...it has been awhile. "how's Mr. B?"

Long time since the last post. Thought I would give an update on Mr. B

..."he's still looking good as you can tell. "

....he's slicker all the time

Well, our current president has proven himself the all-time Grand Wizard of the Shell Game.

Recently, he opened our borders for millions of "Americans" that were a victim of being "born here" as a product of illegal aliens (ooops, sorry...not PC, the "undocumented.")

While his persistent promises of "no new taxes" ring in our ears, while his insistence that the dreaded, unwanted mandate would not impose new taxes on those who chose not to comply — his own attorneys argued successfully that it could be ruled on by the Supreme Court as a Congress-imposed tax.....and today it was.

And no matter how he tries to convince us otherwise — he's slicker all the time in his convincing speech — this Obamacare is a massive new tax on every American!

Although a clear majority of citizens, especially seniors, adamantly opposed the healthcare takeover, Former Speaker Pelosi urged "let's pass the bill, and then we'll find out what's in it."

And we sure are.

We now find that this takeover of one sixth of the nation's economy will cost initially at least twice what the president said it would, almost $1.7 trillion . . . and that's just the start. And who's going to pay for all that? Guess who — every taxpaying American, that's who.

Greek socialism, here we come, ready or not!

A technically bankrupt nation taking on ever more drastic, unpayable debt, succumbing to the Pied Piper siren song of "hope and change."

The inexperienced captain of the Titanic ship of state sailing the vessel straight toward the looming icebergs, proclaiming "victory for the masses."

These are all new taxes starting in less than 5 months. Some take full effect by 2014. This list does not include anticipated increases in insurance premiums or actual health care.

• New tax on individuals who do not purchase government-approved health insurance-$17 Billion

• New tax on employers who fail to fully comply with government health insurance mandates-$52 Billion

• New 40% excise tax on certain high-cost health plans.-$32 Billion
• Increase the Medicare tax on wages and self-employment income by 0.9% and impose a new 3.8% surtax on certain investment income (for individuals over $200,000 and couples over $250,000)-$210.2 Billion

• Increase, from 7.5% to 10% of income, the threshold after which individuals can deduct out of pocket medical expenses-$15.2 Billion

• Impose a new $2,500 annual cap on FSA contributions-$13 Billion

• New annual tax on brand name pharmaceuticals-$27 Billion

• New 2.3% excise tax on certain medical devices-$20 Billion

• New 10% tax on indoor UV tanning services-$2.7 Billion

• New tax on insured and self-insured health plans-$2.6 Billion

• Double the penalty for non-qualified HSA distributions-$1.4 Billion

• Eliminate the deduction for expenses allocable to Medicare Part D Subsidy-$4.5 Billion

• Limit the deduction for compensation to officers, employees and directors of certain health insurance providers-$0.6 Billion

America…land of the free! (Well, not anymore). Next blog: Obama’s quest to print Euro dollars? (or is it the Peso?)

...the shelf life of a pumpkin

Whining is something that we all do, but the question is why? When you whine nothing really happens other than you sounding like a baby. And if you sound like a baby then you are probably going to be treated like one. But seriously, why do people whine?

Ann Curry is a world-class journalist. Ann whined when she was overlooked for Meredith Vieira several years ago as the anchor on the Today show after 14 years of ‘reading the news.’ One short year ago Meredith left the show and everyone said Ann would be the best “fit” for the job….really?

Curry got the plum assignment in part because she was passed over last time, when Meredith Vieira got the nod, and the network brass didn’t want her to leave. Poor Ann….the Today show finally dropped out of first place in the morning ratings. A nearly two decade rule as the champ....you get the job...(because no one wanted to "pass you over" again)...and you drop to record low ratings.

Ann has never been a great fit as co-host of the Today show. Just about everyone at NBC, and in the television business, recognizes that. So I’m not surprised to learn that NBC has begun talks to move her off the program, just a year after she ascended to the job. If this New York Times report is right, she’ll be gone before the Olympics.

Has her turn-back-to-a-pumpkin moment arrived?
Lauer, who recently signed a mega-deal worth at least $25 million a year, is quite obviously the future of the franchise. If he's not feeling a comfortable rapport with his on-air partner, the network has to take that very seriously.

In an interview last month Ann was asked to open-up and answer:

What she'd change about herself: "I don't always understand my worth. I think it's a chronic condition for women. I'm not talking about professionally. I'm talking about in our personal lives. We constantly punish ourselves with degrading thoughts when we look at ourselves in the mirror. We allow people to treat us poorly, we allow our husbands or boyfriends to get away with things or we have relationships with girlfriends or colleagues who don't treat us well. We don't defend ourselves as we would our own children. Women have demanded and gotten better jobs and more power. But the one thing we deserve is a better relationship with ourselves. We waste too much time beating ourselves up. I think at my age of 55, it's time to stop doing that."

Crystal ball moment Ann. You will be that pumpkin again very soon….it is not your fault that Josh Elliott on GMA is better at smiling, interfacing with guests, engaging with the stories….oh, and he can read the news as well....now move on Ann....move on please!

....have a drink on me

Want to super-size that soda? Sorry, but in New York City you could be out of luck.

In his latest effort to fight obesity in this era of Big Gulps and triple bacon cheeseburgers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing an unprecedented ban on large servings of soda and other sugary drinks at restaurants, delis, sports arenas, and movie theaters.

Drinks would be limited to 16 ounces, which is considered a small serving at many fast-food joints. "The percentage of the population that is obese is skyrocketing," Bloomberg said Thursday on MSNBC. He added: "We've got to do something."

Wait! Stop. Let me decide what I want to drink…and how much. This is horseshit. Last time it was salt intake and burgers. Don't we have more important issues in NYC? What's next...a limit on toilet paper?

It is the first time an American city has directly attempted to limit soda portion sizes, and the soft-drink industry and others bitterly accused the three-term mayor of creating a "nanny state" and robbing New Yorkers of the right to decide for themselves. The people of New York City are much smarter than the New York City Health Department believes. New Yorkers expect and deserve better than this. They can make their own choices about the beverages they purchase.

The ban is expected to win approval from the Bloomberg-appointed Board of Health and take effect as soon as March. City officials said they believe it will ultimately prove popular and push governments around the U.S. to adopt similar rules. The ban would apply only to sweetened drinks over 16 ounces that contain more than 25 calories per 8 ounces. (A 12-ounce can of Coke is about 140 calories. Plastic bottles of Coke and other soft drinks often contain 20 ounces).

It wouldn't affect diet soda, any drink that's at least 70 percent juice or one that is at least half milk or milk substitute. Nor would it apply to drinks sold in many supermarkets or convenience stores. Businesses would face fines of $200 per failed inspection.

City officials said some calorie-heavy drinks such as Starbucks Frappuccino would probably be exempted because of their dairy content, while Slurpees and Big Gulp drinks at 7-Eleven wouldn't be affected because the convenience stores are regulated as groceries.

Does any of this crap make sense? (Sorry....not a square to spare).....

...please...just shut up

Somewhere along the line I fell asleep and when I opened my eyes, the topics in the world seemed to change. Now I know that it has been 'cool' to talk about all of this like we are "experts" on the subject....but hear me out for a moment. When in the hell is this topic going to end?

If everyone has the "right" to talk about this until they are blue-in-the face, it is equally my "right" to not have to listen to it...and I do not have to agree with it. Sure, it is ok for someone to "love" another person. Of course! (just shut the hell up please).

Would you like to hear something? I do not give a shit. And honestly, most people do not but they are afraid to rock the boat by being honest.

To use an analogy: You could pass a law that says oranges now are apples. But oranges will never look like apples or taste like apples or be apples no matter how many laws we pass, nor will they ever produce the same seeds as apples.

Just because we recognize this reality does not mean we have animosity toward oranges. In fact, we can like both oranges and apples and still hold an opinion that they are different. While this example may seem silly, it illustrates that the proposed radical experiment with same-sex marriage attempts to achieve the impossible.

Working to protect marriage is not mean-spirited. It is the legitimate response of the majority of people who want what is best for individuals, children and our society, and therefore want to preserve the proven and essential institution of marriage.

...hey barista!...hold the bugs....

This is not a joke: there are ground up red beetles being used right now as a food coloring ingredient in yogurt, ice cream, special coffees, juice drinks and many other grocery products. The ingredient is called "carmine."

Carmine is literally made from dried, ground-up red beetles, and its coloring (bright red) is used in yogurt, juice drinks, candies, and a long list of other products, including many "natural" products.

It's not that these red beetles are dangerous. Except for a few individuals who suffer severe allergic reactions to the beetles, most people do just fine eating carmine. Beetles are probably good for you, just like ants. High in protein, low in fat... you get the picture.

But shouldn't someone have told you?

There's a grossness factor that probably explains why products using this ingredient list "carmine" instead of "powdered red beetles" on the label. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has even petitioned the FDA to ban carmine, or, at the very least, require its clear labeling.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will have you seeing red this year, but this time it's a good thing.

Since Jan. 5, the FDA has required food manufactures to disclose whether red cochineal beetles are among their products' ingredients. These beetles are farmed, harvested, dried and crushed to produce a red dye called carmine that, until this year, had been disguised in the ingredient list as "artificial color," "color added" or the all-encompassing "natural and artificial coloring."

Because of lax labeling laws, the extent of carmine in foods and drinks is not known.

Most carmine used in the United States is imported from Peru and the Canary Islands. The insects are carefully brushed from the cacti... and placed into bags. The bags are taken to the production plant and there, the insects are then killed by immersion in hot water or by exposure to sunlight, steam or the heat of an oven. It is to be noted that the variance in appearance of commercial cochineal is caused by the different methods used during this process. It takes about 70,000 insects to make one pound of cochineal.

The part of the insect that contains the most carmine is the abdomen that houses the fertilized eggs of the cochineal. Once dried, a process begins whereby the abdomens and fertilized eggs are separated from the rest of the anatomical parts. These are then ground into a powder and cooked at temperatures in excess of 212 degrees to extract the maximum amount of color. This cooked solution is filtered and through special processes that cause all carmine particles to precipitate to the bottom of the cooking container. The liquid is removed and the bottom of the container is left with pure carmine."

Yum….yum …. Yum! Not exactly what you had in mind when you were eating yogurt, was it? The most appetizing part of this description has to be, "...the abdomens and fertilized eggs are separated from the rest of the anatomical parts..."

....oh, and ammonia

Fat, sinew, and bits of bloody meat. Oh, and ammonia.
A tendon (or sinew) is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue that usually connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension.

This is what you're eating when you buy and prepare ground beef from most grocery stores in the U.S. today. It's also what you're eating when you eat a fast food burger or grab a quick bite at your local diner, most likely.

- "Ten years ago, the rejected fat, sinew, bloody effluvia, and occasional bits of meat cut from carcasses in the slaughterhouse were a low-value waste product called 'trimmings' that were sold primarily as pet food. No more. Now, Beef Products Inc. of South Dakota transforms trimmings into something they call 'boneless lean beef.' In huge factories, the company liquefies the trimmings and uses a spinning centrifuge to separate the sinews and fats from the meat, leaving a mash that has been described as 'pink slime,' which is then frozen into small squares and sold as a low-cost additive to hamburger."

- "BPI produces more than 7 million pounds of the mash per week, making it the world's largest manufacturer of this frozen product. BPI explains that its product is mixed into most of the ground beef sold in the U.S. - at major fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, and school lunch programs." –(Source: Mary Jane's Farm Magazine).

But that's not all! See, the problem when you turn garbage bits of animal carcasses into "pink slime" to sell as a food product is that there's an issue with pathogens, such as E. coli. And when samples of the pink slime were tested, the tests came back showing that the slime was rampant with harmful bacteria. Now, one might think that the best idea would be to decide not to sell pink slime to feed to humans, but there's no money in that, is there?

So BPI cleverly started disinfecting the slime with ammonia. And convinced the FDA to allow them to list it as a "processing ingredient" so that we wouldn't know we were eating ammonia.

We're eating garbage, people. Literally -- garbage that's been "cleaned up" with ammonia and sold to us mixed with ground beef, shrink wrapped for convenience at our local grocery store and we’re starting young in our school system.

But no worries, I heard on the news that the school districts will have an option to buy the product with “pink slime” or without. I guarantee you they will go with what they know best….”lowest bidder.” Yummy! Eat up little Johnny....eat up.

...does quality mean lowest price?

I wish to bring to the surface in this ongoing dilemma, the matter of the marketplace and price shopping.

Every day in every way, we are all exposed to and subjected to the idea that any business that can beat a competitor's price is where we should make our purchases.

It’s pervasive on TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, online, word-of-mouth, etc... So, our customer's always have this in the back of their minds. Somehow a discount should be offered, and we, as proprietors, should be so thankful to work for nothing, if it comes to that.

This is the machine we have to rage against, so to speak.

I definitely agree that having side-by-side comparisons in a portfolio is an excellent way to educate and appeal to the customer's true need for quality and perceived value, whether it is in tangible goods or in an online showcase. Seeing is believing. It is very true that some customers have no idea that something can be produced with much higher standards in quality and design. Part of the fun is coming up with sure fire ways to educate and convince them regarding true quality and durability.

I have customers who got burned from having work done too cheaply and they regret wasting the money. When they see the vast improvement in what is truly possible from a business that cares about quality and value, they feel a sense of relief and realize that their money was well-spent on having it redone. That makes an enjoyable transaction for both of us.

It is an ongoing battle. I love business and I love the challenge.

We also have the opposing forces of the "bean counters", which pressure companies to go cheap and quick. It's a shame to see an owner or employee thinking "only about the lowest price." If only all companies took the time to educate the customer...instead of 'take the order no matter what the profit'...things might be somewhat different.

People confuse price....with "quality." They assume that all products are the same quality.....so price becomes the only factor......how did we get here?

...what a great salesperson!

It seems like every commercial on TV is for a prescription drug. And yet consumers can't buy them without a doctor's approval. So why target consumers with these ads? Here's how the U.S. became one of the only countries in the world where pharmaceutical companies peddle drugs to ordinary people.

FDA loopholes...

The United States and New Zealand are the only countries in the world that allow direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals. Most countries banned the practice in the 1940s. The direct-to-consumer market was pioneered not in a corporate boardroom, but by Joe Davis, a regular salesman who sold packaged goods.  At the time, pharmaceutical companies marketed only to physicians through print mailings, visits, and free samples, with the patient knowing little about the drugs they were taking. The physician told them what to take, and they followed directions.

Davis went to his friend, an executive at the medical advertising company Medicus in the mid-1980s. The advertising problem was that the FDA required any drug ad to include a full list of possible side-effects, which often took several pages of tiny print....hard to do that in a TV spot.

So the two devised a way to recommend drugs in ads that did not mention the name of the medication, but only the positive effects of a hypothetical drug with the exact attributes of a specific pharmaceutical. Commercials ended with instructions for the consumer to 'see their doctor' for more information. By omitting the name of the drug, the two were able to slide their ads through a loophole in FDA regulations.

The unnamed drug they marketed was Seldane, which they tagged as an "antihistamine that did not cause drowsiness." When patients asked doctors for this exact type of drug, they got Seldane. Over the next few years, Seldane went from sales of $34 million a year in 1985, to $800 million per year. (Seldane, interestingly, was removed from the U.S. market in 1997 after it was found that the drug could cause heart arrhythmias.)

Advertising to consumers puts physicians under a new kind of pressure. If they want to keep you as a patient, and if giving a prescription for a drug that you asked for keeps you happy, they might do it.

Pharmaceutical commercials often have a strangeness as well, dominated by cartoons, unusual scenes, 'blankets with eyes,' and just about anything that can be done to convey a general sense of wellness and direct you to your physician.

The Nielsen Company determined that there are, on average, 80 drug commercials every hour of every day on television. Say it ain't so Joe.....

...the "Green Thing"

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right about not having the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right. We didn't have the green thing back in our day. (p.s. it also didn't matter too much if your older sibling was the same sex or not...)

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right.

We didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.

Remember: Don't make old people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off.

-Dr . Sherif K. Mazhar, Ph.D.

....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.