Steve Hall Odds+Ends

Disney's Scrooge in 3D shows additional value of 3D movies

2009-11-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

My 13 year old daughter and I went to see Disney's new Jim Carrey 3D adaptation of "A Christmas Carol".

First let me say that it was a great re-telling of the story. Excellent depiction of the characters and ghosts [which my daughter found scary, to my surprise], and the animation, dialog and setting weren't dumbed down for the audience.

But the 3D was the real surprise. It's been a while since I've sat thru a 3D movie, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that your 3D glasses stayed on for the entire movie. The effects were subtle and nicely dimensional -- actually more different planes of activity -- but still nicely done nevertheless. After 30 minutes of the movie you forgot that you were wearing the glasses. When you raised your glasses to see what was REALLY going on, you could see all the fuzzy logic that goes into the 3D experience.

Now I generally have to admit that I'm not very deep into the pathos of movies. I watched Godfather I over the weekend again and still marvel at how Coppola, Brando, Pacino and the entire cast managed to tell such an epic story. I watch 'Fountainhead' once a year just to remind myself that the creative world that I populate has a bigger purpose. I love the simplicity of the erotic shots with Patricia Neal and Gary Cooper. And I watch "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne [Thornton] and Maureen O'Sullivan [Mary Kate Danaher] for the simmering sexual tension between Thornton and red head Danaher, and then the cross country, trans pub, rambling fight scene between stoic Sean Thornton and his future brother-in-law, the loutish [and beautifully cast] Squire 'Red' Will Danaher [Victor McLaglen]. This is about as deep as I get.

But for new releases Disney has the right idea. The 3D is something I can't do at home right now, and it makes the theater experience distinctly different from the big TV I have at home. The 3D effects and enhanced audio are perfect for a dark, big screened theater. I would rather see the 3D movie in the theater and pay the extra few dollars.

House Health Care Plan Stinks

2009-11-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

Before you think I'm a far-wing nut job, hear me out:

I don't care if you're rich or poor or in the middle, you shouldn't have to worry about the cost seeing a doctor. We all know that 'seeing a doctor' is the cheapest part of the medical dance. It's all the expensive tests and procedures that follow. It's figuring out which you'd rather have: your house or chemotherapy; your retirement or heart surgery.

But here's the rub: you really don't want the feds administering your healthcare. You really don't want your first call -- after a procedure has been denied or you've been told there's a 6 month wait to see a specialist -- to be to be a nameless federal employee with no skin in YOUR care.

Today your healthcare is local. Everyone has skin in your healthcare, even if they don't handle your policy. You have a policy with a local agent; if you have a problem with your policy you call your agent. You don't like the answer? You bump it up to the agent's company rep. You don't like that answer? You go regional or national. Everybody in the chain is employed by someone other than the federal government. You probably live near someone who sells health insurance and know someone who administers health insurance.

Fast forward to when today's 24 year old is 44 or 54. The dreaded insurance companies have been driven from business. All of your health costs are paid from the federal coffers. Your federal health insurance premium is paid with your social security deduction. You pay the first 18% of your income to the feds. Your boss pays 36%, but now every decision he or she makes about hiring and growth is tainted by the obligation of supporting your health and basic retirement.

Your partner feels a lump on her breast. Getting into a doctor isn't a problem. They're the gatekeeper. They run a few tests and you get the bad news: breast cancer. There's a new procedure for treating breast cancer, but it's not approved by the feds yet. You can schedule for treatment, but it's 6 month out. You can go private, but it costs $25k. You mortgage your house [new industry: 2nd mortgage backed healthcare] for the 25k and get the new procedure completed in a month.

But you're a renter, work for yourself, and you're living check to check. You make 50k, don't have savings, but you pay your 2.5% no insurance penalty. Good news right? The feds take care of you. Bad news is that by the time you get the stint you need, you can barely climb a flight of stairs and you haven't worked in a couple of months. You're in a pool of 400 million federal aid recipients. You can't get anyone on the phone or at 'yourfederalhealthcare.org for help, you can't get a loan for private surgery, and your partner is working double shifts so you can put food on the table. So you say, what the difference between now and in the future for me? At least the feds would take care of me.

