Debt - good or bad?

Having just finished my MBA (I love saying that), I read with interest an article in the local paper about the average debt for a college graduate. Turns out that in my state (SC) the average is around $18,000 for graduates from state sponsored colleges.

Being an avid Dave Ramsey fan (who believes all debt is bad) and starting my new summer reading book Maxed Out, I began to wonder, how much debt is good and how much is bad.

So, here are my questions:
1) Education is seen as the answer to all of life's problems. Should debt be considered a viable way to get the education?
2) How much debt is acceptable? Or does this even matter?
3) Is debt an option for other areas? House? Car? Medical? Major lifeevents (ranging from car repair, home improvement, children, etc).Groceries?
4) When is debt acceptable? Always, sometimes, never?

I'm planning to finish my newest book (should take a couple weeks) and then report back with my ideas... For now, I'm still gathering information.

The Wisdom of the Crowds

Are crowds really wise? That's what James Surowiecki says in the first book on my summer reading list. The subtitle of the book is "Why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economics, societies and nations." I started reading this book last summer and had to put it down for classes in the fall/spring. It was one of the optional books for a finance class, I chose to read two of the other books (The Smartest Guys in the Room and Barbarians at the Gate).

When I picked the book back up, I only had a few chapters to read. Problem is, I've forgotten a lot of what was in it. So it goes back on my reading list, but down a few entries. The basic premise of the book is that if you take a group of people, any people, knowledgable or not, you will get a better decision out of them that you do the experts. Our government is one example (politics is discussed in the last chapter).

He cites other examples, one where a group of non-scientists were polled about a missing submarine. The people were given facts and asked to guess where the sub might be based on a map. The answers were all averaged together (as I recall, by lattitude/longitude) and the search started with the non-scientific answer. The sub was soon found very close to the speculated position.

The postulates in the book are significant for business that typically attempts to find the perfect expert to solve a problem (can you say "CEO pay"?). The conclusion is that crowds can do a better job than individuals.

There were some contradictory examples cited, the Columbia disaster is one I recall. These are examples of "group-think", where the group heads on direction and won't return to "normalcy". However, he cites these as examples where a few people override the group. Groups are good.

I'm not 100% sure I agree with the book. In one example where I tried a test he suggested, the crowd I chose came up with a vastly different result than he predicted. I had students count candy in a fish bowl and, using his averages, estimated the results. I had some extremely wild guesses that blew the average. If I ignored these wild guesses, the average was close, but that seems to violate the principal of the book. My experiment may have been flawed, I want to try again.

Overall, a decent read for busines. Next time I read it, I'll focus on some of the other aspects.

The people have spoken

I'll post a note later about one of the books on my summer reading list. It had something to please everyone.

But a thought hit me this morning that I've been hearing a lot about "the people have spoken" on the war in Iraq.

Made me thing. Didn't the people speak on health care reform several years ago? Didn't we (or at least our leaders) try to reform health care? And didn't they try for several years? Seems like the people (or at least our leaders) have spoken on that issue and it doesn't need to be revisited.

Actually, there were some changes in health care in the 1990's and if you don't believe it, ask a doctor what he thinks of HIPPA. Or try to found out how "portable" (one of the two "p"s in HIPPA) your healthcare actually is.

Or, if you have an accident with injuries, compare your settlement under the new laws to what it would have been under the old laws.

But don't complain about it, the people have spoken.

Tragedy in the upstate

This week, two three-year olds were killed in pedestrian vs auto accidents in totally separate incidents. Very strange coincidences, first at a car wash in Greenville (details here) and second on a major road in Anderson (details here). The two locations are about 30 miles from each other.

No amount of finger pointing will bring either of these two little ones back. My heart goes out to the families of these little ones and to the individuals who were in the vehicles that struck the children. No alcohol involved, no tickets to the drivers of the vehicles that hit the toddlers. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. A small child pays the ultimate price for mistakes.

Parents, hold your kids tightly tonight and thank the Lord that you're not the one who lost a child. This could have been me so many times over. There but for the Grace of God, go I.

Quote of the day

I rarely do quotes, but this one struck me for the second time. It must be fate. I think I found it last summer while reading "The Wisdom of the Crowds". I picked the book back up and it's on the Delta e-ticket I used as a bookmark.

"An honest tradesman is a jewel indeed, and is valued whereever he is found" - Daniel Defoe.

A quick search this morning indicates Daniel Defoe was author of (among other things) Robinson Crusoe and was himself a tradesman. Ironically, he was sometimes not confused by being honest.

Summer reading list

Schools sometimes hand out a summer reading list and since I'm finishing school, (as if you haven't heard that enough) I've developed my own list. Most of these are books I have gathered over the last three years but haven't been able to get a round tuit. Two or three of these I actually started, but could never finish.

Comments, suggested additions or subtractions are welcome. Roughly in order of the intended reading:

1) The Wisdom of the Crowds - James Surowiecki (started twice, almost finished)
2) Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lending - James Scurlock
4) Wild at Heart - John Eldredge (started once before, but school got in the way)
4) Op Center - Call to Treason - Tom Clancy
5) Red Rabbit - Tom Clancy (true Clancy, not Op Center)
6) The 9/11 Commission Report - (I've read reports on the report, never the report itself)
7) The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown (seen the movie - hope the book is better)
8) The DaVinci Code: A Quest for Answer - Josh McDowell (seems like a good companion)
9) The Hitchhiker's Guide - Six stories in one - Douglas Adams (started one of these in High School, not sure what happened)
10) The Book of Totally Useless Information (just my style)
11) Tales From Clemson's 1981 Championship Season (the year after my undgrade degree)
12) America On Trial - Alan Dershowitz

Books I don't have, but look interesting:
13) What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture shaped the PC Industry - John Markoff
14) The Age of Abundance: How Prosperity Transformed America's Politics and Culture - Brink Lindsey
14) Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything - Don Tapscott

This should get me through the summer and more..

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

In taking my MBA courses and in helping 3 students through high school (1 yet to finish) and in helping my wife with her classes (teaching and taking) I've learned something about tests. There seem to be two types of tests: 1) tests to see how much the student knows and give a grade and 2) tests to show students what they should know and to give a grade.

These two sound very much a like, but they are very different. In the first case, the teacher/instructor/professor (TIP) may give a test with little or no preparation. A study guide may or may not be given.

The second case seems much harder. The TIP has to help students through the test. In one class I was in, the professor would give a take-home test in one class, the next class he would ask if there were questions. He would work similar problems or talk around the subject. If there weren't enough questions, he may even delay the due date so he could generate more questions.

In tests like the first case, there seems a tendency to cram for the test. You study everything in the world and then take the test quickly before you lose it. After the test, your brain drains off all the knowledge that you flooded it with before the test. The net increase in knowledge is minimal.

I like the second case much better. I think I learned better in classes that did this. Hats off to the TIPs who did this....

Insurance

I've been dealing with a major insurance company for about 3 weeks now. As a result of a small accident, my son's car is a total loss. No one was hurt, it wasn't his fault and no other vehicles were damaged. I believe in treating others the way I want to be treated, but I'm beginning to wonder if that's the right way to handle these things.

To begin with, it took almost a week to get someone to look at the car. During that time, no one could tell me WHEN they would get someone to look at it. The cable company can narrow an appointment down to 1 hour, the pizza guy can be there in 20 minutes, but the insurance adjuster can only tell you "within 4 business days."

The initial offer was low. Surprise, surprise. The adjuster told me someone would call me with all the paperwork. I asked how long to get a check, he said depending on mail, it could take up to a week. (unbelievable)

The following business day (a weekend elapsed), I called to check on the status (no one called me). Nothing got loaded into their system. After a few phone calls, I was told they could go out for Dealer quotes and was promised a call back in 24-48 hours.

Well after waiting almost 72 hours, I called back. The quotes were back and they came in about 10% higher than original. My feeling that the quote was too low was obviously justified. The new quote was higher, but still over 10% too low by my calculations. I asked for some time to think it over and looked for replacement vehicles. All the vehicles I looked for verified my estimates.

Armed with this new information, along with listings of other cars similar in value but higher in price, I went back to the company. After a few minutes of discussion, it was obvious I wasn't going anywhere, so I asked for a supervisor. After discussing with him for a while, I got nowhere.

Now let's be clear, this isn't a high priced vehicle. And the difference in my appraisal versus their appraisal is relatively small. Most of it seems to hinge on the adjustments made for condition. The car has some wear and tear on it, but I believe within normal expectations. They even faxed me a list of what is "normal" and I believe it matches. If we ignored all of the adjustments, we would be very close on price, and I'd probably ignore the difference.

But now I'm left with three choices: 1) Accept the offer and lose the 10%+. 2) Seek out a lawyer, sue the driver of the vehicle (it was one of my son's friends), probably get the same amount and lose lawyer's fees or 3) Hire an arbitrator and achieve same results as in #2.

What makes me the maddest is that I have done everything to mitigate costs and the company has done nothing. I did not use a tow truck, the car is in my driveway incurring NO storage costs and I went without a rental car for a week. The driver of the other car admitted to me that his brakes weren't very good, so he had to "jam on" the pedal and that's what caused the skid (this was a VERY STUPID thing for him to admit). In the mean time, his parents rented him a Ford Mustang to go to the prom (and I don't understand how he was allowed to drive it, he's under 18).

So what's a man to do? I feel it is morally wrong to sue in this case (there's a Bible verse about that), and I'm not sure it even helps.

I did file a complaint with the company and got a call from a manager about their lack of responsiveness. He felt bad, but there's really nothing he can (or will) do.

Very Frustrated!

