....a bad penny always turns up

BAD PENNY -- The phrase usually is heard in this country (U.S.) as 'A bad penny always turns up,' meaning that a no-good person can be counted upon to come back again and again. The expression was originally English and the unit of currency referred to was the shilling.

“A bad penny always turns up” is a very old proverb that dates back to at least the mid-18th century and is probably much older. The general sense of the phrase is, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, “the predictable, and often unwanted, return of a disreputable or prodigal person after some absence, or (more generally) to the continual recurrence of someone or something.” A “bad penny” is a person whose presence is unwelcome on any occasion, but whom fate perversely employs to torment you by making said person appear (“turn up”) repeatedly, often at the worst possible times.

The nephew who appears only at family weddings, funerals and holiday dinners, never invited but always mysteriously materializing at your elbow and asking for a loan, is the classic “bad penny.” Former romantic flames can also be counted as “bad pennies” if fortune (or fanaticism) dictates too many accidental reunions (“Don’t stalk him! If you turn up like a bad penny every time he leaves the house, he’ll think you’re a bunny boiler,” Cosmo Girl, 2004). (“Bunny boiler,” of course, is a reference to the behavior of the character played by Glenn Close in the 1987 film “Fatal Attraction.”)

A “penny” to us here in the US is a coin worth one cent (from the Latin “centum,” one hundred), or 1/100th of a dollar. The origins of “penny” are uncertain, but it’s a very old word with relatives in many languages, and may have come from a root meaning “pledge.”

Pennies today are viewed as nearly worthless   by many people, but when the term “bad penny” first appeared in the 18th century, pennies were serious money. This made them ripe targets for counterfeiters, and to reach into your pocket or purse and discover that you had ended up with such a counterfeit coin, a “bad” penny, was a depressing and annoying experience.

The only recourse available if you were stuck with a “bad penny” was to try to spend it as quickly as possible and hope that an inattentive shopkeeper would take it. But because everyone was trying to unload their “bad pennies” this way, according to the common wisdom of the time, your odds of encountering one, or even the very same one you had gotten rid of a week earlier, were quite high. Thus “bad penny” became an idiom meaning “an unwanted thing that keeps showing up.”

Oh no, bad news for Pinocchio! I was 'yet again' awarded one of your precious client projects that I am sure you thought was 'yours to begin with.'

This time I took it away from the Barista Boy...guess you could call me your bad penny, eh? Thanks for the business. Your team's lack of closing skills has made this an excellent year for me...and for that I must take the time to say thank you.

....70 percent of employees are "disengaged"

The Gallup Organization, famous for its research, estimates that 70 percent of employees are "disengaged," meaning they’re no longer committed to the company. It's evident in positions from executive officers to front-line employees. This "I don't care" attitude is hurting businesses in a big way. What’s going on? Why all the apathy? It could be that the wrong employees are being rewarded.

Most organizations want to blame employee apathy on wages and benefits, but they actually do not play a big role in why people stop caring about their jobs. The overwhelming majority of employees stop caring because of the way they are treated every day. Surveys show that lack of appreciation, lack of teamwork and the perception that the company doesn't care about loyal employees are consistently the highest-ranked reasons for low job satisfaction.

Many managers are nice people who manage by negative reinforcement—demonstrated not by what they do but, rather, by what they don't do. Chances are, these same managers are focusing their energy and attention on those employees with behavioral problems. If loyal employees aren't recognized and appreciated for their contributions, they'll be far less motivated to care about the success of the company. Sometimes, even the best employees will go through rough spots but will bounce back with more energy and loyalty when the company stands behind them with clearly defined expectations, quality training and positive feedback.

Gallup estimates that actively disengaged workers in the United States miss 118.3 million more work days per year than their actively engaged counterparts. Harder to measure are their higher healthcare, workers’ compensation, and safety costs.

But disengaged employees who show up and simply go through the motions of work cause the biggest problem. It's reflected in everything they don't do and their constant complaints. It's the negative effect their attitudes have on their co-workers and customers. This problem has become so common as to create a new word, "presenteeism."

Gallup found that the cumulative effect of disengaged employees consistently reduces customer loyalty, sales and profit margins. An "I don’t care" attitude by employees translates to an "I don't care to do business with you" attitude by customer.

Sorry...but I care too much and have far too much pride in my work.....to simply go through the motions. That must be what sets me apart from the 70% that do.....

...America in the "black?"

Since world currency is essentially based on oil prices....good news for the home team!! America is sitting on top of a super massive 200 billion barrel Oil Field that could potentially make America Energy Independent and until now has largely gone unnoticed. Thanks to new technology the Bakken Formation in North Dakota could boost America’s Oil reserves by an incredible 10 times, giving western economies the trump card against OPEC’s short squeeze on oil supply and making Iranian and Venezuelan threats of disrupted supply irrelevant.

In the next 30 days the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) will release a new report giving an accurate resource assessment of the Bakken Oil Formation that covers North Dakota and portions of South Dakota and Montana. With new horizontal drilling technology it is believed that from 175 to 500 billion barrels of recoverable oil are held in this 200,000 square mile reserve that was initially discovered in 1951. The USGS did an initial study back in 1999 that estimated 400 billion recoverable barrels were present but with prices bottoming out at $10 a barrel back then the report was dismissed because of the higher cost of horizontal drilling techniques that would be needed, estimated at $20-$40 a barrel.

It was not until 2007, when EOG Resources of Texas started a frenzy when they drilled a single well in Parshal N.D. that is expected to yield 700,000 barrels of oil that real excitement and money started to flow in North Dakota. Marathon Oil is investing $1.5 billion and drilling 300 new wells in what is expected to be one of the greatest booms in Oil discovery since Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938. The US imported about 14 million barrels of Oil per day in 2007, which means US consumers sent about $340 Billion Dollars over seas building palaces in Dubai and propping up unfriendly regimes around the World, if 200 billion barrels of oil at $90 a barrel are recovered in the high plains the added wealth to the US economy would be $18 Trillion Dollars which would go a long way in stabilizing the US trade deficit and could cut the cost of oil in half in the long run.

Let’s go America….do something for the “USA” this time instead of feeding other countries! Stop saying "no" all the time and finally say: "YES we can."
What about me and my needs? (Forget the battery cars)....

...CandleSUCK Park...

Football is just a game. Spectators are there to 'watch' the game...not to participate. San Francisco, with its troubled past in an attempt to get back to 'the good old days' showed a side that no one needed to see....no one.

Why? Two men are fighting for their lives after one was savagely beaten in a Candlestick Park bathroom during the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders exhibition game and another was shot several times after the game in a double shooting in the parking lot.  A 24-year-old man, who was wearing an "(Expletive) the Niners" T-shirt, was shot two to four times in the stomach before driving his truck to Gate A and stumbling to security. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition.

Another man in his 20s was shot near Lot V about 20 minutes earlier and had superficial face injuries and was taken to the same hospital. The first shooting happened shortly after 8 p.m., about 15 minutes after the game ended.

Police pulled a man off a party bus before it left the parking lot and are calling him a suspect. He was wearing an Oakland Raiders jersey.  In the fourth quarter, around 7:15 p.m., a 26-year-old San Rafael man was assaulted and knocked unconscious in an upper level men's restroom. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, he said.

News on this crime? "The San Francisco Police Department is investigating a shooting incident following Saturday's NFL game between the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders outside Candlestick Park. No other information regarding the incident is available from the 49ers at this time."

The 49ers beat the Raiders 17-3 Saturday night...but Niner fans....you suck!

....'bye-bye Chip'

One day after BYU was chastised by people across the country for living up to their honor code and suspending one of their best basketball players for the remainder of the year for having premarital sex with his girlfriend, Oregon football could be in some deep trouble for possible recruiting violations....or will they?

The sleeze-fest that is college football continues churning out gut-wrenching stories about the underbelly of society putting its greed and desire to win in front of morality.  It's Oregon popping its head up this time, reportedly in the midst of recruiting violations stemming from paying a man $25,000 to help steer star running back recruit Lache Seastrunk to the school a year ago.

Oregon has stated that it paid the man, Willie Lyles, for recruiting services. But the amount and Lyles contact with Seastrunk are what have caused the NCAA to investigate.

The Pac-12 has a recent history of violations and controversy. But has it been enough to make it the poster-child conference of non-poster-child behavior?

Oregon did make the NCAA aware that they were paying Lyles to help with recruiting, but the NCAA is examining if Lyles' recruiting was on the up-and-up. Right now, they are still investigating so there is no definitive answer to whether or not any rules were broken.

That said, things certainly don't look good for the Ducks right now, especially coming off the high of appearing in the first BCS National Championship Game. We have to wait and see where this whole thing goes.

One question I have is why Oregon would even bother putting the $25,000 payment on an expenditure report if the school was violating a rule? Is it a case of hiding something in plain sight or is Oregon clean?

If the Ducks are clean, then they should have evidence of what they purchased from Lyles. This doesn’t seem to be a hard concept to grasp: If they paid Lyles for videos, then those videos should be in the schools possession, right? The NCAA still could question Oregon for what it paid so much for Lyles’ services, but at that point all the school would have to say is, “Hey, we got ripped off.”

...."hey Portland meter maid!"..."kiss my ass!"

The City of Portland meter maids have no brains...they just walk up and down the street all day looking to make quota.

How low have we actually gone with the "invention" of airlines charging for pillows....and now Portland "splitting-hairs" on the ordinance regarding license plates?

I received a very large fine for not having my front plate "adhered" to the bumper while in a public parking space.....she actually "lifted" my wiper blade to place the ticket...over my plate on in the dashboard...in plain sight. For those of you who are not familiar with Portland meter maids, please allow me to introduce you to the "ill-speaking" Russian that provided my ticket. This is the second time I have had the honor to scrape her dog shit from the bottom of my boot.....thank you ma'am. You are an idiot.

See, in the state of Oregon, there are a few basic laws regarding the display of license plates that new or current residents should know. All license plate renewal fees are covered when registering a vehicle. Additional fees are added to the registration fee of any vehicle that opts to display "special group" or "personalized" plates. Oregon laws stipulate that any personalized plate can be made up of any combination of six letters or numbers with one space (or hyphen) than can be used anywhere within the display characters. The only exception is that a personalized plate cannot have three letters followed by three numbers or three numbers followed by three letters, since those are reserved for standard issue plates.

One-plate Display--If only one plate is issued, it must be attached to the rear of the vehicle. This applies to mopeds, motorcycles, trailers, campers and special-interest vehicles.

Two-plate Display--If two plates are issued, one of the plates must be attached to the front of the vehicle in a clear area (obviously seeing it on the dashboard through clear glass does not count). The front plate may not be displayed on the dashboard within the vehicle. It must be affixed to the framework on the outside of the vehicle. The second plate must be affixed to the framework at the rear of the vehicle. Both plates must be clearly visible.

Tag Display--The month tag (numbered one through 12) is your permanent "anniversary" registration tag and must be displayed in the lower left portion of the license plate. The year tag must be displayed in the lower right hand portion of the license plate. These tags must be affixed to the license plate itself: Tagging on any type of plate cover or license frame is prohibited.

Don't make the same mistake I made. Please stay away from the extremely skinny, ill-mannered, missing-tooth Russian in downtown Portland.....and make sure you have both plates on your car....the mayor cannot find another way to gain additional revenue for his bike paths.....

...“Is there any way you can go lower?”

The Sausage Vendor said he bought his sausages for a buck, and sells them for $.95. When challenged as to how he would make money, he said, “No problem, I’ll make it up in volume.”

Business owners focus on Revenue when they should be focused on Profit. If they focused on Profit, they would raise their prices more often.

The old saying is wrong – “If you’re worrying about sales, profits will take care of themselves”.

Neither Revenue nor Sales are a good place to focus financially – we need to focus on profit (actually cash flow, but that’s another story.)

What barriers do you encounter in communicating your pricing to potential clients?

Competition, market conditions, aging industry, complex service, fear, not understanding how to price? Probably a little of most of the above. When we aren’t sold on our pricing, what does that communicate to the potential client? It communicates that all of the above (competition, market, fear, etc.) are all good reasons not to buy my product or service from me. The best way to create pricing problems is to not believe in our own pricing.

A caterer friend gave his “best, lowest” price to a potential client, skimmed of any “excess” profit, and the client’s response was “Is there any way you can go lower?” When we aren’t confident in our prices, we mentally set up shop in a place that attracts bottom-feeders like the guy above. Getting a lot of pushback on your prices? It’s possible its because your prices are too low!

Joel Spolsky is the co-founder and CEO of Fog Creek Software, said “I often meet people at parties and conferences who are starting companies, and they will invariably ask me, “Say, Joel, do you have any advice for start-ups? Since I know next to nothing about these people or their businesses, or even their industries, I usually just say, “Yes! You should raise all your prices!”

And we both have a good laugh, ha ha ha, then the founder ignores me. But my advice was most likely right. That’s because almost every start-up I have ever seen has set its prices too low.

Of the three business owner Profiles – Market Focused, Systems Focused, and Product Focused, the Market Focused entrepreneur is most likely to have good pricing, and the Product Focused craftsperson will have the worst.

The problem – the overwhelming number of businesses are started by Product Focused craftspeople. (The Systems Focused manager loves accounting-driven pricing that ignores all market conditions; they also start the fewest businesses.)

