Let the games begin!
Yikes, almost two weeks since my last blog! I’ve had a few items floating around my consciousness that require purging, but the timeliness of their expulsion has passed. Here are a few noteworthy semi-random thoughts of inconsequential importance:
The entire Vice President Cheney hunting flap has been quite amusing to me. This is such a non-story that I am amazed (but not surprised) that it is still lingering within the news cycle. The only people who think this story is of any relevance, besides the ardent Bush/Cheney haters (this includes the mainstream press), is the White House Press Corps, simply because the administration **dared** to release a story to someone else besides them. The audacity, the nerve, the unmitigated gall! They are the arbiters of the dissemination of information, not someone outside of the the beltway! I think it would be a hoot if from now on the Bush administration would only issue new press releases through some random reporter/reporterette outside the Washington press corps. At some point maybe they’ll remember that it’s their job to report the how/what/why/when stuff to the American people, not editorialize. One could wish...
Hope everyone had a nice St. Valentine’s Day holiday. For those of you who do not celebrate the holiday out of disinterest, lack of companionship, or who protest against the Big Candy/Big Flower/Big Greeting Card/Big Fancy Restaurant conglomerate brainwashing, those of us that do celebrate the holiday thank you for your tolerance, patience, and understanding during this irrational time.
This past Friday the 17th we clinked our bottles of liquid refreshment and **officially** started the recording sessions for the new CD! We began recording Through Those Eyes first. At this point we’re only concerned with the drum tracks. Patrick commented afterwards that we have a “maybe” take from Friday’s session. It’s a good start.
As to why my bloggage production has taken a hit as of late, there is a simple explanation. I’ve been selfishly too busy to be concerned with your recommend daily allowance of my mindless drivel. In reality, I’ve been very occupied at work. After a long hiatus, I’m hopping back onto the metaphoric bicycle. I’m a mechanical designer by education (3D CAD jockey) and since I started my business almost nine years ago I haven’t designed much of anything. Not necessarily a bad thing mind you, I was (and still am) very focused running and growing my business. I worked for many years prior for a DOE laboratory helping design bits and pieces of things not to be named that seemed to only kill innocent women and children (per the press and activists). It was pretty neato seeing that “Women and Children Only” button for the first time. Anyway, I’m getting back into the design/packaging realm – back to my roots, man. I realize that you probably don’t give a sh*t about this, but hey, it’s MY blog, not yours. That’s it. Nothing exactly earth shattering.
No, it's all about ME!
decorum (de-co-rum): Appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety;
American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition, ©2000
Read the above definition. Read it again. Recall the spectacle that was the Mrs. Coretta Scott King funeral and the behavior of more than a few of the invited dignitaries delivering eulogies. Read the above definition one more time. I think that many people attending were blinded by something other than the point that there was an actual person lying in state before them. I give former President Clinton kudos for observing proper decorum for the event and reminding everyone of the person they were there to honor. Funerals are the celebration of the life of the deceased, not about the opinions of those still living. I’m so appalled by this blatant display of disrespect, that I’m at a loss for words. Below is a quote from Neil Cavuto of Fox News that I think accurately captures my disgust.
"They're not about the people looking at the box, but the person in that box.
They're about the voice now silent, not the voices still loud.
It's not about settling scores, but settling on a life's meaning.
Not yours, but theirs.
Not your speeches, their memory.
Not your digs, their depth.
The dead cannot speak for themselves. So tread carefully when thinking you can.
You do the dead honor, but acting honorably, not selfishly.
Don't assume you speak for their views, when you prattle on about yours.
Funerals aren't about prattling. They're about soul-searching.
All I know is that when you walk into a church or a synagogue, you aren't a Democrat or a Republican, a conservative or a liberal. You're a human being, there to remember another human being.
This is their moment, not yours. Their life, not yours. And their message, not yours.
So save the stump speeches for the rabid fans who might care. Not the dead, who clearly do not.
I think the one thing worse than speaking ill of the dead, is assuming you're speaking for them at all.”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,184282,00.html
RIP, Mrs. King...
Last year = boob, this year = Botox and Geritol.
