You can’t make stuff like this up...
If you think Tom jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch was strange, take a look at this...
Xenu was about to be deposed from power, so he devised a plot to eliminate the excess population from his dominions. With the assistance of “renegades,” he defeated the populace and the “Loyal Officers,” a force for good that was opposed to Xenu. Then, with the assistance of psychiatrists, he summoned billions of people to paralyse them with injections of alcohol and glycol, under the pretense that they were being called for “income tax inspections.” The kidnapped populace was loaded into space planes for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth). The space planes were exact copies of Douglas DC-8s, “except the DC-8 had fans, propellers on it and the space plane didn’t.” DC-8s have jet engines, not propellers, although Hubbard may have meant the turbine fans.
When the space planes had reached Teegeeack, the paralysed people were unloaded and stacked around the bases of volcanoes across the planet. Hydrogen bombs were lowered into the volcanoes, and all were detonated simultaneously. Only a few people’s physical bodies survived.
The now-disembodied victims' souls, which Hubbard called thetans, were blown into the air by the blast. They were captured by Xenu's forces using an "electronic ribbon" ("which also was a type of standing wave") and sucked into "vacuum zones" around the world. The hundreds of billions of captured thetans were taken to a type of cinema, where they were forced to watch a “three-D, super colossal motion picture” for 36 days.
Now the rant with Matt Lauer about psychiatrists takes on a new light.
Jun 30, 2005
Ah, you’ve got to feel sorry for the ladies...
...the average self-flagellating female, swimsuit shopping is as pleasurable as paying taxes and getting a root canal. Most styles are designed for porn stars or nymphets...
...the average self-flagellating female, swimsuit shopping is as pleasurable as paying taxes and getting a root canal. Most styles are designed for porn stars or nymphets...
I’m indulging myself today (so please your pardons). I have finally installed Tiger on the two main machines - after much procrastination. Now, I am enjoying playing around with Safari and finally getting a chance to use all those cool things previously denied me because of my stubborn reliance on old software.
Now just to get all the other software installed and running properly!
Now just to get all the other software installed and running properly!
My life as furniture...
I was at a function over the weekend where I was asked ‘what I was doing,’ to which I replied, ‘nothing.’ That’s not entirely true when I pause and give it some thought. I’ve found a new career as furniture for the cat - it would appear there’s nothing better than using me as a warm place to sleep.
I was at a function over the weekend where I was asked ‘what I was doing,’ to which I replied, ‘nothing.’ That’s not entirely true when I pause and give it some thought. I’ve found a new career as furniture for the cat - it would appear there’s nothing better than using me as a warm place to sleep.
Jun 29, 2005
Finally there is proof!
...or is there?
Came across this today and the first thing which struck me was maybe it’s not so much the drug as the condition that results from taking it:
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had 38 reports of blindness caused by a a condition called NAION or non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy among users of Viagra.
...or is there?
Came across this today and the first thing which struck me was maybe it’s not so much the drug as the condition that results from taking it:
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had 38 reports of blindness caused by a a condition called NAION or non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy among users of Viagra.
Jun 27, 2005
Memories of another childhood hero...
Passed along to me by The Beck was the sad news regarding the passing of Paul Winchell:
At 82 Paul was still active and was working on streaming video that would showcase full half hour children shows from the 50’s and 60’s. Not just his shows, but as many performers as he could get that had wholesome children's programming. He wanted it all to be free to the public.
Clicking on the link or image above will take you to the man’s site - he lead an amazing life.
In 1963, he patented an artificial heart that he said was a collaboration with Henry J. Heimlich, inventor of the maneuver for choking victims. Mr. Winchell’s device was considered the prototype for the one designed by Robert K. Jarvik that was successfully implanted in a human in 1982.
Heimlich later said: “I saw the heart, I saw the patent and I saw the letters. The basic principle used in Winchell’s heart and Jarvik’s heart is exactly the same.”
Passed along to me by The Beck was the sad news regarding the passing of Paul Winchell:
At 82 Paul was still active and was working on streaming video that would showcase full half hour children shows from the 50’s and 60’s. Not just his shows, but as many performers as he could get that had wholesome children's programming. He wanted it all to be free to the public.
Clicking on the link or image above will take you to the man’s site - he lead an amazing life.
In 1963, he patented an artificial heart that he said was a collaboration with Henry J. Heimlich, inventor of the maneuver for choking victims. Mr. Winchell’s device was considered the prototype for the one designed by Robert K. Jarvik that was successfully implanted in a human in 1982.
Heimlich later said: “I saw the heart, I saw the patent and I saw the letters. The basic principle used in Winchell’s heart and Jarvik’s heart is exactly the same.”
Jun 23, 2005
Picking up speed...
So, it’s official - I’m over the hill. Along the road of life, I climbed, crested and now am on the downward slope. I don’t feel that way personally but, I have heard from someone recently I was ‘too old.’
It was shocking really.
After having been ‘too young’ for things, I never realized I had progressed into that age bracket where I was ‘just right.’ I guess I blinked and I missed it.
Now, I’m too old.
I don’t think you’re ever too old myself. I don’t feel any different mind you. I don’t feel as if some bridge has been crossed. Certainly there are ways in which my body reminds me of the passage of time.
- Things don’t heal quite as fast as they might have years ago.
- My energy level (which was never something to brag about to begin with) hasn’t noticeably diminished but, I do notice a fatigue on those days after I’ve done something like walked a few miles around the city on a hot day lugging around the city with the always too heavy bag full of stuff (people wonder what’s in that bag, wouldn’t you all like to know).
- And of course, there’s the seemingly growing array of various noises and aches my body subjects me to over the course of the day.
These are the only ways I would have acknowledged that the years have gone by.
