Receiving Gifts

A lot of times people will say that it is better to give than to receive. I think they are referring to the point at which you receive something that you never would have bought for yourself and possibly consider it cruel that someone bought this thing for you.

Take the poll on the website mannerscast.com, and leave your stories about how you reacted when getting something awful.

SHOW NOTES: Episode 26 - Christmas #2

We were a couple of days late on this one, but this stuff still applies to next year!

In this continuation of our Christmas theme we talk about Mistletoe in the office, Carolling Manners, and "To Santa Claus or To Not Santa Claus." Topic 3 might not be appropriate for little, "believing" ears...

We're trying to be the first podcast in the Allen, Texas Public Library so EMAIL us with your praise for The MannersCast that we can pass on to the library.

mannerscast[at]gmail.com

You can also email us at the link above to be signed up for the not so frequent MannersCast email reminders of great information like when new episodes are released.

What we learned in Episode 26:

1)  Mistletoe should not be employed in an office environment.
2)  Carollers should stand back a good distance from the door when singing.
3)  Those who are being carolled to should listen attentively and possibly
      provide treats.
4)  If you observe or do not observe Santa Claus, just keep in mind that
      everyone else may not share your view on the subject. There is no       
      reason to get naughty about it... so respect one another's decisions
      either way.

RANDOLPH, THE BOW-LEGGED COWBOY:
(to the tune of Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer)

Randolph, the bow-legged cowboy,
had a very shiny gun.
And if you ever saw it,
you would drop your pants and run!
All of the other cowboys
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Randolph
join in any cowboy games.
Then, one dusty Christmas Eve,
the Sheriff came to say,
"Randolph, with your gun so bright,
won't you shoot my wife tonight?"
Then how the cowboys loved him
as they shouted out with glee,
"Randolph, the bow-legged cowboy,
you'll go down in history!"

SHOW NOTES: Episode 25 - Christmas #1

The book Colin talks about:
Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini.


White Elephant Gift

The White elephant gift exchange, or Yankee Swap, is a popular party game played during the Christmas season in the United States. The objective of the game is for guests of a party to each contribute one gift to the game, and ultimately each guest walks away with one gift from the game. Along the way is a random drawing to determine the order in which players get to unwrap gifts or "steal" previously opened.

"1 Car = 1 Parking Space" T-Shirt
Graphic Designer: James Kocsis.

No Standing

Most of you reading this, since it is a blog about manners, probably already think about when you might be in someone's way. Good on you! I did, however, want to bring it up as something happened to me the other day when exiting a plane after a two hour flight with a 1.5 year old.

The kid wasn't the problem. He did pretty well considering, but the last thing I wanted to do was spend more time on the plane or the jetway than was necessary... I think everyone is still with me here.

The issue came when the group of adults exiting the jetway in front of us decided to have a conclave at the entrance to the tunnel. They forgot they were in public and bunched up around the door all facing away from the exiting passengers. They began to discuss who would get the rental car and who would go to the restroom (Ep. 23) and who would go wait for the luggage.

This is a call for us all to keep in mind that there are other people in the world who might want to get by at some time.

Whew!
Trent

Episode 24 Fluff

Someone told me that there is about 10 minutes worth of dead "air" on the end of Episode 24.

I could say that I actually forgot to cut the export off at the correct time and accidentally left WAY to much of nothing on the end of the podcast, but where would the fun be in that?

Instead, the "real" reason for the blank time on the end of Episode 24 is so you guys and gals have a chance to ponder and even talk amongst yourselves (see the included graphic for one example).

And while you're at it... tell someone about The MannersCast!

Sincerely,
Trent

SHOW NOTES: Episode 24

Grammar Manners and Gifting...

• Article on Grammar suggested by Grammar Girl:
     alphadictionary.com article on grammar

• Manners Mom, Leah Ingram

     MannersMom Website
     GiftsAndEtiquette.com

Asking Prying Questions

?
Questions:

When are you going to pop the question?