What makes for the most profitable company? One that focuses on providing VALUE, not COST! Lower prices is not value, it is simply lower prices (and may communicate less value).

FIND VALUE OUTSIDE OF PRICE! If relationships are equal, there are only two other buying questions – 1) How much does it cost? (price question), or 2) Can you do it? (value question). If you’re getting the “How much does it cost?” question too often, you’re not focused on adding value or you’re not confident in the extra value you’re delivering. Either one will lose you clients much more than your pricing itself.

What does having slightly higher prices communicate to the customer? We are confident in how our product performs.

How do we get confidence?

1. Understand the value to your clients. Ask them – why do you buy from me? What are you buying that you don’t think I even know I’m selling? It’s the best question you’ll ever ask them.

2. Stop thinking about how YOU think you perform (internal/craftsmen view), start pricing based on how you benefit them (see #1 above.)

3. Get some support – have somebody hold your feet to the fire on WHEN you will raise your prices.

Raising your prices is usually the fastest way to create new PROFIT. If you’re already covering all your costs, then every penny of higher prices falls directly to the bottom line. Want to make more money in less time? This is one of the best ways to do it.

...number 100...time to reflect

On my number 100 blog posting on this site...I wanted to share what I like...maybe you like some of these as well.

Vacationing on a hot sandy beach, Mexican beer, playing with my dog-Dillan, computer digitizing, dead-ball era baseball, new technology, gravy and biscuits, factory tours, mustangs (with over 400 horses), silver-age comics, 900 thread count, golf (only when I play well), cooking, old toys, traveling, old log cabins, old hand tools, digital photography, bird watching, mp3 music, old tube radios, science fiction, private jets, organized garages, baseball caps with worn brims, model railways, DVD movies, embroidery, swimming pools, rock music, maps.........


...iced tea, old box scores, ’sunny’ days, strategic planning, impact sprinklers, die cast cars (1/18), wall clocks, HDTV, ancient history, surf fishing, professional networking, model buildings, 3D drawing programs, digital renderings, gardening, afternoon naps, college football, xbox360, interior design, water features, teapots, people watching, pro football draft, hand-washing my Saleen, shade trees, charcoal drawings, having a full pantry, wool rugs, leather furniture, smell of wet concrete, 7 channel sound, newly-mowed lawns, believing in God, hardwood floors, bird feeders, wind chimes, smell of candles, afternoon sunlight, vine maples, rocking chairs, buying tires, bird baths, eggs Benedict, dogwood trees, Bluetooth, Broncos, Fringe, stepping on home plate, positive attitudes, patio furniture, hot fudge Sundays, yellow eyeglasses, Florida, all SEC football teams, Bose headphones, smell of a fireplace in Winter, sound of Dillan taking a drink...........

....fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies, payday!, falling back in the Fall, potato soup, going to breakfast early on Saturday mornings, smell of mock orange blooms, falling asleep in front of the TV, JoJo’s eyes, laughing so hard your face hurts, a hot shower, hot towels out of the dryer, bubble bath, running through sprinklers, laughing at an inside joke, going to a really good concert, watching the sunrise, road trips, surfing the Internet, my garage, having a brain that keeps memories, the hope for eternal life in heaven, the color ORANGE, pecan pie, sweet tea.......

..air conditioning, crickets, peanut butter, elephants, hot cinnamon buns, chilly mornings, slippers, vanilla scented candles, sipping hot chocolate, homemade soup simmering on the stove, BLU-RAY!!, extra blankets on the beds, morning coffee, I love my courage, recently rediscovering a passion for life, Detroit Lions.....

..watching JoJo get excited about planting a garden in the Spring, breaking-out the Christmas music for her to listen to each year, the cold side of the pillow, animals, stars on a clear night, bear hugs, action movies, cuddling on a snowy day, free stuff I might actually use someday, freshly washed blankets and sheets after a long, hard day, boxes that hold my secrets and past, inside jokes, soup on a snowy or cold day, a good back scratch, long, hot showers, a clean, immaculate car, paying off a credit card - and cutting it up, trivia, ocean breeze, buying a CD and loving every single track, roses, holding hands.....

....going through old pictures, road trips, loving someone so much that just hearing their voice makes me smile, watching TV, mouth-puckering sour lemonade, finding an ink pen that writes just perfectly, green lights all the way home from work after a horrible day, high-speed Internet , flip flops, traveling, getting perfect seats at the movie theater, going to the bookstore and spending hours there, flipping through magazines and catalogs, accents - British, Irish, and French, music, the sound of waves crashing on the shore, sleeping in, sitting on the couch all day in my pajamas watching movies, finishing a huge project, oatmeal, finishing my taxes in January…………

...visiting with my dad, helping a customer, keeping an open mind, staying positive, clean leather seats, no punch list, James Taylor, Elton John, taking pictures of old barns, wine-tasting tours, Sweetpeaz.....

...hitting a sales quota, smiling, voting for the correct candidate, getting the mail with Dillan, 1080p, Florida vs. Alabama, painting the garage, giant stones, pulling against the Ducks, rumble of a V8, a sense of humor, knowing I make a difference in someone’s life, laughing so hard you snort, crossing the finish line, cooking with JoJo, Haggard songs, falling asleep on the couch...

...BBQ on the deck when it's chilly outside, money with holes in the center, tractors, Barnes & Noble, Kindle, Black Keys, being witty, getting positive feedback, expressing myself, building a reputation, being successful, doing good quality work, being in the zone, being inspired, waking people up, being free, hearing people’s stories, turning my life into a lesson, being responsible, doing what’s right, feeling fulfilled, connecting with people I’ve never met...

...making a positive difference, changing people for the better, changing myself for the better, feeling connected, turning off my ego, turning my back on fear, expressing courage, enjoying the flow of fingers on the keyboard, hearing the clanking of the keys, typing fast with two fingers, brainstorming, finding the third alternative, doing something unique, writing something new, creating information out of thought, manifesting pure thought in physical form, putting nonlinear concepts into a linear structure, storytelling, coming up with good analogies, simplifying complicated ideas, being understood, being loved, being loving, allowing people to know me...

...sharing energy, being wrong (sometimes), accepting all outcomes, being detached from outcomes, letting people know I care about them, giving hope to people who’ve lost hope, encouraging people who are discouraged, learning from mistakes, being human, teaching people it’s OK to make mistakes, teaching people not to be so afraid, releasing my own fears, bringing light to darkness, seeing someone smile, deepening my connection, growing, changing, changing my mind, knowing I’m on the right path...

...sharing discoveries, making people laugh, making people cry, being discouraged and still being able to encourage someone else, listening to music while writing, smelling vanilla, losing track of time, being in a state of joy, being relaxed, writing on paper, the natural friendship that lies within a marriage, the unconditional love of a grandmother, the pure innocent and never wavering love of a pet, the solid trust that comes with true friendship, a warm bed on a cool day, especially when you know you don't have to leave it!, the heat of a summer sun on bare skin, an ice cold swimming pool on a hot day, a super hot bath, as hot as I can stand it.....