Oh, and of course whenever I see one of those ‘candid’ pictures someone snaps of you (when you really don’t want them to take your picture). I see a person who I almost don’t recognize. Some lines on the face, some gray in the hair, a bit of paunchiness and some bags under the eyes - who is that person anyway?!?! Yes, it’s the person masquerading as me.
Like I said, inside the house that hosts my consciousness - nothing feels like it’s changed - only the image staring back from the mirror each day is different.
So, I was told I’m ‘too old,’ what to do, what to do?
Of course, the person who told me this is someone who is considerably my junior. This is something which I found a little ironic. Over a decade separates me from the arbiter of my fate. Strangely enough, these kinds of judgments are never made by someone who is older than you, only by someone who is younger.
I know our society emphasizes youth but, as I lap years I can’t help but look back on the past with a certain wry appreciation of my own naivety. I imagine each generation suffers from the same plight - that certainty they’ve seen it all, done it all and are that much more tuned in to the world than those who have come before.
So, after my initial indignation, my next thought was: hee, hee, hee... boy, if you aren’t in for a surprise.
So, my youthful judge you’ll have excuse me if I don’t go out and buy the plot just yet.
So, it’s official - I’m over the hill. Along the road of life, I climbed, crested and now am on the downward slope. I don’t feel that way personally but, I have heard from someone recently I was ‘too old.’
It was shocking really.
After having been ‘too young’ for things, I never realized I had progressed into that age bracket where I was ‘just right.’ I guess I blinked and I missed it.
Now, I’m too old.
I don’t think you’re ever too old myself. I don’t feel any different mind you. I don’t feel as if some bridge has been crossed. Certainly there are ways in which my body reminds me of the passage of time.
- Things don’t heal quite as fast as they might have years ago.
- My energy level (which was never something to brag about to begin with) hasn’t noticeably diminished but, I do notice a fatigue on those days after I’ve done something like walked a few miles around the city on a hot day lugging around the city with the always too heavy bag full of stuff (people wonder what’s in that bag, wouldn’t you all like to know).
- And of course, there’s the seemingly growing array of various noises and aches my body subjects me to over the course of the day.
These are the only ways I would have acknowledged that the years have gone by.
Oh, and of course whenever I see one of those ‘candid’ pictures someone snaps of you (when you really don’t want them to take your picture). I see a person who I almost don’t recognize. Some lines on the face, some gray in the hair, a bit of paunchiness and some bags under the eyes - who is that person anyway?!?! Yes, it’s the person masquerading as me.
Like I said, inside the house that hosts my consciousness - nothing feels like it’s changed - only the image staring back from the mirror each day is different.
So, I was told I’m ‘too old,’ what to do, what to do?
Of course, the person who told me this is someone who is considerably my junior. This is something which I found a little ironic. Over a decade separates me from the arbiter of my fate. Strangely enough, these kinds of judgments are never made by someone who is older than you, only by someone who is younger.
I know our society emphasizes youth but, as I lap years I can’t help but look back on the past with a certain wry appreciation of my own naivety. I imagine each generation suffers from the same plight - that certainty they’ve seen it all, done it all and are that much more tuned in to the world than those who have come before.
So, after my initial indignation, my next thought was: hee, hee, hee... boy, if you aren’t in for a surprise.
So, my youthful judge you’ll have excuse me if I don’t go out and buy the plot just yet.
The return of Mac clones?
Or cheaper Macs? Interesting article about the implications of Apple’s switch over to the Intel Processor:
Apple also could eventually feel financial and consumer pressure to license the Mac OS after the Intel switch because consumers will be better able to compare Windows-based PCs with Macintosh computers and determine the premium paid for the Mac OS and the computers’ design. That transparency could well force Apple to bring computer prices more in line with those of its PC rivals, which, unlike Apple, typically sell their machines at thin profit margins.
Or cheaper Macs? Interesting article about the implications of Apple’s switch over to the Intel Processor:
Apple also could eventually feel financial and consumer pressure to license the Mac OS after the Intel switch because consumers will be better able to compare Windows-based PCs with Macintosh computers and determine the premium paid for the Mac OS and the computers’ design. That transparency could well force Apple to bring computer prices more in line with those of its PC rivals, which, unlike Apple, typically sell their machines at thin profit margins.
A revised opinion...
The Yankees don’t play in Flushing and
The Mets are in the toilet.
Just a painful June. The Astros came to town and the Mets went south it seems.
There are four guys I am hoping the Mets will pursue - I doubt they’ll get them but I certainly hope they do.
The players are:
__________
Sean Casey
__________
Alfonso Soriano
__________
Eric Milton
__________
Mark Redman
Casey is a first baseman from Cincinnati who apparently can “be had” and should combined in a trade to allow Cincinnati to get out from under the contract for Eric Milton (which they must be having second thoughts about).
The Pirates are always trade partners and rumors are that Redman is available for the right package.
Soriano is too keen on his sojourn in Texas (according to the rumblings) and a change of scenery could only benefit Kaz Matsui - plus with the abundance of starters currently it would be very possible for the Mets to package Zambrano or Ishi to get a decent second baseman.
We’ll see.
The Mets are in the toilet.
Just a painful June. The Astros came to town and the Mets went south it seems.
There are four guys I am hoping the Mets will pursue - I doubt they’ll get them but I certainly hope they do.
__________
Sean Casey
__________
Alfonso Soriano
__________
Eric Milton
__________
Mark Redman
Casey is a first baseman from Cincinnati who apparently can “be had” and should combined in a trade to allow Cincinnati to get out from under the contract for Eric Milton (which they must be having second thoughts about).
The Pirates are always trade partners and rumors are that Redman is available for the right package.
