DECISION TIME!

The Future Is Now

2011-09-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

People in many countries are depressed about the current economic situation and worried about the future. In the United States the two priorities are more jobs and less debt. Last night President Obama unveiled a new program to generate large numbers of jobs. There is also a high-level congressional bipartisan committee seeking new programs and program modifications to reduce the debt. The problem is that programs are not the answer. What we all need is information that builds our confidence in the future. When the two political parties each say that the other party has the wrong kinds of programs that will lead to a failing economy in the future, they are guaranteeing that failure by diminishing the confidence of the people. We need cheerleaders more than program architects. There are plenty of private companies with enough cash reserves to hire new employees. There are plenty of people looking for jobs. The companies won't hire people until they believe that hiring will lead to sales increases in the near future. Consumers won't spend until they are reasonably sure that their jobs are safe. If the government (including both parties in Congress) and the media would emphasize positive factors and developments instead of negative possibilities, the economy would respond with positive trends. There is no need to snipe at each other for the sake of an election. Positive thinking is contagious. Try it some time. We can assure a healthy future for our economies right now by implementing a positive outlook.

The Abuse of Power

2011-08-27T10:41:00.000-05:00

Power can be defined as the ability to exert one's will over another. Power is addictive, and those who have it seek to maintain it or keep it for as long as possible, regardless of the personal or material cost. One of the problems of the possession of power throughout history has been the "might makes right" syndrome. People who have the power to control others believe that they are right because they have the power to control others. Hence the old adage: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Anyone who thinks he or she is wielding power for the sake of good rather than evil needs to be willing to accept a check and balance system that allows others to alert the person in power of a deviation from the path toward societally approved goals. Is power assumed for the sake of efficiency justified? Sometimes, but only in pursuit of very limited and well-defined goals. The problem often lies in determining what goals are worthy of granting power to a leader, and whether that leader feels that the end justifies the means. One who assumes power should take a sunset pledge to agree in advance to yield that power when the approved limited goal has been achieved or when a designated date has been reached. The addiction of power causes a leader to feel unique and irreplaceable, a situation that causes other viable leaders to protest and rebel.

Stop Sending Your Money to China

2011-08-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

I frequently advocate that people in the USA should Buy American products and services. It's time for outsourcing to end, and everyone in the United States, citizen or not, has a vote in this process. We vote with our purchasing decisions. Whether you are buying a tube of toothpaste, a household product, or a new car, buy something that is made in USA or has the maximum amount of US content. We have to break the cycle of sending our money overseas to China and others so that they can lend our money back to us at high interest rates. Every time you buy a US product you keep money in circulation within the USA; you increase demand at US companies which creates jobs for US workers; and you give incentives for those companies to invest in new equipment and learn how to make better and more competitive products. The economy started downhill when American companies started having products made overseas to enhance short term profits. It's time to think long term and rebuild American manufacturing capabilities. The one and only solution is your looking for the Made in USA label. The government in Washington can't fix the situation, but you can, one purchase of US goods and services at a time. Each US purchase is a vote for prosperity. Read those country of origin labels...Vote early and often.

Evaluate the US Debt Limit Negotiations

2011-08-02T10:01:00.000-05:00

Here are my Seven Principles of Negotiation from my book, DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life. After all the smoke clears in Washington, decide for yourself whether each side did a good job of handling the process, regardless of what it looked like to outsiders.

The first principle of negotiation is that you must be sensitive to the needs of others when you set priorities for what you hope to accomplish. If all parties have the same list of priorities, then it is unlikely that the negotiations will be successful. However, it is usually the case that there will be differences in the priority lists for the two or more parties to the negotiations. This will allow a final outcome where more than one party comes away from the process having satisfied his top priority goal. By being sensitive to the desires of others, you can set your priorities into a structure that makes negotiation success more likely.

The second principle of negotiation is that you must make it very clear to your opponent which are your top priorities and how determined you are to achieve them. It is a fact of human nature that if you are able to reach a decision that gains your top priority objective too easily, you will feel that you could have negotiated an even better outcome. This is true whether you are setting the price for the purchase of a used car or if you are involved in a complex labor contract negotiation. For this reason, most negotiations will and should start out with a firm statement of your goals. These goals should be reiterated and should seem to be inflexible for as long as possible. There is acting involved in such posturing, but the objective is to find out which party most desires a positive outcome to the negotiations. That party will usually show the first sign of flexibility. If no such flexibility is seen on either side, progress may have to be made as the result of setting a deadline or introducing a third party to mediate the process. A final alternative to inflexibility is to walk away from the negotiation process. If and only if your opponent believes that you are truly willing to stop the process, moving to end the negotiations may actually introduce flexibility from your adversary and stimulate the process toward success.

The third principle of negotiation is that although you frequently will have to resolve conflicts by giving in to someone else’s viewpoint, you should always try to get something back in return for your willingness to see things their way. This is usually an acceptable and expected trade procedure. Even when there may not be an item on the table that your opponent is willing to give up in exchange for your flexibility, you may be able to gain something by proposing that he or she commit to a future benefit for you. This is why so many sports team trade negotiations end up including “a player to be named later” or a future draft choice. It is easier to reach agreement in this way because neither party knows the true value of a future benefit.

The fourth principle of negotiation is that decisions proceed from the bottom to the top. For this reason, it may be useful to have some low priority points on which you are willing to give in to your opponent’s viewpoint. They may mean little to you, but after you have relinquished something, it is reasonable for you to expect your adversary to offer you something in return. Not only are smaller points agreed before larger points, but also in formal team negotiations there is a “pecking order” for personnel on the two sides. [Lower level people decide lower level matters. Highest level people come in only when trying to come to the final agreement.]

The fifth principle of negotiation is that when you are not sure what to decide on a particular point, the best tactic is to add something to the discussion which “puts the ball in the other party’s court” and gives your opponent responsibility for the next decision. This approach gives you more time to reach the decision that was facing you, and it may also give you new and valuable information from your opponent’s response on the new matter.

The sixth principle of negotiation is that you can’t please or accommodate everyone. You will definitely have to say No in many situations, and you will have to be firm about it. The word No has great value in that it can be used to reverse or slow down the momentum of a negotiation. You may be willing to concede additional points to your adversary, but judicious use of the word No will help you to gain return concessions and will help you to minimize those items on which you have to yield. It also helps to create an image of you as a tough negotiator, and in negotiations image is very important.

The seventh principle of negotiation is that the party with the greatest detailed knowledge of the matters being discussed has a great advantage. If you have all the details immediately available while your adversary has to repeatedly call for assistance from others or request a break in the process to obtain more information, you are negotiating from strength while the other party is negotiating from weakness. It is very important that you have done your homework before the meetings even start.

How to Handle the U.S. Debt Deadline

2011-07-29T11:07:00.001-05:00

Enough, already!
The USA has to get the two houses of Congress and the President to agree on measures to avoid a debt default next week. Don't look now, but the NFL Football owners and players managed to solve their lockout fiasco and save the football season. I suggest that the politicians, who obviously don't know how to do the jobs for which they were sent to Washington, should act more like athletes, albeit flabby ones. Let's just get this all over with a tug-of-war between the Fat Cats on one side and the Pompous Pigheads on the other. At this point all we need is a mechanism to get them to stop talking and do something. Just line them all up and let either side drag the other across the line that wins the tug-of-war. The country will survive whatever is decided; just demonstrate the ability to make a decision. I know that the voters will know how to decide that we need two entirely new tug-of-war teams when the next election comes. That's an easy decision.

Authors without Borders

2011-07-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

The Borders superscale bookstore chain is being liquidated because of a lack of potential bidders willing to participate in a bankruptcy auction for the company. This will eliminate a major distribution mechanism for highly promoted books from major publishers. It will have little effect on the offerings of small presses and POD publishers, because Borders paid scant attention to them. I once did an experiment where I looked up my books successfully on Borders' online bookstore, and then I went into one of their stores and tried to find my books through an in-store terminal. I was very surprised when I couldn't find them. The two systems must have had separate management. Borders drove a lot of local independent bookstores out of business. They also presented the public with their concept of a bookstore as being more like a cross between a department store and a library, with a cafeteria thrown in for good measure. Gone were the crowded bookshelves and tables where you might stumble across a treasure. Added were music departments and toys and accessories that had little to do with books. The most enthusiastic book buyers I have ever seen patronized the old annual Brandeis Used Book Sales, when that university's alums wisely supported their school in that manner. Used print books are treasures, and they also stimulate the reading habits of those who find old friends and new discoveries among the dense arrays of well-thumbed volumes. Independent bookstores offering unusual books from independent publishers and authors may find more patrons now that one of the giant marketers is gone.

Friends and Enemies

2011-07-12T13:51:00.000-05:00

Which of these do you believe?

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The enemy of my friend is my enemy.
The friend of my enemy is my enemy unless he/she belongs to my political party.
The friend of my friend is my friend unless his/her political party is different from mine.
What's good for the country is more important than what's good for my political party.
What's good for my political party is by definition good for the country.
What's good for me is by definition good for my party and country.
Who cares about anyone else? Do what will get me reelected.
I love everyone until after the votes have been counted.

The Most Obsolete Word in the English Language

2011-06-26T13:17:00.000-05:00

It appears that the most terrible thing that a politician anywhere in the world can do is to use the word compromise. Politicians have become more doctrinaire than ever, with discussions described as stand-offs and any comment from a member of a different party described as belligerent, uninformed, and adversarial. A certain amount of defense of your position is good posturing as part of the negotiation process (See my book: DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life.), but frequently politicians aren't negotiating at all, but merely trying to score points and develop issues for the next election. Compromise should be the lubricant that makes governments work. Bombast only succeeds in minimizing the public's respect for their elected and appointed officials. In many conversations I hear citizen members of both parties agree that solutions to national problems aren't that difficult if the people in power would only use the second most obsolete term in the English language, common sense. In the field of law, the yardstick for evaluating an action is frequently: What would a reasonable person do? Why can't politicians and government leaders (most of whom are lawyers) ask themselves that same question, and act upon their answers to it?

Recovery in Japan - Where Is the Media?

2011-06-24T15:09:00.000-05:00

How well is the recovery effort in Japan going? During the days and weeks immediately following the earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear power station problems, newspapers and television networks around the world informed the public with a constant stream of status reports. As time passed, these reports disappeared, to be replaced by new hot stories. The news media think the public requires novelty in the news. Ongoing situations do not receive the attention they deserve. Instead, we focus on the disaster, military action, or political scandal of the current day or week. That's also why good news is seldom reported. Good news tends to be ongoing and background information rather than a spectacular event (except for the occasional royal wedding). The other peculiar habit of the news media is that they highlight one to five major events on any particular day, when there are many more newsworthy events happening in the world. Perhaps this will be one of the nails in the coffins of newspapers and television news. They are limited by column space or scheduled time. Internet news is expandable without confines. A web page can either scroll indefinitely or reference links to cover every worthwhile story that is happening anywhere. Now if they paid appropriate royalties to all their copied sources, they'd have a truly superior news presentation system.

Half Full, NOT Half Empty

2011-06-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

What the U.S., and for that matter the world, needs to realize going into the future is that the proverbial glass is half full. For all the complaints about slower-than-expected employment growth and too much indebtedness, we have all accomplished a lot on our way back from the economy's burst bubble due to unrealistic home ownership policies and other problems. Whether you are talking about personal career development, governmental projects, or international development, a pessimistic future outlook is dwarfed by an inventory taken to show what we have accomplished in the past. The strength of democracies and market-oriented businesses is that each manages to do one or two good things every day. When you look backward to see how far you have come, you will generally be amazed. The incremental things we do each day appear small because we like to talk about achievement of goals rather than maintenance of progress. Make a little progress every day, week, month, and year. As you continue making that progress, you will be able to look back and see that goals have, indeed, been achieved. The glass is at least half full.

Communication Stifled by Suspicion

2011-06-14T11:06:00.000-05:00

I listened with interest to a telephone interview between National Public Radio and a Syrian woman. They were discussing the status of opposition to the Syrian government and its massive aggressive retaliation. The most interesting point in the interview for me came when the woman was asked about socialization in small gatherings during the course of this situation. Her response made me realize how uncomfortable one becomes when one is not sure of the political and doctrinal standing of the person with whom one is conversing. The conversation continues, but the content is watered down to inconsequential blather. Suspicion breeds lack of true communication and self-censorship. There is no true communication without the exchange of ideas and opinions. When one is afraid to declare one's position on any topic, the suppressive goal of the state or other controlling organization has already been achieved. Those of us who are removed from such a situation and enjoy the ability to speak freely with peers and at least cautiously evaluated strangers should realize how fortunate we are.

The Secret Key to Weight Loss

2011-06-04T14:56:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows that the information in the vast library targeting principles of weight reduction boils down to a few kernels: Eat less. Exercise more. Drink plenty of water. Get sufficient sleep. With regard to the eat less portion of this formula, I suggest that insofar as possible, you eat only foods that you don't like but that are good for you. If you are eating foods that you don't like, you automatically won't eat as much of them. If President George H. W. Bush had to eat broccoli all the time, he would be very likely to lose weight. If you are one of those unfortunates who likes all foods, select a nutritious daily menu, and eat it all the time so that you get bored with it. You'll have to become committed to these approaches. The more you continue to eat the same foods over and over again, especially if they are foods you don't like, the less interesting they will appear to you, and you will tend to eat smaller quantities of them. Follow these steps, and replace between-meals snacks with water to keep yourself from wanting to eat all the time. One caution: You won't succeed if you develop a passion for finding ways to prepare the foods you hate so that they taste better to you. The worse they taste, the more weight you will lose.

The Secret Key to Bank Account Savings

2011-06-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

If you want to accumulate long term savings in a bank account, follow this strategy. Every time you get paid or receive any miscellaneous income, deposit all of it into your savings or money market account at your bank. Then transfer only what you immediately need into your checking account. This has two benefits: (1) Because you are transferring from an account with an ongoing balance into your checking account, you get immediate access to your checking account balance. (If you had deposited your pay into checking, you would have had to wait for your deposit check to clear.) (2) By funneling your current pay through your savings account and transferring out only what you need, you will tend to leave some behind in savings for the future. There will be weeks when you need to transfer all of it back out, or perhaps even draw down your residual savings, but over time you will find that some money tends to accumulate in your savings account through this routine. It is much more likely to accumulate long term savings for you than depositing your pay into checking and transferring to savings only what is left after your cumulative spending for the period.

Reducing Gasoline Prices

2011-05-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

There are three components to the price of gasoline at the pump. The first is the price of oil. This is influenced by market speculators, and especially when oil is in short supply or when world events suggest that it might soon be in short supply, the speculators smell profits and bid up oil prices. The second ingredient is the refining cost/capacity, and barring shutdowns of refineries, this is fairly constant. The third factor is the relationship between supply of gasoline and the demand for it. Of these three ingredients to pricing, consumers can only affect the supply vs. demand relationship. If you want lower gasoline prices, there are two things you can do: (1) Drive fewer miles, and try to use the vehicle that gets the best mileage if you have a choice between two. (2) Don't fill up your tank all the way. As of 2007, there were 254.4 million cars in the United States. If each of those cars were filled to a point six gallons less than full, and half the available cars were "filled" at any given time, the country would require about 762 million fewer gallons of gasoline at any given time. Since gasoline weighs about 6 pounds per U.S. gallon, stopping the pump six gallons below full would mean that you wouldn't have to pay for fuel to carry the extra 36 pounds of gasoline around. On the government and marketplace level, anything that could be done to discourage speculators from bidding up prices unrealistically would help also.

Peace Between Palestinians and Israelis - Maybe?

2011-05-21T14:39:00.001-05:00

President Obama in his speech this week said that peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis should be based on pre-1967 borders. Such a stand is completely unacceptable to the Israelis, but it serves a very important purpose as a negotiating ploy. There has been no progress toward peace because there has been little incentive for the Israelis to move in that direction. They know that they will have to give up some valuable and sentimentally priceless things such as some portion of Jerusalem and feelings of having control over the situation. Obama's talking about pre-1967 borders may just be the straw that breaks the camel's back and makes Israel realize that eternal delays may lead to a less satisfactory outcome in the negotiations. (See my book, DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life for negotiation techniques and stages http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/60929.)
Perhaps Israel will respond to the threat of a less-desirable border outcome by moving toward earlier resolution of the negotiation stalemate on the condition that current or compromise borders are the end result. President Obama is not a party to the negotiations, but his words automatically influence the negotiation stances of both sides.

Into the Ebook World #1

2011-05-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

I've finally started my journey into the ebook world with the publication of Lead Us Not into Temptation, Volume I of the Lord's Prayer Mystery Series as a paperless book. All formats of ebook are available at the links shown below:

Richard Davidson's Smashwords Author Profile: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mysteryimp
Book page to sample or purchase Lead Us Not into Temptation: http://smashwords.com/b/59509

I've also just skimmed this book in both the widely distributed epub and mobi (Kindle) versions, and I found the ebook reading experience reasonably satisfying (although I still feel nothing can match the printed book experience). I will soon have my other books available as ebooks also.

Angels & Warriors - Letter from the Front: A Private's Story

2011-05-12T12:48:00.000-05:00

They Call Us Angels

This is the account of a young soldier.

I am coming up on the half time mark of a four month deployment. I have flown 53 missions in and out of the AOR or Area of Responsibility thus far. I am a part of the 817^th EAS, which stands for Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. I am limited on what I can disclose about our mission but it is primarily the supply and transfer of soldiers to and from the war. I have seen and experienced many things thus far that have made my heart beat as fast as it ever has but this is not my account.