(Note: updated post - corrected a couple of typos)

Republican Debate - part 2

Another thought about the debate. Why didn't the Republicans boycott all of the liberal journalists? Politico.com was there and most of the questions (see post below) came from a liberal bent.

Didn't the Democrats boycott a debate on Fox because they thought it was unfair and imbalanced? What was different about last night?

Republican Debate

OK, I didn't watch the debate. Yesterday was a long day in the pursuite of interstate commerce (11 hours from door to door + 1 hour before and about 2 hours afterwards.)

But I read some of the silly questions that were asked. That's part of why I hate the debts. So-called journalists trying to one-up each other trying to catch the candidates off guard. And forget any chance of getting a real debate going. Candidates have their one-liners (or in Biden's case at the Democratic debate one-worders) already cooked up and they try to manipulate the question to fit their answers.

Later on, I plan to submit a list of requirements to look for in a candidate. The idea will be to review the list, see where the candidate stands and from that you can decide who to vote for. I would appreciate feedback when I do, it's an experiment. Probably be a couple of weeks....

I'm famous

One of my quotes has been posted on a website "across the pond".

See http://www.swiftys.org.uk/wiz?1095.


Not that I have that many quotes....

Soon to be all over

Sometimes tomorrow (actually later today, I'm up very late) I will send in my final final via email. No more classes. Technically, I have to wait on the grades, but there's little that could happen to cause me to fail one of the two classes. In the class I finished tonite, I could theoretically make a "C", but if I get at least 23 points on the final, I'll make a B. It may take a miracle to get an A.

So all of you can start calling me "Master" anytime now, you don't have to wait on it to be official.

BTW, several people have asked and I am NOT going to commencement. It lasts over two hours and if I went, several other people would feel obligated. I don't want to put them through that.

The $2000 light bulb

California is on the verge of mandating the elimination of incandescent light bulbs in favor of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

But the new light bulbs contain mercury, a hazardous substance. Read this story about how one person tried to behave responsibly and the bulb ended up costing over $2000.

When I first read this, I thought "someone is trying to make a point. Why not just clean it up yourself?"

Then I read the line that said "The [cleanup] specialist found mercury levels in the bedroom in excess of six times the state's "safe" level for mercury contamination."

SIX TIMES the safe level? From breaking one bulb?

I think I'll stick with incandescent bulbs. (Yes, I'm still procrastinating)

Monday morning

and I'm procrastinating. I have one final final. It's a take-home (due tomorrow night) and once I start, I have a three hour time limit (I'm on my own honor). I am allowed to study, take notes, etc, then it's heads-down for three hours, writing.

My plan is to take some time this morning for the former and lock down 3 hours for the latter this afternoon (I always like saying former and latter... it makes me feel important).

I could have done some yesterday, but hey, I still have a day and a half. I just don't feel like starting...

Philadelphia Shuts Down Psychics

"City inspectors shut down more than a dozen psychics, astrologers and tarot-card readers after learning about a decades-old state law that bans fortune telling for profit."

See the article here.

Now why didn't they see that coming????

Facts are stupid things

"Facts are stupid things."

I started out to post a blog about misquotes. So using the trusty Quotations Page, I searched for a quote about misquotes. The above sentence was spoken by Ronald Reagan in 1988. Ironically, it was a misquote of John Adams who said "Facts are stubborn things." A misquote of a quote about misquotes. Or a wrong fact about facts. This will be long. Hopefully a few of you will struggle through it.

Recently, Rudy Giuliani supposedly warned of another 9/11 if the Democrats win the White House in 2008. In reality, he did not say that. When reading what he really said, he warned that the Democrats would take the US to a defensive position, the same approach that was taken before 9/11. Even reading the article at politico.com, his quotes don't match the headline. While I don't agree with all that Rudy says, and I think he generalizes WAY too much, he's on target with what he says about the approach to the war. (I don't believe all Democrats feel the way he says or that all Republicans do either)

A lot of people have said that Rudy G. politicized the deaths of 2,973 people. I don't see it that way. I read the quotes and think he's politicizing the potential death of 2,973 +/- future people. He's talking about preventing the NEXT 9/11. You may agree with his points and you may disagree with his points. But be sure you talk about his points, not what he supposedly said.

This reminds me of Murphy Brown. In 1992, Dan Quayle gave a speech about families in America. Excerpts are posted here. He was ridiculed by the press, by late night comedians, by other candidates. Trouble was, once they read what he said, they all AGREED with him!!! After all was said and done, I wrote a letter to the editor (no blogs were around then) that asked newspapers to publish speeches in entirety.

With the internet, there's little excuse not to read a candidate's speech before commenting on a headline. Politico did a lousy job of reporting. I don't believe, this is a liberal conspiracy, I don't believe in that any more than I do a right-wing conspiracy. I believe it's a simple attempt to sell newspaper or web hits.

No more classes

NO MORE CLASSES!!!

I have two take-home finals to do. One involves finishing a 250 page book (I've got about 1/2 to go) and writing a report on it. Describe the most important 4 issues, why I think they are most important, etc.

The other involves reading a case study (I'm guessing about 30 pages) and writing it up. What issues do the companies face and how would I recommend fixing them.

The last case study I did was on GM. After I wrote my recommendations, GM stock shot up. I'm hoping they will send me a check for consulting fee....

How many victims at VT?

Another post about the VT shootings, how many victims were there? Early reports were 33 deaths, including Cho. VT had a memorial service with 33 stones for memorials. But somehow, I can't see Cho as a victim.

Make no mistake, I feel deeply for Cho's family. I can't begin to imagine the pain that they are enduring. They have lost a son, that they probably cared for as much as any of the other families involved. They have the added pain of embarrasment that there brother was involved. I have no hatred towards them or even towards Cho.

I should also point out that I believe Cho was sick. The reports of his mental problems have been clearly documented. But several people at VT and other campuses have mental problems, only Cho decided to act. His choices made him the shooter, not a victim.

Make it known today that if one of my loved ones is involved in an incident like this, or if I am involved, I do not want to have a memorial placed along side the perpetrator's memorial. Do not equate the culprit with the victims. If my son/daughter had been killed at VT, there would only be 32 stones, not 33.

Who taught Cho to hate?

Interesting Blog about Cho (Virginia Tech shooter), his chosen major (English) and a sample of the department's choice of literature. Good reading.

Impeach Cheney

Word is that impeachment articles against Cheney are being prepared by Dennis Kucinich. See the article here.

It seems that the use of impeachment hearings has been over-used in recent years (including hearings against the previous president). It kind of dilutes the value of these....

I'm sure there will be cries that this time it is different, that he really deserves it. There have already been cries that Kucunich is being politcal (in the same article).

Politics at its best.

White Collar Crime

Tonight is my last class in White Collar Crime. No, I'm not learing how to commit one, I'm learing the various aspects of white collar crime and the impact. I probably worked harder in this class than in almost all of my other classes, but not becuase I had to. I learned more in this class than in any others.

The class homework was a series of analytical questions, a 4 page (double spaced) paper was written to answer each question. The goal was to stimulate thinking on each subject. I did a lot of web research, I'm not sure that all of the papers would be classified as 'fair and balanced' nor are they necessarily complete. In 4 pages, you can't do a lot.

Anyone want to do some reading? I'll send the papers on request.

Here are the questions that were asked & answered:

Analytical Question #1: Why does organized crime still flourish? How prominent of a role does organized crime play in the operation of legitimate businesses? Do you believe that the influence of organized crime will increase, decrease, or remain the same over the next decade?

Analytical question #2: Will tighter accounting rules and increased governmental regulation discourage accountants and managers from “cooking the books”? Why or why not?

Analytical question #3: Using the model of white-collar crime presented in class, delineate the major features of either the Enron case or the WorldCom case.

Analytical question #4: Why, in your opinion, do individuals (not their corporations) who commit environmental crimes usually escape severe punishment?

Analytical question #5: Describe a specific criminal case or act of corruption by a person working in the news media or organized religion. How does this case fit the model of white-collar crime and corruption discussed earlier in the course?

Analytical question #6: As a citizen and as a consumer, what scams do your fear the most? Carefully explain your reasoning.

Analytical question #7: Your close friend was recently hired as a department store manager. When she was hired, the store chain’s director of security told her that employee theft of merchandise, fraud, and embezzlement have been major problems. She asks you for your advice. What do you suggest?

Analytical question #8: What factors create a criminogenic industry in government and politics?

Analytical question #9: What makes the health care industry a criminogenic industry?

Analytical question #10: Should white-collar criminals receive sentences that are similar to those imposed on street criminals? Why or why not?

In addition to these papers, I wasasked to design a white-collar crime and submit a 15-page (maximum) paper on it.

A day of mourning

In many areas, today is a day of mourning for the Virginia Tech students and faculty killed in this weeks' massacre. At lunch time today, I plan on finding a place to quietly pray. I want to make it an intentional act, although no one will see it. But I want it intentional so that I go at least somewhat out of my way. Anything less would be disrespectful.

My son looked for something maroon and orange to wear today in memory of those. He settled for dark blue with some orange. His first choice was mostly orange with a little purple, but his concern was this was a competing college. He was worried it would look very out-of-place.

I have quickly tired of the news, but can't ignore the news on the VT victims. I have decided to ignore any news about Cho and am personally boycotting networks and radio programs that choose to focus on that. The right thing to do would be to let us mourn, then slowly revisit the "why's". Cho should be given no airtime.

My heart also goes out the Cho's family. They suffer in this as much as any other family. A news report a few minutes ago said they are under police protection. That's sad, that they need it, but understandable.

My son had an idea, that stores (he mentioned a big box store) should sell VT shirts/hats/etc and donate the profits this week to some VT charity. Has anyone heard of anything like that going on? Anyone heard of any charities set up specifically for this purpose?