Soriano is too keen on his sojourn in Texas (according to the rumblings) and a change of scenery could only benefit Kaz Matsui - plus with the abundance of starters currently it would be very possible for the Mets to package Zambrano or Ishi to get a decent second baseman.
We’ll see.
Jun 21, 2005
What better remedy for the first day of summer...
...than to put up a link to a Christmas card gallery.
Below is the infamous and unforgettable “Reindeer by Committee” holiday card by my friend Mark Favreau. Nothing has ever captured the lunacy of working in the industry quite like this card. The gallery of his various holiday cards is worth a look (Mark’s a terrific artist) and Mark’s a multi talented guy having done everything from a CD ROM game (back when it was a trailblazing thing to do) to all kinds of design work.
1989. Furthering the point, this card was picked up by bunches of folks and organizations who, apparently feeling neglected that they were not consulted during its creation, wanted copies, permission to reproduce it, claim it as their own, rip it off, improve it, revise it, and otherwise participate in the creative process after the fact.
Check out his site. Better still hire him for some work!
...than to put up a link to a Christmas card gallery.
Below is the infamous and unforgettable “Reindeer by Committee” holiday card by my friend Mark Favreau. Nothing has ever captured the lunacy of working in the industry quite like this card. The gallery of his various holiday cards is worth a look (Mark’s a terrific artist) and Mark’s a multi talented guy having done everything from a CD ROM game (back when it was a trailblazing thing to do) to all kinds of design work.
1989. Furthering the point, this card was picked up by bunches of folks and organizations who, apparently feeling neglected that they were not consulted during its creation, wanted copies, permission to reproduce it, claim it as their own, rip it off, improve it, revise it, and otherwise participate in the creative process after the fact.
Check out his site. Better still hire him for some work!
Jun 20, 2005
Pardon me, my mouth went off and I didn’t know it was loaded...
Blog Sensei is feeling remorse. She wrote something which apparently got someone else in trouble and now she feels terrible about it:
Because of flippant, arrogant comments I made someone is else is being made to pay a very high price, which is worse to me than if I was fired because of something I said.
Working from the assumption (as I do), I manage to piss off most of the world at any given time I find myself unencumbered by the pangs of conscious.
Most of the time that is...
I still write what I want but, you’ll see those little apologetic after words if I think I might have stepped over the line and offended someone else’s delicate sensibilities. Which is surprising, I never get the sense there’s this great movement out there going on sacrificing for the sake of my feelings but, living in a politically correct society as we do all language has become somewhat akin to walking amidst a minefield. You never know when what you say will set a bomb off.
Of course, I have to say that I take great pleasure in reading the musings of my Blog Sensei. While it hasn’t made us grow any closer as two people, I find her to be an intelligent, thoughtful, sensitive and graceful person. There aren’t a lot of people who I would proscribe those qualities to but in essence, I think that goes to show you what a special person I believe her to be.
Consequently, anything that would stifle her from voicing her thoughts really is bothersome and angers me. It angers me in the futile way men get angry, that stupid yell at the sky kind of rage that just makes a person look foolish and is usually unwelcome.
All I’m getting at is Blog Sensei is a pretty quiet person for the most part, quashing her beautiful means of expression is a crime. Probably one of the reasons I like and respect her so much is that I know she really is sorry for whatever did happen which is probably a lot more than can be said about the person or persons making an issue of the whole thing.
At the end of the day, it’s all just speculation on my part. Just another instance probably of me sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong but for those of you that do know her, I hope you’ll take it as a cue to do something nice for her if only to make her feel a little better.
Blog Sensei is feeling remorse. She wrote something which apparently got someone else in trouble and now she feels terrible about it:
Because of flippant, arrogant comments I made someone is else is being made to pay a very high price, which is worse to me than if I was fired because of something I said.
Working from the assumption (as I do), I manage to piss off most of the world at any given time I find myself unencumbered by the pangs of conscious.
Most of the time that is...
I still write what I want but, you’ll see those little apologetic after words if I think I might have stepped over the line and offended someone else’s delicate sensibilities. Which is surprising, I never get the sense there’s this great movement out there going on sacrificing for the sake of my feelings but, living in a politically correct society as we do all language has become somewhat akin to walking amidst a minefield. You never know when what you say will set a bomb off.
Of course, I have to say that I take great pleasure in reading the musings of my Blog Sensei. While it hasn’t made us grow any closer as two people, I find her to be an intelligent, thoughtful, sensitive and graceful person. There aren’t a lot of people who I would proscribe those qualities to but in essence, I think that goes to show you what a special person I believe her to be.
Consequently, anything that would stifle her from voicing her thoughts really is bothersome and angers me. It angers me in the futile way men get angry, that stupid yell at the sky kind of rage that just makes a person look foolish and is usually unwelcome.
All I’m getting at is Blog Sensei is a pretty quiet person for the most part, quashing her beautiful means of expression is a crime. Probably one of the reasons I like and respect her so much is that I know she really is sorry for whatever did happen which is probably a lot more than can be said about the person or persons making an issue of the whole thing.
At the end of the day, it’s all just speculation on my part. Just another instance probably of me sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong but for those of you that do know her, I hope you’ll take it as a cue to do something nice for her if only to make her feel a little better.
Jun 19, 2005
The next big thing?
I remember back in ancient days ('94?) reading about technologies that would replace SCSI. Things like USB and Firewire where you wouldn’t be limited to a seven device chain. People forget about the SCSI limitation nowadays but, it’s one of a number of tech standards that have come and gone over the last decade and a half (floppies, Bernoullis, Syquest, Zip, Jaz, CDs - anyone? anyone?). Well, I was doing my morning reading and came across this article and thought I would pass it along - the clincher in this case of course is the thing about the tech being on the market by ’06 pr ’07. Imagine 25 DVDs on a stamp!
