Franklin TV: Cyber-Puttering?

PUTTER DAY goes digital.

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 01/04/2026

Cruft! (Ugh!) Digital cruft is a thing. It’s old digital stuff. Old bits of computer code and engineering REM statements (comments) that linger in software apps. It’s snippets of saved code – because, well – you just never know.

Cruft! It’s also the momentarily valued digital detritus; those random links, pix, text, files – stuff that many of us collect – usually online through our web browsers. Downloaded cyber-clutter. (I’ll just [klick] save that for later.) Taken to extremes, it can devolve into digital hoarding.

We’re all guilty in some way.

Consider that I have a desktop computer. It’s personal. It’s also business. It’s the digital home of my personal and professional life. While diligent in keeping these respective datasets separate, within these two worlds there are many folders filled with many more files. The business files are records that go back to my start at Franklin.TV in 2012. My personal files – pix, software code, art and design projects, etc. go back to 1975. Fifty years of personal computing. It’s a lot of stuff. There’s a digitized archive of extended family photos that goes back over a century.

Beyond cruft, there are assets. There is a digital discipline – asset management. The essential concept is simple:

If it’s mine, I can share it. If it’s there, I can find it.

How to optimize that glorious digital goal was my ‘to do’ on PUTTER DAY, 2026. After 2 days of file moving, copying, some deleting, and much general organizing, my digital world is more orderly – more navigable.

Now – let’s seeee… Where did I just put today’s ‘Program Guide’ file…?

(I had it just a minute ago.) Digital asset management is a challenge without end.

And – as always –

Thank you for watching.

Thanks for listening to wfpr●fm, 

and staying informed at Franklin●news.

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

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Franklin TV: Getting Ready - For PUTTER DAY is nigh

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 12/28/2025

Recently, I received a wonderful baseball cap that proudly brandishes the phrase,

“ I fix stuff and I know things.” So cool!

There it is. The spirit (and perhaps even the ‘Santa hat’) of PUTTER DAY. (Jan 1) Hats. T-shirts. Sweats. Suddenly, it’s everywhere. The phrase rose to viral internet prominence as a tool user’s declaration. Like humor, internet memes are often propelled by a universal, tongue-in-cheek truth. We’ll take it. For those of us who look forward to PUTTER DAY, it’s what we do. Yup. Believe. On it. Yoobetcha.

For years I have preached, promoted, exalted the high holiday of PUTTER DAY as a New Year’s Day commitment to small progress, but progress nonetheless. Just as Festivus and ‘Fix stuff/Know things’ enjoyed viral acceptance, I hold hope that someday PUTTER DAY will enjoy the same broad notoriety. Then I can have my moment; that proud power stance that says, “ My work here is done.”

I fix stuff and I know things. For now, we’ll suspend judgement on the ‘know things’ claim and focus on the ‘fix stuff’ part. All that stuff is waiting. It’s the stuff on the oft postponed ‘honey do’ list.

PUTTER DAY doesn’t require heroic effort. There is the small ‘stuff’ that creeps into our lives throughout the year; a loose this, a squeaky that, a thing that just mysteriously jammed and stopped working, the widget that needs fresh batteries. These are everyday nuisances that, when fixed (finally), no one else will notice.

However, you will know. This is the ‘I know things’ part. It’s the private, deeply

personal satisfaction of PUTTER DAY and knowing another job well done.

Meanwhile, a To-Do item: PUTTER DAY swag. (This has to happen.)

And – as always –

Thank you for watching. 

Thanks for listening to wfpr●fm,

and staying informed at Franklin●news.

P.S. In my fevered PUTTER DAY enthusiasm I jumped the gun. I fixed 2-3 items before this went to press. Easy. (whew!) Gotta pace m’self.

Get this week's program guide

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf 

Franklin TV: Putter Day, 2025

A New Year’s Tradition Since – umm…

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 12/29/2024

I first wrote about Putter Day back in 2014. I went public. My ersatz (albeit highly productive and satisfying) holiday actually goes back much farther. The stencil font says it all. As I have noted, Putter Day is industrial strength.

In Nov we gave thanks. In Dec we made merry. Now in Jan – time to get down to it. We can spend any other day of the year putting things off, postponing, delegating, yada-yada, but Putter Day It's not about delegating. It's about the joy of doing. So, let the puttering and doing commence.

Truly inveterate, work-hardened putterers begin this most earnest day of days at first light. You step out your front door and squarely face the day. Clutching that to-do list, you declare – loudly – unabashedly, “This day is mine. I shall prevail.” Note: A bullhorn makes for a nice touch.

Putter Decor:

The Duct Tape Wreath – It can be your first Putter Day Project – a nod to duct tape as that grand unifying force for all things great and small in the Universe.

The Putter Day Sacrificial Induction Ceremony: ( for beginners ) Accidentally hit a thumb, forefinger or other body part with a hammer. ( Or anything handy/hard/heavy that you tried to deploy as a hammer. ) If you ended up in the emergency room – Bonus!

