The End of the U.S.

Today's Wall Street Journal has a front page article about a Russian that is forecasting the breakup of the United States sometime in 2010. He believes our country is near collapse and there will be civil war.

He forecasts the division of the country into segments - the west coast being Chinese oriented, central US being part of Canada (or Canada leaning), the east will be European oriented and the south attached to Mexico. I think he is wrong, surely California will become Mexican.

I didn't read what will happen to Hawaii. What do you think? I suspect it might become part of Antarctica but could be wrong.

December 2008 Update

We have been busy this month, first with a transatlantic cruise, then Christmas in Morrisville with Chris, Laura, and Maya, and then a bonus, a trip to visit our future puppy. More about the cruise and Christmas to come - maybe before 2010 even.

We are adopting a new puppy in late January - sometime around the 19th. It is a Havanese and the breeder invited us to come see the puppy she thought would fit us the best. Dexter as he is now known will become Archie when he joins us...or Archimedes for short.



We agreed with the breeder, Archie is an outgoing lively pup. We have been thinking about Archie being a therapy dog and also doing agility training. He seemed to be a good fit for both these endeavors but it will be up to him.



After an hour of play, tumbling, climbing and exploration Archie showed he was still a young puppy and decided it was time to nap.

The End is Near (for some things)

The New York Times has an article in Today's paper titled "Nearly the End of the line for S.U.V.'s." I view this as one of the good things coming from this recession. I've always had a somewhat jaundiced view of America's love affair with over sized vehicles.

True, they have features that attract and I was tempted to own one. But do our cities really need a Suburban lumbering through the streets, driven by a house husband on his way to the grocery store? There are exceptions but I think they are a huge excess and the shift to smaller, more fuel efficient cars is to be celebrated.

On the personal level, isn't it better to have room to park your car? To drive our highways without the threat of a testosterone bloated asshole trying to intimidate you by tailgating you 70 mph is appealing? That would just leave the testosterone bloated asshole in the Ford Prius.

Home Again

Hi everyone...well, maybe one...I think one person is reading this beside Hazel. So for that special one, we are home from our cruise and had a great time. We wish you a Merry Christmas.

I'll write more about the cruise in the near future and include a few pictures. I think I took over 700 shots so should find a couple worthy of posting. Most will be deleted. Shot a lot of sunrises and sunsets as we crossed the ocean and usually with them you end of dumping most since only a few are at the peak moments.

Also, since I shot them in raw format it will probably take over an hour to download them all. Then I have to edit and remove the unwanted shots, then convert them to smaller files for uploading. Most times I get tired of messing with them before I get through the whole process and just never post them. This time I promise I will...it might be 2010 but I'll get there.

Why shoot in raw if they are that much trouble? I'm always hopeful that one will turn out well and be worth printing. True, I know some shots aren't even in contention but it gets troublesome to switch the camera back and forth between the formats and I'm certain I'll forget to do so for the one great shot I was looking for.

San Francisco November 2008

We are in San Francisco, visiting our grandchild Tyler. While here we have said hello to his folks and to our other son and daughter-in-law...and our friends. We always enjoy these trips and miss living here. In the city there is a special individual freedom that I experience no where else. People have a greater freedom to be themselves.

That freedom spawns some interesting offshoots. In the local paper "Guardian" is a note about an event focused on participatory art. Spanning several days, it involves a panel discussion titled "Open Works." A discussion of the notion of indeterminacy and openness to chance and change. Sadly I'll miss that, and even worse, the Thursday night series titled "The Art of Drinking Beer with Friends Is the Highest Form of Art." Also, not to be missed, but we will, "Silent" musical score 4'33", occurring daily, 4'33" bypasses instrumentation, shifting attention to the audience and ambient sounds.

I think my musical genius would enhance such an event. Baritone farts providing antiphonal balance.

Obama and Race

I got a email a while back pointing out the subtle racial tones of this presidential race. I don't recall some of the points made - some very valid ones and as is usually the case some which were such a stretch they undermined the message.