Lonely days

Seems I can't get my mind focused on anything lately. The Virginia Tech issue has been on my mind and frankly I just don't want to talk about it. Too many things that are way too wrong and everyone wants to prove their point out of it.

I didn't skip my two classes this week, my plans got changed. My son was involved in an accident on Sunday. No one was hurt, but his car is pretty messed up. It's drivable, but not legally (no tail lights anymore). At 17 nothing is ever his fault. This one wasn't really and he probably couldn't have prevented it, but.... So, for at least a few days, maybe two weeks, he's diminished to bumming rides and not from other teenagers. Insurance promises they will come out this week, but I haven't heard from them yet. We'll see how they do.

Still looking for ideas/opinions on Crime & Punishment. See my post from a couple days ago. I suspect that the Virginia Tech incident has distracted everyone.

Sniper at VTU

Just yesterday, I found out one of my son's friend's brother is going to go to VTU this fall. Now this story breaks out about a sniper there.

Page 2 of the article says this is the worst such incident since a 1966 incident at University of Texas. When I read that, I immediately thought of the Harry Chapin song "The Sniper". It's on a CD that I own, along with rosey songs like "Sunday Morning Sunshine", "Cat's in the Cradle", "Taxi" and "Dreams Go Bye".

"The Sniper" (the song) is very dark. When it comes by on my jukebox, I skip to the next song. Just this morning, I was contemplating deleting so I wouldn't hear it. Very dark.

My heart goes out to the families of those involved at VTU.

Crime and punishment

My assignment for this next (and basically last) paper is the following question: "Should white-collar criminals receive sentences that are similar to those imposed on street criminals? Why or why not?"

I have to write on my own thoughts, but I can be influenced. Suggestions welcome. My initial thought is that there should be three classes of crimes: 1) Non-violent, 2) White-collar (fraud, etc) and 3) Violent.

Questions that come to mind are: What should the punishment be? Should white-collar criminals share cells with violent criminals? What about the DUI offender? What if the DUI resulted in a death?

Should the amount stolen factor in? If so, what about the guy who doesn't personally profit from a white collar crime, but his company does?

What about eco-crimes? I'm no tree hugger, but someone throws chemicals into one of the beautiful lakes around here, I don't want him to go without any punishment.

Also, what is the purpise of the punishment? Is it to rehabilitate? Deterance? Do either work? Or is it just to keep him/her from doing it again?

I have some time, but if my regular readers (and any irregular readers) want to post some ideas, I would appreciate some ideas.

2 more classes

Business is calling me out of town this coming week and I will miss two classes. It couldn't happen at a better time, this week was going to be slow anyway.

The following week I will have two classes and then I AM FINISHED!!! Well, I still have the final exams to turn in.

So the countdown is this:
Paper due this Tuesday night - Largely finished. I'll talk with my co-author tomorrow night. The hardest thing we have to do is figure out how to cut one page
Paper due 4/23 - 4 pages double spaced - last paper in White Collar Crime class
Final exam due 4/30 - Yet to be defined case study review - I expect MINIMUM of 3 hours effort.
Fianl exam due 5/1 - Short paper, I already have the requirements.

Duke Lacrosse players are innocent?

Seems to me that "innocent" is the wrong word. For those (like me) who have forgotten the timeline, here's an article. The players had a keg party and hired two strippers. One of the strippers accused the players of rape. A year later, the charges get dropped.

Lesson 1: If you go to a keg party with strippers, there's a good chance you're going to get into some kind of trouble. Listen to your mother. "Innocent" doesn't describe anyone at the party. I wonder who was checking IDs at the party? Were all participants 21?

Lesson 2: If you decide to take your clothes off in front of a bunch of young men, you're not innocent either. You should expect that at some time or another, you're going to get into trouble. This doesn't make it ok, and rape is never acceptable, but you shouldn't be surprised. If it occurred, the instigators should be prosecuted, but don't be surprised. Listen to your father.

Lesson 3: If you're on a team with a bunch of people who party like those described in lesson #, you can expect to get into trouble by association, even if you didn't participate. Listen to your parents. The Lacrosse team lost out for the whole season, just because a few of them were not "innocent". Choose your friends wisely.

Lesson 4: If you're in charge of a group and the group does something bad, you can expect to get in trouble even if you aren't with them. Call this the Truman factor. The buck stops there. If you're the guy in charge, expect to lose your job if you can't pass on some degree of morality.

I'm ignoring the prosecuting team, not because they're innocent, but because they will be chastised in other places. But looking at the four groups above, it's hard to find anyone who is innocent.

Disparity of income

From Wikipedia Disparity refers to the regional and economic differences in a country, province, state, or continent.

Ok, Wikipedia isn't the best reference material, but hey it works. Recently, I heard the phrase "disparity of income" and it was being related to CEO's. If you Google "disparity of income ceo" you get tons of hits. One of them indicates that the average CEO makes 431 times what the average worker makes. Some other sites say thuis number is higher. Regardless, it's high. Several of the hits declare that this disparity is undemocratic (another shot at republicans I guess).

But CEO/worker pay isn't the only disparity of income. The same is true in the sports world. A quick google again shows that a 2002 article finds A-rod making 125 times the lowest-paid major league benchwarmer.

It's also true in entertainment. Another google and the article says that the pay range is $75 to $75 Million. That's 1,000,000 to 1 range vs only 431 to 1 range for CEO's.

So, why all this disparity? And is it really undemocratic?

Part of the reason is disposable income. Americans have more of that than at anytime in history. When you last went to see a movie, or a ball game, did you HAVE to do that? No, of course not. But if you're going to spend $8 for a movie or $50 for a ball game, you want to be sure you enjoy it. And you can (and do) vote with your wallet. You won't go see a movie unless it has big names in it. If your team doesn't have a big hitter, you'd just as soon stay home.

Which gets us to CEO's. Stock-holders are just as picky as movie goers and baseball fans. They want the very best CEO that they can get. And they don't hesitate to pay for it.

Undemocratic, seems like we all vote with our wallets....

4 more classes

I've never been one to count down. But I'm so close to the end, I can't resist. Four more classes and I will be through.

I promise to post more articles of interest to more people within the next 1-2 days.

I just can't believe. 4 more clases. Of course, I have a 10 page paper, a 4 page paper and two exams, but the end is near....

You gotta love this weather....

.... if not wait a week, it will change.

I started to title this post "Global Warming", but then decided that would just be mean. And today, I'm not in a mean spirit (it's early yet).

Last week, global warming could be seen in upstate SC. Temperatures were in the 80's. Spring had defintely sprung. Flowers were blooming, dogwoods in full bloom, allergies in fuller bloom. It got so hot indoors, we turned on the AC (good bye ozone layer).

This week is a new week. Temperatures last night got down to around 32. Tonight and tomorrow night are supposed to get lower. Almost a 30 degree difference in temps this week vs. last week. I saw reports of snow in Maine I wonder if they had to close schools? (see my earlier posts about our snow and ice).

We turned the heat on. Actually, at one time, the heat was on downstairs, the AC was on upstairs. The AC never actually came on, but it could have. Then we'd been fighting our selves in the foyer, heat at the bottom, rising only to be air conditioned and then fall again. Could have been an interesting sight.

You gotta love this weather.

The British are coming, the British are coming

Word is that the plane carrying the British hostages from Iran has touched down on free soil. I am very thankful that these people are home and a global incident has been avoided.

However, I'm not sure we're going to be thankful in a few months. Iran seems to have come out ahead on this, all the way around. The British sailors and marines apoligized for their "error" and thanked the Iranian government several times.

While I'm a big believer in the theory that it's best to survive another day, the acquiescing in this case seems to have gone a little too far. I'm holding out comments on the individual sailors and marines until more information comes out, but I can't see anything that comes out looking strong against terrorism or against the Iranians.

It's odd that this happened so close to the 25th anniversary of the British/Argentine Falkland event.

There are several things that haven't come out completely (and may never come out). Word was that Boeing was testing a new bunker busting bomb that would penetrate. Called the MOP - Massive Ordnance Penetrator - word was it could penetrate Iran's bunkers and reach their nuclear facilities. Also, apparently, the USS Nimitz repositioned itself closer to Iran as did several British warships. Did these events have effect on the decision to release the hostages? Maybe we'll find out and I'll take back these words, but so far, it doesn't look that way.

For now, I'll steal some of the words I heard on the radio: "Margaret Thatcher was the last real man that England had"

Bush success vs. al Qaeda breeds long-term worries

Two posts from the news in one day.

According to this article, Bush has been largely successful in hurting al Queda:

"President George W. Bush's administration has crippled al Qaeda's ability to carry out major attacks on U.S. soil but at a political and economic cost that could leave the country more vulnerable in years to come, experts say."

Wait a minute, political costs associated with crippling al Qaeda? That makes no sense. It would seem that he would gain political capital by crippling al Qaeda. (I'll address the economic issue later in this blog).

The most positive statement is "If the question is why al Qaeda hasn't carried out another 9/11 attack, the answer I think is that if they could have, they would have""

So the current policies have crippled al Qaeda to the point that another 9/11 has been avoided.

"The number and lethality of the attacks have fallen off since 2004. Last year, there were five attacks and 28 deaths, according to IntelCenter statistics, which do not include attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan or other war zones."

Again, good news. al Qaeda is definitely impacted.

Now for the bad news: "(al Qaeda's plans are)very simply defined in two phrases: spread out America's forces and bleed the United States to bankruptcy. I'd argue America has been under attack successfully every day since 9/11 from that perspective."