Walk tall. my friend. ( Or limp as need be. )

Putter Day Gift Guide: Easy! Tools. Any tools... or duct tape. First Aid kit – A thoughtful stocking stuffer that shows you care.

Advanced Putter Day activities: Anything to do with Ikea Instructions. 

On this Putter Day – hold thy head and hammer high, my friend.

And – as always – 

Thank you for watching. 

Thank you for listening to wfpr●fm.

And staying informed at Franklin●news.

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf   

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

Franklin TV: Putter Day - 2024

Celebrating the 1st Decade of Puttering

by Pete Fasciano, Executive Director 12/31/2023

New Year’s Day (often spent recovering from New Year’s Eve) is less holiday and more hangover for some – a day of rest, recuperation (regret?). For me, 2024 marks The Tenth Anniversary of my unflagging effort since 2014 to transmogrify the empty aftermath of New Year’s Eve – Jan 1, and set it apart to become – Putter Day.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s on Monday – Ugh! Srsly? But, it’s a holiday. We’re supposed to celebrate Putter Day by puttering – by doing useful stuff? Really?

In a word – Yes. That’s the point.

Want a strong new year? A strong new year deserves a strong start. Putter Day! After New Year’s Eve is over and done, Putter Day is that affirming, actionable start. Putter Day is our industrial strength holiday; propelling us on to the New Year.

Dictionaries describe to putter (verb) as a perfunctory engagement in a desultory, yet pleasant activity. ( I say, ‘No.’ Putter Day is purposeful, deliberate, delightful. )

For me there is nothing perfunctory nor desultory about a full-on, earnest puttering that leads to accomplishment, an abiding sense of self-satisfaction, total control of my manifest destiny, a good reason to feel smug, and yes – all of the myriad laurels, distinctions and accolades that freely flow therefrom. ( - Too much? Over the top? )

Regarding our other major national holidays, the most meaningful among them have clear purpose and a palpable sensibility. July Fourth is without question a biggie. Each of us knows in some personal, almost visceral way what it means to celebrate our hard-fought, precious freedoms. Our Spirit of Independence runs deep, and we have great empathy for those still fighting for their own freedoms. The patriotic music – ‘Star Spangled Banner’, ‘America the Beautiful’ and others fortify our depth of feeling and understanding. Memorial Day, Flag Day, Veteran’s Day are all tied to July Fourth. These holidays share the gravitas and solemn gratitude reflected in their ceremony and sentiment. Music? We add ‘Taps’. These other patriotic days also share our flag and its colors. Red, White and Blue swags and bunting adorn podiums and stages – the visual paradigm for patriotic days.

President’s Day tries to tag along, but meaning? Gravitas? Ceremony? Nothing. All that President’s Day conjures in our collective – is ‘Fantastic Savings on Car Deals’ – with Red/White/Blue balloons all over the showroom. Music? ‘Yankee Doodle’.

 

Thanksgiving is a big day with its deep roots in family and a tradition of gratitude. Like the patriotic holidays, Turkey Day has a clear raison d'être. It’s the capstone event of fall and the harvest. A bountiful table set with autumnal golds, browns and a cornucopia make up a warm visual backdrop. Then comes –

Christmas! Wowwerz! As holidays go, this one’s the biggie. From its origin story, add ‘Rudolph/Frosty’ lore, a zillion ‘TV Specials’ for the kiddies, Mom, Dad, the whole family – the Red/Green thematic colors, the sparkling lights, the gifts and carols – Christmas commandeers the entire month after Turkey Day. Then –

New Year’s Eve happens to us. Partypartyparty – confetti, streamers, noise makers, sparklers and sparkly beverage toasts to our future, the countdown, a midnight smooch – and for those among us of a certain age, bedtime (Yawn! - Nighty-nigh-z-z-z-z-z- - )

Title Card: – Sooo – here we are. January First, the vaguely circumspect start of all things new deserves better. It’s too important to be propped up against the tail end of ‘The Holiday Season’ like a bookend. Hence, Putter Day. After a decade of enthusiastic Puttering on New Year’s Day I wish only to share the grand opportunity to enjoy Putter Day with you, good reader. You can do it. In fact, together, you and I can work to make the ‘can-do’ spirit of Putter Day go viral across the nation – perhaps even around the globe. Putter with a pal. Just imagine all those fun projects that you could plan, organize, design, install, fix and/or improve.

To further clarify the Constructive Spirit of Putter Day – It’s about taking action. Putter Day is not someone else’s responsibility. Owning the Day means owning the opportunity to make progress, big or small, real or abstract, on Day One of the New Year. Day Two? Doesn’t cut it. There’s no putting off Putter Day. The new New Year holiday needs you, my friend. So, grab that duct tape and get puttering. Put your good shoulder into it. On Jan 2nd with accomplishment and self-satisfaction, you’ll know you got it right ( all other failed New Year’s resolutions notwithstanding ).

May 2024 smile warmly, kindly upon us all. (If we puttered on Putter Day, we deserve it.)

Franklin TV: Putter Day - 2024

Thanks for listening to 102.9 wfpr●fm. 

And – as always – 

thanks for watching.

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf