Category: LifeStyle

The Company Store

Talking with people fresh out of college, or even some that have been out for a while, I have found that most are falling prey to unscrupulous companies that are working around Universal Health Care by hiring practices that are, well just wrong.

In order to protect the company from spending too much money on labor they are working these people at part time jobs. Instead of hiring enough full time people to do things in a normal fashion “during daylight hours” they are in fact working several part time employees in several shifts.

While shift work is not unheard of, the amount of part-time employees is.

These companies, mostly retail, are hiring these people at just over the minimum wage working them for just under the amount of hours that would be considered full-time. In this fashion they don’t have to give them any type of benefits’ including health care. They don’t accrue vacation time and they must often find at least two jobs to make ends meet. They will in actuality be working more than a 40 hour week and possibly work a 50 or 60 hour week for multiple companies.

The carrot seems to be a verbal recognition of their “potential” for a management position “down the road.”

The other carrot is “in retail anyway” that they offer them discounts on any merchandise. Knowing something about this; their margin is most likely 40 points and since a lot of this “stuff” comes from China, I would bet that their margins are closer to 60 or 70 points with the larger stores getting larger margins.

The discount to the employee is anywhere from 10% to 30% meaning that the company still makes money on the employee purchases. I know a lot of folks that work in retail who work for a particular store because they like what they sell. This is probably a trait among those who work in retail.

What is it like where you live? Do the food service industry companies treat their employees the same way?

Which companies treat their employees well?

Which are the worst?

Why?

I hear a lot of people complain about how they can’t make ends meet and minimum wage needs to be raised to $15 an hour.

The economy took a hit and the unemployment numbers were off the charts. A lot of folks who are now employed are working these types of jobs that are really intended for kids in school and not college graduates. That is why they are minimum wage, because they were never intended to provide a living wage. On the flip side, these companies are now getting college graduates for pennies on the dollar.

Minimum wage does not need to go up to some astronomical number, as that will tank the economy. Every action that congress takes has consequences.

“Universal health Care,” you know that 2000 plus page bill that we have to “pass before we read it;” had consequences. The people who crafted the bill and the Democrats’ who pushed it down our throats will not be affected by this however. They actually crafted language into the bill to the effect that exempted them from any of its mandates. Why would you vote for people like this?

One of these consequences now has people working as slaves for minimum wage jobs that are for school kids. Companies are not in the habit of loosing money and getting bailouts unless you are “too big to fail,” aka a campaign contributor. They work their business so that they make money. If they do it right they not only make a profit for the stock holder and all of those who took a risk. Their end goal is not to provide employment, just make money. Employees are a necessary evil, as far as they are concerned.

Congress needs to fix this. Companies will not fix this themselves, because they have no reason to.

I would argue that language needs to be crafted in a bill that would only allow a company some small percentage of part-time employees, and the same should be true of “contractors,” which is another way to scam the system.

Capitalism

People don’t create companies because they want to give people jobs. They create companies because they see a need, and they know how to fill it. Employment opportunities come when the need is great enough that they cannot fill it by themselves.

Mechanization takes away many jobs. Today the grocery store is a good example of job loss through technology. Self-checkout kiosks are everywhere. Either you as the customer check and bag your own groceries, or you wait in a long line where a minimum wage clerk will check you out. They purposefully (so it seems to me anyway) only have a few working the register so that there is a wait.

I am one that will wait in line as, I want there to be a need for this person behind the counter. The stupidity of this is that the kid behind the counter gets angry with you; because you won’t do the self checkout! I am trying to save this idiots job and he is angry because he has to do it! This is the attitude of this generation today. Once I get out of school I go to the company of my choice and go get the corner office, boss people around and get a big paycheck! One has to wonder what they are teaching is school. I am thinking it is how to roll the perfect joint.

Robots have been taking jobs for years in the automobile industry and other manufacturing. Robots can work longer than 8 hours, don’t belong to unions, don’t need healthcare, don’t go to the bathroom, need breaks, and a host of other reasons to automate could be made. There is also an ROI and a TCO. With employees that is not the case.

An argument could be made that these robots had to be created by workers, software engineers etc. To that I would agree. The rub is that many of these things were done outside of this country. While most reasons to do this are economical some would argue that Americans are not smart enough to do it. Looking at school from when I was in school to now I would agree that something needs to change in the methods and materials that we teach. Some of these kids today are real “low information people.” It is like “Hey, don’t confuse me with the facts!”

Unless you can put groceries on the table with things that you purchase from the retail outlet from which you work, buying things from them is something you should most probably resist.

They tell everyone that they see management potential in them, and get them to “commit in their mind” to working months without so much as a raise. They don’t get them to sign a contract or anything, they simply lead them to believe that there is a future for them. After several months of being a slave, you come to realize that the light at the end of the tunnel was nothing more than a lighting bug.