This is the economic issue listed above. Let's see, where has this happened before? USSR in the cold war?

The article continues "If you're looking at it from the cave, or wherever al Qaeda is hiding at the moment, you have to be pretty happy with the way the world is moving."

Again, not a good sign.

So, my comment is this. Over the last 6+1/2 years, America has gotten safer. al Qaeda is weakened. Doing this has cost George Bush politically. It's also cost America economically.

Americans have two choices:
1) Step up to the cost and keep fighting al Qaeda
2) Decide that it's not worth the cost and give up.

In the 2000 election, no one had a clue what would happen on 9/11/01. In the 2008 election, no one has a clue what will happen during the following 4 years that will require decision making in areas we can't conceive. I for one, think that we made the right decision in 2000 and 2004. I hope we have some good choices in 2008.

Baghdad curfew eased after drop in violence

Am I the only one that saw this report? Why do so many people only report the negative?

According to the report "Violence in the capital has declined since the latest U.S.-Iraqi joint security operation began on Feb. 14, though there have been spectacular attacks."

The spectacular attacks are what we've been seeing on the 6o'clock news.

"But bloodshed has increased elsewhere in Iraq after insurgents and militiamen moved operations out of the capital ahead of the security crackdown."

Makes sense. The bad guys heard that the surge was coming. The bad guys decided to make like a tree and leave. Wasn't the initial plan of the surge to secure Baghadad? Now it's time for the next step?

"Since the start of the security operation, the military had enforced a 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. ban. Before that, the curfew had been 11 p.m. to 5 a.m."

In fairness, this is three steps back and now two steps forward. Curfew is not at the same time as before the surge started. But it sounds like Baghdad is more secure.

C'mon guys, at least report the good stuff when it happens.

and at other places.

Reported by Saint Louis Today. and at other places.

IBM Gives Feds $45M in Translation Tech

OK, I admit I'm prejudiced, but this is just too cool.

To Honor an Employee's Wounded Son, IBM Offers Military $45 Million in Translation Technology

See http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070402/ibm_military_donation.html?.v=8 for details.

I hope the Pentagon figures out how to keep the stuff.

Most impressive, the gift comes from the very top. President of IBM Sam Palmissano called and wrote to President Bush.

From all reports, there were no strings attached. We know you've been looking at this stuff. We want to honor one of our employee's sons, who happens to be a soldier and was injured. Here, here's $45million in stuff. Take it.

Make me very proud.

I'm not a crook!

When ever I think of that line, I think of a man with with heavy jowls, shaking his head side to side so that they flap, wearing a dark suit, with hands raised in peace signs, "I'm not a crook".

Picaso had phases, I'm in my criminal investigation phrase. My homework assignment this week was to report on what factors create a criminogenic industry in government and politics. It's only four pages (double spaced) and you only have a week to do it, so it's a little light on details. But it reviews some of the reasons that politics seems to invite crimes.

I confess, I take a couple of swipes at the most recent former president, but I talk about both republicans and democrats involved in these "events". And I include a reference to quote above. I don't feel like the paper is biased towards either party, but I'm sure I'll have people who disagree. No matter, every one who disagrees with me has a right to be wrong.

Paper available to anyone who wants to read it. Email me or respond here. When I'm famous, you can say you knew me when....

A quote

New for me - a quote:

Knowledge is not knowledge until someone else knows that one knows. - Lucilius 1st century BC


Does this mean I should brag about what I know???

8 more classes

I'm not usually one to count down, but I only have 8 more classes and then I'm through with school. For good!

Well, never say never. 26 years ago, I never thought I would go back. And this doesn't seem as dramatic as that time did. The goal this time was not a piece of paper, not some letters after my name. The goal was to learn, to see different parts of business. To gain knowledge that I couldn't gain through "regular" means.

But it feels good to be this close to the "end" of it all.

The Best Government Money Can Buy

So last night we watched a movie about politicians and corruption. It was actually a 60 minutes style documentary. The list of politicians gone astray was amazing.

Wilbur Mills (Ark) - alcohol abuse and picking up strippers - This was the beginning of the end for newspapers looking the other way in these type events. In one of his speeches, he actually sounded conciliatory, a departure from most.

Wayne Hays (Oh) - Hired a mistress with government money. She was supposedly a secretary, but had no typing skills (ok, a long time ago before word processors)

Gary Hart (Co) - Along with Donna Rice (from Columbia SC) took a boat ride to Bimini. Rice was a model. They had to stay in the harbor overnight. Trouble was, he had tempted fate and dared newspapers to follow him. They did. He never admitted the event was anything but above board (sorry for the pun). Neither did Rice. But his career was destroyed. Oh, the name of the boat - "Monkey Business".

Spiro Agnew (Md) - Accussed of taking bribes while Governor of Maryland. Payments continued while he was VP. Hey, if he has a good job, would you expect him to quit when he gets to be VP? At one time, he was 3rd most respected man in America behind Richard Nixon and Billy Graham. All charges except tax evasion dropped. He introduced the term nolo contendre to the general public. Technically it means "I don't plead guilty, but I know you can convict me." Still denied his guilt. (there's a pattern here)

Abscam brought in several:
Named after a ficticious company, Abdul Enterprises, Ltd.
- Harrison Williams (NJ) - "I did nothing wrong" - blamed government misconduct
- Richard Kelly (Fl) - Claimed he was conducting his own investigation - blamed the government of crimes
- My home state's (SC) John Jenerette - FBI released video of him stuffing money in his pants while he was running for reelection. He almost won. His wife posed nude for Playboy and gave an interview. He was quoted as saying he hoped she didn't tell them about the time they had sex on the steps of the state capital. She didn't tell, but he did.

Other non-elected officials:
Dwight Eisenhower's cheif of staff Sherman Adams - Influence peddling. Saw nothing wrong with taking expensive gifts

LBJ Secretary of Defense Bobby Baker - He resigned, but the investigation continued years. A continuing embarrassment to LBJ.

This was the sad one - Raymond Donovan, Regan aid. Allegations came because of events BEFORE his appointment. Resigned under pressure. Two years later, the trial found him and all co-defendants NOT GUILTY. "Where do I go to get my reputation back?"

Elizabeth Edwards

By now, you've probably seen the news about Elizabeth Edwards. My heart goes out to her and her family.

(Prediction) There will be those who say this is God's punishment for something or another.

Shame on them.

No human and certainly no American should point fingers at the Edwards family. For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

show and tell

I don't often post news links. Too many other people are willing to do that and the pay's no good. But this one was too tempting. A first grader took a rock of crack cocaine to school for show and tell. Seems that he knew what it was, and lots of details.

Amazing. Read the story at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,259582,00.html

Ever had one of those days?

Have you ever deleted a file, only to realize that you needed it? Once I was shredding documents (always makes me feel like Oliver North when I do that) and I shredded somethings I needed to send to an insurance company. I ended up losing $30 or $40 because of that mistake.

Well this case was a little worse. This guy ended up deleting a file that contained details on $38 BILLION. That's right. $38 BILLION. With a "B".

Now even folks like Ross Perot and Bill Gates would miss that kind of money. To make matters worse, the guy was very thorough. He deleted the backup too! Plan B down the tubes.

Plan C would have been the backup tapes. Remember those tapes that everyone says aren't needed anymore and are too cumbersom and too expensive? Plan C.

Trouble is, they weren't usable. No idea why, the article says they were unreadable. I've seen that happen when they were stored to close to a magnet. Wiped the data right off those suckers.

Fortunately, the ultimate backup (paper) still existed. Plan D. In 300 boxes. These had to be re-scanned. Quality Control had to review (I guess the scanners aren't perfect). And then someone had to manually link the scanned images to the individuals named on the documents.

Overtime, weekends, temp help, etc. Total cost - $220,700.

When you think about it, $220,700 is cheap. That's slightly over 2/100 of 1%. That's like losing $100 and paying 2cents to get it back. But I bet it will be a long time before that guy formats another hard drive. The article says they've already done extra testing on their backup techniques.

Note the names of the companies involved. Now if they had only used a mainframe computer.....



http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-20-alaska-fund_N.htm

Am I a part of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy"?

I don't often comment on politics. I've always felt it was useless. Robert Heinlein write "Never try to teach a pig to sing. You waste your time and you annoy the pig." (Time Enough for Love, 1973). But this time, I think someone was talking about me.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has returned to her comments of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" (VRWC). In fact, she says that the New Hampshire courts have proven that it does exist. In order to reference this, I pulled a random report from http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/03/14/news/doc45f6c394a6e41539528436.txt. I have no idea if the Bloomington Pantagraph is right wing, left wing or no wing. I chose the first entry from a Google Search (well, the third actually, the first one didn't work, the second was Rush Limbaugh and I figured quoting Rush would ruin any credibility I might have).

The phrase came about just before the Monica Lewinsky incident came to the surface. After the incident, her comments were ridiculed. Now, she's using the same words.

First, let me say that this is a SMART move. I've always thought Sen. Clinton was a smart lady. By using these words she 1) fans the flames of anti-republican fires - motivates her people, 2) fans the left-wing fires - helps redeem her in their eyes after her early vote to support the Iraq war and 3) successfully brings up the Monica Lewinsky issue and puts it to bed (pardon the pun). No one can bring the issue up again.

As to the validity of the VRWC, I have to borrow a page from former President Bill Clinton's playbook: define "vast". One definition says it is "huge: unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope". Well, I think that this definitely qualifies. The scope of this conspiracy (if there is one) is definitely unusually great in size (although one might argue that since this happens often, it isn't unusual - "is" means "is").