...walking into an air-conditioned building on a scorching hot day and feeling the cold air rushing into your face, crawling into a freshly made bed, feeling my wife snuggled up on one side and my dog snuggled up on the other when I wake up in the middle of the night, setting a goal and reaching it-no matter how unimportant it may be to the rest of the world, I love researching a great variety of topics-the rewards are those moments in which I find that bit of information I was seeking, one of my greatest joys is when I know I have helped someone else find a small amount of peace in their life, finally pulling the car into your driveway after a long road trip, coming home to a dog that has missed you, The companionship of friends and family, knowing you are exactly where you are supposed to be, discovering that peace comes from INSIDE, becoming part of the solution, an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, hard earned paradigm shift finally sinking in, embracing the difference between "want" and "need." ...the ability to dream. …

…discussing things with JoJo, soft chocolate chip cookies, library books, art supply stores, lightning bugs, lemons, mashed potatoes, crayons, glass jars, yard sales, plane tickets, farm stands, dictionaries, bubble gum, old gymnasiums, elevator buttons, photograph, old suitcases, chocolate cake, black pens, art museums, road trips, crazy quilts, sunlight, clawfoot tubs, swimming pools, college-ruled notebook paper, crushed ice, old school adidas, attic bedrooms, flashlights, paint chips, clover honey, bare feet, ocean waves, cornbread, moonlight, super heroes, aluminum foil, fortune cookies…

…doodling with black ink pens, shopping for a new magazines, stone and wood in a home, large fire places, vaulted ceilings, JoJo’s smile, researching travel, first bite of an apple, perfect jeans and flip flops, finding a real bargain, a new haircut, Hawaii, staying up late playing xbox, the length of my marriage, grocery store exploring, a good buzz and stopping there, shotguns, gladiator sandals, a great laugh, carpeted floors, softened water, warm weather, a “why not” lifestyle, sleeping in, people who state their mind, without being aggressive…

...government-imposed loss of sleep

Ben Franklin—of "early to bed and early to rise" fame—was apparently the first person to suggest the concept of daylight savings....gee thanks.

While serving as U.S. ambassador to France in Paris, Franklin wrote of being awakened at 6 a.m. and realizing, to his surprise, that the sun would rise far earlier than he usually did. Imagine the resources that might be saved if he and others rose before noon and burned less midnight oil, Franklin, tongue half in cheek, wrote to a newspaper.

It wasn't until World War I that daylight savings were realized on a grand scale. Germany was the first state to adopt the time changes, to reduce artificial lighting and thereby save coal for the war effort. Friends and foes soon followed suit.

In the U.S. a federal law standardized the yearly start and end of daylight saving time in 1918—for the states that chose to observe it.

During World War II the U.S. made daylight saving time mandatory for the whole country, as a way to save wartime resources. Between February 9, 1942, and September 30, 1945, the government took it a step further. During this period daylight saving time was observed year-round, essentially making it the new standard time, if only for a few years.

Since the end of World War II, though, daylight saving time has always been optional for U.S. states. But its beginning and end have shifted—and occasionally disappeared.

But does daylight saving time really save any energy? Daylight Savings Time…It should really be called Daylight Shifting Time.

Like everything except Jiffy Pop, Daylight Savings Time was invented by Benjamin Franklin. It's become particularly popular in modern industrialized societies because in nicer summer months it shifts one hour of “sleepy-oh-geez-I-have-to-go-to-work-now time” from the morning to the “hey-let's-BBQ-tonight evenings.”

Daylight time is not so popular among farmers who must get up in the dark or among their dairy cows, which for a rough month or so of biological adjustment must hold that full udder what seems like a very long extra time. However, cows can't vote yet and there aren't many farmers left. So, they lose.

So, enjoy the government-imposed loss of an hour of sleep tonight because somehow sometime you'll get it back probably. (Gee, if government can regulate our clocks, wristwatches and cell phone time displays, what's next? Light bulbs?)

....money doesn't make you smarter (obviously)

It is really sad....that coming off the most-watched Super Bowl of all time, reality is about to hit football fans hard.

Owners and players must agree to a new collective-bargaining agreement by March 4, or the owners will lock out the players, essentially suspending pro football indefinitely. Behind the NFL's recent success are stark concerns. Here are five of the most important 'sticking points' to be overcome to avoid the league's first labor-related work stoppage since 1987.

#1. Player pay-cut

National Football League revenues come to about $9 billion a year. The league says about 60 percent of that goes to player salaries, and owners say that is too much. They want to shave 18 percent off the pool of money that is used to calculate the overall league salary cap.

The owners argue that, while the league is immensely successful as a whole, many owners have gone deep into debt to finance new stadiums in the past decade – anticipating revenues that never materialized because of the recent recession. Before agreeing to a pay cut, NFL Players Association (NFLPA) executive director DeMaurice Smith is demanding line-by-line audits of teams to prove expenses are, in fact, rising faster than revenue. The NFL has so far refused, saying that it has never offered the figures to the union before.

#2. An 18-game schedule

One potential solution to the revenue-sharing problem is to expand the season from 16 to 18 regular-season games, replacing two preseason exhibitions with the real thing. This would make the overall revenue pot larger, meaning owners could cut players' share of the revenue, yet players would not see a significant dip in pay.

But players chafe at the idea of having to play more without getting a raise. They argue that starters see far more playing time in regular season games, and that the intensity level is also much higher, increasing the risk of injury. Some owners have also privately shared worries about the risks to their primary investment, players.

#3. Rookie wage scale

Another potential way to tackle the revenue-sharing problem is to introduce a rookie wage scale. Having untested players who don't even shave yet making tens of millions of dollars isn't in the best interest of the league.

Under Mr. Smith, the NFLPA has stepped back its opposition on the rookie wage scale, opening the door to pay restraints similar to what the National Basketball Association has, where each pick in the draft order has a preset salary affixed to it.  For this concession, Smith wants rookie contracts to be a maximum of three years – allowing players quicker access to potentially bigger contracts through free agency. The league wants rookie contracts to be a minimum of five years.

#4. Benefits for retired players

With the average NFL player staying in the league only 3-1/2 years according to the NFLPA, and recent news coverage documenting their struggles to recover from injuries, the union will demand a retroactive benefits increase for retired players. During previous contract negotiations, the union favored money in hand versus future benefits.

#5. Personalities and intangibles

The futures of hundreds of unrestricted free agents could be thrown into doubt and hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries could be lost – not to mention public goodwill if the Super Bowl is the last game played in 2011.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he'll cut his salary from $10 million to $1 if there's a lockout. But many players don't believe the owners are negotiating in good faith. In 2008, the owners decided to opt out of the current collective-bargaining agreement, leading players to think the owners were girding for a lockout.