You are quasi self-deluded and are “nudged” into thinking that this is going to turn into something. Some companies do promote from within and Enterprise Rent a Car comes to mind. These folks start you out cleaning cars and work you up from the bottom. If you have it within you, that is a good company.

What other companies are out there that treat their employees well?

Ask around I would like to know. We can make a list…. I would seriously like to give credit where it is due.

Here is the catch my young friends; you only have so many years to live. Life is not eternal! One day you will wake up and realize that there are so many things that you wanted to do; and now it is too late. It will be that day when the epiphany hits you that there are more days behind you, than in front of you. That will be the day that you will get serious about your faith, if you are not already.

In school the weeks seem to never end, when you have a dead-end job, the weeks also seem to drag on. When you have a job that you like “time” seems to move a little faster.

When you get out of college at 22 or so, the world is your oyster. It is not long before the grand children are left with you while your kids take some much needed rest from working and raising kids.

As you look into their young innocent faces, you remember with fondness the days that you were that childlike.

I titled this piece “the company store” because when I was young there was a song on the radio that told the tale.

Tennessee Ernie Ford 16 Tons

Some people say a man is made outta mud

A poor man’s made outta muscle and blood
Muscle and blood and skin and bones
A mind that’s a-weak and a back that’s strong

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin’ when the sun didn’t shine
I picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
I loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
And the straw boss said “Well, a-bless my soul”

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

I was born one mornin’, it was drizzlin’ rain
Fightin’ and trouble are my middle name
I was raised in the canebrake by an ol’ mama lion
Cain’t no-a high-toned woman make me walk the line

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

If you see me comin’, better step aside
A lotta men didn’t, a lotta men died
One fist of iron, the other of steel
If the right one don’t a-get you
Then the left one will

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go
I owe my soul to the company store

Many of you reading this wont know the tune, so I am posting a link for you..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joo90ZWrUkU

Years ago the company indeed had a store.

Typically these were in small towns that employed most of the people in that town. They were remote enough that they could price their goods in such a fashion that they were not competitive. There were no Wal-Mart’s back then. This led to the store extending credit, thus keeping the employee indebted to them. Once you worked for the mine; in this case, you were there until they buried you. You either died of black lung, or cave-ins. It would be interesting to know how many coal miners actually died of old age.

There is a lesson in this and I wonder how many will figure it out.

Guys, when you don’t know history you are doomed to repeat it, time and time again. Either the schools are inadequate, or the books are lacking or possibly there is an agenda to give folks just enough information to be productive but, not enough to think. As always I would appreciate your thoughts. Keep it clean, respectful and so forth, and we can talk about it.

-Best to you…

Crazy Stuff

So my neighborhood has some new social media outlet which facilitates neighbors actually communicating with each other via the computer or phone or what have. Lord knows that we would not want to actually see them and talk with them in person… So, we have invented a way to become even more xenophobic.

One of the recent post regarded “wrong way parking.”

Essentially; if you are on the right side of the street your car must be within a few inches of the curb, actually facing the way the car would be traveling if it were in motion, which it is not; but just in case, it must be facing the correct way.

New Rule, no one with OCD can work in any areas of government that make up stupid rules for others to follow. My desk is messy and I like it that way!

It is actually funny because this post has generated a lot of interests. People are actually concerned about which way you park your car. What’s next; you can only drive a certain make and model of car that is of the same color as everyone else’s. They could be color coded for which street you live on!

If we don’t call people out on this shit you may very well have rules like this; your grass must be cut on the same day of the week as everyone else’s and it should be no more than 1.27 inches in length and no less than 1.26.

All trees must be no taller than 30 feet and all of the leaves that are not green must be removed and bagged accordingly, we will not tolerate loose leafs blowing down the road.

All homes must have 2.5 bathrooms, be of similar build and color and be no closer to the street than 40 feet and no further from the street than 40 feet 1 inch.

This is just nuts. As long as you get your car far enough off the driving surface of the road, who gives a rat’s ass which way it is facing! Me personally, if I had a hummer, I would do this. I would purchase a large boulder and place it in my front yard, than I would put the hummer half way up the boulder and park it.

It is also interesting to me that people will ask for recommendations for auto repair or carpet cleaning or what have you, the responses are illuminating to say the least.

For instance, someone asked for a recommendation regarding auto repair for a specific model and make of car.

The mechanics that got the most recommendations were the people who work on commission! The more shit that they sell you, the more money that they get! I guess they are really good at what they do because these people were adamant about selling you on their guy vs. someone else. My guess is that these folks are a franchise chain and the advertising dollars spent selling that brand has more people going there instead of seeking out the independents.

Some of the other conversations include protracted discussions about pets, stuff they want to get rid of and get this, strange vehicles driving through the neighborhood.

Not only are we becoming xenophobic but paranoid. This really happened. A delivery vehicle drives down the street with some company logo on the truck and it is a “strange vehicle.” I just know the police love getting these calls.