Here's what the feds SHOULD do: Let insurance companies and their local people sell and administer health policies up to an inflation adjusted amount; say in 2009 dollars it's $15,000 of treatment. Over $15k let the locals dip into a pool of federal dollars for catastrophic care and expense -- that we pay for too through a portion of our payroll deduction for day-to-day care and catastrophic care. Make sure everyone pays something for their care as long as they're working. Add finally, make it transparent. Add a % to the social security deduction to cover the people that aren't working or can't work as well as the catastrophic. Then let local companies sell and service policies for the first 15k of coverage.

But above all, keep it local.

Billing Manager by Intuit Worth a Serious Look

2009-11-06T04:27:00.000-08:00

Intuit is developing billing manager: a simple, refreshing and elegant on-line application.

A little background: As a designer I work on 3 or 4 computers most days. A Mac for designing work, a Win7 PC for writing and word processing, a XP Server for archiving and backup management, a home PC for email, and an iPhone when I'm traveling.

The freedom to send an estimate or an invoice from any machine at any time has been liberating. I enjoy the comfort of knowing that my billing data is in the cloud and not on a particular machine.

Users can send invoices with flat fees, unit costs, etc. and can add sales tax if required.

Although I'm also a user of QuickBooks Online [QBO], which includes estimating and invoicing, I find that Billing Manager gives me the flexibility to send estimates to potential new clients without encumbering my Quickbooks account with information that it will never need for my accounting. Since I'm on a cash basis [things only count when they are paid], I simply add new client info to my QBO when I actually have something to report.

My clients now have the option of paying by credit card [a requirement when I make large outside purchases on their behalf] and this is cleanly integrated into the Billing Manager application.

Invoices are sent by email, and formats are elegant and simple [unlike the Quickbooks big brother]. The homepage lists your current outstanding invoices. My bookkeeper logs into my Billing Manager account for information about current paid invoices, credit card transactions that have hit my bank account, etc.

A couple of areas could use improvement:

Ability add a comment line on the invoice. This could be used for job numbers or client references.
Ability to prepare a statement. Although my true books are handled with QBO, data isn't updated in real time. The ability to send a quick statement with multiple invoices would be helpful.
Ability to send an estimate from my iPhone. Now I can only view current information.

BTW, they are continually seeking user feedback. I'm not sure how much they implement, other than bug fixes, but they seem open to comments from users.

Highly recommended.

iPhone cures the urge to text in the car

2009-11-06T04:12:00.000-08:00

If you want texting-while-driving to stop, mandate universal use of the iPhone by anyone who drives. The keyboard is darn near impossible to use unless you're paying 100% attention. And the little magnifying window which lets you precisely relocate the cursor if you want to change your text after typing requires 200% of your attention.

Borrowing vs Buying: Obama has it backwards

2009-11-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

It's one thing to be able to go to the bank and borrow money to fund your business. It's a whole different thing to have people buying things you buy or services you provide.

It sounded odd at the time, but after 9.11 President Bush pleaded with us to keep shopping. He didn't say keep borrowing. He understood that borrowing for business is the result of people and businesses buying.

It's my current experience that business people -- including me --are still holding off major purchases until they get a better fix on when the real economy -- the economy where people start buying again -- improves.

There's no doubt in my mind that the economy WILL improve. It's only when will consumers and then business people start buying again. When consumers start buying again, business will start hiring people and buying new equipment. Then they'll need the banks again.

Obama's message should be: This Holiday Season let's start buying again! Toys, clothes, cars, computers and large screen HDTV's; let's put the fear and apprehension behind us and pullout our wallets and purses.

Finding Work Focus at 57

2009-10-04T16:17:00.001-07:00

Creative-types are in a constant state of angst over their craft and how people perceive their work.

You would think that after 35 years of developing creative concepts and designs; working with great writers and artists; and producing all manner of materials for my clients, that I'd be able to explain what I do. What they say about the cobbler and his kid's footwear is true about the designer [my kids DO have shoes, BTW, but they all don't have business cards :)]

But I no longer have the problem. I have accepted what I am. I am a creative guy. Clients hire me to creatively think about their businesses, who they sell to, what they make, and what they sell. Sometimes I'm hired to simply come up with ideas. Other times I'm hired to come up with ideas and then turn them into something tangible [like an ad, web site, brochure, billboard, trade show booth, etc.].

It's not the easiest business, but it's really rewarding when the synapses are firing and the client likes what you're doing.

Here's a high five to all those great clients that love my work and to future clients that will discover the magic of creative thinking.

Back again after a lengthy hiatus

2009-10-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Thankfully for my friends and followers I have had little to add to the public discourse over the last few months and haven't felt inclined to add to my blog.

Obama remains in office, Iran is still developing nukes, Afghanistan remains a problem, and Joe Biden is still Joe Biden. See? Nothing has changed.

Moving back into the business fray; Part 2

2009-03-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Running a design company is essentially like running any other business: There are proposals, agreements, progress payment to invoice, vendors and their invoices, estimates, projects and project numbers, hours worked to be tracked, work in progress examples, submissions, completed work, archived projects, and a flow of conversation between everyone involved in the project.

Most of my friends think that running a design business is all about design and creativity. If the truth be known, running an active design business is really about design, creativity and communicating with the person in your company that deals with the bookkeeping and accounting side of things.

If you're not going to get mired in your operating and project vendor invoice questions and problems you'll want some help. I find it's a good idea to have a primary set of eyes looking at what is going in the back office: receive and pay bills, handle cash flow projections, manage contracts, and deal with the local, state and federal governments.

I was surprised to find that accounting/purchasing talent looks at money through an entirely different set of eyes and these eyes see things much differently than a set of creative eyes. Generally -- in so far as business is concerned -- the accounting talent has a much clearer idea of what a successful business looks like. It wasn't accounting that was going to learn about the design business, it was the creative side of our business that was going to be molded into a more accurate information manager and better communicator of work activity. Dan, my finance person, really didn't/doesn't care about the vagaries of creative work. He cares about the black and white of numbers, the flow of paperwork as it relates to the company ledgers, and the information he needs to send an invoice, pay a bill, and then report to me on the month's financial activities.

I quickly discovered something that I have known for years: that accounting needs the same information about every job that I have; that accounting is generally scrambling to keep up with this flow of information; and that I have a responsibility to keep accounting as current as possible about the current status of jobs. If accounting is scrambling, it is because I have not communicated clearly or currently.

Here's the kicker: Dan, my accounting manager, works half-a-dozen miles away. Keeping files and paperwork current -- particularly at the velocity we often work at -- would require a level of daunting duplication and organization. I don't have an assistant, so this duplication and organization would fall on my shoulders.

Unless, of course, we have an electronic project management/reporting/commenting system that channels all project information into a single on-line respository that is available to the creative and accounting departments in real time, securely, from any machine at any location.

We do.

In "Moving back into the business fray; Part 3" I'll reveal the simplicity and functionality of our system. It's very cool.

Moving back into the business fray; Part 1

2009-03-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was complaining to my wife that I felt stifled in my home office, and that I wasn't getting out and around sufficiently to gin up new business.

So I've packed up my files, PCs and Macs, 23" monitor, artwork, awards and color books. I've opened a new design office in the hopping, burgeoning town of Melbourne, Florida.

Most of our friends envy our home office. We work out of reasonably large spaces in a freestanding, two-story three-car garage. The larger upstairs office -- recently claimed by my wife -- even sports a small kitchenette and bathroom [with a urinal as well].

Friends often ask if a home office breeds laziness and slothness...afterall, we can show up in our jammies with a cup of coffee. But the truth is that we treated our home office as though it was a 'real' office; dressing for work and rarely returning to the main house during the day. The downside of working at home is that you're AT home, and find yourself returning to the home office evenings to get in that extra hour of work. For me the home office negatives outweighed the positives.

I've been canvasing area business with my new brochure and business cards; meeting and introducing myself to owners and employees.

One of my little goals was to be located in a place that was close enough to restaurants and services that I wouldn't need my car. This has been accomplished, and now I slip out to lunch in any one of half a dozen restaurants. I often walk to the post office. The office supply company [it's been here for years] is only a few steps from my office.

All I'm missing now is new business. Thankfully my current clients come up with the occasional new project. The economy has been challenging, but most business people that I run into in this area are enthusiastic about the future of their own businesses, which leads me to believe that mine will be fine as well.

Visit my new website at www.efsmart.com

You can still reach me at 321-449-0400 or my cell [preferred] at 321-536-5379.

In Pursuit of Explaining What I Do for a Living; V1

2009-02-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

A neighbor of mine is a Drupal coder at drupaleasy.com. If you need to ask what Drupal is all about you're in for a pleasant surprise. It's a content management tool that has a surprising following. Go to Drupal.org.

Partner/neighbor Mike Anello asked me as a favor to design a logo for him as well as work with him on his Drupaleasy site. I prefer doing these things rather than helping someone move or clean gutters.

This past weekend Mike and his partner Ryan hosted a Florida Drupal Camp in Orlando. They were kind enough to give me a little acknowledgement during the event.

I have a fair amount of experience with coders. Rather than lecture about the value of design, which always falls on deaf ears. I suspected that my audience was pretty hard wired to not appreciating designers, so I wrote the following [let me know what you think...].

My little self promotion was never read to the 100 or so drupelettes. Mike says it was too long. But I'm always in pursuit of explaining my craft both to prospective customers and friends -- or a subset of coders in this situation -- so this was an intriquing opportunity to accomplish both:

Some day a client or boss will say to you, "I love the Drupal you've written, but God these pages are ugly."

You will reply: "what do you mean? I think it looks great. It's a Drupal template!"

At this point -- over your objections -- they may hire someone like our own designer Steve Hall to assist them in dressing up your work.

This is not the end of the world. A true professional designer appreciates that you think design people are useless and potentially troublesome. But smart designers like Steve will calmly coax and cajole you through rethinking your design. You may even decide that the new design looks pretty good.

At the end of the re-design process your boss or client will be happier; you will still think that your original work was great, and the designer will have a few dollars to spend on food for their shoeless children. It's a win-win for everyone.

Steve has worked for over 35 years with large and small clients. His clients include Fortune 500 companies as well as companies like yours. He does print work, advertising and interactive consulting. As a coder I haven't always agreed with him, but I seem to eventually come around to his way of thinking. And, if you pay him enough money he can be your friend too. Call him. He's very good. We recommend him highly.

His phone number and web address is on our flyer.

Operators are standing by.

Posterized Obama

2009-02-06T05:10:00.000-08:00

I was watching our President make a speech from the White House on February 4th. He was speaking to a room full of adoring fans about a minor bill -- SCHIP -- he was about to sign. He spoke awkwardly from a teleprompter, leaving me [and a few pundits] to wonder if he had even looked at his short speech before giving it.

Obama's brilliant, focused and well managed "CHANGE" campaign is also its archille's heel. The democratic party didn't win the presidency, Obama did. The posterized image [see image] of Obama is a metaphor for his lightness and inexperience. The democratic congress and multitude of Clinton-era appointees have already figured out that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes, using Obama's lack of experience as a signal for business as usual.

The President-thing has got to be one tough gig for someone with no practical experience other than 24/7 campaigning and reading teleprompters in front of large crowds.

Google's Chrome + 2 months: Perfect

2009-02-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

I've been using Google's Chrome for a few months. It's out of beta [rare for Google] and it's a fine browser. I use it 99% of the time. Cranks up quickly and plug-in problems have been minimal. I've heard a lot of complaints by tech people about security, but I have to say that for someone who uses their browser for news feeds and site browsing, Chrome is perfect.

It's much lighter than Explorer 7 [or 8 for that matter] and installs quickly. I don't use Foxfire or Opera, so I'm limited in use and installation opinions where these are concerned, but I'd recommend a download to see for yourself.

Here's a link: http://www.google.com/chrome

My love of TV promotions -- I love this stuff

2009-02-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

I'm an absent-minded cheap convenience shopper. For example, I buy disposable razors for my very coarse facial hair. I get a handful of pastic razors in a plastic package. By the time I'm ready to buy more I've forgotten the brand. So I'm always a little annoyed that the handles are different and the blades shave a little differently. I am also annoyed that they don't last very long, and they also seem to dull immediately after my wife shaves her legs [which, I should add, is the equivalent of 10 face shaves].

Cheap plastic razors last me about as long as expensive disposable razors that fit into a nicely designed handle. The expensive disposable razors cost a pile more. Other than the lure of the young busty women that I apparently am likely to attract by using these expensive disposable razors [I see them on the expensive disposable razor TV commericals], there is not much of an advantage. So, finding a product that will save me 2 cents per package of blades is a compelling feature.

On TV over holidays I watched repeated commercials for the "Razor Shaver." As an older person [56] I am obliged to say that I have sat in a barber's chair and watched the barber sharpen his razor on the leather strap. This product is promoted by virtue of a comparison between the leather strap and a set of straps that sharpen your disposible razor blades. I was hooked [or strapped]. I also inclined to buy things from the TV. This product just seemed like a good idea, and I have ordered one at $11.95 + shipping [delivery in 2 - 3 weeks].