So the next question is, is this a conspiracy. Again my trusty Google search for a defintion says that a conspiracy is "a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act." Well the legal NH case was definitely a secret agreement, there were numerous people involved and they were performing an unlawful act. While the court decision is being appealed, by definition, the court has decided (unless overturned) that the acts were illegal.

So, I think I must agree with the Honorable Senator that there is a VRWC. And illegal acts by those involved should not be tolerated.

Now (not but), the question is, is there also a Vast Left Wing Conspiracy (VLWC)? Well, there are numerous examples that would say yes. One that comes to mind is Dan Rather using forged papers to prove his points. His points may have been right or they may have been wrong, but using forged papers blew any chance for him to be seen as unbiased. Using the points above, Mr. Rather's incident was indeed vast and indeed a conspiracy. There are other more recent examples, but this will suffice.

So, if there is a VRWC and VLWC what's the point? The point is this: illegal acts should not be tolerated. As a part of the VRWC (I confess), I can not condone or tolerate the actions of the NH branch of this group. Neither can affiliates of the VLWC condone or tolerate actions of the CBS branch of their group. I can't use actions of the VLWC to excuse the actions of the VRWC. We both need to keep each other accountable.

So, I guess in a way, I'm agreeing with Sen. Clinton. Excuse me while I go wash my hands.....

Censorship

Censorship has such negative connotations. However, I practice it regularly. I choose what TV I allow in my house. Certain channels are blocked, because I don't want them shown. I choose which magazines are allowed. If a magazine shows up in my mail box that I think doesn't belong in my house (yes it has happened), it goes straight to the trash.

I choose when and how my teenage son can access the web. I am hoping that he will learn to censor for himself.

So what if someone censors me? What if I choose to post something that someone finds offensive? Well, first, they have the right to censor me. Maybe they don't like my blogs, or my posts onto their blogs. They don't have to read my blog, and they can delete my comments from their blog. And I have the right to stop reading their blog.

However, we both lose.

Crime and punishment

This class I'm taking is making me super-paranoid. It's called White Collar Crime, but it looks at lots of other crimes too. Tonight, we saw a film about someone in a Florida jail for murder. He was stealing credit card numbers and buying stuff. He would have it shipped to a drop location outside the jail. Someone would take the stuff and sell it, he and the outside assistant would split the money.

The interviewer called the man a con artist. He said he guessed that was true. The interviewer called the man a murderer. He said "that's what they say" and "I don't like it when they say that".

Doesn't that just make you feel bad? People call him a murderer.

I hope they throw away the key....


(If I can find details about the man, I'll add them to the comments)

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time starts tonight. This year it's earlier than in previous times. I recall that growing up in olden times, the time it started and ended changed every year. Congress took time in 1987 to fix the time it started and ended.

So we save an hour at this time and give it back in the fall. Do we save it or borrow it? Who is the banker for the extra time? And is there interest applied? If we're saving time (as the name applies), then six month's of interest should add up. For example, at a simple 4% interest rate, we should gain about 1.2 minutes. Now that doesn't seem like a lot, but if we save that much each year, it could add up over time. In my lifetime, that would come to almost an hour, if you compound the interest, it would probably be more time.

I think I'm going to use my interest time. Cash it in. Maybe take it off work and tell the boss it's time I've saved for years. If it were more time, I'd take an extra vacation. As it is, I think I'll use the time to reset all the clocks I have....

I won the lottery!!!

Ok, well, not really, I missed at least one of the numbers. I watched the news talking about the recent lottery, megamillions, powerball or whatever. Funny, right after the news story, they went to a commercial about the lottery. But not one promoting it, it was one suggestion that too much of playing the lottery was bad for you. How ironic.

The lottery really bothers me. This is a reverse robin-hood thing. The people that play the lottery faithfully are the ones who can afford it the least. The ones who benefit are the upper-middle class who send their kids to college on the Life scholarship. The others that benefit are companies that sell lottery tickets and the ones who promote the lottery. Those lottery machines cost money, the company that manages the lottery makes a good living. So we're taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

What bothers me the most about the lottery is the people that support it. Typically, liberals support the lottery. But liberals are supposed to look out for the little man. Help the poor. Feed the hungry. Conservatives on the other hand are supposed to be pro-business, anti-poor, and "let them eat cake." So why do conservatives oppose the lottery? Seems like it's tailor made for conservatives.

Two of my major problems about the lottery:
1) It promotes false hope. The idea is that someone has to win. Actually, everyone has to loose. In order for one person to win $1million, then 2 million people have to lose $1. Simple math, less than 50% of the lottery money is paid out in winnings. So even if you do win, you're cheating 2 million people out of their money.
2) The promise of something for nothing. There's something morally wrong with this. Work should be involved.

But I still wonder, why I've never won the lottery. Never even won one of the scratch & sniff games. I'm sure it's a conspiracy and it's not fair. I think they should give me a prize anyway. I'm sure the fact that I don't buy lottery tickets is not related to the results.....

Need some ideas - what scam

I have to write a paper on which scams I fear the most. I need some help on ideas. Either post your suggestions here or email me.

Thanks

Is there more to life than just politics?

OK, I've taken to reading a lot of blogs. I'd rather read blogs than do my homework. I'm not sure that it's a viable excuse, but it's a fact.

But why are so many blogs about politics (and "why are there so many songs about rainbows?" asks Mr. Kermit). Seems like there should be more to life than just Pres. Bush fighting Billiary and some conservative commentator taking a jab at one of the other candidates.

And while I'm at it, why do so many bloggers simply quote newsfeeds. Don't they think we can find the news ourselves? Do they have any original thoughts or do they just think their job is to spread the news. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Ann Coulter used a homosexual slur!

Sure politics is important. It affects our everyday lives. It affects our future. But there are other things that are important too. Like Mr. Kermit's rainbows.....


P.S. If you miss the part about Mr. Kermit's rainbows, email me and I'll explain. It's a neat story.

The one that almost was

Back in April of 2006, I blogged about Anthony.
(See http://newfromclt.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html)

Now it's Manny's turn. Trouble is, Manny never had a chance. Something happened, we don't know what. About two months too early. Now, he will never have the chance to know how much we care.

About Anthony, I said he could teach us a lot. God can use Manny the same way. Manny has the opportunity, even though he never knew us, to teach us. In death, Manny can teach us how to deal with life. He can teach us the how to help other people. And he can teach us how to help ourselves.

Thank you Manny for what you will be doing for us. Maybe somehow, someday we can begin to understand or at least to understand what you have meant to us and will mean to us.

On the road again

Tomorrow I leave for a short (two night) trip. Traveling to a couple of small towns in NC, Salisbury and Wilkesboro.

The good thing is, I have girl scout cookies....

It's a different world today

Many times, I say that things are just like they always have been. But today, I'll say how different it is.

My son was explaining to me the other night that he was planning to do something that I thought would get him in trouble. He asked me, didn't you do stupid things when you were my age?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact I did a lot of things that were stupid. But many of these are even stupider today than they were when I was his age. I was 17 in 1976. Jimmy Carter won an election. It was the 200th anniversary of our nation being formed. Apple Computer was formed. North and South Vietnam united to become Vietnam. The Israeli's conducted a raid at Entebbe to thwart a hijacking attempt. Microsoft officially registered their name (I assume that's when they started).

When in high school and middle school, I regularly took a knife to school. I didn't grow up in the country or in the mountains. It wasn't that I needed a knife, or that I would use one in a fight. But it was common. I had a large hawk-bill, with probably a 6 inch blade. If you greased it up good, you could flip it and the blade would come out.

Today, you would be expeled from school for that. Maybe even arrested.

As recent as 10 years ago, I sat in a pilot's chair on a commercial airplane. I wasn't even on the flight, I was escorting my daughter. I went through security and boarded early.

Things that I took for granted have changed. It's not all bad, too many kids did things with knives they shouldn't have. But it has certainly changed

Snow days

(Note: I didn't post yesterday because I was busy courting my valentine)

I know I've posted on this below. But with the news, I couldn't resist it again. Planes stuck for 9+ hours due to snow. People stuck in NY can't get out. Icy roads. Did you see the video with the FedEx truck skidding on ice? AMAZING!

In the south, we close everything up for a day or two when we get snow. People in NY, Washigton and other places close up for a day or two when they get a storm like they've had the last few days. What's the difference? Sure, they got several inches or they got all ice. But they close as much as we do.

When it snows, you should take a day off and go play!

Recipe for cooking the books

Ok, I have to admit I'm getting to the point of being obsessed with stories of companies cooking the books. Enron, Woldcom are two big ones, closer to home Home Gold (Carolina Investors). Two companies that were found with their hands in the pot are Ahold and Computer Associates (CA), but they are still in business (with some bosses in jail).

But one thing seems to keep coming through in all of these cases. If the company had not encountered problems, the crimes would have gone un-noticed. So what crimes are being committed by companies that are still afloat (at least for today)?

Some of the crimes are committed out of ignorance. SEC regulations are sometimes not intuitive. Say you're in business selling wodgets (everyone sells widgets, you want to be different). You notice another company selling wodgets and decide to approach the head. You know, if you two could just agree not to steal each other's customers, you could both make a better profit. When you start trying to steal customers is when profit drops. Seems like a good idea, you shake and walk away.

What was just described is called anti-trust. By restricting competition, you are effectively engaging in price competition. You're cheating the public our of lower prices. It seems right at first, but it's wrong.

So how is this avoided? Or better yet, how does this happen? How do people who don't understand get into positions where they can commit these crimes? I think it's because people want to cut corners. Rather than train people, they just want to throw them in. Rather than hire the right people, they want to hire friends or people that think like themselves. And people outside the company want results, they don't care how they get them (until it falls apart).

Amazing how this all fits together...