I was walking the neighborhood last year as it was a pretty day. I was just walking the sidewalk enjoying the day when a cop stopped me. When he motioned me to his car I laughed and said, “Was I speeding?” He was not amused.

You got to be kidding me; I can’t walk the sidewalk in my own neighborhood without some Gladys Cravats calling the police! I live there! Good thing that I had my ID and could prove that I was indeed a resident. Oh yes, my teenage daughter was walking with me, so I know we must have looked like criminals…

Your mileage may vary but as for me, I think I want to move to the country where I don’t have someone peeking out their curtain at me; watching my every move.

But, text me sometime and say hi… Don’t bother to actually come out of your house and shake my hand, I might bite!

Yep, country living, front porch, iced tea and an old dog to keep me company.

Saw a funny post the other day that fits. It is a picture of Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, I think, with the wording, “too many assholes and not enough bullets.”

-Best

Garage Sale, Antique Mall or eBay?

I have always looked at the Garage Sale as a method of cleaning the house and not just throwing it away. You know how you collect things over the years and suddenly you can’t find what you are looking for because all of the other “stuff “is in the way.

Treasures quickly turn into clutter and before you know it, they are making a TV show about you.

All it takes is the loss of a loved one to quickly turn your well organized home into a place that the “pickers” would like to visit! I get it, it is hard to go through a loved ones stuff and get rid of it. That stuff is “part of them” and getting rid of something that they once cherished, or had; for one reason or another seems like treason or blasphemy.

The Antique Malls are full of these types of things. You can be looking around the bins and shelves of “stuff” until you come across a box of pictures that were once treasured family air looms of a sort, sitting in a box waiting for someone to think they recognize them and bring them home.

The Antique Malls or resale shops are such places where stuff has accumulated, waiting to be recycled, re-purposed or thrown into the dumpster.

eBay is the ultimate place for “stuff.” There you will find anything and everything. If you should decide to become a seller, your audience will be into the millions of perspective buyers.

eBay has caused some confusion in this area and I wish to clear this up for a few folks.

The reason eBay works is that you have a world wide audience. Whatever you place on there, the odds are good someone will want it. If the price is right, it will sell quickly.

The eBay Conundrum.

While eBay is a great place to buy and sell, it can be a source of miss-information for those of us who sell at garage sales and of course Antique Malls or Flea Markets.

I have found more and more people looking on eBay, researching what they have and then pricing it accordingly. On eBay that is ok because, that is where your market is.

If you look on eBay and see that your widget sold for $40, and you price yours at that price in an Antique Mall or Flea Market of Garage sale, guess what, you probably won’t sell it.

What will the market bear?

I recently spent a day in the sleepy little town of Gladewater Texas. The town appears to have little industry to speak of. Not knowing much about the town, I would guess that tourism is a big deal for them. They are known as the “Antique Capital of Texas.” I did not know this before I stopped by.

My trip through their town was only slightly deliberate as I had business in East Texas so instead of traveling out on I20, I decided to take the less traveled and slower route out Hwy80, which cuts through many small towns.

First let me say that the down side of this is that there are several stop signs, traffic lights and slower traffic to deal with and, the speed goes from as high as 70 to as low as 30.The local constabularies are sitting behind the 30mph with the radar working so, watch out for that.

The upside is that most of the small towns have lots of charm and worth a visit. I found antique stores in most of the little towns. It would appear that a lot of them are mom and pop stores and are trying to make a living by selling stuff. These stores are places that were once some sort of industry or store, which the big box stores put out of business.

The rub is that many folks price their stuff too high. They have gone on eBay or some other place and found what top dollar is, and ask it.

In each of these scenarios, the antique mall, Flea Market and of course eBay; who makes the money? The proprietors of the establishments make the money. Both the Antique Mall and the Flea market make money if your stuff sells or not. The same is somewhat true of eBay, as they make money when you list, but they also get a percentage when you sell.

If you are a seller in one of the first two places you need to price the stuff so it will sell. If you price it too high what you are doing, is this. You are providing the inventory for the “store” which gives the customers something to look at and a reason to visit. You are paying a monthly fee to “ market or display” your stuff there and in fact you may very well just be giving your stuff to the store owner, as you may not even sell enough to account for what one months rent is.

When a customer comes in and sees something at your “booth” it should be clearly labeled and priced for what the traffic will bear, and not what eBay buyers are paying. You must move inventory to make a go at flea markets, of antique stores. I would try and negotiate a variable rate for the “off season.”

Your stuff should not look cluttered and should be clearly visible. You should visit your booth and “freshen” it up weekly. Move stuff around, keep your items that you want to sell the most at eye-level. Stuff on the ground or too high will be missed by a large percentage of the customers.

If you really think you have some treasure, than put it on eBay where you have a much larger customer base.