What I remember, for example, is it saying what if Obama stood on a stage with a seventeen year old out of wedlock daughter. Race stereotyping would come to play as we thought yeah, "those" people have no morals! There were better comparisons but I do not recall them, sorry.

The sense of the email was how unfair our attitudes are toward a black running for president. I found it interesting but what it didn't say, if it had been a balanced and fair comment on race, is that if Obama were white it would be very unlikely he would even be in the race.

Think about a white freshmen senator with little experience, far left contacts, very liberal voting record and so on. I doubt he would get a chance to get any where near a primary. His early record would be enough to make people reject as too liberal to support. What if our "white" democratic contender had a extremist pastor that said "God damn America?"

So please, don't bring up that argument, it goes both ways.

Oh, and was really amused to see Sarah Palin on TV questioning Obama's experience. What's the term....hutspah? Well, would Sarah Palin be leading a Republican ticket if she had gone into the race on her own? I doubt it - too inexperienced, very conservative religious views, etc. She is running only as vice-president only because John McCain selected her. Conservative Republicans might have liked her but she would not engender enough support through the party and on a national level to do it on her own. Do you disagree? I think there are similarities here.

I don't think our political process does a good job of selecting the best candidates to lead our country. I think we should ask five year olds! The "Are you smarter then a five year old" show on TV has shown how highly qualified they are!

Magicjack

I heard about this new phone tool Magicjack that allows you to make free local and long distance calls through your computer (in some area codes). It looks like it could be a good deal for some folks but this website, as is the case for many now days, makes it very hard to find out the cost.

I am always irritated when they make it so difficult to find product costs, I guess they want to "sell" me on the product first. Sometimes I end up pretending I am going to buy the product and go through the initial purchase information, and then close the window before completing with the transaction.

It is another case of customer dis-service. Companies, like people are lemmings on concepts. One or a few start moving in a direction and most others do the same just because it is the way they think you achieve results. If some are doing it, then it must be right.

Sure would be nice if companies returned to the days when they made a genuine effort to service the customer. As for Magicjack...how much does it cost? Don't know, didn't want to waste more time finding out.

The Stock Market is Normal

Stocks dropped significantly today on news that retail sales are down. Duh...what did they think they would hear? Of course the public curbed their spending when Washington was panicking.

I've always viewed the market with bemusement when it responds to the obvious like this. The way I see it, speculators dump stocks, or buy, on the slightest whim and it is they who are causing today's swing. Speculators make lousy barometers of the market's overall health.

To think that the market swings are over or that we are through the worse and it will be a steady upward trend is out of touch with reality. However, I can actually view today's market response with some optimism because it is Wall Street functioning like it normally does...abnormally.

The Economy

Finally couldn't resist making a comment about the plunging economy. Yesterday the Wall Street Journal published graphs showing the stock market during the Great Depression, the recessionary 1970's and the most recent period of 2000 to present. In the first two, unemployment was a major factor that brought the market down. That hasn't been the case in the present period but don't give up hope.

Unemployment is sure to rise drastically and when the stats are announced will likely trigger another Wall Street sell off by frenetic investors. I doubt the sell off will be huge as the market will have pretty much bottomed out by then (I suspect around 7000 on the Dow). Another buying opportunity for the daring or reckless.

As to the Dow low point, I should start a pool. Who wants 8000?

The Lesser of Evils

It always seems to become a choice between the lesser of evils in the presidential race. This time I have to decide whether I want to vote for a man that is, in my estimation, too old to serve two terms (I think that is a requisite) with a running mate that is a hockey mom, inexperienced in world politics; or a man I view as a glib opportunist with little in the way of real credentials or experience. A man that has questionable ties to others and rose in power through the corrupt good old boys stage of Chicago politics.

Hell, maybe our local county sheriff should run for president as soon as he gets out of prison.

Who Can You Trust?

This plunging economy has wrecked havoc. You can't even trust a bunny.