Back from the big easy

I didn't see much of New Orleans, most of my time was in the Convention Center and my hotel (just outside the French Quarter). I talked to some people who took "The Katrina Tour", a Gray Line bus tour of areas impacted by Katrina. Also to some people who drove in and saw 15 miles of abandoned apartment buildings and neighborhoods.

What I did see was that the downtown area has a lot of construction (doesn't every major city?) and that a lot of businesses are still closed. One that caught my eye was a print shop, similar to FedEx Kinko's. It didn't look like there was much damage, just no business. Looking around confirmed that the area was no where near as busy as it was 6 years ago when I was there last. It took New Orleans decades (centuries) to reach the level of busy-ness that it had pre-Katrina. It won't return quickly.

So what SHOULD happen in New Orleans? If I were King For A Day (KFAD), what would I do? Being a conservative capitalist who believes in individual responsibility, I don't think it's the government's job to rebuild. The free market will fix itself. People will move back when the jobs are there and when the market requires it. Keep the government out, it's already too messed up.

But what if I had been there? Well, again, personal responsibility. You self-insure against small losses, buy insurance against big losses. That's what I do at my home in SC. But regular insurance doesn't cover floods. So, as KFAD, rule # 1 is that (from now own), insurance is insurance. Insurance companies are in business for $$ (not for health), so they can adjust insurance rates. Customers should expect an increase. Oh, and by the way, customers in areas more likely to flood should expect a higher increase.

But, the market is not truly efficient, insurance companies (and all companies) typically look at the short term. Rule #2 as KFAD means that someone (probably a committee or a board) has to mandate that all insurance companies must have reserves to cover their part of Katrina-sized disasters and they must also be widely diversified so that they don't loose everything when Daughter of Katrina hits.

There were lots of sins and crimes and shames before and after Katrina. I don't want to focus on them. There will be much wringing of hands and pointing of fingers. As KFAD I wouldn't waste my time. Yes, much was lost and needs to be done better the next time. Much was also lost in the dot.com market burst earlier this decade. No one went to jail for that (well, except Ken Lay and a few others like him). Those of us who lost money, lost it knowing the risk. If we didn't know the risk, we should have. That's what investments are, risk. Sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down.

I know I lost a lot in one area, I have no idea how much I lost in some of the others. In fact, I'd probably rather not know. But that doesn't take me out of the game. I just watch a little closer and prepare for the worst. Self-insure myself.

The problem is, that there is no city of Jubilee in life. No place where you can escape. Remember in hide-n-seek? You could run to base and be safe. No one could tag you and make you "it". Doesn't happen in life. There is no "base", you can be tagged anywhere. Best you can hope for is to break even in the long run.

Now that sounds depressing, but it doesn't have to be. Instead, you can focus on other things. Life itself, the ones around you. The beauty of the morning (I watched the sunrise a couple mornings across the Mississippi). No one can take those away. So maybe, in a way, there is a "base".

This entry has takena few turns, I'm glad I'm back from New Orleans.

New Orleans

OK, I'm off to New Orleans. Not a good start, the first leg of my plane ride is delayed. I should have enough time in Atlanta to make the second leg.

I'm not looking forward to this trip. I keep hearing things about safety and I know that the crime rate in N.O. is up (and it was high before). A good friend reassured me, said that they HAVE to keep the convention area and French Quarter safe. It they didn't, the tourist traffic would disappear all together. I hope he's right.

But the worst part is the schedule. 4+1/2 days, 3 of those nights, we have a reception + dinner. That means breakfast at 7am, sessions starting at 8:30, lasting till 5pm, reception from 5-7, and dinner from 7-10. Then go back and do your day job.

I do have Wednesday night free. I think I'll crash.

I am looking forward to seeing some friends I haven't seen in a while. We didn't kick off last year, so I haven't seen some of these folks in 2 years.

And I have two meetings with management. Mostly to see what I can do with my career. Right now, there doesn't appear to be a lot of room for moving up. If that's the way it is, so be it. I'm very well paid and happy doing my job. But if there is chance for advancement, I don't want to pass it up.

More this week from the Big Easy...

Back to work

Well, actually, I worked yesterday. But my point is that the snow is over, mostly gone. Roads are wet, but not icy.

Next week is a conference, our yearly kick-off. We get up at 6 or 7, eat breakfast (typically just continental, lots of sugar and starch) attend 7 or 8 1+1/2 hour technical sessions, then have a group dinner and "entertainment". Typically, that's some manager telling us how much he appreciates us, blah, blah, blah. I'm not looking forward to it.

So, I may not blog for the next week. I WILL be watching the HomeGold trial. The prosecution rested yesterday, now it's the defense turn. I'm hoping I can get some details from the papers, most of what I read is very glossy.

Let it snow!

Today we get our annual snow. About once a year, we get some snow/ice. Today's the day. We have about 1 inch on the ground, schools all around are cancelled. Folks from up North always laugh at us, but I have two explanations: 1) We only get snow once a year, so we have to enjoy it when we get it and 2) the snow we get is icy, no one can drive on that.

I've also seen video on TV from other areas showing cars sliding all over the place. Their argument is that they get several snows and by the second snow, everyone has learned how to drive in it. Trouble is, we never get a second snow.

Growing up, we made snow ice-cream. If you've never tried it, it's a treat. But I remember that you couldn't use the first snow of the season to make it, which meant you seldom made it. Maybe that's why it was so much of a treat. Anyway, you took snow off of some piled up surface, not taking the stuff near the surface. Also, you avoided spots where the dogs walked, no yellow snow.

So, with all of this, I have to say, Let it Snow!

Home Gold trial

Yesterday, I took a day off and went to watch the Home Gold trial. It's been going on for 3 weeks and looks like it will last 3 more. Where do the jurors get the time to do this? My hat is off to those people.

Here's the net of the story. Carolina Investor's started about 40 years ago and worked well up until sometime around 1998. Then it got bought out by HomeGold, but remained a separate company. Carolina Investors (CI) took investments, loaned money to HomeGold (HG), who loaned it out. HG made some very bad moves and went bankrupt. Of course, CI had all their money in HG, so they went bankrupt too. A total of 8,000 people lost about $227m. Most of the people were retired and they lost their life savings.

The question now is, who is guilty of what? The money is gone, no way it will come back. The current trial is the former head of HG (the parent company). From the one day I saw, I could see the method the prosecution was headed and the same for the defense. I wish I could have seen more of the trial, but I'll have to settle for reading the paper's comments.

Very cool day.

Exploratory committee for possible run for the presidency

Today, January 27, 2007, I am formally announcing that I am creating an exploratory committee to examine the possibility that I should run for the presidency. Oh, yeah, and I'm in it to win too. Me and about 20 other people.

So far, I haven't been enthralled with any of the candidates. Barak Obama is probably the best speaker. He seems intent at claiming that's he's a christian and wants to steal some of that vote from the right wingers. Hillary Clinton appears to me to be the best politician, she actually comes across as being almost centrist (not left, not right). I don't trust her in that role. I don't trust John Edwards, as a trial lawyer he reminds me of an ambulance chaser.

On the republican side, I think Newt Gringrich is the smartest candidate of the 20 (or so). But he always seems angry. The American people have shown they don't care if a man is a womanizer, but he has to be happy about it. Rudy Julie-anaa is a sheep in wolf's clothing, everyone thinks he's conservative, but he's not. I heard him say on TV that he thinks Americans want someone who will stand up for something, even if they don't believe in what they stand up for. Huh? He would stand up for something he doesn't even believe in? Then there's this guy from California who seems to be afraid of Chinese submarines. While I admit that's important, it seems less important to those of us in the east than to those on the left coast. And there are a few other things that need to be watched also. John McCain is another one of those angry people and seems willing to sack anyone in any position. He'd make a good vice presidential candidate.

So, maybe I should throw my hat into the ring? Nah, I'm not even sure I'd vote for me, much less anyone else...

Time to search for the "Nobody for President" speeches again...

Life in general

Life has been busy. First I had the opportunity to travel last week on business. It was a good trip, not too much work and the work that I did went very smoothly. The rest of the time was spent studying and entertaining the customer (most folks don't think I'm that entertaining).

Then I've been playing catch-up in my classes. A lot of catch-up. And now I'm procrastinating. I should be doing more catch-up.

I didn't watch Bush's speech. I think the general American (or at least the press in general) has given up. I hope they're wrong, we can't afford to spend the next two years just wandering around like Gomer Pyle on Valium (stolen simile). And I don't think we can afford for Iraq to fail. The cost in terms of mid-east stability is too high. The cost in terms of the pride of America and it's troops is too high (note the years after the fall of Vietnam). I don't know that the current plan will work. And I'm afraid that before we find out, another plan will be in its place. I think that not only has the American public/press given up, I think that (secretly) Bush has given up. Maybe not on Iraq, but he seems to be too willing to cave on other areas. I'd be more impressed if he ignored the mid-term elections and just went ahead with his plans full-bore. Use his veto power liberally (bad metaphor for him to do anything "liberal-ly")

But regardless how busy life in general is (bad grammar), I know there's a tomorrow and I know Who determines all of this. And when you keep that perspective, nothing else really matters.

As a side note, yesterday was the birthday of a strong young journalist. Hopefully, he'll catch all the little comments scattered through this blog aimed at him. He makes his job look easy and people just don't appreciate his efforts. As one who written a lot (for a decidedly different audience), I recognize the difficulty of his job. I'm glad it's him and not me. Happy Birthday Adam!

Oil!! I've struck Oil!!

Well, not really. Even if I had, I probably wouldn't know what to do with it or how to manage it.