I am much too lazy to do any of this, so my hats off to you for doing it. I take the clutter to some charity where they will unload it and give me a receipt for it, which I than save for the accountant.

Why is eBay so successful?

eBay has worked long and hard at making it easy for you to buy and sell stuff. Unlike the Antique Mall or Flea Market you can shop in your pajamas, in the comfort of your own home, and sort by category, price and condition with little or no effort.

The Apps that they have created make is incredibly easy to buy and sell on your smart phone!

Those of us who make the effort to come to your garage sale, or drive to places like Gladewater, should be rewarded for the effort by finding trinkets and things at reasonable prices.

I do a lot of research on particular items and I am here to tell you that some of the prices I found this weekend were higher there, than on eBay!

Economics people, like it, learn it and live it!

No blog mentioning Gladewater would be complete without mentioning the Fork!

The fork is a little restaurant close to downtown. The Waitress, a lady by the name of Katrina was jovial, pleasant and made the visit much more satisfactory. The food was better than I expected, which is saying something, because I am picky when it comes to food.

I am not sure how they stay in business, because the prices were “very reasonable!”

I would also like to mention that the curators of these shops were great at what they do, and made me feel like I was at home. There is charm in East Texas. These towns are an easy drive from Dallas or Forth Worth.

I would like to hear about your “antiquing “experiences. Are you too finding eBay has had some effect on things that you normally sell or buy?

Happy Antiquing and enjoy your trip through memory lane.

Distracted Driving

How many times have you been going down the road and some fool does something idiotic and you said, “where is the cop when you need one?”

Distracted driving is illegal. If you drive and are distracted while behind the wheel you are breaking the law. Not Unlike speeding, distracted driving can get you killed! Not only can it get you killed; it could cause the death or injury of others.

Traveling again this week I saw more people fooling with their phones while driving. The percentage of distracted drivers is alarming!

I am not talking about taking your eyes off of the road for a split second and having to make a small correction, I am talking about the car “or truck” weaving all over the road “kind of like a dance” while the driver is clearly not paying attention to the task at hand, DRIVING!

I would propose a national number set up “like 911” but, this number would use the cell tower’s location to automatically direct your call to the state troopers in that area where you could report people like this.

#267 COP

This is a common sense “change” that needs to be implemented immediately!

We need to really hit this hard in the PR area to get folks to realize that they are impaired when they are distracted.

This trip, an 18 wheeler was “doing the dance,” in the rain, and over-corrected a little too much and instead of going into the left lane, went into the ditch. Because of the rain the mud stopped him rather abruptly. The next call he made “after to the wrecker” would have been to the company he works for trying to explain how he ended up in the ditch. What would you care to bet that “I was on my phone” will not come up in the conversation?

Of course the irony in this is that there would be people without hands free devices calling some 3 digit number to “tell-on” someone else who was using their phone. So, suggesting that they pull over to make the call would be too much trouble; so they wouldn’t do it and … it would be left to those of us you use a hands free “Bluetooth” voice-activated device to “save the world.”

This would be so much easier if you would just leave the damned phone in your pocket or purse while driving. If it is that important, pull over!

The simple facts are that “technology” got us into this fix, and I would bet that “technology” could get us out.

It may be as simple as getting a dash cam installed and when it records dummies like this, you send the video into DPS and they examine it for what it is and that it has not been tampered with, and go give the driver a bad time.

Maybe we just take the video and post it on YouTube under “stupid people.” Or, we could send the video, if it is a commercial vehicle, to the company that it is from.

Here is a question for conversation, should trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles have a black box? If there is an accident, this device would know the speed, location, if the breaks were hit, headlights were on, if the turn signal or hazard lights were on and any conversations in the cab. This thing could even be rigged to “listen for RF” and tell what frequency it was detecting.

Either your “regulate yourself,” or the government will do it for you. Did you know that there was a time when there was no speed limits? It was simply use good sense.

Be Safe

To My IT friends

How many times a day or week or month does your phone ring from a family member or friend and when you answer that phone the sentence starts out with, my computer…. what does it mean when…. what software …… and the list goes on?

Do you ever get tired of not hearing a hello, how are you doing?

For thirty odd years this has been my life. I am sure that you too have heard this from everyone from your friend to you mom.

Here is the thing, if they were doctors and you called them up with “what does it mean when I have this pain….?” How would they respond?

Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and value my friends enough to overlook their lack of manners. Here is the problem as I see it. My time and expertise is my “stock and trade.”

I have invested thousands of dollars in books and equipment and classes to get to where I am. I have spent thousands of hours of my life learning what I do. Unlike a doctor or heart surgeon or dentist my craft is incredibly dynamic! It changes daily. You snooze for one day you may not learn about the latest threat or the newest bug or what have you.

A heart is still a heart and a tooth is still a tooth. Am I saying that their fields are not dynamic? Of course not! They are however more static than ours. Breakthroughs in medicine don’t happen all that often, do they?