My client just got infected with a fairly nasty email virus today. There should be a very special place in hell for these little bastards who seem to need to overcompensate for their inversely sized ego. Yep, they need to set an extra plate at the table deep down below next to the lawyers, politicians, spammers, bureaucrats, and insurance companies. It’s already pretty crowed down there amongst the bottom feeders, but I’m sure they’ll be more comfortable with their own kind. I don’t subscribe to a lot of spiritual dogma, but I do think that karma can be a nasty ass bitch to come home to, especially when she’s had a hard day at the office.
We had a fun get together yesterday to watch the Super Bowl. Bummer that the Seahawks lost though. At least they got there. Nothing to be ashamed of, although it’s usually a horse pill dipped in cod liver oil with a curdled buttermilk chaser. My wife’s a trooper and an honest fan. Some of the commercials were pretty good. I’ve never been a Rolling Stones fan, but at least it was a decent halftime show for once. Better than the usual failed attempt to appeal to everyone with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. The resultant hodge-podge will always stink up the kitchen.
Paul came out of his secret bat cave long enough to see his shadow and to publish another installment of his blog. Make sure to check it out. He comes out so rarely these days.
It's Bush's fault!
I’d like to expand a bit on a theme hinted in the last paragraph from my last blog. Let’s see how quickly you can figure it out or how well I can spin the old yarn.
A couple of weeks ago the wife and I were downtown doing some errands and decided to have lunch at a new restaurant that neither of us had been to before. Much to our chagrin, this particular eating establishment had already gone out of business. We weren’t too surprised although it was located in a pretty prime location. Businesses open and close everyday in every city across the country, so this incident isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary.
Yesterday I read an article lamenting the closure of a record store from the author’s hometown. It was another of those small downtown mom and pop shops that have been open for decades and was part of the city’s character and soul. The main reason cited for its demise was that it could no longer compete with the big corporate stores. Again, this type of thing happens to businesses everyday.
You want to buy . You’ve done your homework and compared prices on the internet. So you walk into the local store armed with the lowest price available online from some warehouse on the East Coast, and it includes free shipping and no sales tax. The salesman offers you his best price. You counter with your internet price. He can’t match it, but in your mind he should be able to match it and you think that he just wants more profit. You say thanks, but no thanks and buy it from that East Coast warehouse over the internet.
Almost every town nowadays is home to a Starbucks (can’t have just one), Wal Mart, Costco, or a Home Depot. I would venture to guess that if you were around when these stores were being planned/approved/built/opened there were probably a bunch of folks predicting the closure of the local hardware store, coffee shop, etc., and in most cases this indeed eventually came to fruition.
Have you guessed it yet? Let me give you a big hint: It’s OUR own fault!
Do you think I’m joking? Think about it. Collectively, it is our own fault - yes, yours and mine, that these small mom and pop shops have closed their doors, assuming of course it was for reasons of competition. Why? The explanation is quite simple. The primary reason that these smaller stores are closed is because the community (you and me) didn’t patronize these establishments enough for them to stay open. As much as some people scream and holler about these big, evil store killers, it doesn’t stop them from shopping there does it? If you despise the prospect that Home Depot may force the closure of your local hardware store, then DON’T shop there! If you do, then you’re just being a hypocrite. I know it easy to justify to yourself that it’s OK to get that at Home Depot this one time because, well, it was on the way home from work, or the local hardware store was out of stock, or they didn’t normally carry the item, but they could order it for you. But you needed it right NOW! We DO like that huge selection and those good prices, don't we? It’s also very easy to imagine that there should be plenty of other people still going to that small coffee shop downtown, so you go instead to the Starbucks located in your grocery store a couple blocks away from home. Shall I continue? The reason these large corporate stores come to your community and stay there is because you shop there! Somebody must be or else they'd be gone! Sure it’s really sad that the old ice cream parlor closed, but how many times did YOU go there in the last 6 months?
Let me tie this in with my last blog about gas and oil prices. Again, here’s another example of where we don’t put our money where our mouths are (me included). It took over 6 months for my wife and me to think about trying that new restaurant. When I want to get a book, I typically go to Borders or Barnes and Noble before I even remember that we have a couple of family owned bookstores downtown. I’ve purchased products online even though I could get it locally for the same retail price, simply because I could get it shipped for free and without being charged state sales tax. We all do this to some level and are all equally responsible for the viability of our local businesses, big and small. I remember my mom always saying, “Keep the money local.” I you want to have the option to shop locally (and no one is forcing you to), then you need to support your local businesses. It’s up to you to decide how much you’re willing to spend to abet your conscience.