My wife laughs at me for ordering things that are sold on TV. My daughter [12] is so aware of the 'free' additional feature if you act now' that she is in the habit of saying "and if you act now you can have a free with your purchase!" regardless of the product -- even a Toyota.

A couple of years ago I ordered a set of nicely designed stackable square-ish kitchen plastic containers with blue covers and they have been a big hit at our house, so I am on the "wife and home opinion" plus-side regarding TV purchases. I only hope that my razor shaver is as popular. The hand-held whip [with free jar cover remover if act now!] was not quite as popular, but is still in limited use.

Someone must support innovation, and it might as well be me.

Here's a link: http://www.thesustainablevillage.com/servlet/display/product/detail/34539

Grownies, not grownups

2009-01-20T03:56:00.000-08:00

I was at dinner the other night with my wife and two other couples [Milliken's Reef at Port Canaveral...very nice, btw]. One couple, a very youngish long married pair in their late seventies and early eighties and the other -- like my wife and I -- in their late forties and mid fifties.

Over the course of the dinner we caught up with recent work, travels and children. Most of our 'kids' are grown, which puts them in the position of potentially being grownups. This is not always the case, as they still do mystifying things, but some of the things that we do baffle them too.

At 56 I don't like being called a grownup. It's not that I mind being grownup, but I hate most of the stiff, unbending and older associations that come with it. I yearn for a younger way of expressing my age. A little hipper, a little less mom and dad-ish. Less tapioca and more frozen yogurt. Less Camry and more Prius. Less erectile disfunction and more, well, erectile functioning [not that that's a problem, hahaha].

So in the middle of a second-vodka side chat with my TV producer friend about some great mutual friends, I blurted out that they were 'grownies': too interesting to be mere grownups, too old to be up much past 10:30, and generally stradling the short divide between a very productive end to their careers and their first social security check. My parents are grownups. My brothers and sisters are grownies. My friends are grownies. My kids are grown. Their friends are grown.

Youth

Grown

Grownies

Grown Up

Deceased

So now I finally have a label that fits. I'm a grownie (or as my kids would prefer, a 'groanie') but I can avoid full-fledged grownupedness and skate over being merely grown. I can pare down the age range of being grownup -- currently 20 to 95 -- to something more reasonable, say 50 to 65. Comments?

Keeping my PC current

2009-01-18T16:00:00.000-08:00

I am a dual platform kind of guy...PC and Mac. I am also of the school that if everything is working ok with my machines there is not reason to screw with success.

Last month [December?] I was listening to my semi-geeky weekly 'Windows Weekly" podcast of Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott when I learned that if I'm not reinstalling XP or Vista frequently I'm in for a world of hurt. Tragically, it's been four years since my last reinstall.

I confess that I don't test software on my machines. I'm a "if it works, I'm lucky" guy, so my odds of running into an errant piece of bad code or obnoxious virus are slim. I also don't upgrade software -- both OS and applications -- as often as I should. But my philosophy is that if the current version is fine and the improvements in the upgrade are marginal, why bother? As you can imagine, I'm a fan of 'cloud' software, since they handle the upgrades.

Things are bogging down a bit so I know it's time to ponder reinstalling XP on this machine. I've been following the good things being said about Windows 7, but I'm not inclined to drop a beta version of Windows 7 on my production machine and hope that nothing goes haywire.

If anyone has an insight about this let me know. Installing Vista doesn't interest me [and btw, I'm running Vista just fine on this notebook, with no complaints], but doing this twice [XP > Vista > Win7] in a few months interests me even less. Inquiring minds want to know.

More on experience...a Gupta story

2009-01-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

Citing a lack of experience, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) is leading an effort to thwart Barack Obama’s expected nomination of CNN’s Sanjay Gupta to become surgeon general.

Oh, please. Let's get off the credentials crap already. We already know that credentials have nothing to do with putting people into positions or running for office this year. If Sanjay Gupta shouldn't be surgeon general, then Caroline Kennedy shouldn't be a senator and Obama shouldn't be president.

Gupta's experience as a CNN talking medical reporter/commentator is probably sufficient experience for the surgeon general's job, and he gets to wear that spiffy general's outfit with all the shiny buttons and insignias.

I say we start a massive email campaign to Conyers demanding that Gupta be seated!

Have a gupta day!

Qualified to Lead or Serve

2009-01-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

I've always maintained that no one and every one is qualified to serve.

