of buttons worn on gloves, and a button raffle.
The fall show will be Saturday, September 7, at the same location. Contact Lillian Buirkle, (732-691-1776), email: buttonlady@optonline.netor visit http://newjerseystatebuttonsociety.org/

U.S. 1 Newspaper’s 25th: Part I

Memoir

Starting this week, this month, this year, U.S. 1 Newspaper celebrates its silver anniversary. Amazing, isn’t it, that Princeton’s maverick business/entertainment newspaper could capture the hearts and minds of loyal readers and keep going for 25 years!

I begin to recognize the reasons why as I read “Personality not included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity – and How Great Brands Get it Back,” by Rohit Bhargava, a marketing guru with the iconic firm of Ogilvy. I met him at the e-Patient Connections conference in Philadelphia last Monday.

When I read a business book (and I’ll bet you’re the same way), I try to test out the wisdom by applying it to the businesses I know. So in honor of U.S. 1’s silver year I propose to dissect Bhargava’s theories, one by one, and see how they compare with my perception of U.S. 1’s business model. Maybe you’ll want to do the same and apply them to the business where you work.

Caveat: Notice that I said my perception of what U.S. 1 Newspaper is about. I am not the founder, nor related to the founder, Richard K. Rein. Rein is famous for his single-minded vision and after 23 years (I first wrote for him in 1986) I can sometimes guess what he’ll say but by no means all the time. To get his opinion, you’ll have to read his column and/or the Between the Lines column this week. He’ll probably interview himself; he does every year.

Bhargava says that kind of definable personality is the key to creating an inspiring brand: “Personality is not just about what you stand for, but how you choose to communicate it. …Personality is the reason consumers love one product more than another. ….Personality can help you go from good to great.”

How to define personality? That’ll be in Part II. It’s enough, now, to plan to pop a cork and celebrate.

Popping the Cork for U.S. 1

Uncategorized

Today marks the 24th anniversary of U.S. 1 Newspaper, and the first time in 21 years that I did not help mark this anniversary as a member of the U.S. 1 staff. No champagne for me – and that’s just as well, given that I’m famous for getting silly on just a sip.

It was a great 21 years, mostly because I had followed my own advice to those entering the workforce: “Never work for somebody who isn’t smarter than you are.”

The wheel seems to have come full circle. As I write this, on election night, they just announced that Elizabeth Dole has lost her North Carolina seat in the U.S. Senate. In 1976, it seems like yesterday, Dole was a new bride and her husband was running for vice president. As a wanna be writer, I turned my insider status (I had lived on her hall at Duke) into my first published story, printed in the Baltimore Sun. How I did that is a comi-drama for another entry, but it launched my freelance career.

Then after 10 years of slogging in the newspaper freelance market, paid on a piece rate, I remember how delighted I was to be work by the hour at U.S. 1 Newspaper – paid to drink coffee, I chortled. Now I am freelancing again and glad to be drinking my own coffee in my own kitchen. It’s the right time for me.

But I’m sad for Liddy Dole. After 20 years of being mostly a political wife – in 1976 she gave up her job as FCC Commissioner to campaign for her husband – she was in the political spotlight. I’m sure she was a good senator for North Carolina. This was supposed to be her time.

Happy Birthday, U.S. 1! (If anyone can tell me a better way to paste in this reference, I’d appreciate it It’s a reference to Rich Rein’s column, and you can also go to http://www.princetoninfo.com and go to the current issue box to find it.)
http://www.princetoninfo.com/index.php?option=com_us1more&Itemid;=6&key;=11-05-2008%20QA