Don't look at the man behind the curtain
Windfall Profits Tax. This vile concept has again resurfaced from the socialist muck with the recent earnings announcements from the oil companies. Now, before I continue I’d like for everyone reading this to shift the emotional right half of your brain into neutral and engage the logical left half of your brain into gear (and that would be forward). My immediate desire is not to browbeat you into agreeing with me, just help anesthetize your knee jerk emotional reaction to the topic at hand and maybe lubricate your neural pathways to permit some honest intellectual debate and consideration. Let me say it again slowly, Windfall Profits Tax. Is that better now? Are you a little more relaxed? If your heart is still racing and your neck muscles are still tense, keep grinding those mental gears until you can breathe normally after repeating those three words. I’ll wait...
OK, let’s get out our scalpels and cut this baby wide open so we can see what’s inside. Let’s look at the instigator of this fiscal confiscatory aberration - Big Oil. If you need to go back and repeat the above exercises, please do so before continuing. I’ll wait...
Now, even though I lean slightly more to the right than my greater San Francisco Bay Area community (trust me, it doesn’t take much around here) and I am part owner of a medium sized business (50+ employees) don’t automatically assume that I drink from the overflowing corporate cup filled with greed-flavored kool-aid. I’m against taking advantage of consumers as much as anybody, becuase I am a consumer myself. If the oil companies have taken advantage of us (and I believe they have), I have no tolerance for their behavior. But, let’s consider a few things before we storm the castle with our torches and pitchforks.
[1] This punitive tax purports to punish a company for making too much money. Who decides how much is too much and under what circumstances? Is it a percentage or a hard dollar amount? Who decides who should be penalized and who is exempt? If you’re going to punish a company for making too much, shouldn’t you also reward the company for not making enough, just to make it fair? If you’re taxing a particular industry for profits, should you also bail them out when they go under, because they “paid” into the system?
[2] This particular tax targets the oil companies. Do we stop there? How about Wal-Mart? Big Tobacco? Big Pharmaceutical? Yeah, screw them all you say! Don’t forget that these companies (like all private sector businesses) actually produce wealth and ADD to the economy. Government, by definition, takes wealth away from the economy because it does not make money, it spends and redistributes money it confiscates from those companies and individuals that DO make money.
[3] As much as you may despise the oil companies, the biggest hidden profiteer in all of this is the government. The federal, state, and local governments have collected trillions, yeah that’s with a “t”, in tax revenues from gas and oil. You want to punish these evil oil companies, right? Then why in the hell would you give the money to the government? YOU paid the higher gas prices. YOU should get the money back, not the government! Consider this – when the people demanded relief from high gas prices, all the government did was wring their hands and blame corporate greed. They did absolutely NOTHING except appoint yet another symbolic blue ribbon committee to study the issue. Not once did they offer to reduce taxes on gas and oil – something they actually have the power to do! That’s the dirty little secret they hope you conveniently ignore.
[4] What constitutes the price of that gallon of gas you just put in your tank? Supply and demand arguably has the greatest influence on gas prices. Global demand for the limited supply of oil isn’t solely controlled by the United States. Developing nations such as China and India have increased their demand, which causes the price to rise. Locally, the high costs of compliance, overregulation, 40+ different gas formulations, taxes, and the reluctance of our government to take advantage of our own oil resources and to research alternatives also add to that price per gallon. The simple fact that California mandates a higher minimum wage than Alabama does, is also a factor.
I do NOT suggest for one moment that the oil companies are guilt-free in this matter - far from it, but they are not totally to blame, either. Like it or not, companies are in the business to make money, and all we like it when our own 401(k) grows, too. We can’t all work for the government. Think about it in another way. As a nation the majority of us are unwilling to give up our fuel inefficient SUVs, minivans, trucks, and sports cars. We own multiple vehicles. We don’t invest in, promote, or widely use public transportation. We don’t carpool or ride our bikes to work. We insist on living in the suburbs far away from our jobs. Probably the only way we can effectively lower the profits of these evil oil companies, is to simply reduce the demand for their product. Don’t forget that the consumer is also part of the equation.