On one hand, being president is a tough job. It would be nice to have some administrative experience at a very high level, but then just to have a clear view forward and to keep your head clear would be enough. You get briefings from intelligence and military people every day, and I'm sure the secretary of agriculture will give you briefing on corn yields and the price of ethanol. But, at some point the shit is going to hit the fan, whether it's something you directly have a hand in, or had no hand in, or because of something you could have done 2 years before and it slipped by. The good news is that you've got a squad of people around you to handle things and a very nice 747 to jet around in. You don't want to manage too much or too little, and you've got a million or two government people below you to potentially muck up the works.

On the other hand, being a Senator doesn't look like a tough job at all. You get to wear nice dark suits [with collars that fit] and spend a lot of time ragging on people in committee hearings. You've got six years to learn your job and develop a specialty of talking in a deep voice about an area that interests you [re: Biden]. If you decide to run for president you've all those convoluted and conflicting votes to explain, which in retrospect why Mr. Obama was so smart: he didn't vote that often and he didn't get himself in a position to accept Chicago goodies.

I would say that Caroline Kennedy would be just as qualified as I am if I lived in NY. We're both U.S. citizens and we're old enough to be a Senator. That's all it takes. There's nothing in the Constitution that says a Senator needs experience in foreign relations or military affairs. Every six years you have to run for your spot again, but if you're appointed you get to bypass all that. If a slot opens in Florida I hope to be appointed.

Being a congressman [congress person?] seems like a lot of work. On the plus side you get to wear nice suits and ties. On the minus side you're one of 435 other congresspeople, which means you don't get much air time unless you've got a knack for self promotion, are attractive to TV cameras, and like stirring the political pot to get attention. The worst thing about being a congressperson is that I figure you've got to be in fundraising mode 24/7 throughout your entire term. Once elected you start running again [like painting the Brooklyn bridge]. Maybe if you're lucky you get appointed to the Senate.

I was going to run for congress in '08, even talking to our soon-to-be-retiring congressman about it at a non-political university function. He just shook his head, took a deep breath, mentioned that name recognition is everything, and then walked over to the buffet line. My name is short, so that seemed do-able. However, my wife -- who often just humors me, but got a little annoyed -- told me I'd need to find a new wife if I was elected.

The qualifications for being a congresspersonman are even lower and I happily exceed the age requirement by over 30 years. So I'm qualified for election or appointment again.

So you can see that from my perspective the qualifications argument is a non-starter. Obama, Kennedy, the school board guy from Colorado, and Illinois' Roland Burris all seem qualified despite zero experience. Caroline Kennedy is a nice entrant simply because she's not very polished as a communicator and hasn't spent a lifetime in politics. She's a nice looking woman, which would make her very attractive on TV. Look, if Sonny Bono's wife can be a regularly re-elected congresswomanperson, why can't Burris or Kennedy be a Senator?

Good will hunting

2009-01-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

If vitriol were alcohol, dems should be flooding detox centers nationwide in anticipation of Inauguration Day.

I'm told that the national political ship is at last righted [or lefted], and we all anxiously await a flood of important national things to come from the mind, persuasion and persistance of President Obama.

Almost all Republicans that I know wish him well at the onset of his journey, knowing full well that his plans will often be sidetracked, incomplete, or incompetently excuted. We hope that the outcome of his efforts don't errode our individual liberties, increase the size of our government, or dig deeply into our earnings. We are highly skeptical of course, but we know how difficult his new job is and that as Americans he is our President now. He deserves our support.

This is in stark opposition to the lack of good will that GW was afforded. In addition to immediate political criticism after the 2000 election, withering personal attacks about his intellect and personality began immediately as well. He has shown remarkable restraint over the years. His goodwill towards the incoming administration has been remarkable.

I simply want to see some goodwill expressed towards Bush in his closing days as President.

High Hopes and the Economy

2008-12-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Listening to the talking heads on cable news you would have thought that last week's stock run up was the start of a new improved economy. Today's DJIA 680 pt dive proved once again that this problem is so big that big government and big media have no clue what's going to happen next and what to do next.

We do. Watch expenses, eat in [not out], keep track of where your dollars are going, and live your life knowing at things will get better...and yes, trust your own gut.

Mind reading simplified

2008-12-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

Take your choice:

Optimistic:

"I DO like the cut of his jib. He'll be a fine president. I can easily follow his instructions."

Remorseful:

"Ahhh, that could have been me. Now, what would I have done with Barack if I had been elected..."

