Grace Under Self-Induced Pressure

We've all faced those moments when the sudden, chilling realization hits that something we meant to say in private, or at the least to a specific individual, has instead been broadcast to the world and/or the wrong person. For example, a negative comment about the boss meant for one co-worker... that instead was e-mailed to everyone in the company. Including your boss. It happens. Although, strangely enough, it seldom happens twice to the same person. Go figure.

Anyway, a new variation of this oopsies is when someone writes something via social media -- Facebook, Twitter, blog -- that was meant to be sent on their personal account but instead was put on the corporate account. Such an occurrence took place a few days ago to the American Red Cross, when whoever was overseeing their Twitter account at the time clicked the wrong ID from which to send this:

Ryan found two more 4 bottle packs of Dogfish Head's Midas Touch beer... when we drink we do it right #gettngslizzerd

Oops!

Fortunately, all parties concerned remained calm. The next tweet on the account read:

We've deleted the rogue tweet but rest assured the Red Cross is sober and we've confiscated the keys.

Now, bear in mind the American Red Cross has some 268,000 followers on Twitter, so despite the original tweet being deleted more than a few people read the thing. Apparently they were well assured by the Red Cross' response, choosing humorous replies to the original tweet such as:

After I drop off a pint of blood to the Red Cross, I'm going to replace it with a pint of Dogfish beer.

The brewer of Dogfish beer got into the spirit... er, occasion on their Twitter account by encouraging its customers to give blood to the Red Cross, then note having done so on Twitter with the hashtag #gettngslizzerd. For which the Red Cross has thanked them, albeit it with a word of caution that drinking and donating blood should always be spaced well apart on your schedule for health reasons.

The moral of the story is that when a mistake happen -- and it will happen -- one is best advised to own up to it and do their best to turn it into an advantage. That, and remember how most people are more than willing to cut some slack to others when this happens, being that they've been in the same situation themselves.

And avoid discussing getting slizzered when online.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/brrby

San Francisco Bay Area faces dire threat from global warming...

... that is, if you consider snow a sign of global warming.

Yes, the weather forecast for the San Francisco Bay Area calls for snow this weekend, and not just at the higher elevations. It is expected to reach down to sea level. Which doesn't happen very often.

Given the rare nature of such an event, suffice it to say the natives are ill-prepared for such an occurrence. Those of us who have lived elsewhere at some point in time and will consider whatever snow accumulates to be little more than a dusting will try to keep a straight face at those who consider the sighting of a single flake a sure sign of Snowmageddon. Like Armageddon, but chillier.

Anyway, as a public service we at CSE are providing the following helpful hints should it in fact snow out here. And stick around for more than five minutes.

1. Tempting though it may be, do not plan on being able to grab your skis or snowboard and head toward Lombard St. San Francisco's finest take a dim view of slaloming down public thoroughfares.
2. Free-form figure skating is great fun. But not while you're driving. If the area does get snow, and especially ice, if at all possible stay off the road until it thaws.
3. Cover your plants and pets. But not with each other.
4. Speaking of pets, Fido and Fluffy are going to be one cranky puppy and kitty if left outside when the white stuff arrives. Not to mention it's not safe for them.
5. There will likely be a call to conserve energy if everyone has their heater going full blast. Do so. There's no shame in throwing on an extra sweater or sweatshirt. However, avoid wearing snowshoes inside the house, especially if you have shag carpeting. (Does anyone still have shag carpeting?)
6. No matter how awesome the waves may be from the storm, this will not be a good weekend to go surfing. Trust us on this.
7. Expect zero sympathy from your relatives back East when either you call them to complain about the weather, or they call you for the sole purpose of laughing hysterically.

Be safe and enjoy the snow, if in fact it does snow. While if there's enough of it there will be inconveniences, it still beats the San Andreas fault having a temper tantrum by a mile.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/brmx9

Just Give The Man The Money

You have to be a stickler for the rules in insurance. It's part of how we protect our good customers, by actively seeking out those who would jack up everyone's rates by attempting to abuse the system.

That said, sometimes you can be a bit too much of a stickler for the rules. Such was the case last Saturday night in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Ice minor league hockey team, like most hockey teams, has a contest in-between periods. Last Saturday night, one of the contests was shooting the puck the length of the ice into the net at the other end. Making it even more of a challenge, the front of the net was completely covered except for a three-inch wide slot at the bottom.

Which is the exact size of a hockey puck.

On to the ice stepped a 73-year old gentleman, who stated prior to taking the shot that if he made it, he's donate the $50,000 prize to a local heart center which had performed life-saving surgery on him a few years back.

He made the shot.

The insurance company sponsoring the shot has thus far refused to pay up, insisting he stepped over the line prior to taking the shot. Never mind how this cut the shot distance down from 190 feet to maybe 189 feet. Or that the team mascot was goofing around beforehand and moved the gentleman to the spot from which he took the shot. No, you were over the line, and you don't get the money.

The team, wisely, has thus far declined to name the insurance company in question.

For the record, it was not CSE.

Announcing our 2011 CSE Youth Scholarship Contest!

It's time for our annual CSE Youth Scholarship contest!