Representing 1,900 players, Smith is entering his first collective-bargaining negotiation and is keen to make his mark. He is rallying players to his cause and trying to convince the public that million-dollar athletes need a fairer shake. The big question is whether Smith will blink before a lockout.

How much is enough fellas? Seriously?....Be careful Union. You might be getting-in over your heads.

...are you spaced out?

Businesses are constantly evolving whether it is through expansion, downsizing or reorganization.

With world markets in a state of flux, many commercial and office spaces don't have the same function as they had, maybe 18-24 months ago....my, my how the times have changed. Space (or lack of) is much more important than ever.

Different staff levels, pressures on manufacturing processes and amended working practices often result in an office space feeling disjointed and worn around the edges.

We all want a working environment…a “space”…. which looks and feels great, but sometimes the money isn't available to spruce things up. However, there might be a deeper problem that needs considering. As they look to pull out of recession, businesses could find themselves, not only with atheistically dated offices, but without offices capable of expansion or the flexibility to change. It’s no longer just enough to be doing business, they have to be able to function efficiently and without the basic structure in place, they will find it a struggle to keep up with growing demand.

Look around. What isn't working?

Companies have understandably shunned investment in their commercial offices over the last few years, looking to invest their available budgets in core manufacturing equipment, or making do with temporary solutions. These years however have seen huge advances in communication technology and a dramatic reduction in the cost of data storage. This can allow a business to shed bulky filing cabinets and shelves bulging with out-of-date business directories streamlining their archival and information retrieval measures.

Companies are using their new found office space for the increasing trend of having 'breakout' areas, or meeting spaces. Most recognize the value of having face-to-face meetings, giving department heads the opportunity to brief employees on changing fortunes, or getting team leaders to motivate staff. This reduces the reliance on lazy internal email practices, and encourages a more effective approach to business that promotes ideas and interaction from the bottom up.

There will always be the need to store equipment, files and stationery in an office environment but rather than bulky cabinets, many companies are looking to storage walls as the solution. Not only creating clean lines within an office space, they can also offer greater storage with the option to go from floor to ceiling. The crisp finish will inspire even the worst paper hoarders to make an effort and keep the office tidy.

Workstation Efficiency -- Extra space can give companies the ideal opportunity to look at the layout of workstations. Cramming staff into a small space is often counterproductive, so if new space has been made available through the reorganization of storage areas, then there is the scope to take a fresh look the office space plan.

A study of staff and visitor traffic flows will show a company where areas of high volume and acoustic problems might be an issue. Companies can plan space, taking advantage of natural light sources and power sources enabling them to keep infrastructure work to a minimum. Workstations can then be situated in the best possible positions and with adequate space between them optimizing the working environment.

Conference Rooms and AV Equipment -- Good presentation skills are important when attracting new business and conference rooms or meeting areas are a key element in that process. Media walls, which conceal plasma and LCD screens, are a must for any business taking presentation seriously. It was great to have a plasma screen 18 months ago and that was enough to make them look state-of-art compared to companies that use projectors, but it now looks dated and awkward if just mounted on an old desk in the corner of the boardroom.

Conference rooms also have to work harder and will often have a dual purpose, such as extra office space for seconded staff, or transforming the space completely to offer lectures or seminars. They now have to be linked into the main network to avoid all that fumbling around with flash cards trying to load up the 'company laptop'.

Merging Locations and Changing Spaces -- Many businesses have entered what can diplomatically be called a period of 'consolidation'. One way to reduce overheads during this time has been the practice of merging locations. Finding new premises to house both parts of the business, or moving one part of the business into the commercial building of an existing part can achieve this.

Finding a new building can often be the more expensive option, so many are looking to keep one building and making that work for their new staff levels. A good office space planning company will find innovative ways of merging the two parts of the business by examining the complete space and planning where each element would be best placed. Extra structural expansion might also be needed and they will advise on solutions such as partitioning, mezzanine floors and extensions.

What's the Next Step? -- The commercial space planning process will start with a study of existing practices and an examination of the future needs of the business. Plans and 3D visuals are then produced in order to finalize the design and are presented with a breakdown of costs and timescales. Most commercial space planners will also take on any landlord liaison and deal directly with the local planning office. All that is left for the company to do is plan for the expansion and the increased productivity the well planned office will provide.

Space...more important than you think!

....space, the final frontier

Space: The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise...Its 5 year mission--To explore strange new worlds.

To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before. (Which should read: To go boldly...but who cares).....

Let's talk about space for a moment:  At the onset of a search for office space a real estate broker will invariably want to know right away how much space will be needed by the prospective tenant.

Space....ahhh...space....that word again.

If you have been through this estimating the right amount of space required for a new facility can be tricky. Leasing too much space and cash flow can be hobbled by an excessive rent payment and under-utilized space, too little space and staffing growth will be limited...space...how much?

This may result in the need to relocate, prior to your lease expiration—potentially a very expensive exercise. Adding the architect and office furniture expert to your leasing team early in the process to develop reliable space requirements (before you begin looking at potential lease spaces) can make all the difference in leasing the right size and type facility for your company. Why?

If you are the owner or leader of the company, an experienced architect and office furniture expert will arm you up front with all the crucial information, so you can confidently make the correct strategic real estate decisions for your firm. This will save you precious time and effort. What? How can an early furniture decision help me pick my new space? Well, what if your current furniture won't fit in the new space....what if breaking the workstations down, hauling them across town...and re-installing them are as much as new or used cubes? What if? And what about the company down-time? Can you afford that?

Having this information in hand when you begin looking for space will allow you to pre-screen potential lease spaces and quickly zero in on only those spaces that really meet your long term business plans. The overriding goal is to make sure that when the dust settles your new space not only meets your functional requirements, but reflects positively on you and your company throughout the duration of the lease term.

If, on the other hand, you are the person responsible for finding facilities for a larger organization, you know that relocating your corporate offices or opening a new branch office can be a very challenging experience, one that will demand the most from you and your team.

What’s most important is that the transition be as painless as possible for all involved, users and management alike. Your 'team' should help you get moved in on time while avoiding any bumps along the way. This is best accomplished by having a clear program of the space and functional requirements early on, and this is best collected by a professional architect and furniture provider. This program information will assure you there are no surprises for upper management and provide them with a clear picture of the size of the office being considered, as well as the projected head count for this particular site.

Bottom line! Start Early!

Don’t get caught rushing. A mistake in this early preplanning stage will most likely mean you’ll soon be going through the process all over again.