Angry:

"Damn him, damn him, damn him..."

Nothing in particular:

"Alright, now I get Biden to shut his pie hole and Bill to keep his whacker in his pants...and who is that little short 'thing' that's going to be at the UN...should I pick something up for Christmas for his daughters?...I sure liked the makeup gal I worked with the on the campaign..."

I'm Worn Out

2008-10-21T17:12:00.000-07:00

I'm worn out...bushed. Campaign season -- as much as I enjoy stock car racing and professional hockey -- has exhausted me.

I want McCain to win. Obama scares the crap out of me. It's not Obama personally, it's all the crap he brings with him. All the Dem politicos and weepy-assed liberals that want to spread my earnings around to the general populous are waiting in the wings.

I can hear it now:

"President Obama, Sir. Teenagers of non-working and former mortgage-holding American families have a high incidence of cell phone cauliflower ear. They need free health care to stop this horrible epidemic!"

"Why don't we wrap free medical care around a larger program for everyone under 25?"

"That's great, Mr. President. While we're at it, why don't we expand the program to include the 30+ divorced American women with creeping gynocological problems?"

"We can't discriminate against their husbands, can we?"

"No, Mr. President. Men have problems as well with post-marital lack of of regular sex. They should be included too. Free Viagra for all!"

"What about empty-nesting parents of college students? Aren't they at psycological risk?"

"Yes, Mr. President. We should expand this program to include psych care as well, and probably bump the age up to the late forties or early fifties."

"Excellent thinking and analysis. Bringing you on board was a master stroke."

"It was your idea, sir."

"I know. I'm the chosen one, you know."

"I know, sir."

"What about the 50 - 62 year old citizens?"

"Well, Mr. President, they are the highest wage earners and the last of the high income taxpayers. We can't include them in our health care plan. They pay obscenely high insurance rates and help defray taxpayer costs."

"Of course, I should have known. What's next on the agenda?"

"Israel, sir. We can save some serious budget ching if we cut them off..."

"Good thinking. I'll call that Ach-mid-a-john guy and see what he thinks...do you think he can wait until after supper?"

A Different Take on the Congressional Defeat

2008-09-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

An elderly friend of my friend's father, over drinks at a small 4th of July dinner party on the seventh floor of their Cocoa Beach condo, pointed out that the economy still had a way to fall. He maintained that if history repeats itself, as it always seems to do, then the overall economy had only fallen two thirds of the 30% historical average. It would appear that it -- the economy -- is still falling and is probably closer to 30% then it was a few months ago. Let's hope that this plunge in values and earning power rebounds at this magic historic marker.

But this didn't stop congress from overturning what appeared to be a sure-thing vote to pump $700 billion into the well of bad mortgages and loans. I read the draft version of the ‘‘Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008’’ -- it's not light reading, but you do get the gist of how these things are done -- yet I had my doubts about just how sure the legislators were about this bill. This is a big chunk of 'throw it against the wall' money. Most of the guys and gals voting on this are politicians and not economists. They can throw out their chests and sound deeply authoritative, but what do these people know but what they've been told?

Here's the rub: If you really think change is the 2008 call for action then you've got to believe that not doing the establishment thing, i.e. pitching dollars at the big banks that bought up these huge bullshit mortgage pools, is definately the way to go even if you can't see the other side of what might or might not happen. If you also believe that capitalism is best when government isn't your partner you didn't support this legislation either, even if the change-thing isn't your cup of tea.

In either case you're willing to bet on the ingenuity of the American people and American business community, hoping [praying?] that citizens left to their own ingenious devices (and occasionally prodded by the evolving regulatory hand of government) will assure the success of this great American capitalist experiment. I like that.

Tired of Political Coverage

2008-09-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'm tired of the coverage of the presidential campaign:

I'm exhausted by the programmed campaign "speak", as though endlessly repeating the same tiresome campaign positions will somehow make me more aware of the issues.
I'm bored with the young, lower level campaign operatives and surrogates that appear on cable political channels, obviously to fill some empty air, babbling programmed campaign "speak".
I'm dismayed by the lack of focus and objectivity in TV coverage: grabbing little snippets of candidate campaign banter -- often out of context -- and endlessly flexing a few words into meaningless interviews and headlines; on-air personalities graciously letting us know that they are as big a part of the story as the candidates themselves; and interviewers not controlling the programmed campaign "speak" of major political figures or sidestepping opportunities to dig deeper into how the candidates think.