My point is that just because I am not cutting into someone’s chest are my skills any less valuable?

Why am I assigning a value to this?

If you give your skills away, you are by definition cheapening what you do in the mind of the person receiving it. If I don’t have to pay something for your efforts I may very well expect them again and again for free.

How often do you think your doctor or dentist would put up with that?

Thirty four years or so ago the internet was not as you see it today. Using the internet back in those days was a command line system consisting of commands like “telnet, gopher, ftp and so forth” Knowing Unix was a plus as a lot of the commands were similar like ls.

Bill Gates and later Steve jobs came up with a Gui or Graphical User Interface that made what we have today possible for everyone. Actually Xerox came up with the first GUI and the first mouse and when Bill saw it he quickly went to the college that was working on the “open source code” and came up with Windows.

I don’t know how Steve came up with their GUI and I am not sure how IBM came up with their idea of a GUI with OS2.

Xerox lost out because their system was way too expensive and some bean counter was trying to get all of their development dollars back on the first sale.

IBM lost out as everything that they did was costly and proprietary. Even their NIC’s which were the first real solid networking card lost out to a less efficient method as IBM licensed their software and technology with each card. One card could cost upwards of $500 odd dollars. That might get your 4mbts of speed.

Ethernet using a different transport method was much more cost effective and as the software improved by 1983, became a standard through the cooperative efforts of several companies; Xerox, Intel and DEC and of course 3COM which was formed by the inventor of Ethernet, Bob Metcalfe.

My point to this little divergence into history is that it was not too long ago that you had to be a geek to use this stuff. In order to “network” computers you really needed to understand what a datagram was and how it worked. The OSI model was something that you studied and understood each and every layer so if there was a failure you would know where to look.

Not long ago I was consulting with a company where the head IT guru was trying to convince me and a few others that this computer was conflicting with itself. He was convinced that this computer had somehow had a duplicate IP address and was conflicting with itself knocking itself off of the network.

Now this guy clearly has never heard of the OSI model and has no idea what a datagram is and for that matter never heard of a sniffer or protocol analyzer. I knew he was clueless but not to make him look stupid I loaded up WireShark and tried to show him how some of it worked.

When he was still lost, I shut off the PC in question and showed him a simply ping to the offending IP address which responded. There was another device with that same ip address as someone had loaded another DHCP server, and it was handing out addresses as well.

When you don’t have a change control or change management committee, or some sort of method for controlling what is on your network you get the Wild West.

How many of your phones ring when you are in bed and it is the office, something is not working?

We are in a global competition for our jobs and our lives revolve around this stuff. Companies are trying to convince the powers that be that we need more H1B folks as there is nobody in America with the skills that they need!

Ever been to a job fair Mr. hiring manager? 5000 folks will show up for a half dozen jobs.

The fact is that there is plenty of talent here in this country right now. I know because I talk with them daily. A lot of them can’t find work as they are too old, (over 50.) Once you get seasoned you are at the top of the pay range and you expect to make decent money. Companies don’t want to pay you for what you are worth so they convince someone in Congress or whoever makes the laws regarding H1B employees and they drag them in by the thousands!

Much like the illegal’s taking non-skilled jobs; we have the H1B people taking the skilled jobs because they will work cheaper. They can also be terminated more easily.

I ran into a programmer working behind the counter at a hardware store the other day. He was surly and I could not let that go. I kept making conversation with him until I learned that he was a DBA and could not find work. He was good at what he did and after a few more minutes I figured out that he had reached the top of his pay scale and once you do that, companies look for cheaper labor. Still want that raise?

I know too many in similar situations, and as long as we have H1B folks and we have Peggy type folks with call centers in parts of the world that no one ever heard of, nothing will change.

The talent is there; they are just under employed and if they stay that way for too long they will never regain entry in to the work force in the capacity that they were.

If it is not with H1B workers it is companies outsourcing things to different countries. We are creating hostile environments for companies in this country so why not take it overseas.

I sell a product made here in this country that if it were made in China, I could get it for a tenth of the cost. Those are tough dollars to overlook. I like selling things that are made in America and those things are hard to find.

So what is the value of your education, your time, and your personal time being interrupted by family and or friends needing computer help?

I am actually thankful that their computer is broken so at least I hear from them. When they start the conversation with “my computer is… I reply with I am fine, how are you?”

-Best to you and those that you care about!

#terrorist #AWOL #twelveyearold #slimman

Today

So much to talk about today it seems surreal.

We unlawfully allowed 5 Osama Bin Ladens on the loose, negotiated with known terrorist to “get back” a solder that was AWOL, who had denounced his citizenship, converted to Islam, and is known for his stance on hating America! Was that a bargain or what?

On top of this we have his father, also who hates America Bless Allah from the White House and talk about how he intends to get more people released from Gitmo.