Youth Scholarship

2011 Essay Competition For Children of Public Employees



ENTRY GUIDELINES



AWARD

To promote driver safety and awareness among young people, in 2011 Civil Service Employees Insurance Company (CSE) will offer a total of $12,000 in scholarships. The competition is divided into three geographic regions: Northern California, Southern California, and Arizona/Nevada. In each region, CSE will offer scholarships in the amount of $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 each for third through fifth places to a child of a full-time or retired public employee, based on an essay discussing ways the teenage automobile accident rate can be reduced. CSE, a California-based company, has provided personal automobile insurance to public employees and their families for over half a century.



ELIGIBILITY

• Applicant must be a California, Arizona or Nevada resident attending his or her senior year of high school.



• Applicant must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.



• Applicant must have been accepted to an accredited four-year college or university, or trade school, in the United States, with intent to enroll as a full-time freshman by the Fall 2011 session.



• The applicant's parent or legal guardian must be currently employed full-time by -- or if retired or deceased, must have been employed full-time by -- a government entity. This definition of public employee includes, but is not limited to, peace officers; firefighters; educators; postal employees; military personnel; and federal, state, and local government workers.



• CSE employees, employees' relatives, and its agents and vendors are not eligible.

PROCEDURE

Submit in a single packet:

• An essay that discusses ways the teenage automobile accident rate can be reduced. The essay must be your original work, written by you, and be typed (double spaced) or printed neatly in ink on 8.5" x 11" white paper. It must be in English and must not exceed five hundred words. Enclose two copies of your essay. Write your name, and the name and city of your high school, on one copy only. Do not write your name or the name and city of your school on the second copy. Applicants will be evaluated on the originality, creativity and written proficiency displayed in their essays.



• The signed and completed application form.



• A letter of recommendation stating that you are a senior in good standing for graduation with the class of 2011. The letter must be written on school stationery and be signed by a representative of that institution.
  
  * A letter of acceptance from the post-secondary institution you will be attending full-time by the fall of 2011. The letter must be written on the institution's stationery and be signed by a representative of that institution.



• Your official school transcript in a sealed envelope.
  
  Send all materials to Scholarship Contest, CSE Insurance Group, P.O. Box 8041, Walnut Creek, California, 94596-8041. All materials must be received by Friday, April 29, 2011. Regular mail is preferred; avoid certified or other special mailings. No fax or electronic submissions will be accepted. All directions on the application must be followed exactly, and all requirements for submission must be met. Materials must be legible. CSE is not responsible for lost or misdirected application materials.



• Scholarship winners will be notified by Friday, May 13, 2011. No other applicants will be notified

PLEASE PRINT AND COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM



ALL MATERIALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY CSE NO LATER THAN APRIL 29, 2011.



Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® is required to view or download the Application Form - click here to download it free.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/aq9b7

Watching the Grammys (So You Won't Have To)

There are few certainties in life, but there is one thing on which you can always count. Well, two things. CSE being there for its insureds is one.



The other is people trying to figure out what they just saw on the Grammys.



The Grammys, in case you've missed them, is the yearly awards ceremony for the recorded music industry to reward itself over being such good boys and girls. In recent years it has become known as a haven for performances and outfits that, shall we say, defy logic and in some cases gravity. Not to mention defying good taste.



Let's review the... uh, highlights, shall we?

• Lady Gaga arrived inside a giant plastic egg, carried by several muscular young men. It was all rather reminiscent of that scene in Cleopatra when the queen makes her grand entrance aboard a sedan chair carried by slaves. It also did little to squash the rumors that Lady Gaga and Big Bird are romantically entwined.

• Many a parent and/or grandparent were left with the dubious honor of having to explain to members of the younger generation the identities of Bob Dylan and Mick Jagger.

• One of the most widely praised performances came from Mumford and Sons, the English new folk quartet featuring passionate music and lyrics which, when studied, reveal none of the members have a date this Valentine's Day and if they did they'd mess up the relationship before the evening was done.

• Someone named Esperanza Spalding won the award for Best New Artist over Justin Bieber. Considering how most Best New Artists award winners quickly fade into oblivion, perhaps Bieber should be glad. Nevertheless, this enraged his tweener fan base, many of whom are now holding a massive pout-in at the nearest shopping mall food court.

• Arcade Fire won the Album of the Year award. This marks the first time the award has been won by a Canadian rock band. This also marks the first time most people knew there were any Canadian rock bands other than Rush.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/aq98v

Announcing our 2011 CSE Youth Scholarship Contest!

It's time for our annual CSE Youth Scholarship contest!

Youth Scholarship

2011 Essay Competition For Children of Public Employees

ENTRY GUIDELINES

AWARD
To promote driver safety and awareness among young people, in 2011 Civil Service Employees Insurance Company (CSE) will offer a total of $12,000 in scholarships. The competition is divided into three geographic regions: Northern California, Southern California, and Arizona/Nevada. In each region, CSE will offer scholarships in the amount of $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place, and $500 each for third through fifth places to a child of a full-time or retired public employee, based on an essay discussing ways the teenage automobile accident rate can be reduced. CSE, a California-based company, has provided personal automobile insurance to public employees and their families for over half a century.