A little up front analysis and planning, through the help of a professional architect and office furniture professional (with experience in office planning); can go a long way in laying the necessary groundwork for a smooth transition to your new office. Assuming your planner has performed the proper analyses and documented accurately your needs for the new office, you can be assured that ultimately your new company home will be a good fit for your organization. And just as importantly the subsequent phases of design and construction will go more quickly and without surprises.

More about space next time....(end of part one)

....help me with my office! (part 3-final)

Part 3 and final of: 'Help me with my office!'

Remember....Once you’ve identified your biggest issues, decide which ones you want to attack. I recommend that companies evaluating an office redesign project identify four or five priorities to tackle, such as increased collaboration, improved productivity, or more efficient use of space.

Goal: Weigh the merits of a redesign or “restack” versus relocating to bigger digs.

Once you’ve identified where your workplace lacks logic, it’s time to assess what can be done. Depending on the scope of your problems, your imagination, and your budget, the next thing you’ll have to decide is if it’s better to reinvent existing space or move. This is tough to do without an office professional.

Typically companies try to stay where they are as long as they can. It’s very expensive to move. When companies are bursting at the seams, the solution is often a “restack”: reorganizing cubicles into smaller spaces — such as a six-by-six instead of eight-by-eight — in order to fit more people onto a floor. I am sure all workers are excited about this corporate decision (yawn...)

Of course there are downsides to extensive redesigns. They’re often so invasive, noisy, lengthy, and messy that a company may need temporary space during the design’s execution, which is why some companies decide that moving to a preconfigured space is easier than living through a reconfiguration. Today companies that know they’re in growth mode often are able to secure short leases — meaning that leaving a crowded space is easier than in the past.

Technically Speaking--How much office do you need?

Here are some space guidelines:
• Executive office space: 241 square feet (down from 291 square feet in 1987)

• Senior professional: 98 square feet

• Call center employee: 50 square feet

• President/CEO/Chairman: 250 to 400 square feet

• Vice President: 150 to 250 square feet

• Executive: 100 to 150 square feet

• Employee: 80 to 125 square feet

• Conference room: 25 to 30 square feet per person

• Lunch room: 15 square feet per person for dining, and a food-preparation space roughly one-third of the dining area

• Reception area: 150 to 350 square feet

Goal: Improve upon your design over time by continuing to ask for feedback and make adjustments.

After an office remodel, it’s easy for companies to sit back and rejoice that they’re “done.” But larger challenges may need to be hammered out over time. If employees don’t take to a new design after several months, you can’t force it.

The best approach is to acknowledge such issues and explain how you plan to handle them. Remind employees that this does not mean the design was a failure: That’s the attitude that begets the need for a big, expensive overhaul in five or ten years. Continual adjustment is a saner, cheaper, and more flexible way to keep spaces up to date.

Some adjustment difficulties, of course, are psychological rather than physical. This is especially true if the company’s office redesign or relocation came on the heels of a merger or acquisition — a time when the combination of changes in cultural and physical space can unsettle employees. Human resources may need to get involved in order to massage egos accustomed to bigger or more luxurious spaces.

Checklist

A clean, well-lighted place--in a recent report titled “Innovative Workplace Strategies,” the U.S. government’s General Services Administration (GSA) offered a list of “Hallmarks of the Productive Workplace.” If you’re overseeing a redesign post-mortem, or if you plan to take a periodic look at how the workplace continues to function in the coming quarters, here is a list of elements the GSA recommends examining:
• Spatial equity: Do workers have enough space to accomplish tasks?

• Healthfulness: Does the workplace offer clean air and water, sufficient artificial and natural light, and freedom from distracting noises and smells?

• Flexibility: Can the workplace be rapidly adjusted to respond to industry-related challenges?

• Comfort: Can workers adjust light, temperature, furnishings, and acoustic levels to their preferences

• Connectivity: Can on- and off-site workers share the same networks and data and communicate easily? Is there connectivity for workers who change work modes often — such as working from home and rotating among offices in “hotel” cubicles?

• Reliability: Are technology systems and physical plant systems (heat, cooling, and water) reliable and consistent? Are upgrades necessary as an expanding office pulls on resources?

• Sense of place: Does the workplace decor (office furnishings) and atmosphere mirror the company’s brand or mission? Does the workplace create a culture appropriate to the work done there?

Gone are the days when offices were typically cubicle, surrounded by white walls and lit by white fluorescent lights. Architects and designers constantly reexamine the changing workplace to solve problems and accommodate needs. Some of their innovations have played better than others.

Isn't it time you moved to the next level with your office environment by talking to an office environment expert? Need help? Call me...

....help me with my office! (part 2)

Continued from part one-'Help me with my office!'

Bad office layouts are made, not born. An office configuration that suited the way business was done even five years ago might be irrelevant now.

The best way to find out if your office is dysfunctional is to conduct a formal study. Create an “activity portrait,” a drawing of traffic patterns around the office, by shadowing employees for several days in a row.

Goal: Find out what they need up front, and keep them in the loop to avoid backlash.

Involving employees in an office redesign is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s vital to know how they operate in order to create a space that’s more conducive to their work. On the other, asking them what they want can lead to unrealistic demands. As you gather input, be clear that you will try to address all concerns but that no one design can be perfect for everyone....at least mention it.

Once the new design has been chosen, let employees know what to expect, especially if the change will be significant. Make sure employees understand why the company is making each specific change. For example, if you’re moving people out of offices and into cubes, remind staff that the office now offers other perks: a souped-up dining area or benefits like concierge services, showers in bathrooms for lunchtime workouts, or a better cafeteria.

Two types of redesigns create “cultural revolt”: a move from closed-door offices to open office space, and a move in which two companies are merging and creating a new culture. With an office-to-cubes situation, companies need to up the ratio of conference rooms from one conference seat per three people to one conference seat for every two people. With a merger, managers should remind employees of their role’s significance, reassure them that their importance continues, and then offer a rational business context for why they may have to move desks or cede space.

Big Idea...

If the physical environment is bad — it’s cold, smells, or makes workers distracted — then employees won’t work well. No amount of organizational shoe-shining will change that… It’s Maslow’s pyramid — Psychology 101….the hierarchy of human needs as outlined by Abraham Maslow in 1943. According to Maslow, humans seek to satisfy a hierarchy of five types of needs, starting with the most basic physiological needs and ascending through a sense of safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. If workers feel unhealthy they won’t be able to tap their higher selves in the office.

Goal: Make a list of the top priorities you want your redesign to address.

Once you’ve identified your biggest issues, decide which ones you want to attack. I recommend that companies evaluating an office redesign project identify four or five priorities to tackle, such as increased collaboration, improved productivity, or more efficient use of space.