The White house of course is spinning this whole thing as an oversight!

Along with that news, 2 twelve year old girls after planning for some months, try to kill their twelve year old friend to please some fictional character made up by some pretty twisted minds, even by Stephen King’s standards.

Now the crime is so horrific that the girls are to be tried as adults! You see it really doesn’t matter what the crime is; you really need all of the facts before you pronounce a knee-jerk reaction like trying them as adults!

While I detest what these girls did, they were/are not mature enough to understand what they were getting into with the Slimman character; and they damned sure did not have the maturity to speak with Police after they were “assuming they were” Marandized. There should in fact be a law that would prohibit the police from Marandizing or taking statements from children without the presence of their guardians and or lawyer. They should in fact be required by law to only speak with them after the family has had the opportunity to get lawyers involved. I know that you probably don’t really care at this point you want these girls put away! This could have been your kids that fell into the wrong crowd or became charmed with mythical creatures that took over their lives! They are children, not adults and even though they did something very heinous they are not adults and therefor should not be tried as such!

Kids do stupid things and if they don’t have the maturity to deal with the twisted stuff they are exposed to through Hollywood, books, violent Video games, and stuff on the internet, bad things will happen! We have seen it time after time after time! After something bad happens a bunch of anti-gun loons come out of the woods and start the same old tired rant about how evil guns are! We simply never learn, or are too stupid to learn or most probably don’t want to learn as we have an agenda and we want that agenda to work, facts be damned!

Some “adults” can not wrap their minds around this crap so how in the world do we expect our children to? On top of this we are such a non-functional family oriented country that because we are so motivated to succeed; our children suffer and are quite literally at the hands of Hollywood and other outside influences. We are so removed from our family and friends that we have traded “pokes and likes” for real conversation!

And finally we have the Obama administration castrating the American Business man once again by calling for EPA regulations that will drive more and more companies overseas or out of business!

The Chinese may very well take the lead as an economic power but my guess is that they will also take the lead in cancer related deaths as they don’t have or care about clean air, water and so forth. They are very much overpopulated so what if a few tens of thousands die early due to cancer! They don’t have any kind of record of human rights or caring for, or about their people so, this does kind of fit.

By the way Al, Global warming is a “global” thing and taxing business’s over here by selling them carbon credits will have no effect on our air or the worlds green house gas emissions as industry will simply move elsewhere. Those who do not move will simply raise the price of their products in such a way that will take them out of the global market as China and other countries without these restrictions will make the widgets cheaper.

Yes you can charge some ridiculous import tax but, you will only continue to hurt the American People who can ill afford to live today, much less in the future.

This is much like Seattle raising the minimum wage to $15 and hour. If I have to pay my employees twice what I pay them now, I will have to raise the price of my “widgets” to make up the difference. So those employees, who now have twice as much money to spend, will have to pay twice as much for goods and services by others. But we as a country are so stupid, that we can’t figure that one out.

Macro Economics must not be taught anymore. If you raise the minimum wage of “entry level jobs” guess what else you will have to raise? Yep, the salary of those who have worked their way up to $15 an hour as they are no longer entry level and it certainly is not fair to them to get the same wage as a rookie! If I am paying all of my employees more guess what happens to the cost of my widgets, and the stuff that I need to make my widgets.

Of course with the way that we are printing money, it will not be too much longer when paper money will be absolutely worthless and your $15 an hour will be a hollow victory as your money will be worthless as well, as there won’t be anyone in business to pay you.

In case you don’t have a clue what hyper-inflation looks like, follow this link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic

Take a look at the stacks of money that the kids are using to play with instead of wooden blocks! That basket of money is for A single loaf of bread… How is that $15 an hour looking to you now?

Minimum wage is for entry level jobs, not real jobs. If you want more money; get a real job. Stop the government from strangling American companies through these EPA regulations with your vote! Become educated on what is going on in the world and stop listening to the Carney Spin from DC. They don’t tell the truth. Get your news from lots of different places and not just the main stream “lap-dog” media that we have “enjoyed” for the last 6 years.

It will be very interesting to see how history treats this time in our history. It will be even more interesting to see how we survive it!

-Best

Gravity.. Million Dollar Arm

I rarely get time to watch movies much less TV in general. Today I was under the weather a bit so I decided to kick back and veg.

Sandra Bullock who is probably one of my favorite actresses performed in a role out of her norm and I must say I was impressed.

The plot was predictable and the Russians always seem to be the bad guy, even in my book that I am working on, they play the role of antagonist. Most of the Russians that I have met however do not fit the stereotype so maybe we as writers need to find another “bad guy.” I digress…

I am also a fan of Clooney and I really liked his country western music, story telling character. I even appreciated the way he “rides off into the sunset, although technically I think it may have been sunrise..