When are you guys going to have another baby?

When are you going to mind your own business?

The first two questions here are rampant in our society and probably many around the world. The reason I bring this up is not that I have been hearing these questions, but that I have started thinking about asking them of my friends!

What is happening to me!!! It's very obviously none of my business or any other mom or dad or friend or little old lady who may or may not actually know the person who is on the business end of these questions.

That is simply information to be shared when the person with the information is good and ready. It is not information meant to be dragged out of people.

I have been dropping into the mindset of the slow-witted by even just thinking about this kind of thing and have had to actually dust off my creative thinking skills to come up with other more engaging and fulfilling questions. But when one gets those questions all the time, it is difficult to break the cycle.

Consider that someone you haven't seen for a while has been cheated on and couldn't think of "popping the question" or even dating for quite some time. If you bring it up, they could be hurt and decide not to share anything with you.

Or what if your friend from High School had several miscarriages or fertility problems and is devastated to even think about the emotional pain that has come along with trying to have a baby.

Questions that can seem so genuine and trite can actually cause a lot of damage. So my suggestion is to hold your tongue a little until you reach a level of friendship with someone where they are willing to begin to share information like that with you.

Put your thinking cap on and take off your rose colored glasses. Get to know someone by putting them first and not what you think they should be doing with their life.

Whew! That was long and very serious! We'll see how this goes over.

Trent

Episode 23 Notes: Proper Hand Washing

TRENT:
I figured it might be helpful to include this information from the show. Derek did the research, and if I think it's overly important, I'll put the reference to where the info came from. Until then, I think it was the CDC.

Anyone care about taking this stuff to heart?

Proper hand-washing

1. Use warm or hot water when possible. Cold water is not as effective for killing
    bacteria on your hands.

2. Wet your hands and wrists completely under the running water.

3. Apply a small dab of liquid soap. If you use bar soap, you rinse it off before you
    use it.

4. Work up a good lather and wash all of the surfaces of your skin, including the
    wrist, palms, backs of your hands, fingers, and fingernails.
    Wash your hands for at least 15 to 20 seconds.

5. Rinse your hands thoroughly.

6. Dry your hands. Use your paper towel to turn off the water after you have
    finished.

If soap and water are not available, use gel hand sanitizers or alcohol-based hand wipes. Most supermarkets and drugstores carry these products. Carry one or both with you when you travel, and keep them in your car or purse.

If using the gel sanitizer, rub your hands until the gel is dry. You don't need to use water; the alcohol in the gel kills the germs on your hands.

UPDATE: Telemarketers

We talked about telemarketers recently and had a great poll going on the site with a lot of feedback. Thanks to everyone who voted!

I also have been getting a lot of automated calls with a pre-recorded voice. Those are even more frustrating as they have no human element and are only just a distraction.

On a whim last week I decided to press the ZERO button on the phone to see if I could get an operator and ask to be taken off the list. Suprisingy, 2 times out of 5 it has worked. Once I got a real person who was very kind and took me off the list. And just now I got another automated voice that said I could press "2" to be removed from the call list.

Just a tip to help you with your day!

Trent

MannersCast Films in the RSS Feed

Steven of The Rules Podcast suggest that I put The MannersCast Films in the iTunes feed... so I did.

PEOPLE is in the feed now, but make sure to send your friends to http://www.mannerscast.com so they can see the films and pass them along to their friends.

Thanks, Steven!

Trent
mannerscast[at]gmail.com

Yes, Sir, Mom!

The very poignant words of a 2 and a half year old still ring clear. It's not that she mistook her mom for her dad. It's that she was concerned enough to say the respectful thing to her mom even if she got it wrong.

The current Poll on The MannersCast site is to see how much of an issue it is for our listeners as to whether or not kids are taught to say "Yes, Ma'am," "No, Ma'am," "Yes, Sir," and "No, Sir."