ELIGIBILITY

• Applicant must be a California, Arizona or Nevada resident attending his or her senior year of high school.
• Applicant must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.
• Applicant must have been accepted to an accredited four-year college or university, or trade school, in the United States, with intent to enroll as a full-time freshman by the Fall 2011 session.
• The applicant's parent or legal guardian must be currently employed full-time by -- or if retired or deceased, must have been employed full-time by -- a government entity. This definition of public employee includes, but is not limited to, peace officers; firefighters; educators; postal employees; military personnel; and federal, state, and local government workers.
• CSE employees, employees' relatives, and its agents and vendors are not eligible.

PROCEDURE
Submit in a single packet:

• An essay that discusses ways the teenage automobile accident rate can be reduced. The essay must be your original work, written by you, and be typed (double spaced) or printed neatly in ink on 8.5" x 11" white paper. It must be in English and must not exceed five hundred words. Enclose two copies of your essay. Write your name, and the name and city of your high school, on one copy only. Do not write your name or the name and city of your school on the second copy. Applicants will be evaluated on the originality, creativity and written proficiency displayed in their essays.
• The signed and completed application form.
• A letter of recommendation stating that you are a senior in good standing for graduation with the class of 2011. The letter must be written on school stationery and be signed by a representative of that institution.
  * A letter of acceptance from the post-secondary institution you will be attending full-time by the fall of 2011. The letter must be written on the institution's stationery and be signed by a representative of that institution.
• Your official school transcript in a sealed envelope.
  Send all materials to Scholarship Contest, CSE Insurance Group, P.O. Box 8041, Walnut Creek, California, 94596-8041. All materials must be received by Friday, April 29, 2011. Regular mail is preferred; avoid certified or other special mailings. No fax or electronic submissions will be accepted. All directions on the application must be followed exactly, and all requirements for submission must be met. Materials must be legible. CSE is not responsible for lost or misdirected application materials.
• Scholarship winners will be notified by Friday, May 13, 2011. No other applicants will be notified

PLEASE PRINT AND COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM

ALL MATERIALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY CSE NO LATER THAN APRIL 29, 2011.

Adobe® Acrobat® Reader® is required to view or download the Application Form - click here to download it free.

Tail... Er, Tale of a Survivor

There is a lot of dark news right now: the unrest in Egypt and elsewhere, typhoon in Australia, much of the United States buried under snow. For many, today isn't about getting ahead or making plans for the future. It's a battle to simply survive. Ofttimes that's where we come in, providing reassurance to our insureds that should the unfortunate strike they will not have to attempt recovery alone. We can't do everything, of course. Some things folk have to do on their own.

Consider this moo-ving... uh, moving tail... er, tale of a true survivor.

In January of 2006, a young woman faced execution although she had committed no crime. Pleas of innocence were ignored as her captors led her to her fate. However, this resourceful individual had other plans than going gentle into that good night.

Or at the least, winding up on the menu at Wendy's.

The woman in question was a 1,200 heifer at a meat processing facility -- in other words, a slaughterhouse -- in Montana. Yearning to breathe free as opposed to becoming the one-time only guest at a barbecue, the resourceful cow decided it was time to lay to rest the notion that bovines were nonathletic creatures. And save her own hide (literally) in the process.

How?

She jumped, not over the moon, but over something thought equally impossible for a cow: a 5 1/2 foot tall fence.

That was only the start of the cow's adventures. Danger followed her every step as she ran through town -- well, as much as a cow can run -- with the local police and animal control people hot on her hooves. She dodged a determined German Shepherd who had no doubt never seen a walking T-bone steak before, deftly avoiding being turned into a hood ornament by an SUV, and wound her way through a railroad yard. In a final dash of Old West desperado, she swam across the Missouri River. It took not the usual one, but three tranquilizer darts before the heroic heifer finally let them take her alive.

The meat processing facility were so impressed with her spirit, not to mention having no desire to go through this all over again, they granted her a pardon and named her Molly B in honor of the unsinkable Molly Brown. As sending her back to the herd was nixed due to fears she'd start teaching the other cows extreme survival skills, Molly B was sent off to live at an animal reserve.

Sadly, it fell on hard times, forcing the local animal control people to euthanize many of the animals living there. But not Molly. Although suffering from a sore hoof, she was not one to let this get in her way. A new animal reserve was found, and a few days ago Molly was moved to her new digs where she has no doubt already established herself as the alpha cow.

Molly B, we salute you. With a veggie burger.

It's a Girl!

CSE Insurance Group Marketing Manager Sarah Ferrucci and her husband welcomed Miss Dilynn Gia Ferrucci into the world at 1:12 AM this morning! 8.1 lbs., 20.5 inches. Mother and daughter are doing well. This is the Ferrucci's second child.

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/aoc2a

It's a Girl!

CSE Insurance Group Marketing Manager Sarah Ferrucci and her husband welcomed Miss Dilynn Gia Ferrucci into the world at 1:12 AM this morning! 8.1 lbs., 20.5 inches. Mother and daughter are doing well. This is the Ferrucci's second child.