Football on Steroids

The Wall Street Journal had an article yesterday about steroid use in the NFL. Essentially it said that steroids are heavily used, especially by linemen. The reason no one seems to be concerned is those folks are not well known.

Barry Bonds is well known and has had major influence on game results. Thus the investigations, etc. Unless you are a major football buff, you probably cannot name more then one or two linemen...if that. They undoubtedly have impact on game results but not near that of the money boys - quarterbacks and receivers so no one seems to care.

The astounding statistic cited is that NFL linemen are 90 lbs heavier, on average, then 25 years ago. The NFL has thus enacted more rules to protect quarterbacks, etc. from body damage but it seems I see more and more players being carried off the field. Its time to ban steroids from all sports - and be serious about it.

NC DMV

I recently got a renewal notice and dutifully sent my check to them via the postal system. It came back noting that it had been rejected because I had not included a $1.00 handling fee for renewals made by mail. The alternative was to go online and pay with a credit card.

I'm bemused that in this economy where they lament the huge credit card debt the state is pushing us to add to it. Yeah a buck isn't much but the point is the thinking behind it. Instead of encouraging cash they want us to add to our debt load for their convenience...and most people that pay with credit card are carrying a balance so that $1.00 ends up costing more.

I've also wondered how much it costs the state to reject my renewal for that extra buck. Think I'll do it again. My passive aggressive attack against big government! I bet its got Raleigh scared.

Oh, maybe this buck goes for Bill's salary. Maybe I might reconsider.

Drambuie has Sailed Away

I've sold Drambuie and it has figuratively sailed away. Actually, it was put on a truck to western New York where it was off loaded, mast restepped and sailed across Lake Ontario to a new home in Toronto Canada.

The new owner plans to continue outfitting her for cruising and in a couple years set out for the Bahamas and points south. The new owner has strong cruising experience and I am glad Drambuie (under a new name) will be doing what she is so well designed to do.

PLEASE do not say the happiest two days in a boat owners life are when he buys a boat and when he sells the boat. True for some, maybe many, but insulting to me! Have I already said that?

Part of this process is accepting that some dreams will never be realized. A process that marks our process of aging. As I grow older I'll have to accept other limits, other freedoms gone. It ain't fun doing that.

Henry Ford and iTunes

End of July I made a side trip to visit my brother George who lives near Detroit. From Detroit I went on to New York to attend the 50th reunion of my high school class.

George and his wife. Carolyn, took Hazel and I to the Henry Ford Museum. Naturally a substantial part of the museum was devoted to the auto industry. I almost just wrote "its rise and fall" because within the exhibits and the placards were the seeds of present day Detroit's decline.

Henry Ford was not the first to try mass production of the automobile, but he was the first to standardize. His motto to give them black resonated through the entire process and was instrumental in the early success of Ford. Cars became affordable and more reliable. General Motors recognized that the consumer wanted more then black and marketed a range of models that gave the car buyer a choice. A choice coupled with mass production. By 1920 GM had wrested major market share from Ford.

I found it ironic that GM, the company that championed giving the customer a product they wanted, is now in market and financial trouble because they lost sight of that truism. They, like many companies, tried to drive the market to what they wanted to produce (and provides the most profit) so that sooner or later its nemesis, in the most original meaning of the term (nemesis: the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris - hubris: to indicate overweening pride, self-confidence, superciliousness, or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution) initiated its downfall. GM got greedy. Not everyone wanted SUV's and the potential for that market failing was shown during the oil shortage of the 1970s. Sure they had a good run for awhile but in the hundred years or so of their existence, a short run. The seeds of decline were evident as far back as late 60's. There were many that wanted a small economical car that had decent reliability. VW came first and then the Japanese. Each whittling away at that market. The Japanese have continued to recognize its importance, the importance of giving the consumer a choice.