One of IBM’s more promising near-term technologies is its Millipede data storage technology. The device — which works on a principle similar to those old data punch cards that those of us who are 40 or older used in the 1970s — employs atomic-sized tips to create pits about 10 nanometers wide that are then read as bits of data. This technique will allow a device the size of a postage stamp to hold the equivalent of 25 DVDs. If IBM can bring the technology to market in 2006 or 2007, as expected, it could represent a new way to store massive amounts of data and fuel wide-scale use in next-generation cell phones, digital cameras, and PDAs.
I remember back in ancient days ('94?) reading about technologies that would replace SCSI. Things like USB and Firewire where you wouldn’t be limited to a seven device chain. People forget about the SCSI limitation nowadays but, it’s one of a number of tech standards that have come and gone over the last decade and a half (floppies, Bernoullis, Syquest, Zip, Jaz, CDs - anyone? anyone?). Well, I was doing my morning reading and came across this article and thought I would pass it along - the clincher in this case of course is the thing about the tech being on the market by ’06 pr ’07. Imagine 25 DVDs on a stamp!
One of IBM’s more promising near-term technologies is its Millipede data storage technology. The device — which works on a principle similar to those old data punch cards that those of us who are 40 or older used in the 1970s — employs atomic-sized tips to create pits about 10 nanometers wide that are then read as bits of data. This technique will allow a device the size of a postage stamp to hold the equivalent of 25 DVDs. If IBM can bring the technology to market in 2006 or 2007, as expected, it could represent a new way to store massive amounts of data and fuel wide-scale use in next-generation cell phones, digital cameras, and PDAs.
Jun 15, 2005
More on the Wal-Mart virus...
The thing that got me looking into this was Frontline’s excellent program on Wal-Mart’s impact on America. If you haven’t seen it, it is really worth trying to catch. Frontline has a lot of the video and related materials up on their website but, you’ll need a big pipe for the streaming video.
Last year we imported $36 billion of goods from China. We exported only $3 billion and most of what we sent out was raw materials to service China’s production boom. “We export cotton; we bring in clothing,” Smith explained. “We export hides; we bring in shoes. We export scrap metal; we bring back machinery.”
Add it all up and you get a record trade deficit with China that will likely exceed $150 billion this year. “You definitely see the imbalance in trade when you come down to the port,” says Smith.
The thing that got me looking into this was Frontline’s excellent program on Wal-Mart’s impact on America. If you haven’t seen it, it is really worth trying to catch. Frontline has a lot of the video and related materials up on their website but, you’ll need a big pipe for the streaming video.
Last year we imported $36 billion of goods from China. We exported only $3 billion and most of what we sent out was raw materials to service China’s production boom. “We export cotton; we bring in clothing,” Smith explained. “We export hides; we bring in shoes. We export scrap metal; we bring back machinery.”
Add it all up and you get a record trade deficit with China that will likely exceed $150 billion this year. “You definitely see the imbalance in trade when you come down to the port,” says Smith.
The virus sweeping the nation...
I saw something on PBS last night (more on that later) which caused me to do some looking around and I came across this Pulitzer winning series from the Los Angeles Times - it’s really worth a read:
Wal-Mart gives. And Wal-Mart takes away.
From a small-town five-and-dime, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has grown over 50 years to become the world’s largest corporation and a global economic force.
It posted $245 billion in sales in its most recent fiscal year — nearly twice as much as General Electric Co. and almost eight times as much as Microsoft Corp. It is the nation’s largest seller of toys, furniture, jewelry, dog food and scores of other consumer products. It is the largest grocer in the United States.
Wal-Mart’s decisions influence wages and working conditions across a wide swath of the world economy, from the shopping centers of Las Vegas to the factories of Honduras and South Asia. Its business is so vital to developing countries that some send emissaries to the corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., almost as if Wal-Mart were a sovereign nation.
The company has prospered by elevating one goal above all others: cutting prices relentlessly. U.S. economists say its tightfistedness has not only boosted its own bottom line, but also helped hold down the inflation rate for the entire country. Consumers reap the benefits every time they push a cart through Wal-Mart’s checkout lines.
Yet Wal-Mart’s astonishing success exacts a heavy price.
By squeezing suppliers to cut wholesale costs, the company has hastened the flight of U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. By scouring the globe for the cheapest goods, it has driven factory jobs from one poor nation to another.
Wal-Mart’s penny-pinching extends to its own 1.2 million U.S. employees, none of them unionized. By the company’s own admission, a full-time worker might not be able to support a family on a Wal-Mart paycheck.
I saw something on PBS last night (more on that later) which caused me to do some looking around and I came across this Pulitzer winning series from the Los Angeles Times - it’s really worth a read:
Wal-Mart gives. And Wal-Mart takes away.
From a small-town five-and-dime, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has grown over 50 years to become the world’s largest corporation and a global economic force.
It posted $245 billion in sales in its most recent fiscal year — nearly twice as much as General Electric Co. and almost eight times as much as Microsoft Corp. It is the nation’s largest seller of toys, furniture, jewelry, dog food and scores of other consumer products. It is the largest grocer in the United States.
Wal-Mart’s decisions influence wages and working conditions across a wide swath of the world economy, from the shopping centers of Las Vegas to the factories of Honduras and South Asia. Its business is so vital to developing countries that some send emissaries to the corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., almost as if Wal-Mart were a sovereign nation.
The company has prospered by elevating one goal above all others: cutting prices relentlessly. U.S. economists say its tightfistedness has not only boosted its own bottom line, but also helped hold down the inflation rate for the entire country. Consumers reap the benefits every time they push a cart through Wal-Mart’s checkout lines.