Some of the special effects went too far in my humble opinion and I could have done with a lot less of the spinning, whirling and breathing in the fish bowl. I think the director might have gone too far with a lot of what they were trying to convey and this definitely gave me some flashbacks of 2001 space odyssey.

Was the movie believable or plausible, no… But if you check your brain at the door, the special effects are good and while I really should have seen this one in 3D, it was still ok on the TV at home and popcorn and a drink that did not set me back $20.

If you happen to keep up with what is up above the earth at all, they do bring up the very real possibility of what would happen if some of those artificial satellites were to become tiny bits and pieces. It underscores the need to have a complete “cradle to grave” solution for everything that leaves the earths orbit.

I also caught Million Dollar Arm this weekend.

The movie gives one a flavor of India. It moves along rather slowly and is also predictable. I kept looking to see Clint Eastwood looking for talent instead of someone who I am not familiar with.

Trouble with the Curve is a much better movie than this; and for my money this is a rental on a rainy night, or wait for it on Cable. I was rather curious about the outcome of the two recruits from India to see how they actually performed but have yet to do the research. The comic relief was some rather brilliant writing, but not enough to go spend $11 or more to see.

I would really like to see more of the two in the picture below but, I just don’t know how you would make a sequel out of it.

Profiling

On a recent trip to Florida I rented a Red Mustang Convertible. I had been told that was a perfect place for it, as the temperature is not too hot and you can see more with the top down.

The toll way /road coming from the airport to Key West is one long speed trap. Most of it purports to be under construction but of course there was not one person holding a shovel or anyone doing anything regarding road construction.

There were signs saying that it was an active construction area but of course, no one working. I am really not sure what active means but; I would guess if you speed we get to double the fine!

The road is a pitiful 45mph most of the way, a little 55 and a lot of 35 with some 30 thrown in for good measure. Don’t be in any hurry if you go there, and don’t rent a mustang convertible. As the matter of fact I would get something that old people drive, so you would fit in. Most of the locals puttered around about 5 under the speed limit as I am guessing that they too have been tapped one too many times for minor infractions.

From the time that I left the airport to the time that I returned to it, I had been followed by more cops than I could shake a stick at. It seemed that most every time that I looked up, I had a cop behind me. The last one was in Miami going back to the airport. I saw him swoop over from the left hand lane to the right lane where I was, driving about 3 to 5 under the speed limit. He appeared to call in the plate and as soon as it came back to a rental company; he was gone!

Folks, this happened a lot in just a few days. I used the cruise control to go just about anywhere as I had no intention of paying for one of their new toys. I would look up, smile at them; and just keep doing what I was doing. Had I been in my truck, I would bet I would have not gotten a second look!

Regarding the Mustang I must confess that I was a little disappointed. The ride was not very comfortable, I had trouble with the Window working correctly and the mirror adjustment is so far forward, that I could not adjust it properly from where I sat. When I reached up to adjust it I was now out of my “zone” where I was sitting so I had to make incremental guesses until I got it close.

I am not sure what kind of an engine was in it but, I averaged over 33mpg so, I am guessing small. There was not one place to let that pony run, so I really have no idea what it would do.

As Mr. Peabody would say, the moral of this story is rent a normal car and not one that looks like it is doing over a hundred sitting at the light. I don’t know if others profile in other states but my guess is that they do.

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Should I worry?

Looking closely at this picture you will see streaks of oil or some other black liquid emanating from the engine cowling.

The streaks grew as we made our way to Miami but not enough for me to worry too much. Once not too many years ago I was sitting over the wing and watched streaks of clear fluid leaving the wing at a fairly good clip.

I called the flight attendant and had her look at what I was looking at. She thanked me and then went and got the captain to come take a look, which he did.

He leaned over me, looked out the window, patted me on my shoulder and left. No words were exchanged. A few moments later we were making S turns to loose altitude. We spent most of the day in Scottsdale where the plane underwent repairs.

As I left the plane at my final destination the captain was standing there. He reached out to shake my hand; again no words were exchanged. Non-verbal communication at its best I think.

Had we not landed in Scottsdale would we have made our destination otherwise? Who knows.

My guess is that it was hydraulic fluid. I have no idea if there are redundant systems or if we would have lost the ability to control the plane.

The moral of the story, if you see something like this and have any doubts, it does not hurt to calmly call attention to it to the flight crew. I stress calmly, and you will notice that this whole transaction was basically non verbal. Upsetting passengers causing anxiety is unnecessary and could be more dangerous than the issue itself.

I am sure that there is some sort of protocol for such things like “not yelling fire” in a theater. No reason to spook the passengers..

Safe travels!

Communication 101, the Mirror and You

Text vs. phone vs. talking in person.

This is not a new subject but one that deserves attention.

Recently I was reading and posting on a social forum and recognized that people were not picking up on sarcasm or someone’s attempt at humor vs. someone being totally sincere in their opinion.