Last Thursday's issue of the Wall Street Journal has an article about iTunes and how it is making some artists (and label executives) unhappy. iTunes simply gave the consumer want they wanted, the ability to buy singles instead of CD's often containing one or two good songs and the rest a rehash or bundle of garbage music. Hooray for iTunes. I am a fan and a loyal customer because Apple recognized and gave me what I wanted. The RIAA is still seething and some labels (e.g. Atlantic records) have pulled some music from iTunes in an effort to pressure Apple - in effect rollback the clock.

The poor label executives, managers and artists are upset that iTunes, with few exceptions, requires that songs be made available separately. I can accept that in a some cases the artist may want to keep their music as one piece of work. Mozart, if he were alive today, may have felt that way. But I strongly doubt LL Cool and 50 Cent are of that persuasion. Yeah, I know some poor groups like The Eagles are realizing a few million $ less than in the past. Never the less, I suspect they are still well compensated.

The industry is twisting in the wind. A long deserved position. Apple sells 90% of the digital downloads and that has some like Kid Rock's manager crying iTunes is a "part of the death knell of the music business." They stupidly try to stuff the genie back in the bottle (like Atlantic Records). Goliath iTunes has them by the short hairs though and efforts thus far have failed. I'll bet they are even trying to lobby congress for some sort of antitrust action to squelch Apple.

Apple has a mindset, however, that will likely be its undoing. It likes to dictate the terms even when doing so may not be in their long term best interest. I've always thought that Apple could have been Microsoft if instead of trying to bundle their software into a pricey computer system had sold their operating system to run on pc's.

For now I enjoy the specter of squirming Music Labels. My hope though is that the competent artists, not at the top of the charts, are realizing decent income (not buckets of money) from their music.

So for now, Toyota and Apple are up, Ford, GM and RIAA are down. Works for me. Funny how providing the product that consumers want seems to lead to success.

Puppy Mills

Its been awhile since I last posted and I have several blogs I want to write but much has been happening and there has been little time. My hopes are that soon I can write more but this came across my email tray and I had to take the time to write.

I used to think those cute dogs in cages in chain pet stores were well treated and came from good reputable dog breeders. That is not necessarily, in fact, often not the case. Puppy mills are the suppliers and in addition to promulgating poor strains that are prone to disease and physical problems, the conditions can be horrendous. I will never buy from a pet store again.

This news item in the Parkersburg, VA News and Sentinel tells of one such puppy mill. Please take the time to read the entire article.

Maya's Birthday

We got a granddaughter and sugar high.

Koko is Gone

It was only a few hours ago when I wrote my last blog about Koko. Nothing sudden really happened - we just took a hard look at how she was behaving and realized it wasn't going to get better.

She was finding it hard to breathe or be comfortable - tending to stand instead of lying to rest or sleep. Last night she panted all night long. Perhaps to an outsider without the emotional ties it would have been obvious but that final decision is not easily made.

Goodbye baby.

Koko Update

Koko is doing better then when I lat wrote but is still not the perky dog that has been with us so many years. The good news is she is not in the intense pain and discomfort.

Last week, since she was doing better, we took a chance and left her with some people when we went to Raleigh for Maya's birthday. It was sort of a test to see how well she would do. When we picked her up Sunday she was okay but over the last two day we can tell she doesn't move as freely and believe she is uncomfortable.

For a week or so after her last "episode" I was begining to think she might fully recover. She has had previous back problems which cleared under "bed rest" and she regained her normal buoyancy. However, it is now a matter of time I am sure.

During our weekend trip Koko got to play with another dog she likes, Peanut. Peanut is a friendly little terrier that seems to enjoy Koko's visits so we were glad Koko could have that pleasure.

Browsing Music

I was browsing music and followed a link to Amazon.com for a group called "Quiet Village." I liked some of the music but not enough to buy the album for $14 or $11 from used and new. Out of curiosity opened iTunes and checked there, cost is $10. Of course iTunes limits my use of the music. This is info you can't live without.

One advantage of checking the two sites is that Amazon's music sampler allows you a little longer sound bite to judge whether you like the music.

And...check out Noisetrade.