Yet Wal-Mart’s astonishing success exacts a heavy price.
By squeezing suppliers to cut wholesale costs, the company has hastened the flight of U.S. manufacturing jobs overseas. By scouring the globe for the cheapest goods, it has driven factory jobs from one poor nation to another.
Wal-Mart’s penny-pinching extends to its own 1.2 million U.S. employees, none of them unionized. By the company’s own admission, a full-time worker might not be able to support a family on a Wal-Mart paycheck.
Jun 14, 2005
Reflections on business past...
The first of them arrived at 3 a.m. By daybreak some 4,000 were huddled in the deep January freeze. By 7:30, 10,000 men had gathered at the entrance to the Highland Park, Mich., factory, hoping for a job at a wage that sounded too good to be true.
But it was true. The previous morning, Henry Ford had lingered near a window while his treasurer read a statement to reporters: “At one stroke, [Ford] will reduce the hours of labor from nine to eight” and offer its workers “five dollars per day”—more than twice the prevailing wage of $2.34.
The 1914 announcement hit America like a thunderclap. The Wall Street Journal accused Ford of “an economic blunder if not crimes.” But Ford’s motives were neither socialist nor utopian. Ever since his assembly lines had lurched into motion the year before, he simply could not keep workers. Turnover of 370% required hiring almost 50,000 people a year just to maintain a workforce of 14,000. Putting $5 in a worker’s pocket, Ford hoped, would do more than reward him for grueling and mind-numbing work.
Seems to me that this is a lesson which American businesses would be wise to relearn.
An interesting article on the Fortune website on the best and worst calls in business history.
The first of them arrived at 3 a.m. By daybreak some 4,000 were huddled in the deep January freeze. By 7:30, 10,000 men had gathered at the entrance to the Highland Park, Mich., factory, hoping for a job at a wage that sounded too good to be true.
But it was true. The previous morning, Henry Ford had lingered near a window while his treasurer read a statement to reporters: “At one stroke, [Ford] will reduce the hours of labor from nine to eight” and offer its workers “five dollars per day”—more than twice the prevailing wage of $2.34.
The 1914 announcement hit America like a thunderclap. The Wall Street Journal accused Ford of “an economic blunder if not crimes.” But Ford’s motives were neither socialist nor utopian. Ever since his assembly lines had lurched into motion the year before, he simply could not keep workers. Turnover of 370% required hiring almost 50,000 people a year just to maintain a workforce of 14,000. Putting $5 in a worker’s pocket, Ford hoped, would do more than reward him for grueling and mind-numbing work.
Seems to me that this is a lesson which American businesses would be wise to relearn.
An interesting article on the Fortune website on the best and worst calls in business history.
Jun 9, 2005
Poetry corner...
Some beautiful words on a site with humanistic text including words from some of the San People:
The wind does thus when we die, our (own) wind blows; for we, who are human beings, we possess wind; we make clouds, when we die. Therefore, the wind does thus when we die, the wind makes dust, because it intends to blow, taking away our footprints, with which we had walked about while we still had nothing the matter with us. And our footprints, which the wind intends to blow away, would otherwise still lie plainly visible. For, the thing would seem as if we still lived. Therefore, the winds intends to blow, taking away our footprints.
Some beautiful words on a site with humanistic text including words from some of the San People:
The wind does thus when we die, our (own) wind blows; for we, who are human beings, we possess wind; we make clouds, when we die. Therefore, the wind does thus when we die, the wind makes dust, because it intends to blow, taking away our footprints, with which we had walked about while we still had nothing the matter with us. And our footprints, which the wind intends to blow away, would otherwise still lie plainly visible. For, the thing would seem as if we still lived. Therefore, the winds intends to blow, taking away our footprints.
Dia!kwain, San People
Look for this...
Saw this documentary on PBS last night (channel 13 here in New York) which is being rerun on Saturday morning at 7:30am. Even if you can’t get up it’s worth taping (or Tivo-ing as I imagine I’m dating myself).
By collecting blood samples from thousands of men living in isolated tribes around the world and analyzing their DNA, 34-year-old geneticist Spencer Wells and his colleagues discovered that all humans alive today can be traced back to a small tribe of hunter-gatherers who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago.
Well, as I said the documentary was fascinating and it sparked a great story idea for me which I spent some time last night doing some research online for. During my browsing, I came across a something which struck me as so horrific in scope, it was sickening. If you ever wonder why there are problems in regard to race relations take a look at this jewel of history and make your own decision:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SARA BAARTMAN is the fascinating story of this Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa, and then exhibited as a freak across Britain. The image and idea of “The Hottentot Venus” swept through British popular culture. A court battle waged by abolitionists to free her from her exhibitors failed.
In 1814 she was taken to France, and became the object of scientific and medical research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about black female sexuality. She died the next year. But even after her death, Sara Baartman remained an object of imperialist scientific investigation. In the name of Science, her sexual organs and brain were displayed in the Musee de l'Homme in Paris until as recently as 1985.
Saw this documentary on PBS last night (channel 13 here in New York) which is being rerun on Saturday morning at 7:30am. Even if you can’t get up it’s worth taping (or Tivo-ing as I imagine I’m dating myself).
By collecting blood samples from thousands of men living in isolated tribes around the world and analyzing their DNA, 34-year-old geneticist Spencer Wells and his colleagues discovered that all humans alive today can be traced back to a small tribe of hunter-gatherers who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago.
Well, as I said the documentary was fascinating and it sparked a great story idea for me which I spent some time last night doing some research online for. During my browsing, I came across a something which struck me as so horrific in scope, it was sickening. If you ever wonder why there are problems in regard to race relations take a look at this jewel of history and make your own decision:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SARA BAARTMAN is the fascinating story of this Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa, and then exhibited as a freak across Britain. The image and idea of “The Hottentot Venus” swept through British popular culture. A court battle waged by abolitionists to free her from her exhibitors failed.
