End of an Era: No more free Budweiser samples

Sad but true: this was a time-honored ritual for William and Mary students who turned 21. The rite involved driving over to the Anheuser-Busch brewery near Busch Gardens to check out the hospitality room...and get free samples. Not full beers, mind you, just six ounces or so.

What is weird is that the coverage is making it sound like they were handing out free beer right in the middle of the theme parks, in which case I can understand why they might have killed the program.

Well, that and the expense of operating said program, especially in college towns.

But I never saw anything like what they're talking about, where it was co-located with the theme park. The brewery was entirely separate.

Then again, I haven't been to Busch Gardens "Europe" since they added Ireland.

NPR: "Murals Depict Power of Law and Justice"

Really cool story on NPR Morning Edition today about the murals on the walls in the US Department of Justice.

It wasn't all that long ago that we still used public art to instruct and provoke thought because people were actually paying attention. It reminds me of the murals at Coit Tower in San Francisco, those were also very cool.

Of course, the general public cannot actually see the murals at the USDOJ...

Late to the game - Google Adwords

I am just now getting involved in this online marketing tactic, Google Adwords. The smoke and mirrors are endlessly fascinating.

No wonder an entire industry has sprung up around Search Engine Marketing and Google's share price is through the roof.