At Group Health, a Washington-based insurer with 10,000 employees in more than 50 buildings, an in-house study quickly illustrated what the company’s design goals should be. The firm enlisted its employees to track their habits and found that at any given time, 40 percent of all cubicles or offices were sitting unoccupied. Many workers were in conference rooms or down the street at Starbucks, where they could more easily meet in teams. Others were toggling between multiple buildings and facilities. William Biggs, executive director of administrative services, asked his assistant to track his whereabouts. It turns out he spent less than 5 percent of his time at company headquarters.

This is the truth for a number of company leaders. Our work has moved from individual to team-based. We need to loosely pull groups together and then dismantle them, but that is difficult in a poorly-designed space. Based on the study, Group Health defined three design goals: First, the office needed more conference space. Secondly, cubicle sizes could shrink somewhat since workers were increasingly spending time outside of them. Finally, mobile workers like Biggs needed “touch-down” space where they could check their e-mail and make phone calls when visiting different divisions of the company.

Essential ingredients in the today's office....

Isn't it time you worked with an expert?
Furniture-Planning-Installation
rosecityoffice.com
-end of part two

....help me with my office! (part 1)

Gone are the days when offices were typically cubicle, surrounded by white walls and lit by white fluorescent lights. It is all about attracting that perfect employee...the new "it's all about me generation."

Years ago when I started in this industry....it was all about 'just jam as many people in a space as possible.' It is not like that anymore...and if you are an employer that "doesn't get it"....it might be too late for you. Seriously!

A whole new set of workers are on the horizon Mr. Employer...so think twice before you buy that super inexpensive laminate desk from China. The economy is starting to change and the oppressed worker wants more than a $59 chair with no arms.

Thanks to corporate giants like Google and Pixar that have demonstrated tremendous success despite their unconventional workplaces, more people are embracing the idea that creative work environment helps stimulate minds and inspire innovation.

According to a recent survey by Gensler, the prominent corporate architecture firm, half of all employees say they would work an extra hour per day if they had a better workplace. So why do so many companies maintain dark, cramped, ugly, or poorly designed offices?

Studies show that a well-designed office is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to retain workers and make them more productive. General Electric, Microsoft, and major West Coast insurer Group Health are just a handful of major organizations reaping the bottom-line benefits of smart, worker-oriented designs.

But if you want to do the office correctly....and attract talent (real talent)....how much should the boss budget for the office? ---Between $3,870 per person (open office design) and $6,447 per person (closed office design) to outfit an empty building, according to the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA).

Goal: Understand how well — or poorly — you’re using the existing floor plan.

Bad office layouts are made, not born. An office configuration that suited the way business was done even five years ago might be irrelevant now. The best way to find out if your office is dysfunctional is to conduct a formal study. Create an “activity portrait,” a drawing of traffic patterns around the office, by shadowing employees for several days in a row.

Whether you conduct an in-house study or hire a design consultant, the three key methods for gathering information are shadowing employees on their paths through the office; visiting conference rooms and desk areas every half hour to determine how they are being used; and asking employees to track their own movements and report back on how they spend their time. Here’s what to look for:

Space Layout---Study whether the layout of the building is helping or hindering employees in the quest to get work done. Shadowing workers for a few days will reveal wasted motion and inefficient organization of space.

-Red flags:

• Collaborative spaces are bunched at the far end of the building
• People whose jobs are highly collaborative do not naturally come into contact with colleagues during the workday
• Employees spend a lot of time in transit to meeting rooms, printers, copiers, and fax machines

Space Usage---Find out how often people are using existing spaces. Check in on what’s happening by stopping by cubicles and conference rooms every half hour.

-Red flags:

• An area is always empty
• An area is overcrowded
• Workers are competing for certain furnishings or equipment and not using others

Workarounds---Look closely at whether workers are using their space, furnishings, and equipment as intended. Does the environment support their process, or have they been forced to circumvent it?

-Red flags:

• Employees meet at a coffee shop because they can’t find common space
• Workers use drop-in space on another floor because the area around their desks is too loud
• They bring lamps from home to avoid harsh fluorescent lighting

If your study reveals a number of red flags, it’s time to hire an architect or office environment expert and find out how a redesign can improve the efficiency of your space.

Isn't it time you worked with an expert?

Furniture-Planning-Installation

 rosecityoffice.com

-end of part one

....now let the "big dogs" eat!

I gave it a day...actually a few days. I haven't thought about it because I knew what the outcome would be from the beginning. I haven't talked about it with my friends, or with the guy down at the local Shell station (he loves the Ducks). I still haven't watched Sports Center simply because I don't want to watch it all unfold again. But I think I'll try and give it a shot right now.

First, the Ducks played an amazing game, and it was one of the hardest fought battles in BCS history. Know what is weak though? Nike has a new advertisement that pays homage to the Oregon Ducks, losers of Monday night’s BCS title game against the Auburn Tigers. The ad reads “Everyone Loses Games. Few Change Them.” What part of the game Oregon changed, however, is up for debate. They took on an SEC team....and lost (even the experts predicted it). You knew Auburn was better.

Oregon is Nike’s pet football program, thanks in large part to the fact that Phil Knight, the company’s co-founder, is an alum (he donated $100 million to Oregon athletics in 2007). In addition to the donation, Knight also makes sure that Nike outfits the team with 384 possible uniform combinations (including those crazy neon socks they wore in the title game).

As for the advertisement, I’m not exactly sure what it’s implying. I think what it’s saying is that Oregon somehow changed “the game” because of their bold sartorial choices. In essence, “Okay, we lost, but we looked great doing it.”

Give me a break! Are you serious?

"Oregon is one of the fastest teams in the nation, and we wanted them to look fast," Todd Van Horn, Nike's top football uniform designer, told the press. Visually, the colorway of the uniforms is meant to bring your eyes to the fastest moving parts of the player's bodies -- the hands, and in particular the shins, which move twice as fast as the thighs do while running. The bright yellow socks, which blended seamlessly into the cleats, drew attention to that fact.

Those color contrasts are functional as well. "We hear constantly from teams and quarterbacks that having a bit more visual acuity and contrast on the field makes things easier," says Van Horn. The white jerseys and grey pants, combined with the green accents, allowed the players to stand out vividly against their Auburn opponents.

You might have also caught sight of those flashy helmets -- the swirling pattern on the outside emphasizes the fact that Nike's padding system on the thighs and shoulders contain carbon fiber plates (layered over breathable foam and a moisture wicking base). Nike worked with a company that usually applies custom graphics to cars to create the special decals applied to the helmet. Combined with the green highlights of the Oregon "O," these created a visual vibration you could probably discern on your TV as an almost moiré pattern effect.

Monday’s national title game had an interesting corporate subplot: the Ducks are outfitted by Nike, while the Auburn Tigers’ uniforms are made by upstart apparel company Under Armour. The BCS title represents the first major sports championship won by Under Armour, and the fact that it was over Nike probably sweetened the pot a bit.