In 1814 she was taken to France, and became the object of scientific and medical research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about black female sexuality. She died the next year. But even after her death, Sara Baartman remained an object of imperialist scientific investigation. In the name of Science, her sexual organs and brain were displayed in the Musee de l'Homme in Paris until as recently as 1985.
Jun 8, 2005
Some fun for you...
I came across this strip and thought I would pass along the link to the artist’s website - it’s definitely worth a look and the strip is lots of fun: Danielle Corsetto’s Girls With Slingshots
I came across this strip and thought I would pass along the link to the artist’s website - it’s definitely worth a look and the strip is lots of fun: Danielle Corsetto’s Girls With Slingshots
Jun 4, 2005
The Propaganda War on retirement benefits...
I’m sure everyone has heard lately about ‘The Discussion’ about Social Security. The system is broke, there won’t be enough to pay out benefits, it’s the looming crisis our nation faces and so on and so on and so on...
It has long been accepted as truth that government workers get good benefits and job security in lieu of high salaries, but over the years the gap between public and private employee paychecks seems to have narrowed. It’s hard to come by perfect comparisons, since government numbers for the private sector include lower-wage industries like retailing, which pull down the averages, but overall, public-sector workers look to be getting a pretty good deal. In 2004 average salary for a public worker was $49,275 compared with $34,461 for everyone else, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
I’ve been seeing a lot of ink lately about employee benefits. Specifically, employee retirement plans which seem to have fallen out of vogue these days.
Executives at Delta and elsewhere in the airline industry—not to mention at similarly legacy-cost-plagued companies like U.S. Steel and GM—are doubtless closely watching the United deal, which could serve either as a potential bargaining tool to use with unions, or as another inducement to try Chapter 11 themselves. American Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier, has said it will keep its pension plans but is concerned about No. 2 United gaining a financial advantage; Delta is currently making plenty of noise about Chapter 11, even as two Georgia Republican Congressmen are currently pushing House legislation to let airlines spread out payments for defined-benefit pension plans and spread the shortfalls over 25 years instead of the current four. And certainly the United deal adds some spice to baby-boom-in-the-python retirement debates from Social Security to, well, the PBGC, now running its own $23 billion deficit. Will retirement/health plan bailouts be our new S&L crisis?
It seems like everytime I turn around these days, employee benefits are the bane of our society - medical benefits, retirement benefits - these things are just hurting perfectly good companies and the American people! We need to wake up folks! We’ve got to do something about these shiftless, lazy bastards who expect to get these benefits! Unfortunately sarcasm does not translate through the keyboard easily.
So, along with the current discussion about Social Security, we are also facing a time when the responsibility for pensions and retirement plans are shifted onto the American Worker.
Now, what I fail to understand (and if someone can explain the logic of this to me) is how the increasing disparity between the average worker’s salary and benefits and that of a company’s top management can continue to be justified. Everytime I turn around, it seems companies are paying a price for bad decisions made by the people in charge but, instead of getting a reduction in pay - they get huge bonuses in the form of stock options and buyouts.
So, now companies are looking at ways to get out from under their obligations via Chapter 11 while simultaneously our government has made it harder for individuals to declare bankruptcy. Can anyone say, “Class Warfare?”
...more to come.
I’m sure everyone has heard lately about ‘The Discussion’ about Social Security. The system is broke, there won’t be enough to pay out benefits, it’s the looming crisis our nation faces and so on and so on and so on...
It has long been accepted as truth that government workers get good benefits and job security in lieu of high salaries, but over the years the gap between public and private employee paychecks seems to have narrowed. It’s hard to come by perfect comparisons, since government numbers for the private sector include lower-wage industries like retailing, which pull down the averages, but overall, public-sector workers look to be getting a pretty good deal. In 2004 average salary for a public worker was $49,275 compared with $34,461 for everyone else, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).
I’ve been seeing a lot of ink lately about employee benefits. Specifically, employee retirement plans which seem to have fallen out of vogue these days.
Executives at Delta and elsewhere in the airline industry—not to mention at similarly legacy-cost-plagued companies like U.S. Steel and GM—are doubtless closely watching the United deal, which could serve either as a potential bargaining tool to use with unions, or as another inducement to try Chapter 11 themselves. American Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier, has said it will keep its pension plans but is concerned about No. 2 United gaining a financial advantage; Delta is currently making plenty of noise about Chapter 11, even as two Georgia Republican Congressmen are currently pushing House legislation to let airlines spread out payments for defined-benefit pension plans and spread the shortfalls over 25 years instead of the current four. And certainly the United deal adds some spice to baby-boom-in-the-python retirement debates from Social Security to, well, the PBGC, now running its own $23 billion deficit. Will retirement/health plan bailouts be our new S&L crisis?
It seems like everytime I turn around these days, employee benefits are the bane of our society - medical benefits, retirement benefits - these things are just hurting perfectly good companies and the American people! We need to wake up folks! We’ve got to do something about these shiftless, lazy bastards who expect to get these benefits! Unfortunately sarcasm does not translate through the keyboard easily.
So, along with the current discussion about Social Security, we are also facing a time when the responsibility for pensions and retirement plans are shifted onto the American Worker.
Now, what I fail to understand (and if someone can explain the logic of this to me) is how the increasing disparity between the average worker’s salary and benefits and that of a company’s top management can continue to be justified. Everytime I turn around, it seems companies are paying a price for bad decisions made by the people in charge but, instead of getting a reduction in pay - they get huge bonuses in the form of stock options and buyouts.