But I have learned a few facts over the last several weeks that are beginning to congeal inside my brain (old age does that to a person - makes their brain congeal). And it leads me to a prediction:

There will be an oil crisis of some unknown magnitude and the result will be higher gas prices!

Now, I know, you're thinking I've probably outdone Nostradamus. Or you're thinking that a 3 year old could make that prediction. Regardless, let me state some of the reasons based on unrelated obscure facts that I believe this to be true.

First, in my reading about Saudi Arabia last week (for absolutely no reason except to procrastinate and avoid reading a book I was supposed to read), I learned that oil reserves are stated by each OPEC country without any validation. There are a lot of people who believe that Saudi Arabia has been overstating their reserves for a long time. The amount of oil they can pump under OPEC guidelines is controled by the amount of reserves. By overating their reserves, they get to pump more than other countries.

Second obscure fact is that Iran and Venezeula are beginng to work together. These two countries share a common hatred for the US. I'm not sure what percentage of oil revenues these two countries have, but I'm sure it's a lot. Maybe next time I procrastinate, I will do some research.

Third obscure fact is that China and India are growing the number of automobiles (and demand for gasoline) tremendously.

Fourth obscure fact is that the oil companies have no incentive to search for new oil. This fact is a little hard to derive, so let me explain the basis of it. Last year, when gas prices shot up, oil companies made huge profits. The american people in general and congress was furious. Ignore the validity of the furiousness for now, just pay attention to the discussion at hand. Oil executives were hauled in front of congress and asked to testify. I am convinced that any oil company that makes profits over a certain threshold will be treated this way. That serves as a strong disincentive to make profits that large.

Also contributing to this fact is some information I learned in my Fincance class. Basically, the stock price of any company is the public's opinion of how much that company will make in the future. Right now, oil stocks are still high so the public in general believes that these companies will continue to make more profits. Doing additional research, looking for new oil reserves, all of this increases expenses and doesn't provide (in the short term) and additional profits.

This leads me to believe that there will be no new oil.

If the demand for oil is increasing and the supply is questionable, what is the result?? Yes, as the student on the back row said, prices increase. But what's a body to do? How can we stop it?

I'm convinced that the way to manage this issue is NOT through politics. Call me skeptical, but I don't believe there is a polician alive who will touch this issue. It's much to vague and the results are too far off. We have taught our politicians well, they look to the next election (consider social security for example - but that's another blog).

This does not mean that we are doomed and I personally don't believe that we will run out of oil. It just means that times will get harder as oil gets more expensive.

But, while we can't get politicians to change, we can change things. We can decide to work for our own good and let the politicians (or anyone) deal with everyone else. This sounds very self-centered and it is. If you think you can help others, you should. And I will help others as much as I can, but I am solely responsible for helping myself. No one else will do it for me.

I can decide to move towards more fuel efficiency. No, I won't go buy a Prius tomorrow, but the next time I look for a car, gas mileage will be an important factor (it was last time). Gas is the #2 cost associated with car ownership based on my figures. #1 is the purchase price of the vehicle itself (gas cost is very close to #1).

I can also decide to invest in companies that make energy. Some of these are like the dotcom's of days gone by. Maybe one of these companies will take off. Other are like the big oil companies, they are bound to keep growing.

So, what do you think? Do you agree with my Nostradamus act, that gas prices will go up? Do you think we should all march on Washington (for heaven's sake don't drive!) and demand congress do something? Where do we go from here?

What's going on in Saudi Arabia?

This morning I had a thought, what's going on in Saudi Arabia? Now I'm not always that random, there was some basis to the question. When Gulf War II started, the press covered the fact that a lot of the education in Saudi Arabia was distinctly anti-American. As a result of our requests, that education was being changed. No new reports about it.

I also remember that there were some terrorist attacks there. Apparently, some people didn't like the fact that the Saudi's were supporting the US.

So I decided to do some research to see what was going on there. Very recently, they approved the first female airline pilot. The new pilot isn't allowed to drive a car (no Saudi women is allowed to drive), but she can fly a plane.

I also read that, without oil, Saudi Arabia has a HUGE trade deficit. It started me thining. If we ever get off our dependence on oil, what will that do to the mid-east? Surely it will cause a lot of folks to go hungry. There aren't a lot of jobs over there. And I'm sure the US will get the blame.

So how does one go about creating real wealth? Basically it comes from producing more than you need. If I was a farmer, I'd have to grow enough crops for me and my family and then have some to sell to the guy down the street. He could make shoes and clothes for me in exchange for food. If I grew enough crops, I could meet all of my needs this way. Then I could grow more and trade some for some "extras" in the next city.

So how does this happen in Saudi Arabia? If there were no oil, or if oil weren't a necessity, how rich would Saudi be? I think not very.

So, what does that say for the next 40-50 years? As the Muslim population grows, what will they do? What kinds of jobs? The Shah of Iran tried to "Westernize" the country and it was his goal to irrigate the desert. He wanted Iran to be less dependent on the rest of the world. Where is that voice today?

Let's go to war - again

I don't blog about politics very often. But it seems that if there ever was a time, now is the time to make comments about the current politics especially as related to the war in Iraq.

Some would argue we shouldn't have ever started in Iraq. I would disagree. I probably would not agree with all of the reasons we went to war, but I think we definitely should have gone in and deposed Saddam. After the first gulf war, Papa Bush and the countries that went into Iraq established sanctions. We established no-fly zones. We established a lot of rules and over the years, Saddam thumbed his nose at all of those rules. He continued to use weapons of mass destruction (to kill the Kurds) and rejected observers who would keep the country within the boundaries that were established.

Like a bully who draws a line in the sand, then backs up and draws another line, Saddam taunted us. After 8 years of crossing the line and doing nothing, it was time to put up or shut up. The sanctions were a joke, the UN simply ignored them. Other countries profited. And the US was a laughing stock.

So we went in. I approve. (as if that matters).

Should we still be there? Well, I think no and yes. No we shouldn't, it should be over by now. But yes, we should, we can't just leave. To leave in the middle of this would condemn Iraq to chaos. It would also send a message that we don't follow through with our actions. We've done that too many times. We failed to protect the Kurds after Gulf War I. We failed to protect the Mujahdeen after they fought the Soviets in pre-Afghanistan. Looking back, we failed to protect the Cubans who helped us at the Bay of Pigs. America MUST stand for something and then continue to stand for it.

That last sentence bears repeating. America MUST stand for something and then continue to stand for it.

So, do we send more troops in? I didn't listen to the speech last night, but I read the speech afterwards. I was very impressed. Now the president has to sell his plan. I believe he will send out his trips (Rice, Snow, et. al). He mentioned a new "committe" that will review plans and make new suggestions. He has to make this "bi-partisan" committe appear to be un-biased and they have to sell this to congress and to the people.

Should we send more troops in? I don't know. I hope that the right decision has been made. I hope that the US will stand behind the decision. I don't know what other choices we have.

I invite opinion here. Tell your friends about my post and ask them to comment. For the first time ever, I'm going to send a specific email to some friends and get them to comment.

Management Strategy

Who ever knew there was a strategy to management? I have an entire class on it. 16 weeks, 2.75 hours per week in class. We have a simulation. We pretend we're running our on company (building and selling PC's no less) and we get to decide where to spend money, what type of advertising, how many to hire, how much to pay them and probably 100 other things. We do this for 12 iterations. Professor told us to expect 3-4 hours per iteration.

So almost once a week on the simulator. Also read 1-2 chapters of the text. And 1 or 2 papers from magazines like the Harvard Business Review (average 13 pages each). Two case studies we have to read and comment on (8-10 pages written on each) and two exams.

Looks like it's going to be tough...

Burglary or Robbery?

My new course is on white collar crime. Last night we covered a lot of ground, some of it basic definitions. Burglary involves breaking into a building, but without bodily harm or the threat of bodily harm. Robbery involves stealing something through the use of bodily harm or thread of bodily harm.

So the professor tells a story. Seems when he was in college, he received a call from a female friend of his. Her apartment had been broken into while she was away. "I've been robbed" she said. The professor then said if we ever got a call like that, he advise us not to explain the difference between burglary and robbery.

Very, very dry.


Another thing. We described larceny. This is theft of an item with the intent to permanently depriving the rightful ownder of his or her property. So if someone "borrows" your car and takes it on a joy ride, it's not larceny if they don't intend to keep it forever.

Next time someone takes a car for a joy ride, I'll look at them in a different light.

Sadam Hussein has finally paid the price for crimes against humanity

I just heard that phrase on the news (I heard about his hanging last night, but that phrase caught my ear).

Actually, I think he's just beginning to pay the price. The hanging was the beginning. He will continue to pay the price forever.

I think there's something significant that he was hanged in the same week that Gerald Ford died. It's that "compare and contrast" thing you hated so much in high school. Gerald Ford, who pardoned Nixon, did something that was extremely un-popular, but now most historians feel it was the right thing to do. It closed the book on one of the ugliest periods in American history. Somehow, Saddam's death now closes the book (or maybe starts the closing) on another ugly period (the Iraq war).

My sincere belief is that Saddam needed to be removed from office. I'm not sure if this was the right way, but I'm also not sure if there was another way. I'm not sure his death will help bring the war to a close, but I hope it turns the page, ends the chapter and all that's left is the epilogue.

Gerald Ford dies

When Gerald Ford became president, I was 14 years old. I was still in high school when he left the presidency. I wasn't involved in (or even caring about) politics at the time. I wasn't allowed to vote for or against him. So I really don't recall much about him.