I'm convinced more than ever that there is a major disconnect between the current media campaign culture in both parties, and, how Americans see themselves and view the media and the Internet. The electronic press is a pawn in the larger campaign process, not the Illuminati they'd like to see themselves as. The blogosphere is a merely a blip; chatting loudly among themselves and occasionally sucking the electronic press into covering the occasional online blog shout out; assuming an overblown importance endowed by the cable media.

People, as a rule, are pretty insightful about the opinions that are bounced off their eyes and ears through the media. They can tell the difference between repetitive campaign "speak" and the issues that affect them every day. They also know just how little influence the federal government has over their daily lives -- voting repeatedly to keep this influence as small as possible.

What matters in the end to Americans is which philosophy lives in the White House. Our elections have been close for years, which leads me to believe that we're not looking for huge wholesale change, just adjustments at the edges.

We're Spending Less

2008-09-17T05:16:00.000-07:00

In our house we've never been frivilous spenders. We owe nothing on our credit cards and don't have a second mortgage chewing away at our budget. We've got two boys in college which is a big chunk of money [one out-of-state], but all things considered, we're spending less.

It shows up in fewer lunches and dinners out, stretching out maintenance on our cars and home, driving fewer miles so there are fewer dollars spent for fuel, and fewer weekend hops. I can't imagine that we're unique, and that this reduced spending isn't hurting businesses that rely on discretionary spending.

What I haven't decided is whether we're spending less because we think we have less to spend or because we're at the phase of life -- our fifties -- where you naturally get a little more frugal? Comments invited.

Ike brings back the anxiety

2008-09-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

We lived in Miami in 1992 and weathered Andrew, losing power for almost a month. In 1998 we moved to Merritt Island, Florida -- about 200 miles north of Miami on the same coast -- and weathered the trio of hurricanes in 2004. This year we hunkered down for the lingering and very wet Fran which dumped over 20" of rain in most of Brevard and over 30" in Brevard's Palm Bay area.

The anxiety of an approaching storm is difficult to explain to everyone but those that live on the Gulf Coast, Florida's coast, or on the coastal areas of the United States. We're never sure where the storm will hit and what the wind speed will be. For a major storm the local governments demand mandatory evacuation, which may or not be required after the tropical storm or hurricane barrels through.

The storms generally pass through at night, which means you can hear the howl of wind and rain, and you can catch occasionaly glimpses of palms and trees bending at odd angles. You'll hear the occasional crack of a limb breaking and falling and just as likely the sound of something heavy slamming against your home.

After 12 hours or so the storm will pass and we can poke out heads out the doors to see what's been damaged. After Miami's Andrew I can vividly recall being dumbfounded by the incredible sight of entire trees unrooted and huge limbs from previously sturdy oaks lying across rumpled automobiles and homes. I remember walking down to the corner of our street which intersected with LeJeune Road, a major 2 lane road that runs from the top of Dade County 20 miles away to a traffic circle a few blocks from us, and seeing hundreds of trees lying across the roadway like injured soldiers. It was a mess.

But the danger of the storm barely compares to the sheer aggrevation following the storm ofclean up and subsistance living.

There is usually no power for weeks. No electricity to power tools, stoves, refrigerators, stoves, radios or televisions, but most of all no power for air conditioning. The weather in August and September in stifling with high humidity. The air at night is still. After a major storm there is a lot of standing water which eventually produces mosquitoes.
The chain saw that might have worked 2 years ago isn't working now and it barely has the power to handle two foot diameter limbs. It takes exhausting days to slowly feel, cut and stack your way through the limbs, brush, and leaves.
Everything is disrupted. Lawn debris that would normally be picked up weekly -- but is now a massive pile of fallen limbs -- is picked up 2 or three months later. Regular trash pickup is spotty.
Water and food is a huge problem. We collected rain for drinking water and showered in cold municipal water (which felt great after a long day or hot, difficult work]. We pooled our remaining frozen and canned foods and prepared interesting dinners on the gas barbeque.

I am of the opinion that this is no way to live. Despite the natural beauty of area and the warmth of Florida, the annual threat of major storms takes off the luster of Florida living for me. A future category 4 or 5 storm in this area will hasten our departure. Although my wife does not agree, I will have had enough. There are easier -- although colder -- places to live in this great country.

Good luck Texas! We're thinking and praying for you.