So, now companies are looking at ways to get out from under their obligations via Chapter 11 while simultaneously our government has made it harder for individuals to declare bankruptcy. Can anyone say, “Class Warfare?”
...more to come.
Clean hands...
The big news last week was the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat to be Mark Felt a former FBI agent (my money had been on Al Haig). It was a dramatic turn of events, accompanied by interviews and comments by everyone from Bob Woodward himself to Henry Kissinger to Robert Redford.
However, before running off and declaring Felt a hero, there are some matters which should be carefully reviewed:
The article said the family believed Felt should get credit for his involvement in the case while he was alive and quoted Joan Felt as saying that the family should be a part of any financial gains from the revelation.
cnn.com
____
But David Gergen, who was Nixon’s speechwriter during the Watergate era, said in a telephone interview yesterday that Felt “was no innocent. Until we understand his motivations we ought to be a little cautious.”
Boston Globe
____
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died shortly before the Watergate break-in. Felt himself had hopes that he would be the next FBI director, according to the Post, but President Nixon instead appointed an administration insider, assistant attorney general L. Patrick Gray, to the post.
Associated Press
____
Gray was never confirmed as FBI director, and in 1973 William D. Ruckelshaus was nominated to replace him. Felt clashed repeatedly with his new boss and left the bureau later that year, well before Nixon was to leave office.
In 1978 he was indicted, along with Edward G. Miller, for nine illegal break-ins in New York and New Jersey carried out in 1972 and 1973.
Washington Post
____
W. Mark Felt always denied he was Deep Throat. “It was not I and it is not I,” he told Washingtonian magazine in 1974.
Seattle Times (running Washington Post story)
____
Felt had a storied career at the bureau, one that also had its share of controversy.
A jury found him guilty in 1980 of violating civil rights by authorizing warrantless searches at homes of friends and relatives of left-wing fugitives during the early 1970s. President Reagan pardoned him, along with another former FBI official convicted in the case.
Associated Press
____
Felt served as an honorary pallbearer at Hoover’s funeral.
Immediately upon his death, Hoover’s secretary for five decades, Helen W. Gandy, began destroying his files with the approval of Felt and Gray. She turned over twelve boxes of the “Official/Confidential” file to Felt on May 4, 1972. This consisted of 167 files and 17,750 pages, many of them containing derogatory information. Felt stored them in his office and Gray told the press that afternoon that “there are no dossiers or secret files. There are just general files and I took steps to preserve their integrity.” Felt earlier that day had told Gray, “Mr. Gray, the Bureau doesn’t have any secret files” and to prove it had taken Gray to Hoover’s office. They found Gandy boxing up papers. Felt said Gray “looked casually at an open file drawer and approved her work,” though Gray would later deny he looked at any thing. Gandy retained Hoover’s “Personal File” and destroyed it. When Felt was called to testify in 1975 by the U.S. House about the destruction of Hoover’s papers, he said “There's no serious problems if we lose some papers. I don’t see anything wrong and I still don’t.”
Wikipedia.org entry on the life and career of Felt
____
So, consequently while Mark Felt is in the process of being canonized with very little digging you find Felt was:
Those last two items - the break-ins/wiretaps and destruction of evidence are what bought down the Nixon Administration. Doesn’t sound to me as if Felt could in any way be considered the defender of civil liberties for this country. Sounds more like there was a power play going on between two branches of government which were way out of control. There aren’t any heroes here, only a bunch of shadowy villains breaking laws and running roughshod over the constitutional rights of the American people. I never thought I would see the day when one of J. Edgar Hoover’s pals would wind up being embraced by the left - these are strange days indeed.
The big news last week was the revelation of the identity of Deep Throat to be Mark Felt a former FBI agent (my money had been on Al Haig). It was a dramatic turn of events, accompanied by interviews and comments by everyone from Bob Woodward himself to Henry Kissinger to Robert Redford.
However, before running off and declaring Felt a hero, there are some matters which should be carefully reviewed:
The article said the family believed Felt should get credit for his involvement in the case while he was alive and quoted Joan Felt as saying that the family should be a part of any financial gains from the revelation.
But David Gergen, who was Nixon’s speechwriter during the Watergate era, said in a telephone interview yesterday that Felt “was no innocent. Until we understand his motivations we ought to be a little cautious.”
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died shortly before the Watergate break-in. Felt himself had hopes that he would be the next FBI director, according to the Post, but President Nixon instead appointed an administration insider, assistant attorney general L. Patrick Gray, to the post.
Gray was never confirmed as FBI director, and in 1973 William D. Ruckelshaus was nominated to replace him. Felt clashed repeatedly with his new boss and left the bureau later that year, well before Nixon was to leave office.
In 1978 he was indicted, along with Edward G. Miller, for nine illegal break-ins in New York and New Jersey carried out in 1972 and 1973.
W. Mark Felt always denied he was Deep Throat. “It was not I and it is not I,” he told Washingtonian magazine in 1974.
Felt had a storied career at the bureau, one that also had its share of controversy.
A jury found him guilty in 1980 of violating civil rights by authorizing warrantless searches at homes of friends and relatives of left-wing fugitives during the early 1970s. President Reagan pardoned him, along with another former FBI official convicted in the case.
Felt served as an honorary pallbearer at Hoover’s funeral.
Immediately upon his death, Hoover’s secretary for five decades, Helen W. Gandy, began destroying his files with the approval of Felt and Gray. She turned over twelve boxes of the “Official/Confidential” file to Felt on May 4, 1972. This consisted of 167 files and 17,750 pages, many of them containing derogatory information. Felt stored them in his office and Gray told the press that afternoon that “there are no dossiers or secret files. There are just general files and I took steps to preserve their integrity.” Felt earlier that day had told Gray, “Mr. Gray, the Bureau doesn’t have any secret files” and to prove it had taken Gray to Hoover’s office. They found Gandy boxing up papers. Felt said Gray “looked casually at an open file drawer and approved her work,” though Gray would later deny he looked at any thing. Gandy retained Hoover’s “Personal File” and destroyed it. When Felt was called to testify in 1975 by the U.S. House about the destruction of Hoover’s papers, he said “There's no serious problems if we lose some papers. I don’t see anything wrong and I still don’t.”
So, consequently while Mark Felt is in the process of being canonized with very little digging you find Felt was:
- – part of Hoover’s inner circle at the FBI.
— was pissed at being passed over for the top spot at the FBI after Hoover’s death.
— had no problem with unauthorized wiretaps and break ins as long as it was him determining who was on the receiving end of such violations of civil rights.
— didn’t think there was anything wrong with the destruction of sensitive papers or evidence as long as he was determining what got shredded.
Those last two items - the break-ins/wiretaps and destruction of evidence are what bought down the Nixon Administration. Doesn’t sound to me as if Felt could in any way be considered the defender of civil liberties for this country. Sounds more like there was a power play going on between two branches of government which were way out of control. There aren’t any heroes here, only a bunch of shadowy villains breaking laws and running roughshod over the constitutional rights of the American people. I never thought I would see the day when one of J. Edgar Hoover’s pals would wind up being embraced by the left - these are strange days indeed.
Jun 2, 2005
Looking forward to it...
A married couple (Pitt and Jolie) are getting bored with their quiet domestic life. What they don't know, however, is that they're both assassins, secretly hopping the world and killing for hire. But their separate lives are about to collide when each finds out their next target is their own spouse.
Admit it, they’re both like the best looking people on the planet, if your a woman you want to see him and if your a guy you want to see her. I’m looking forward to it.
A married couple (Pitt and Jolie) are getting bored with their quiet domestic life. What they don't know, however, is that they're both assassins, secretly hopping the world and killing for hire. But their separate lives are about to collide when each finds out their next target is their own spouse.
Admit it, they’re both like the best looking people on the planet, if your a woman you want to see him and if your a guy you want to see her. I’m looking forward to it.
Jun 1, 2005
The thief in the night...
I have a healthy cynicism when it comes to government. We’re lucky in this country because we live in a free society but, each day in very subtle ways all around us hard-won civil liberties are being sacrificed under the guise of making us safer...
More than 100 surveillance cameras have been quietly filming Brooklyn subway stations over the past two weeks, according to a state legislator who used MTA funds to place them in his district.
Notice how it’s being done quietly, no signs letting you know. Doesn’t make you any less likely from being a victim of a crime, just means they’ll be able to show it on a Fox special some day.
Here’s the capper I read about in the paper today, this is absolutely chilling...
Locations for cameras have not yet been finalized but areas likely to be targeted for surveillance include Manhattan’s Herald Square, Times Square and 125th Street in Harlem as well as busy thoroughfares in the city’s other boroughs.
The primary goal of the program would be to drive down crimes such as assaults and robberies, a police source said, adding that extra scrutiny in high-profile areas could also be a deterrence to terrorism.
“The plan to install 400 surveillance cameras around the city has all the earmarks of Big Brother and puts us even closer to becoming an all-out surveillance society,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“Video surveillance is tempting as a quick fix to all our problems, but it isn’t,” she said. “As a society we want to prevent crime and that can be better done by officers on the street, not with cameras.”
And of course as a follow up there’s this article:
Big Brother is not new to the Big Apple - where housing developments alone boast about 3,000 of the city’s 3,200 public cameras - but the news has civil-liberties activists fearing the possibility of privacy infringement.
Public housing developments aren’t any safer because of cameras. The people who are going to commit crime aren’t going to let a little thing like being caught on camera stop them (there’s this little thing called a mask dumb asses). No, the people who do play by the rules just had their life intruded upon yet again - 1984 is coming, just a little bit late and a little at a time.
I have a healthy cynicism when it comes to government. We’re lucky in this country because we live in a free society but, each day in very subtle ways all around us hard-won civil liberties are being sacrificed under the guise of making us safer...
More than 100 surveillance cameras have been quietly filming Brooklyn subway stations over the past two weeks, according to a state legislator who used MTA funds to place them in his district.
Notice how it’s being done quietly, no signs letting you know. Doesn’t make you any less likely from being a victim of a crime, just means they’ll be able to show it on a Fox special some day.
Here’s the capper I read about in the paper today, this is absolutely chilling...
Locations for cameras have not yet been finalized but areas likely to be targeted for surveillance include Manhattan’s Herald Square, Times Square and 125th Street in Harlem as well as busy thoroughfares in the city’s other boroughs.
The primary goal of the program would be to drive down crimes such as assaults and robberies, a police source said, adding that extra scrutiny in high-profile areas could also be a deterrence to terrorism.
“The plan to install 400 surveillance cameras around the city has all the earmarks of Big Brother and puts us even closer to becoming an all-out surveillance society,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman told Reuters in a telephone interview.
“Video surveillance is tempting as a quick fix to all our problems, but it isn’t,” she said. “As a society we want to prevent crime and that can be better done by officers on the street, not with cameras.”
And of course as a follow up there’s this article:
Big Brother is not new to the Big Apple - where housing developments alone boast about 3,000 of the city’s 3,200 public cameras - but the news has civil-liberties activists fearing the possibility of privacy infringement.
Public housing developments aren’t any safer because of cameras. The people who are going to commit crime aren’t going to let a little thing like being caught on camera stop them (there’s this little thing called a mask dumb asses). No, the people who do play by the rules just had their life intruded upon yet again - 1984 is coming, just a little bit late and a little at a time.
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