I do recall the Mayaguez incident, a ship that supposedly was not a spy ship (wink, wink) that was taken be a group. I recalled that during Ford's presidency he sent troops in to rescue hostages. I recall it being successful. Recently, I had to research this incident for some other reasons (can't even recall why) and it looks like my memories weren't as good as I thought they were. The incident seems to have been not as much of a success as I thought. I may have to do more research.

Ford is most remembered for pardoning Richard Nixon. Contrary to his own admissions, Nixon was a crook. He was paranoid. Whether he was involved in the original Watergate break in or not, he was involved in the cover-up. He also was a phony. Having church services in the White House, then having an attitude that showed no reverence for the religion he used. Had congress been allowed to continue investigating him, it would have tied up the country for months. Maybe pardoning Nixon wasn't the best option, but it quickly put the issue to rest. I agree with Ford that the pardon was a quick solution. I don't believe America could have handled more months of post-Watergate investigation.

But it cost Ford his re-election. Surely Ford knew this was likely. Surely he knew the cost BEFORE he issued the pardon. He made a concious decision to do what he thought was best for the country, despite what it meant for him personally. For that, I respect him.

Merry Christmas

Somehow things never work the way we intended. We hope for something that doesn't come. We plan and plan and work to make sure everyone is happy. But somehow, something just falls through the cracks.

This seems to happen most often at Christmas. We plan all year for this one holiday and somehow, it doesn't live up to our expectations.

Several years ago, I realized that I fell into this trap. I've since realized that maybe it's better to just "go with the flow". Some folks will get stressed and lose their cool. Others will be disappointed. I can't change what they feel. I can only change how I feel. And I choose not to be stressed....

Merry Christmas to all...

Writing a blog

Typically, I don't quote things here, except to use as a jumping point for my own text. On my home page I have a "quote of the day". Today's seemed more important than anything I could say myself.

"Writing gives you the illusion of control, and then you realize it's just an illusion, that people are going to bring their own stuff into it." - David Sedaris

As long as the message stays the same

Regarding churches that try to be "seeker sensitive". Some folks don't like it. Does that mean they want to be seeker insensitive? Others say it's ok as long as the message stays the same.

Here's the theory. A lot of 20-somethings and 30-somethings (and even some 40-somethings) are seeking answers, but don't want to go to a traditional church. For whatever reason, they were burned out on church at some point in the past. They don't want pews and stale music. Instead they want worship and praise. Sermons that don't accuse (remind) them of sin. Walk in wearing whatever is comfortable, greet everyone with a smile, drink a cup of coffee or even cappachino. Sing a few songs, here a message that's easy on the ears and walk out with a smile on the face. Ready to take on the world.

As long as the message stays the same.

I choose to disagree. Maybe we need to change the message. Maybe the reason these folks are seeking is that they are seeking the Truth. We spend too much time focusing on sin and listing them out (thou shalt not drink, thou shalt not have sex, thou shalt not have fun) and too little time focusing on the sinner. As Conservative Christians (I count myself in that group), we focus on the other person's sin. Maybe we should be reminded that when Paul pointed out that homosexuals and prostitutes wouldn't inherit the kingdom of heaven, he also pointed out that we were no better than that. Our past is just as dirty.

How many of us remember that? How often do we think of that? Didn't Jesus warn us against praying with words like "I'm glad I'm not like that guy over there"?

We aren't better than those other guys. Maybe we DO need to change our message.

Coffee pots and ironing boards

Sitting in my hotel room, drinking a cup of freshly made coffee. I wonder, who was the first person to suggest selling coffee pots to hotels? This place has probably about 300 rooms. Salesman walks in the door and asks for the manager. "Boy have I got an idea for you!!" Right. He probably got thrown out of more hotels than a $25 prostitute.

This pot is made by Mr. Coffee. It's relatively cheapley made. I'm guessing it would sell (in large numbers) for about $5. When they first came out, they were more expensive, competition drove the price down. So say $10 originally. That means the hotel would spend $3,000. Not a lot of money, but hotel margins aren't that high and why would they do it?

"Well, Mr. Manager, I was just visiting the hotel across the street and they are going to buy them. Do you want to be the only hotel in town without coffee pots?"

No, I'm not really a sales-person. But then, in a way we all are sales people. Some of us a little less direct.

One of my favorite stories growing up was The Man Who Sold the Moon, by Robert Heinlein. This guy arranges for companies to sponsor him in building a space ship. Sci-Fi sales. Very cool.

I think I'll go iron my shirt before my presentation....

Florida

I flew to Jacksonville Florida today. First flight was just under an hour. A real sweet young lady sat beside me. We chatted, turns out she knows my cousin. We talked about her company, my company, things to do in San Diego (she's headed there), etc. Very pleasant.

Next leg of the trip was very late taking off. They loaded 7 or 8 people on by wheel chair. We were probably 30 minutes late leaving. Finally boarded and sat next to a young man from Sweden. He had very good English (probably better than mine) and was very literate. He's a student, studying geography. Now that to me doesn't sound like a major, more like a single course. But he figures he will teach geography at the college.

He was traveling with his family (5 of them). Very nice young man. We talked about different countries he's visited. Maybe I should go see Europe....

It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas

Why? All of the fighting. Well, not really fighting, but fussing. One wants to have Christmas in the morning. One wants it in the afternoon. Well, more people can be there in the morning. But I've been planning for this all year. On and on.

Having 4 adult children with their own lives, it's difficult to get them all together. We've known for a long time this was coming. This year, I decided to sit out all the negotiations over when to do these things. Instead, I give them my calendar and tell them the reuirements and let them decide. I delegate the responsibility. Sometimes, they need some insight on ways to solve the problem (maybe we can share presents on a different day). Sometimes they need some encouragement (CALL YOUR SISTER!).

Christmas will likely be different this year. But it's already sounding like Christmas day.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

This weekend I had the opportunity to meet with family for our Christmas get together. I think this is the first time we have ever gotten together BEFORE Christmas, typically it's afterwards. As one of 6 kids, it's hard to get us all together.

My mom has 9 grandchildren. Five of the grandchildren were there, with spouses. All 3 of her great-grandchildren were there.

Afterwards, I went to see my daughter and her husband sing in their church christmas musical. It was very light, but included a chance for us all to sing along. I feel for the ladies that sat in front of me, I hope I didn't overpower the choir in their ears. I really enjoyed the singing and of couse, I could easily pick out my little girl's voice among the 140 or so people that were backing her up. In all honesty, I think she was the ONLY one that did not have a music book, she had memorize all of the music. She really showed joy in her face. It made me proud.

It was a good family time.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Blog, blog, blog

I found out earlier this week that you can use google search blogs. Gonna give blogging another try...

Head-on - Apply directly to the forehead

I haven't blogged in a while. No one cares.

There's a new product out, called Head-On. The commercial says "Head-on - Apply directly to the forehead". It repeats this about 3 times. Maybe more. Never tells what the product is for or anything else.

Wikipedia says the primary ingredient is wax and the active ingredients are too diluted to do any good.

Now there is a follow-on product named Knee-on (apply directly to the knee) and there is a new commercial that effectively bashes the initial commercial (but says the product is good).

In marketing, this is Brand Awareness. After watching the commercial, you are aware of it. The new product is a step towards product development, one of four growth strategies.

You could also call this the Interest step. Awareness leads to interest. By watching the commercial, you are aware of it, next time you're at the CVS you'll look for it (interest). You may even have a desire for it, then you'll purchase it (action).

And this commercial came out while I'm taking a marketing class.....

Pluses and minuses

Sometimes when you add something new to life, you have to take something away. Sometimes you think you can add something new and still keep everything you had. But later you realize you have to take something away.

It shouldn't be that way. You should be able to add something, without losing the things you had. But when you do, you have to choose what to loose. You work hard to make sure that the things you loose understand. You work hard to keep them.

But if you have to loose something, you loose it. And then it doesn't matter any more.

I've not given up yet, I think I can keep the old and the new. I just hope the old realizes, someday, what I did and why I did it.

Pluses and minuses

Sometimes when you add something new to life, you have to take something away. Sometimes you think you can add something new and still keep everything you had. But later you realize you have to take something away.

It shouldn't be that way. You should be able to add something, without losing the things you had. But when you do, you have to choose what to loose. You work hard to make sure that the things you loose understand. You work hard to keep them.

But if you have to loose something, you loose it. And then it doesn't matter any more.

I've not given up yet, I think I can keep the old and the new. I just hope the old realizes, someday, what I did and why I did it.

Pluses and minuses

Sometimes when you add something new to life, you have to take something away. Sometimes you think you can add something new and still keep everything you had. But later you realize you have to take something away.

It shouldn't be that way. You should be able to add something, without losing the things you had. But when you do, you have to choose what to loose. You work hard to make sure that the things you loose understand. You work hard to keep them.

But if you have to loose something, you loose it. And then it doesn't matter any more.

I've not given up yet, I think I can keep the old and the new. I just hope the old realizes, someday, what I did and why I did it.

home again, home again, jiggity jig

When the kids were little, I would quote this line. As I pulled into the driveway after a long trip, I would say "home again, home again, jiggity jig." Eventually, I would just say "home again, home again" and they would finish "jiggity jig".

A few months ago, I did this again, "home again, home again" and my daughter finished "jiggity jig" without even thinking about it.

Internally, I smiled. I hope they continue this little ditty with their kids.

It's good to be home again.

Starting again

I took a sabbatical for a few months, now I'm trying to start again. I'm out of town (again), as usual a short trip. I'll be back in my own bed tomorrow. One more week, then I get vacation. I need it this time, sometimes it's just fun. But it seems like now I can't get away from work. Even on my days off, the phone rings and it's work. I do get time off on "work" days, so I guess it balances out.

If you read this, let me know. Comments or emails are appreciated..