Drawing the focus to the Oregon players may have helped the QB to find his receivers. However, the relative drabness of the Auburn players may have enabled them to sneak in for the two picks they got.

The challenge I saw was in the function over the form. Both teams were slipping and sliding all over the place, however it seemed Oregon more than Auburn. Same issue appeared with TCU in the Rose Bowl with "specially designed" equipment supposedly designed by Nike just for the Rose Bowl.

But please Duck fans...please stop saying 'what if.'

"What if" Darron Thomas (QB) hands the ball to LaMichael and he walks in for a touchdown at the start of the second quarter instead of making a 'bonehead read on the defensive tackle. ..."What if" Cliff Harris' second interception wasn't called incomplete and the Ducks take over. Then Newton doesn't throw a touchdown pass to Kodi Burns on the next play...... "What if" Kenjon Barner doesn't get stopped at the one on fourth down and scores a touchdown? Or "what would have happened" if the Ducks had decided to kick a field goal instead of going for it?

But what really happened was...with just under two minutes left in the fourth the Tigers had a first and ten on their own forty. They would hand the ball off to Michael Dyer and he'd pick up about seven yards after being brought down by Eddie Pleasant.... Dyer got up and looked for a ref to hand the ball to, and then all of the sudden he took off down field. He ended up picking up 37 yards on the play...a whistle had never blown the play dead.

"What if" Dyer had been ruled down on the play? Would Auburn still have picked up enough yards to kick a field goal? Maybe. But we'll never know. But you need to know the 3 main things to contemplate about Oregon's loss to Auburn.

#1) It wasn’t Oregon’s fault. The turf was slippery, the crowd and the broadcast was pro-Auburn, and the head referee spoke in a tone that seemed to say, “We’re gonna put you slimy hippies from the West in your place.” Forget the fact that the Ducks were cheated out of an interception and a wrist does not make a running back down in the 4th quarter of the BCS Championship- this one wasn’t meant to be.

#2) Wait- maybe it was their fault. Oregon quarterback Darron Thomas played resiliently and threw a handful of pinpoint passes, but he made the incorrect read on option plays all night long and he smiled and laughed way too much immediately following the game. Many would also like some questions answered about the play calling. Why pound the middle- the strength of the Auburn defense- all night long? Why go for it on 4th down when the red zone offense had no traction whatsoever? Why stick with a ground-based strategy that your QB was struggling to execute? Hindsight is certainly 2020- which will more than likely also be a year that marks a decade since the Ducks let one slip away.

#3) God likes the SEC. The brass at Auburn is convinced that the man in the sky is a big fan. In post game interviews, both Cam Newton and coach Gene Chizik suggested that God himself (they noted God is male) is entirely preoccupied with making the world know that both they and Auburn University are incredible entities, which the 21-year-old Newton explained to us is how God displays His own greatness.

Indeed, we learned a lot about the Universe on a Monday night in Arizona. Peering into the theories of Newton and Chizik, the entire college football season was a mere game of tiddlywinks by the big man above, a predetermined and intricately orchestrated celebration of the gruff coach and the scandal-laden quarterback, who moments after the game told America that God is personally ‘using me as vessel every single day’. Many now wait with anxious anticipation to see how a vessel of God does on the Wonderlic test.

We also learned...the game is over so move on Duck fans (and let’s be honest…the SEC will likely be back again…and again…and again in the title game for years to come….not the Ducks). The SEC is a conference of proven winners. Let's see if you get by Utah next year.

Oregon, your 15 minutes of fame has ended....now let the "big dogs" from the SEC eat!

...we can do it!

In 1942, a UPI photographer visited a metal pressing factory outside Detroit and took a snapshot of a slim, fresh-faced brunette leaning over a machine. The picture enchanted the graphic artist J. Howard Miller, who had been hired by the Westinghouse Company to design a series of motivational posters aimed at boosting female factory workers’ morale.

He incorporated a pretty young subject’s face and polka-dot headscarf into one of the posters, which features a determined-looking woman flexing her right bicep under the slogan “We Can Do It!”

President Roosevelt calls in January, 1942 for production of 60,000 planes, 45,000 tanks, 20,000 antiaircraft guns, and 6 million deadweight tons of merchant shipping. His $59 billion budget submitted January 7 has more than $52 billion earmarked for the war effort, whose emphasis is initially on stopping Hitler in Europe.

With American men enlisting in the war effort, the work force quickly diminished. Who would "man" the assembly lines in the factories to produce the many needed items for the current war? Filling a gross shortage of manpower, through the factory gates flooded an army of woman power. Mothers, daughters, secretaries, wives and even schoolgirls picked up the factory duties the men had left behind.

More than six million female workers helped to build planes, bombs, tanks and other weapons that would eventually win World War II. They stepped up to the plate without hesitation and gave up their domestic jobs to accomplish things that only men had done before them. They became streetcar drivers, operated heavy construction machinery, worked in lumber and steel mills, unloaded freight and much more. Proving that they could do the jobs known as "men’s work" created an entirely new image of women in American society, and set the stage for upcoming generations.

One very important worker was ‘Rosie the Riveter’ ….the name given to the woman depicted on many of the propaganda posters. In the most famous one, she is wearing that red and white bandana to cover her hair, and she has rolled back the sleeve of her blue coverall to expose a flexed bicep. The expression on her face was confident and determined. The caption above her head reads, "We Can Do It!" in bold letters.

That woman was ….Geraldine Hoff Doyle, the real-life inspiration behind the iconic poster, who died on December 26 in Lansing, Michigan, at the age of 86. Just 17 when the photographer captured her, she had taken a factory job after graduating high school, one of 6 million women who entered the workforce during World War II to plug gaping holes in the industrial labor force.

Decades later, the poster became one of America’s most recognizable emblems of women’s empowerment, spawning countless imitations and reproduced on everything from mugs and magnets to postage stamps.

Actually, more than four decades would go by before Doyle learned of the poster’s existence and discovered that her likeness had inspired a pop culture reference. Paging through a magazine one day in 1984, she spotted a photograph of the poster and recognized her younger self.

In a 2002 interview with the Lansing State Journal, Doyle, who began making frequent appearances in Michigan to sign posters, explained that motherhood and daily life had kept her too busy to realize she had become the face of Rosie the Riveter. "I was changing diapers all the time," she said.

One of many in Miller’s series, the poster was barely seen outside Westinghouse factories in the Midwest, where women were making plastic helmet liners. It was not until later, when feminists rediscovered the poster during the 1970s and 1980s, that it achieved its iconic status and became associated with the World War II-era character.

Despite the way they were discarded at the end of the war, these female workers had much to do with the success of the United States during World War II and their contribution should not be forgotten. In a very direct way, women helped win the war.

Thanks Rosie!! We "could" do it once before...but I wonder if we still can today...to be honest.