When one person does not pick up on some sort of queue and responds in kind the entire thread turns bitter and quite frankly is a perfect example of the human condition.

There are two issues at play here, one is that people miss a queue and assume the worst.

The other is that some out of “being anonymous” just show the worst side of themselves. This in turn begets more sarcasm, name calling and just downright ugliness.

Any post with a long thread; this type of thing will come up.

People either want to assume the worst or look for a reason to be pissed about something and then respond to it in like fashion. Political correctness is one such way that anyone can be offended at any time they want, then feel all righteous about it and rant.

I for one would like to see the anonymous post go away. I think you should have to let the world know who you are when you post so if you choose to be a jerk, at least the world knows that you have a proclivity towards such behavior and not put much weight on what you are saying or just not even read your post.

If you will notice that when you are waiting in line at a restaurant or ride at some amusement park or even the bank, most are polite and await there turn. They may even strike up a conversation with you about the weather or some such thing. I am one of those that will do that not only in line but on an elevator as well.

The interesting thing is that people hide behind their glasses; their blank stare and the very clothing that they wear; are much like some sort of shield against the world.

Online or in your car your shield expands and you can drive aggressively or rant your thoughts or opinion on a subject with little or no fore-thought. I see this all the time where people sound off on some subject with little or no facts, they just want to be heard! Some actually use words as a weapon to hurt people, just to do it.

You see it to when people cut you off on the freeway or other surface road just to get one car length ahead of you, maybe causing you to miss the light that they should have missed, but now you did.

When you talk on a social forum or blog or what have you, type as though you are having a conversation with the people in a room with you. When you expound upon your thoughts, do so in a manner that is respectful of all of those who might be reading it. Do not respond to idiots! If they choose to make an ass of themselves, ignore them. Ignored behavior goes away.

I would implore you to drive in a similar fashion. Any good manager knows to lead by example. Drive like you would like others to drive. If 90 seconds extra at a light is that big of a deal, leave the house 90 seconds earlier. Too many people cause accidents trying to beat a light, yellow means stop if you are not already in the intersection, and can stop without being in the middle of the intersection. (Always look in the rearview first however; as there are many that will run you over as red does not even mean stop to them.)

Emoticons are a great way to let the world key into your feelings on a subject. A smiley face will give the reader the idea that you are trying to be funny or what have you and it will elicit a different response from the reader that may have otherwise taken offence to your remark.

The emoticon replaces the one to one facial queues that one misses in face to face communication and it also replaces the laugh or humor in your voice.

Toxic people and boundaries.

Lastly, stop looking for a reason to be offended. Pollyanna had the correct idea. What you look for you will find. You will shorten your life and have a miserable life at that if you are constantly on the lookout for things to be pissed about. There are people out there that will piss you off simply for their own amusement. Don’t fall into that trap and avoid them.

I stay away from Toxic people and I don’t invest my time and energy on those that enjoy being a victim or offended or look for political incorrectness just so they can be offended.

They are only hurting themselves. If you climb onto their pity train then you too will become despondent over things that you really don’t have a dog in that fight.

There is this principle of boundaries. Where friends or associates are concerned we need to stay alert to the place that they are in and be prepared to push them away. You can pray for them, loan them a good self help book and even listen to them if you choose but, don’t own their shit. What they are going through is theirs! Councilors go through years of training to learn how not to own their clients shit! They themselves have to go through counseling to make sure that their head stays on straight. What are the odds that you can counsel people without the training and not start to own their shit!?

I liken boundaries to the orbits of the planets around the sun. For the sake of argument you are the sun. Mercury is you closest friend, Venus is next and then Earth, Mars you get the idea.

Mercury is your closest confidant which should be your spouse. Venus may be your longtime friend that you share things with.

Let’s say that Venus has something going on their life that affects you and they are unwilling to help themselves which in turn brings you down. Don’t push them out of the solar system but do push them out past Mars or even Jupiter for a while.

If you can help them without owning their shit than by all means help them, otherwise push them out until they get their act together. There is no shame in seeking counseling and in this complicated world we live in that might be a great profession to be in as this world is a messed up place.

I am not telling you to abandon your friend. I am telling you to advise them to get help and if they don’t or wont, than you need to keep them at a safe distance. No one is immune to this “shit owning” and there is no sense in making their issues yours.

Many people, who never look into the mirror, blame their lot on life on someone else or some circumstance. It is always easy to blame someone else. Next time you want to do that, go look into the mirror and blame that person. Odds are incredibly good that the person in the mirror is the one that did it. The person in the mirror needs to examine themselves and make some course correction as to not be the problem.

Use Emoticons
Don’t be part of the problem
Don’t look for things to be pissed off about
Text and drive (not at the same time) like the people around you are your neighbors
Look for the good in people and not the bad
Stay away from Toxic people
Look in the mirror and seek counseling for that person in the mirror if they need it.

Now go take on the day!

-Best to you and those that you care about!