Weight in and we'll talk about this on a future podcast. You can also leave comments here on the blog that we can bring to the table and share with the world!

Trent

Episode 19: Slowpokes and Cancellations

addendum to the podcast:

I spend a lot of time on The MannersCast talking about how people have slighted me with their lack of manners. This time I am the culprit.

I am notorious for putting one person over another when it comes to keeping or bowing out of an event. At times, I will ditch my wife and kid in order to make a meeting that could wait or has enough people to sustain it. I have also been known to favor The Fam in order to build up some brownie points at home.

I have to confess that I am not very good at determining which situation requires which action. Apologies to all who have been slighted.

Trent

Doggie Business

In an earlier post I mentioned the neighbor who, in a fit of stupidity, let his dog poop in my yard. The other side of that is the very nice man I met the other morning.

He was walking his dogs and actually picking up the mess with his plastic bag!

Kudos to all pet owners who make an effort!

Trent

Special Halloween Episode - T-Shirt Contest

It's time for Halloween and any good program has a Halloween Special, so loaded up on candy and punch, put on our favorite plastic masks, and recorded a very terrifying episode of The MannersCast.

Be sure to see the enhanced version for all of the costumes that our little mp3 player dressed in for the show.

Also, be sure to visit http://www.mannerscast.com and cast your vote for The MannersCast T-Shirt Contest. The winner will receive a free T-Shirt featuring his or her design.

Thanks to all who entered!
Trent

Halloweenies

I felt it was about time to mention a few of the things that are lightly entertaining and mostly annoying about Halloween and the Tricking or Treating.

1) Tiny Tots T or T before we're done with dinner.
"Hey, Little Timmy! Would you like some pizza in your bag?

2) Kids who "phone in" their costumes.
A black concert t-shirt turned inside out does not a costume make!

3) Repeaters
Under no circumstances should I hand out candy to the same kid more than once unless that kid has seriously altered his or her costume.

4) Not actually saying "Trick or Treat."
How hard is it to utter the three simple words that make Halloween so much fun? Do you really think I'm going to just hand over the candy if you blankly stick out your pillow case and stare at the ground?

I hope everyone is able to avoid these simple mis-steps this Halloween and have a wonderfully spooky time!

Trent-N-Steinula
http://www.mannerscast.com

MannersCast Films has Debut

YouTube got a little classier today with the addition of the first MannersCast film.

We plan to follow "People" with another short shortly. Stay tuned and share with your friends!

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5W2Aq1i-5I

Episode 18-Who Gets the Check?

We had a good time talking about the gray area that surrounds the check when going out with friends or family.

I think it's best to avoid a knock-down, drag-out fight when deciding who gets to pick up the tab for the "Fam".

It's equally important to not sheepishly sit on your hands and hope that someone else gets the bill. YOW! The truth hurts!

Don't forget to send in your slogans for the t-shirt contest! All entries need to be in by Oct 23rd.

Trent
http://www.mannerscast.com

Poll: Telemarketers

Who likes getting the call? How should you treat the poor soul on the other end of the line?

Head over to www.mannerscast.com to cast your vote and be heard... or at least read.

We'll use your votes and blog comments on the podcast, so go nuts!

Trent

Episode 17 is LIVE!

Who are you? Episode 17 covers introductions and not remembering people's names. Also, we discuss telephone manners from call waiting and speakerphone to talking on the phone in the toilet.

Don't forget to enter in the T-Shirt Contest! Send your entries to The MannersCast.

FREE T-SHIRT

There is a T-Shirt contest afoot. You need only to email us a slogan or shirt idea and include "t-shirt" in the subject line of your email to be entered into the contest.

Send in your entries to mannerscast@gmail.com. The winner will receive their winning slogan or design on a shirt from cafepress.com/mannerscast.

Get your entries in today!

Check the Poll toward the end of the contest to cast your vote for the winning "T".

Contest ends Oct 23. Winner will be announced on Episode 20.