A few days ago our mission was to bring the 3rd Battalion / 5th Marines (3/5) Unit, known as the “Dark Horse”, out of the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan and back home. The 3/5 is a battalion-level infantry unit composed of infantry Marines and support personnel. Infantry battalions are the basic tactical units that the regiment uses to accomplish its mission of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and close combat. The 3/5 is comprised of H&S Co, India Co, Kilo Co, Lima Co, and Weapons Co. The Sangin District is know as one of the most dangerous places in the warfight. The 3/5 has suffered the most casualties of any unit thus far in the 10 years of Afghan war.

We had a full load of troops planned going out and then got word that there would be an additional two Marines being sent with us on emergency status. This meant that all seats would be taken plus the two in the cockpit behind the pilots seats. Often times, as pilots we like to bring troops up for the flights. Their eyes light up and their gratitude is beyond measure. Many of them say it is the coolest thing they have ever seen- often times to be in the cockpit is like being in what I imagine Heaven to be like- amongst the clouds and the sun rays, looking down upon snow covered mountains and green grassy valleys. Sometimes it takes another’s eyes and awe for me to realize how amazing it really is to be flying. That being said, it is upon us to pick and choose who gets to experience the grand event. How do we do this? We ask the entire group a question such as “who thinks they are handy with tools.” Many hands shoot to the sky. “Who is good at fixing things?” A few hands may drop. “Who thinks they can fix a plumbing problem?” More go down. “Because we have a problem with our lavatory up here and need a brave soul to help us out or we will be unable to take off.” Inevitably, the hands that are raised start transitioning from the vertical to the horizontal pointing to the lowest man on the totem pole, usually a private or corporal. “You’re our man- you get to sit up front with us.” Everyone laughs for they now realize that dimeing out the private secured their fate to sit down below in the cargo compartment with nothing more than two windows the size of a basketball.

The Private walks up the stairs heavied by his supplies, his backpack, survival vest, armor, and his rifle. These are the only things that he has. Nothing less and nothing more, mandated by the Marine Corps. His rifle is his pride and sometimes also his joy. It’s original clean black shiny finish now long gone leaving what now looks as the soldier does; tired, worn out, beat up, and ready to rest from overuse. White tape- the exact same that I used to use to tape the handles of my hockey sticks and ankles before Friday night high school football games wrap the handle and stock for better grip while firing upon his enemy. A Marine's gun is his lifeline. They choose their modifications. This private had added a M203 grenade launcher to the bottom of the stock, his “go-to round when things got rough”. His uniform was worn and tattered, the digital camouflage had been completely worn out on the knees and elbows. Each pocket of his survival vest was stuffed with essentials and 8 magazines of ammo lay across his chest. A strap over his shoulder held about 20 grenade cartridges. He was a soldier. He had seen battle.

We got the jet ready for takeoff, strapped them in and upon firewalling the throttles to Max Power heard the joyous roar of the 3/5 over the roaring engines as our wheels left the runway. In our climb the Private leaned over and told me that “We call you Angels”. Aircraft that take them away from the Hell that they were in are called Angels. I was touched but as soon as I felt that good feeling deep inside my chest I felt it rush out as I was quick to realize that the same number of soldiers that we had on our jet and were taking from this Hell, the same number was just delivered by us an hour ago in.

After leveling off at cruise altitude I took my headset off, turned my head towards the Private and asked what was it like. I cannot tell you how long the flight is but I can say that it is longer than anyone I know can talk non-stop (well maybe except you pop). The Private needed to talk. He needed to release. He needed someone to hear about the horrors of war that was from the outside looking in and our crew was as close as it was going to get at that time. He told us that their slogan is “Get Some” and get some they did. They killed thousands of Taliban but it came at a cost—a big cost. As I said above, the 3/5 had suffered the most casualties of any unit thus far in the 10 years of Afghan war. Along with sending home 27 red ,white and blue draped caskets, the 3/5 also sent home over 180 critically injured warriors, many of them losing arms and legs. As the Private scrolled through the pictures on his digital camera, each picture was a flip of a coin whether it was going to be a friend that was coming home with us, a friend that had already been sent home maimed by war, or a friend sent home in an American flag blanketed aluminum box. The pictures were also of their living conditions. A horseshoe of sandbags was their toilet. A cleared piece of ground was their bed. A sealed bag of food that would last until the end of the world if given the chance was their meal. A bottle of water was their shower. A wall made of mud was their protection- and also the place for pictures of home, of wives and little girls, of good things to look forward to if they could just live to see them. The private said that he found a familiar place before bed to be on his knees thanking the Lord to be alive today and to pray for the same blessing tomorrow, for they lived day by day.

Each day was the same. They would go out in search of Taliban and IEDs. “The hardest thing about this war is that they look just the same as the local friendlies; but you can tell it in their eyes. You can see the evil in their eyes.” The Private went on to tell me about the IEDs. “They are smart. They can make them out of anything. They are good at it too. They are so sensitive sometimes all it takes is the weight of fear to set them off. Many times they scavenge the lost limbs of unfortunate soldiers and use them as triggers. And finding these things is nearly impossible. You can probe all day long and still miss them. We had to resort to what we call fingering. We literally sift through the sand on our bellies with our fingers to find these things.” Just the thought of sticking my fingers anywhere close to something that could blow them off made me cringe. He said that there was just no other way in certain situations. He had watched one of his buddies clearing for IEDs get blown up, another that had gone to save him get blown up and another that went to save both experience the same fate. Hearing this made me think about how it would be to be fearful of each step that I take. The Private told me that he could no longer sleep for the fear was so overwhelming. The fear for his own life. The fear for his friends. The fear of each step and the fear of never making it home.

When they get home, those that do, must go and see the doctor for PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder. “We call him the wizard.” He said. “I will tell him what I have seen. I will tell him that I cannot sleep. I will tell him that I have nightmares and that I will never be the same.” I will tell him that one moment we are giving out skittles to the local children and the next we are in a fire fight for our lives calling in close air support to light up our enemies 50 yards from the local town. I will tell him how screwed up I now am.” He quickly jumped to a different subject. What he was looking forward to. “I haven’t had a shower in over 7 months and I am really going to enjoy a good hot meal. He video taped the entire approach and landing, told me it was one of the coolest things he ever saw, that if I was ever in Fort Campbell he would let me shoot his 203, and to take care of ourselves and to keep bringing 'em home.

Guest post by:

Captain Joseph G. Dombrow

The Proper Way to Balance the United States Budget

2011-04-15T11:12:00.000-05:00

The Republicans and Democrats are competing to see who can do the best job of improving the fiscal status of the United States. They are both going about it the wrong way (as is the Tea Party also). It takes a lot more work, but if you really want to get the country's economy in good shape, you don't reduce the budget. The proper technique is to wipe out the budget altogether. Take it to zero, and then, item by item, decide what should go back into it. If our government had the commitment and stamina to set up a group to completely rebuild the budget from scratch, we would end up operating the country at a much lower financial level. The problem is that our politicians would never approve the process. They would have to justify each and every item in the budget, which would be a colossal job, but more important, it would expose the flimsy justification for many of the components of the existing budget. There are many parts of the federal budget that are there just because they pay for doing things the way we have done them for a long time in the past. As Shakespeare said, "The past is prologue." The only way they will find most (but not all) of the unjustified spending is to throw everything out, and start over. The nature of politics is that some waste will find its way back into the new budget because of the need to compromise and horsetrade between opposing views, but a huge amount of what we now spend will not be justifiable to either side. Assign three of the best minds from each party plus a couple of economics professors to a special committee, and the job will become doable, even if extremely difficult.

Walking Tightropes

2011-03-20T13:28:00.003-05:00

In the Middle East, the fictional country of Ibrimia is on the edge of a revolution. Thirty-seven friends have managed to get the populace of the second largest city upset at the ruling regime. They have convinced the people that they could achieve many of their dreams if their country was a democracy. In this action they are copying the pattern of successful government changes elsewhere. The existing regime considers itself to be generous to a fault in providing free college education and healthcare, and in distributing significant oil revenues to all citizens.
If the activists force out the regime, the stability of oil income might end. While the majority of the population is in favor of democracy and new leadership, there is no agreement as to what alternate group should rule and with what agenda.
While the existing regime does not want to use military might against its own population, it feels that it offers the safest and most secure future for everyone.
What is the best course for each side to take in walking the conflict tightrope toward an improved future?

Should the regime announce increased benefits and salary structures?
Should the activists hold meetings to elect a "government-in-waiting" that will formulate and announce the people's goals following the ouster of the current regime?
Should the regime offer big increases in employment on government-funded public works projects?
Should the activists meet openly with government representatives to discuss possible power sharing and reforms of constitutional provisions?
Should the regime offer term limits for itself and future governments?
Should the activists attempt to split the country and gain international recognition for the part they control?
Should the regime risk international condemnation by cutting off financial support and utilities to the part of the country it no longer controls?
Should the activists invite outsiders to support their cause?
Should the regime cancel the citizenship of the activists and offer citizenship to loyal immigrant workers instead?
Should the activists seek an alliance of their part of the country with the neighboring large and stable country?
Should the regime threaten the neighboring country with attack if it interferes in Ibrimia's internal affairs?
Should representatives of both sides meet secretly to negotiate a mutually acceptable outcome?
Should the regime ignore the uprising but ship its wealth overseas just in case the outcome isn't favorable?

If you were leading one side or the other, what would you do or recommend?

Middle East Solidarity and Fragmentation

2011-02-28T09:57:00.000-06:00

The winds of change that are sweeping middle eastern countries may be just the beginning of turbulence with unknown consequences. It is relatively easy to get a population fired up against the status quo and an unpopular, authoritarian leader. During the process of such an attempted or successful overthrow of a government, the populace is essentially united because everyone wants the current situation to change. As soon as such a movement becomes successful, however, it becomes dangerous to all concerned, because unity will disappear as different segments of society push for their own agendas. This is the point at which power grabs and civil wars develop. The initial jubilation at overthrowing an authoritarian regime may be replaced by a lengthy period of groups jockeying for position and attempting to manipulate each other. External governments would be wise to be nonspecific in their gestures and declarations of support because they will not know nor be able to influence the final configuration of power centers for a long time to come. Enthusiastically backing a losing group may be at least as unwise as taking no public stance on the political upheaval process.

Hurrah for the Little Guy!

2011-02-16T09:07:00.002-06:00

Borders Bookstores have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is not something to celebrate, but it shows that the swinging pendulum of the business cycle is never stationary. When Borders began building their super-colossal stores, they forced a lot of small independent bookstores out of business. Many family-run operations with long histories found they could not compete with the giant. Now, the giant is learning that its business model has become obsolete, as book buyers have turned to online vendors and the remaining small independent bookstores. People seldom crowd bookstores anymore to browse through the shelves, and the lack of foot traffic has draped the albatross of outrageous overhead around the necks of megastore management. Small business flexibility in planning and ability to react to the marketplace are going to be the watchwords of the economy for the near and middle term future. Only a small business can redefine itself within a short period if necessary. The independent bookstores that are continuing to thrive do things like specializing in a few subject areas, offer products other than books that relate to key titles, sponsor community activities, and celebrate local author events. The huge bookstore chains have had to develop their online presence to survive. Borders didn't even do a good job of that, letting Amazon run the online business for them. Sooner or later, huge bookstores and other businesses with overhead structures that are not in proportion to their revenues will have to change or close. Just remember, in business there are two ways to generate profits: Bring in more sales; and reduce your costs for the same sales.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Super Bowl

2011-01-17T11:15:00.001-06:00

News Items:
The Chicago Bears will play the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship football game.
President Obama begs for more civil discourse among politicians and others who disagree.

I have been a Chicago Bears fan ever since I moved to the Chicago area many years ago. I have accepted and enjoyed the traditional rivalry and buildups before battles between the Bears and the Packers, two teams that consider each other hereditary enemies. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I respect the Packers and their traditions. Over the years, a significant number of Bears players have moved on to the Packers, and the reverse is true also. On occasion, I even root for the Packers when they are playing someone other than the Bears.
In political, religious, and economic matters, why can't we respect the opposition even though we disagree with them? One of the differences and problems is that in football both sides play by the same rules. If one side tries to gain an advantage over the other, it has to work within the framework of those rules. In politics and economics there are too many opportunities for people to go outside the very minimal framework of rules to gain advantages by making false and misleading statements, inciting an emotional population, and branding someone as an enemy. Maybe we need more referees and fact-checkers in our national discourse and our media as well as in our sports. There are many reasons to stick to the facts when debating our future. Too many times we have trouble even sticking to the facts when we discuss our past.

Making Mistakes

2011-01-08T15:10:00.000-06:00

In life as in writing mistakes are not necessarily bad things. In most decision situations, you should not be afraid of making a mistake. Mistakes generate experiences from which we learn. The same is true in writing, whether fiction or nonfiction. When you make a mistake in the way you try to communicate a lesson or a story, you have to use creativity to overcome and explain the situation in which you have found yourself. Most mistakes are reversible, and there are many paths to get from here to there. Midcourse corrections are not only acceptable but desirable, because they add precision to your final outcome or destination. In writing, the analog of midcourse corrections is the revision process. It is virtually impossible to author a significant book without going back and making revisions to the manuscript. In life we also have to compensate for our misstatements and misdeeds in order to achieve our goals (which may also require modification) or to get along with other people. Just remember to trust your inner moral compass and make your own mistakes rather than allow yourself to be misled by others. There are always people with little or no stake in your well-being who will try to move you off your intended course.

Once You've Been Poor

2010-12-24T11:24:00.002-06:00

Whether you were poor as a child or suffered economic reversals as an adult, something happens to your basic instincts once you've been poor. No matter how much money you manage to make afterwards, you have to fight your inner self to spend major portions of it, because you are afraid of being poor again. Even Oprah, with all of her millions feels this way because of poverty as a child. I grew up in a single-parent situation with only meager alimony/child support family sustenance. I didn't consider myself poor because we lived in a city neighborhood where all of my friends had similar economic conditions. From the age of seven on, I had to fend for myself after school until my mother came home from work. In those days, apartment house neighbors watched out for you if you ran into problems. It was also a time when kids were happy with a basketball or a building block set for Christmas. They couldn't even conceive of the Christmas largesse of today. As soon as I could get a work permit, I started working jobs after school and during the summers, and eventually things got better. Nevertheless, my psyche had been marked in two ways by the experience of being poor. First, I knew that I could get along no matter what economic reversals I suffered, because I had been there before, and I knew the difference between a need and a want. Second, I knew that I would never be able to spend money as though it had no importance because there was always the sensitivity to losing it all. I still look for the best value whenever I shop. Some of my friends who haven't been there can't comprehend my attitude. I thoroughly recommend raising your children on lean rations, because it is far better to live your adult life based on past experiences of being poor than it is to have to learn poverty survival skills during your later years.

What's the Value of Conflict?

2010-12-14T13:36:00.003-06:00

Most of the effort we put into interpersonal relations, and most of the effort our governments put into international relations are aimed at reducing or eliminating conflict. The tensions in our lives are caused by the many conflicts we perceive and encounter. Obviously, conflict must be a bad thing because we always try to eliminate it. This statement is not necessarily true in life, because we gain most of our benefits from negotiations due to the conflicts that ensue during the bargaining process. When you write fiction, as I do*, you learn that nobody will want to read your book if it doesn't contain enough conflict. People find books that are all happiness and void of conflict to be boring and uninteresting. Thus, we have a paradox between life and fiction. In life, we try our best to avoid conflict, while in the selection of fiction to read, we go out of our way to search for it. To resolve this conundrum, we have to look at the impact of conflict. If conflict impacts or affects us during the course of our lives, we seek to avoid it because conflict costs us in many ways: money, sleep, friendships, etc. When conflict occurs in a novel, it impacts fictional characters, and we can find that interesting without working up a sweat over it. It is the same principle that lets us enjoy a football game between two teams that aren't our favorites without caring who wins. We have no stake in the outcome. When one of the teams comes from our home town or college, we go through a psychological roller coaster process when our team looks as though it is on the way to winning or losing. The next time you find yourself in a personal conflict with someone, tell yourself that the outcome really doesn't matter that much, and you will find yourself able to think your way through it more objectively. If you don't let conflict emotionally suck you in, you will be more likely to be able to work your way out of it.

*To enjoy some conflict, read my "Lord's Prayer Mystery Series", books out to date: Lead Us Not into Temptation, Volume I, and Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread, Volume II. (written as Richard Davidson)

God Is Not on Your Side

2010-11-17T08:55:00.002-06:00

One of the biggest problems in world and local conflicts is that groups and individuals believe that God is on their side. Making allowance for variations in religious beliefs, if we look to God as the creator of the universe (including a scientific approach that says that something got all the atoms and molecules into the right condition for a big bang to move things along), there is no logical or theological reason to assume he would take sides. The only reasons to claim he takes sides are believer ego and believer strategy. Both of these are initiated by humans and not by God. If you create something, you want others to appreciate it, preserve it, and improve it. God probably takes the same outlook.

Believing that God is on your side is harmful to improving our world. Whether you are attacking others because they don't believe the same things you do; whether you consider that only your group will go to heaven or achieve nirvana (however you define it); or whether you feel that God promised you territorial exclusivity or political power, you are sowing conflict and encouraging destruction of God's creation.

Organized religious groups compete for shrinking pools of potential followers, pushing the importance of their history, their good works, and their lifestyles. None of these things give one group an edge over another in God's sight.

No matter what organized religious groups say, faith and the existence/importance of God in your life are personal matters. It's not whether you follow a defined discipline that counts, it's whether you keep yourself perpetually aware of God's presence and whether you follow his moral ways in order to help improve his creation. If we help each other as we journey through life, we are helping God. If we hurt each other, we are trying to possess God, which is clearly impossible.

What Would Will Rogers Say?

2010-10-27T11:35:00.003-05:00

As the pre-election idiocy winds down, each of the candidates is filling the TV airwaves with commercial messages lambasting his or her opponent as being completely unfit for election...My solution is to always hit the mute button when any political commercial comes on. Will Rogers said that he never met a man (or presumably a woman) that he didn't like. The current political commercials have the effect of having us voters not like any of them. None of the Above would win the election in a landslide. However, in keeping with the Will Rogers motto, I feel that I should have something positive to say about this election process. About all I can come up with is the suggestion that high-powered lawyers try to get a temporary injunction to delay the election for another month. The way these people are spending money on negative commercials, the economy would be in great shape after another month of this.

In the Kingdom of the Blind...

2010-10-19T12:49:00.003-05:00

The old saying says: In the Kingdom of the Blind, the One-eyed is King. I always thought that saying was a bit wrong. I think it should be: In the Kingdom of the Blind, the One-eyed is Crazy.
Wouldn't the blind people think that the one-eyed person was talking about unbelievable things? I bring this up now because there is either an election or a mutual massacre about to happen. All the candidates spend all their time tearing into the opposition with false and misleading and outrageous statements. What would happen if one candidate actually spoke about what he or she would do to accomplish something for the people if he or she were elected? Would all the people rally to that candidate in relieved support? Would all of the political aggressors turn against such constructiveness? Could such a constructive candidate survive?...probably not. Just remember that we will be stuck with whomever wins. At this point I think that the American people and the country are going to lose no matter which backstabbing candidates win. Who wants to join me in organizing the None of the Above Party?

Two New National Political Parties

2010-08-26T16:56:00.004-05:00

I have become very disillusioned by the political atmosphere in the United States. For many years the outlook has been that anyone who doesn't agree with my viewpoint is evil and should be slandered. I feel that it is time to do whatever is necessary to bring back the spirit of compromise and tolerance of the other person's viewpoint as worthy of logical debate and discussion. Accordingly, let's shuffle up the players in the Democratic and Republican parties so that people on both sides of the aisle have to talk and live with each other. I recommend that we mix the more conservative Democrats with the conservative Republicans to form the Demoblican Party. We should also mix the more moderate Republicans with the progressive Democrats to form the Pubrats Party. You have your choice whether you want to be in Demob or whether you want to be a Pubrat. Either way, we should have more intelligent conversation and more of a party.

Jobs and the U.S. Economic Recovery

2010-08-06T11:52:00.004-05:00

According to the Bureau of the Census data (Click on the title of this piece.), there are only 17047 firms in the United States that have more than 500 employees. There are 19,523,741 firms that do not have any employees at all. These are one-person operations that may be run on a full or part-time basis. There are also 5,885,784 firms that have payrolls, 4,980,165 of which have fewer than 100 employees. The most direct path to economic recovery lies in a combination of more people starting their own businesses and a significant percentage of small businesses adding a single employee. The Federal Government would do well to encourage entrepreneurship and to take steps to make it easier for small businesses to hire one additional person. The leverage of small businesses on the economy is huge, and their employees tend to stay with their companies for as long as those businesses remain economically viable. Add to these choices the fact that the government is finally starting to encourage the manufacture of products domestically, and we may find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Chicago Blackhawks Decline Arbitration Award for Antti Niemi

2010-08-02T12:47:00.004-05:00

The Stanley Cup winners, the Chicago Blackhawks, have demonstrated that common sense is trumped by financial considerations in today's sports world. Capital availability, budgets, salary caps and shareholder pressures are more important than trying to turn a once-in-fifty-years championship into a sports dynasty. This is obviously a very conservative approach to sports management. The Blackhawks are thankful that they won this year, but they are assuming that they are not likely to repeat, so they are being fiscally conservative and hoping for the best.

The salary cap restriction made them release or trade a bunch of players who were central to their phenomenal season, but given the fact that they had already conceded that they could stay under the salary cap with Niemi's arbitration award, their action baffles me. In playoff hockey, a reliable goalie is essential. The Blackhawks are disregarding the adage that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Not only that, but they are turning their backs on a young goalie with many years of future playing potential in favor of a good but older goalie who would be only a temporary solution.

The other Blackhawks news item that throws me is their statement that they lost money this year. They had bigger crowds than ever; they had TV revenues that they didn't have in the past; they had all of the souvenir sales and other benefits of a championship; and they lost money. Next year they will have higher salaries and a low probability of repeating as champions. Will they make more money than this year? I doubt it, but good luck to them.

Rest in Peace, Daniel Schorr

2010-07-23T13:00:00.004-05:00

For years I have kept an open spot on my Saturday morning schedule, no matter how busy I have been. It has been the highlight of my week to follow the analysis session after the 8:00 A.M. NPR News with Scott Simon (usually) reviewing the news of the week with Daniel Schorr. Dan always had a fairly balanced point of view plus so many connections that he presented special insights in just a few broadcast minutes. With a heritage that went back all the way to Edward R. Murrow and coverage of World War II, Dan Schorr reported on the events that formed the background tapestry of most of our lives, and he knew how to explain to us how the various threads in that tapestry were interwoven. I know that Scott Simon will continue to review the news with other learned analysts, but I doubt that it will be the same for me. There was something special in the way Dan helped us to understand a situation but still refused to take sides in reacting to it. Thank you, Dan...You've been a beacon, illuminating complex situations.

Priorities and Checklists

2010-04-03T13:05:00.003-05:00

I've been away from working on this blog for a while, mostly because my competing time obligations said that something had to give, and this blog turned out to be it. All jobs that compete for your time should be assigned priorities. When I do this, I find that one of two things happens. Either I do the right thing and tackle the top priority job, or I do the wrong thing and tackle lower priority jobs that are easier to accomplish. Recently, I have been doing the right thing - working on my latest novel. In my book DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life, I discuss the importance of setting priorities, but I overlooked the self-satisfaction priority of accomplishing something. Sometimes it is important to your ego to be able to check some tasks off of your long list. At these times it is natural to do a few easy and short things so that you eliminate any feelings of guilt and feel free to tackle the high priority difficult and long job. Writing in general, and working on my next book in particular, is usually my top priority. However, I find that I do better writing if I take some steps to clear a few tasks off of my list first. You have to strike a balance that suits your own personality. Procrastination should not be an option. Do something; it's better than nothing.

A Toast to Failure

2009-11-25T10:41:00.001-06:00

Here's to failure, one of our greatest teachers.

Barack Obama:

Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.

George Bernard Shaw:

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.

Havelock Ellis:

It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.

Herbert B. Swope:

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure: which is: Try to please everybody.

It's a Wonderful Life:

Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

John Dewey:

Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.

Mary Pickford:

If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.

Michael Jordan:

I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

Oscar Wilde:

Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.

Ralph Ellison:

Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.

Robert F. Kennedy:

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.

Samuel Smiles:

It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures. Precept, study, advice, and example could never have taught them so well as failure has done.

Thomas Alva Edison:

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.

William Saroyan:

Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.

Winston Churchill:

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.

And finally, from a Chinese fortune cookie I received last week:

You may fail many times, but you are not a failure until you give up.

You Should Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

2009-09-23T09:37:00.002-05:00

The old adage is Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth. In my mother's view, it meant that if someone gives you a present, you should accept it graciously, even if it is something that is not exactly what you want. My view is that the economy fell apart because greedy people failed to examine that steed. Too many people jumped at the chance to get homes, cars, and other luxuries they couldn't afford with loans and cheap credit they knew they couldn't repay (at least not in this lifetime, based on minimum payments). I'm old-fashioned enough to be suspicious whenever someone offers me something that sounds to good to be true. Read that fine print and you'll find that it almost always is. The size of our economy is a function of how much credit is being used. The quality of our economy is a function of how much we save, how much we keep spending within our means, and how frequently we buy products that are manufactured here rather than abroad. Don't always look to cheat the system, or you may find that there won't be a viable system at all in the future.

Why Would Anyone Want to Be President?

2009-09-09T10:28:00.004-05:00

Anyone wanting to be President of the United States defies logic. First, the job pays a lot less than it costs to get elected. Second, you have to endure large groups of people doing everything they can to destroy your reputation and ability to achieve your goals (Whether your name is George W. Bush or Barack Obama, your position on the issues will anger a large portion of the electorate.). Third, you are speaking fervently to people who don't want to hear what you have to say and who are speaking more loudly than you are. Fourth, you are trying to address the needs of the country as you see them, and many people are only saying, "Don't make any changes that intrude on my comfort zone."

President Lyndon Johnson wanted to keep track of poll results on how people thought he was doing. If you worry about what others think of you all the time, you will never get anything done, and you will have trouble sticking to your principles. This applies even to those of us who will not ever try to be elected for anything. If you are comfortable with the decision you make, stick with it, at least until someone comes up with a logical modification of that decision that makes even more sense to you. Our outlook has been influenced too much by the media. Ratings really don't matter. If you follow your principles and feel comfortable with your decision, then go ahead with it. As Commander David Farragut once said, "Full speed ahead! Damn the torpedoes!"

Heroes Are People Too

2009-07-30T09:13:00.007-05:00

I just returned from the big EAA Airventure Airshow and Convention in Oshkosh, WI. This is an annual trip for me, and I am always impressed by both the technology and the people. One of the best parts is that you get to have personal conversations with people who have been through ordeals you will probably (hopefully) never have to face. Last year I spoke briefly with Dick Cole, co-pilot with Jimmy Doolittle in the April 18, 1942 payback raid on Tokyo by sixteen B-25 bombers. This year I met Jeff Skiles, First Officer of US Airways Flight 1549 that made a safe emergency landing in New York's Hudson River. The common thread in my conversations with both of these heroes is that while talking with them, you feel as though you are talking with an old friend from down the street. They feel as though they were just doing their jobs, although doing them very well under very trying circumstances. There were a lot of other just plain folks there, too: the airmen and soldiers of World War II and all the subsequent wars. It is always a privilege to meet them and talk with them. They are heroes, although you'll probably never learn of their individual exploits. The nice thing about the Oshkosh Airshow is that you also meet a lot of young people who are growing up to appreciate aviation and the heroes that came before them and walk among them.

Unintended Consequences

2009-07-15T09:36:00.003-05:00

Whenever you make a decision that will affect your future, you should remember that unintended consequences may result. Here are a few societal and personal examples that come to mind:
Desire: Use computers more to eliminate files of papers. Result: More paperwork as people back up their computers with paper versions because of mistrust of computer reliability or rapid computer obsolescence.
Desire: Pass more laws to control crime and regulate society. Result: More lawyers.
Desire: Visits to fast food restaurants to save time in busy schedules. Result: Obesity and poor nutrition balance.
Desire: Get the best cable or satellite TV package. Result: Lack of exercise and obesity; no time for other tasks.
Desire: Hire landscapers to have a more appealing lawn and grounds. Result: Lack of exercise.

I'm sure you can think of other similar cases.

You Matter More than Your Job.

2009-07-04T10:17:00.002-05:00

Most Americans, when asked about themselves in the course of meeting new people, will describe themselves by what they do for a living. In other parts of the world a self-description includes more basic, general, and personal information. When you describe yourself in terms of your job, you open yourself up to two negative consequences. First, you present a very limited image of yourself. There is much more to you than the job you happen to be performing. The second problem is that when you have a self-image that is based on your job, you are setting yourself up to be traumatized if you lose that job. There are many things that you could be doing for a living. It may have been a complete accident that led you to the position you now occupy. Spend some time thinking about what really matters to you and what you would really like to do or achieve in life. Start talking to people about those important things instead of talking about your job all the time, and you might find doors opening toward actually doing some of those other things.

This Speech Has Been Long Overdue.

2009-06-26T15:26:00.004-05:00

Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric Company has made a speech that is worth reading in its entirety. He says things that our leaders should have said long ago. Click on the title of this post to read it.

Saving Money Made Easy

2009-06-24T09:43:00.003-05:00

Americans are known for saving very little of their income. Many think they just can't do it; others think that saving just a little bit would be insignificant. The truth is that the best thing about saving is that it gets you into the habit. Try this approach: Open up two accounts at the bank. One should be a savings or money market account. The other should be a checking account. Every time you get paid, deposit the whole amount into the savings or money market account. This account becomes your capital formation resource. Every time you receive any payment, deposit all of it into your capital account, and transfer only what you need for immediate expenses and current bill payments into your checking account. Some weeks you may even have to transfer out more than you put in that week, but the important thing is that you get into the habit of following the deposit-and-transfer procedure. After a while you will start to see the residue amounts that you left in your capital formation account increase significantly. Save just a little, but do it over a long period of time, and it pays off. Even if your bank account for capital accumulation doesn't pay much interest, it will soon let you start to pay some bills from cash instead of charge cards, and that will save you plenty of interest. You may even find that you will be able to reduce or eliminate your past balances on those cards.

Ready, Set, Upset!

2009-06-17T09:42:00.004-05:00

Whenever things are getting to be too boring or routine for you, it's time to shake things up. If your business is lagging, do something differently. If your employees aren't enthusiastic about their working conditions, do something radically different. If you don't receive as much non-spam e-mail as you would like, start writing to contacts. Almost any innovation has its greatest impact during the period immediately following its implementation. As time passes, its effectiveness falls off, usually exponentially (which is a pretty drastic falloff). The way to keep interested in what you are doing and to make it the most effective, is to periodically introduce something new. Each new thing, process, or innovation will cause a spike of interest and/or business which will be followed by the usual drop-off. You create excitement when you keep those innovation spikes coming. Brainstorm with yourself or a few friends, and you'll come up with changes that are easy and a lot more fun that doing things the same way forever.

Everything's Relative

2009-06-11T10:27:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's late spring or meteorological summer, with a long string of temperatures of 60 degrees F or less. It feels quite chilly even though it's June. However, I have to remind myself that most people around here (Illinois) would have given almost anything to get temperatures this warm a few months ago. Our bodies and brains adjust their expectations so that we notice significant deviations from the normal temperature, even as that normal temperature varies over the course of the year. Similarly, a day is longer for a young child than it is for an older person because it is a larger percentage of the life experienced up to that point. This is why time seems to accelerate and whiz by as you grow older. A day, week, month, or year becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of your life. The allure of travelling to exotic places decreases as the number of those trips increase. A tourist and a traveling salesperson have different impressions of the same trip.
All of this is to say that there are very few absolute goals in life. You might as well be satisfied with what you have, because the value of looking for more decreases as you keep seeking additions to what you already have. Enjoy the journey. It's more interesting than accumulating destinations just for the sake of saying you've been there.

Local News vs. World News

2009-06-04T14:17:00.003-05:00

I have a relative who only watches and listens to local news. He isn't at all concerned with what happens on the larger world scene. I tend to closely monitor the national and international news while only briefly reviewing the local news. Who is correct? The answer is probably that we are both correct because we have different points of view. My relative is more concerned with his day-to-day costs, taxes, and laws that impact his lifestyle. I am more focused on long-term trends and national/international developments that will have impact on my personal life in the future. The fact that different people have varying viewpoints and priorities is a good thing. Because of this sort of situation, you can have negotiations and family plans where both parties are satisfied with the outcome. If we both wanted exactly the same thing, one would come out of a negotiation the winner and the other the loser. Progress is made when you can satisfy all parties without having winners and losers. To paraphrase President John F. Kennedy, people and countries all act in their own enlightened self-interest. We will have coexistence, peace, and prosperity to the extent that those self-interests are not mutually exclusive.

Sounding Off!

2009-05-19T17:10:00.003-05:00

That last Blog Post in which I lambasted Google for their lack of service sure felt good! There are times when you get so frustrated with a situation that it is positively therapeutic to sound off and vent your hostilities. It may or may not do anything to solve the problem. I have no hope for better dealings with Google, but it actually made me feel better to let it out. There was a time when I was working as an engineer for Bell & Howell Company, when I had such a showdown with the Purchasing Department. They were very upset that Engineering was treading on their turf by placing direct Purchase Orders. Without getting into the details, I read them the riot act about maintaining schedules and having sufficient technical knowledge to purchase the proper components in a timely manner. I don't ordinarily sound off, and my confrontation so surprised them that they went out of their way to be courteous and apologetic from then on. It almost approached friendship. For best results, however, you should save your sounding off for a very special situation, like Google.

Google Adsense Customer Disdain

2009-05-18T19:01:00.003-05:00

I'd like to sue Google Adsense for Non-Support. I have spent several months trying to make contact with them to find out how to test my account to see whether it is even working. When you try to contact customer support, they tell you to ask a question in their forum first. When you ask a question, you run into so many other questions from people who are having problems that you can't even find your posted question again to see if you have received any answers or suggestions. If you give up and say that you have to contact Customer Support, they tell you that you can only check off one of a few topics they will answer, and they won't let you write a word about your case. Well Google, I don't think that you really exist. If you do, tell me why I have been on both your Adsense Content and Adsense Search Programs for more than a year on two websites and two Blogs (one more recent), and there has been absolutely no change in my account statistics for many months. I don't think you ever check to see whether sites are functioning properly. It just lets you post ads without ever having to pay off. Google Analytics is even worse. I had one site on there, and then I added three more sites only to find that the system claims that all four sites get exactly the same number of hits. Does anyone else have a better ad system available? Google is too big to know what it is doing.

Happy Birthday

2009-05-02T14:56:00.003-05:00

The biggest thing in the news for the last couple of weeks has been the Swine Flu, more formally called H1N1. One of the more interesting points in all of the news coverage is that your first line of defense against this previously unknown virus strain is to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. The best way to avoid getting sick and to keep this contagion from spreading is to carry on your normal activities, but keep your hands clean after touching anyone or anything that comes into contact with other people. Dr. Tim Johnson, consultant to the ABC broadcast network has suggested that when washing your hands, you should scrub them together with soap for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday". This advice gives me the picture of people at side-by-side sinks in public restrooms all washing and singing "Happy Birthday to you..." The singing would probably help them cheer each other up, but the danger is that in their enthusiasm, they would give each other hand slap high fives, which would mean that they would have to wash their hands all over again.

Change to Plan B

2009-04-17T10:03:00.004-05:00

If you are among the many who have lost their jobs, or find yourself living with relatives because of a home foreclosure, it is probably time to change to Plan B, while Plan A is at least temporarily on hold. Plan A was what you wanted to do while you thought that you were in control of your future. Now that you know that you can't always be in control, you have two choices. You can sit around and wait for something to happen, or you can change to Plan B. Even though you aren't doing what you wanted to be doing, you can accomplish a lot with this interim time you have been given. Here are just a few examples: You can spend some quality time and rebuild relationships with those family members for whom you never could find time under Plan A. You can finally get to do some of the things on your Honey-Do list (and save contractor/maintenance cost if you are still in your home, or you can help your relatives with their house if you are a temporary tenant). You can take that course at the local college for fun or to improve your qualifications for a new job. You can volunteer to help at a hospital or food bank to aid people who are worse off than you. (Sometimes this even leads to a new career.) You can approach a realtor or bank and seek a temporary job maintaining foreclosed houses so that they are in good enough condition to be sold. You can work on that art project or invention that you had in the back of your mind.
You are in between desirable situations right now, but don't waste this very valuable time. Right now, you are free to do anything you want. Once you get resituated in a new job and/or house, you will be back on the treadmill, and you will have lost this opportunity to just be yourself. Don't find yourself looking back and wishing you had used this time more wisely. As Omar Khayyam once wrote, "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been."

Unemployment & the Poor Housing Market: Mutual Solutions?

2009-04-08T16:01:00.004-05:00

It's actually possible that unemployment and the poor housing market may be at least partial solutions for each other. Consider the fact that if you are unemployed, along with many others in your area, it is likely that you will have to go somewhere else to find a good job. If you go somewhere else, you will have to get a home there. When you look for that home, you will be helped by the facts that home prices are depressed and interest rates are low. In order to move, you will have to go through the ordeal of selling your existing home, but it is likely that you have more equity in your current home than the amount you will need for a downpayment on your new home. That means that you will have some remaining capital as you start your new job in your new location. Having cash resources will allow you to furnish and remodel your new home as desired. Spending that money to get your new house ready will contribute to improving the economy, which will create more jobs and make more people able to afford a new house. In every transaction, someone spends money to get something he or she wants, and the seller of that product or service gets cash to do the same thing later on. Spending circulates cash and builds up the economy. Spending only cash that you already own builds up the economy more slowly than spending other people's money through loans and credit cards, but it is a lot safer in times like these.

Go with the Flow

2009-04-06T10:14:00.003-05:00

If you are among the many who have found themselves laid off from a long-term job, be prepared to welcome change in the future. Companies that are laying off lots of employees are not just trying to limit their economic risk. They are trying to morph themselves into a more viable configuration for the future. In most cases, they will never bring back the same employees that they once considered essential. If they do engage in substantial hiring in the future, they will probably be looking for employees with different skill sets, and employees who will start at the bottom of the compensation ladder, rather than at the top due to seniority. Even now, there are firms and industries that are hiring, and you always have the option of handling your situation by starting up a venture of your own. Your best approach is to face your future as having great but different possibilities from the past. You should network with past associates, and monitor business and national/international news to identify trends toward new kinds of companies and jobs. If you are set to interview a new potential employer or a potential customer for your new venture, take advantage of modern technical capabilities to prepare yourself. In the old days, a smart job applicant would try to get a copy of the annual report for a company at which he was interviewing. Now, you can learn all about that company or potential customer through searching their name and key activities/products on the Web. Do all you can to walk in knowing something specific about the company so that you can engage in knowledgeable conversations with the interviewer. Being able to give them specific compliments about their business is a big plus. It shows your interest, and it gives them the feeling that you will be able to join the team without as much training expense as other candidates. It is a lot easier for potential employers and customers to communicate with people who already know something about their businesses, and it makes the meeting less awkward. There is an element of fear on the part of the employer, because there are many liabilities and hidden costs in selecting improper employees. If you search company information well, there will be more comfort in your interview, and the company's sense of "Stranger - Danger!" will be allayed.

Why "Buy American" Means Something

2009-04-01T13:13:00.002-05:00

As we sit in the middle of this depressed economy, the government's hands are tied when it comes to "Buy American" discussions and rules. Because of our participation in the World Trade Organization and other international trade negotiation groups, our government has to take the position that our markets are open to products from any other country, so that other countries will equally allow open sale and distribution of our products. Way back during President Reagan's administration, I attended a meeting on international trade at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, where the top U.S. Trade Negotiator was the speaker. During that meeting he talked about our disadvantages in trade because other countries had lower costs than we did. At that time at least the U.S. market was the source of the majority of consumption in the world. When I suggested that we offset cost advantages of other countries by controlling access to our markets, he looked at me as though I was absolutely crazy.

Maybe the government won't talk or think about "Buy American", but individual Americans certainly should. If you buy an American product, the dollars you spend stay in this country and circulate through the hands of many businesses and individuals. If you buy a product from another country, you send most of those dollars (except for the retailer's share) outside of the U.S. financial system, and they circulate through hands in another country. This costs U.S. jobs and endorses the terrible financial bias in favor of short term profits over long term planning and profits. If we had been thinking long term, we wouldn't have our industries (especially automobiles) in the terrible situation they face now. When we consistently run a huge multi-billion-dollar-per-month trade deficit for many years, we find that our country and our stock market have to get funding from other nations to support our economy. Right now, China's government is questioning the ability of the U.S. Government to pay back the money America has borrowed from them. China is also trying to get the dollar replaced by a different currency as the standard currency for settlement in international trade. We have had great advantages in the past because of the strength of our market and our currency. As they both weaken, we have to make decisions with a constant concern for how the countries to which we owe huge amounts of money will react. These are not good trends. Maybe, as an individual, you have bought goods from other countries because of lower prices, perceived status, or even technical preference. I suggest that if we all keep up such practices, we will undermine our future standard of living and even our ability to negotiate deals and treaties from a position of strength. Americans have the opportunity to guarantee that their country remains strong if they take the American product and service options when they are purchasing in the marketplace. Back when Britain was the greatest international power, there was the common expression, "penny wise and pound foolish". Look where that approach got them. Don't take the approach that a present bargain has no connection to a strong future. If American firms are supported, they will achieve greater volumes of units sold, reduced costs, and increased technology. All of these things will benefit you in the long run.

Now Is the Time for All Good Men & Women...

2009-03-30T14:13:00.002-05:00

...to think about what they would most like to be doing. Some people have time to think about this because they are out of work or retired. Others have to dream in small intervals between their many daily tasks. Use the Internet as a great big Dream Machine. With zero or very little up-front cost, you can set up a blog or a web site and present yourself to the world as whatever it is that you would like to be. Then, you can search the web for the additional knowledge that you would need to be that new identity, and you can communicate to or with others in that field. For instance, if I were to pull out of the air a desire to be a chef specializing in Chinese food with a Mexican twist to it, I might set up a blog or a web site called Chinexico. Then I could study both Chinese and Mexican cooking and test out some recipes such as Sweet and Sour Tamales, or Egg Rolls with Flour Tortilla wrappers. If the recipes turned out to work well, I could publish them on my site, try writing a new Chinexican cookbook, or open a specialized restaurant that someday might turn into a chain of such places. This particular dream might not be too farfetched, because tortillas and egg roll wrappers and mu shu pancake wrappers are all quite similar. Some Chinese restaurants use very hot peppers in their cooking as do Mexican restaurants. Both ethnicities use rice (arroz)...You can try out your dream in any category you want, but you will probably need a twist on what is already available in order to make your innovation something special and something about which you can get to know more than most others. This approach gives you a fun enterprise which could turn out to have some economic or at least self-confidence value. It also might turn out to be something that is worth noting on your resume as you look for new work. If you are out of work and looking for a new position, this exercise will give you something useful to say that you have been doing since leaving your last job. It is easier to land a new job if you haven't had a long empty period since your last one.

Write Right Now

2009-03-25T17:02:00.003-05:00

Why do writers write? There are many more reasons for writing than there are for publishing. Writing is an enterprise and an adventure and a chance for immortality. Some people make money from their writing, but most do it for other reasons. I admit to several motivations. I want to leave some trace of my existence and thought processes behind after I have gone on to whatever lies beyond life on earth. I find that I think differently when I write down my thoughts and have to make each new sentence have some logical relationship to the one that preceded it. I want my children to understand the part of me that I have never explicitly expressed. I want to create something that wasn't there before. I want to record and appreciate history.

If you are among the many thousands of people who have found themselves without a job during this economic downturn, consider the possibility that your period of unemployment could be a valuable opportunity to try something new and different. Rene Descartes said, "I think. Therefore, I am." All of your life you have had your own unique perspective on the world. Nobody else sees the world through your eyes. Here is your chance to do something special with your time of unemployment, rather than drifting through it just waiting and worrying. For at least one hour each day, sit down with pen and paper or laptop and write something. Your writing might take the form of letters, or poems, or remembrances to share with your children. You may choose to make it part of your job search by using it to network with others. You may even find it to be something so pleasurable that you will want it to continue after you are back in the working world. For most of our working lives we are tied to the details and objectives of our jobs. Don't look now, but you are free to think and write about anything you want. Go and create.

Spring Upward

2009-03-20T13:35:00.002-05:00

This morning, we finally made it out of winter and into spring. I think that I've seen enough indicators to be cautiously optimistic that the economic trends are springing upward too. The stock market is a leading indicator, and it has started to look mildly but consistently positive. I have been to car dealers where I have seen more people at least looking. I have seen a few "Sold" signs on houses and more realtors bringing potential customers for house tours. There are even some repaired potholes on my neighborhood streets (Some, but nowhere near all of the holes are repaired.). I know a lot of people who are taking major spring break vacations with their kids, and companies are again sending people on business travel. Smaller local banks are lending, and companies are extending credit terms. The big remaining obstacles are the major banks and insurance companies getting liquid again. The stockbrokers should be doing well because they make as much from a trade in a downward market as they do from a trade during a market gain. So, let the sun shine in and warm things up gradually.

Don't Play the Blame Game

2009-03-14T16:26:00.002-05:00

The latest news clips as we try to get out of the economic downturn have President Obama starting to be more vocal about blaming President Bush for the economic mess he inherited, while the Republicans are criticizing President Obama for signing a budget bill that contained lots of "earmarks". It is true that President Bush kept saying that the basics underlying the economy were sound and robust when they weren't. It is true that when Barack Obama was campaigning for President, he said that he would not tolerate "earmarks" if elected. Nevertheless, the important thing is for everyone to work together to get us from where we are now to where we want to be with the economy. President Bush felt that he had to say good things about the economy, because saying bad things might have made it even worse. President Obama felt that the pragmatic thing to do was to accept the earmarks this once so that the budget would go through in a timely fashion, and then work on rules to prevent them in the future. Whenever you have a problem, don't look to blame someone for having caused it. Instead, use all of your resources, human and otherwise, to develop steps for solving the problem and getting from where you are to where you want to be.

Davidson's Doctrine Applied When You Are Uncertain

2009-03-09T11:36:00.005-05:00

When a decision has to be made within a relatively short time span, whether it is to be made by an individual or a group, the worst thing you can do is dither or vacillate about it. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. You always have the default option of not doing anything. However, once you decide that a decision has to be made that will move you away from your present situation, some action is required. Davidson's Doctrine can be applied: Select any possibly acceptable option and assume that you have already made that decision. Determine what the first few procedures are along that path, and take a few simple steps in that direction while you are still behaving as though no change has been made. Consider all of the implications of this assumed decision. Think about cost, effects on other people and events, what people will think of you for having selected this choice, whether making this decision will lead to other required decisions. If you are comfortable with the implications of this assumed decision, go ahead and make it an actual choice. If some of the implications bother you, assume that you have made an alternate choice, and see if it is acceptable. The decision only needs to be comfortable and acceptable for you. It does not have to be the optimum choice. If no choice feels comfortable to you, take the default option, and wait a while before you again consider a change. Doing nothing is OK when doing something will not produce a comfortable and acceptable result.

Short Term Bad News, Long Term Good News - Applying Davidson's Doctrine

2009-02-23T08:03:00.004-06:00

You've been laid off from your job or you have to give up your job to move where your spouse has taken a new position. That's bad news for you and your established career path. You can feel sorry for yourself because of it. You can try to find a new job as similar to your old one as possible (difficult in hard economic times). The third option is to take a personal inventory and possibly go off in an entirely different direction. Losing your job is traumatic to your ego, your wallet, and your family relationships. However, it can be an opportunity to take a new approach that will give you unimagined long term benefits. I know that for many years I felt that I was so busy overcoming the daily hurdles of my job that I didn't take enough time to think about what I wanted out of life. If you have lost your job, you suddenly have that time to think. Set aside your fears (not easy), and think about what you would make you satisfied more than what you had been doing. What skills from your past job or training would you like to use? Who in your business dealings network has a different job that you would like to try? What product or service did you purchase from a vendor that you could make or do better than them? Are you willing to invent a new job by going out on your own? Do you know someone else in a similar situation who would be a great partner in an independent startup effort? Do you have or are you able to get sufficient resources to sustain yourself while you try something new? Davidson's Doctrine as presented in my book, DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life should be applied to your situation. Think of a possible new start direction, and assume that you have already decided to pursue it. Think about the necessary steps along that path, and take a few that don't require much effort or cost, such as printing business cards and letterhead. How does it feel to you? If you assume that you've decided on that direction, do you feel comfortable about it? Will you be bothered by what other people think of you for having gone that way? Do you start to see additional costs and difficulties that you hadn't realized would be involved?

You can take these first steps without declaring your new direction as a definite decision. Are you comfortable with it? Does it give you pleasure and/or an acceptable challenge? Does it promise economic or satisfaction rewards? If so, follow up those initial steps with an actual decision to go that way. If you are not comfortable with your assumed direction choice, discard it, and assume that you have decided on an alternate choice that appears promising to you. Take the first few steps and thoughts in that direction, and repeat the process until you have found an assumed career decision that is comfortable to you. It doesn't have to be ideal, just comfortable and satisfying to you. At some time in the future, you can always re-evaluate your outlook using the same approach if your initial direction doesn't turn out to be desirable for you in the long run. The Assumed Decision Process will tend to point you in a desirable direction in a shorter period of time than vacillating among all the possible alternatives or just trying to regain your original career situation in a bad economy.

Living Within Your Means / Meaning Within Your Lives

2009-02-19T15:44:00.002-06:00

One of the lessons we learn during a recession is that we have to identify items in our budgets that we can minimize or do without. Some items that are luxuries are easy candidates for cutting while others that we consider essential are more difficult to cut. The way to approach this process is to assign a priority to every item in your budget and restrict your spending to those items that are higher priority or to the higher priority portion of each qualifying item. During times when there is plenty of money for everything, you may not bother with priorities because there is plenty of money for everything with some left over. If you are smart, you assign priorities in both good times and bad. You may have enough money to buy everything you want, but you should examine your options carefully before you buy more than you need. Another result of bad times is that most of us assign higher priority to those aspects of our lives that define our relationships to each other and to God. Reinhold Neibuhr, in his Interpretation of Christian Ethics, stated that it doesn't matter very much what you believe in when everything is going well, but that you had better prepare yourself to have strong beliefs and meaning in your life when things go wrong, and they will go wrong at some time. Now that we're in that kind of period, it's a good time for intense self-examination.

Let the Tail Wag the Dog

2009-02-17T09:35:00.003-06:00

I found myself feeling as though I was in the Twilight Zone recently when the government announced that due to the bad economy our international trade deficit for one month was only a record low of 39 billion dollars. Don't look now, folks, but that is pathetic. If we want to get our economic house in order, we should give priority to reducing our international trade deficit and not let it turn out to be whatever happens. The G7 trade ministers are putting pressure on countries not to respond to bad economic times by turning protectionist, i.e. telling their people to buy only their domestic products. They fear that protectionism will reduce the total amount of international trade and lead the world into a downward economic spiral. I have a modified plan to suggest. Let Americans buy anything they want from any country they want, but set a gradually decreasing international trade deficit target, and by law state that the trade deficit cannot exceed the monthly or annual benchmark. Once the difference between imports and exports exceeds that deficit, the only legal way to import more would be to export more. It would help the situation if Americans bought domestic goods, and it would also put pressure on foreign firms and countries to buy U.S. goods if they wanted to be allowed to increase their exports to the U.S.A. It's not protectionism. It's common sense.

Sexual Economics on Valentines Day

2009-02-13T16:34:00.002-06:00

On every other day of the year except for February 14th (and a few days anticipating it), women do almost all of the shopping and most of the consumer buying. It all changes in the pre-Valentines Day period when men (in a spirit of self-preservation, if not romance) shop and purchase generously. I predict that we will see an economic pulse upward this week because of men realizing that it is time to buy for the sake of their relationships with women. It is even possible that in this year's tough economic environment some men (and women) will spend more on Valentines Day to add cheer to an otherwise bleak period. I was at the local Costco this morning, and during the first half hour an amazing number of people had already done their shopping and were checking out, 95% of them with at least one bouquet of flowers. We still pursue romance, and we still have optimism. Nurture those qualities well for an economic and spiritual rebound.

The Velocity of Money

2009-02-09T10:10:00.004-06:00

The battle is being fought in Washington now about how huge the amount of money we should have in the Stimulus Package in order to get the economy back on the recovery track. Perhaps more important than the amount of money is the character of the projects we are going to tackle with this money. I'm not trying to nit-pick the specific projects; the politicians have already done that, and neither side is completely satisfied. What we have to study is whether we will be funding projects that get the money moving through the system rapidly. If you give me one dollar, and I put it into my savings account, the bank may lend it out in a few weeks to someone who might use the loan to make a down payment on a house a month later. In this example, the single dollar changes hands three times in a couple of months. The economy basically had three dollars pumped into circulation over two months. If, instead, you give me one dollar, and I use it to pay for groceries, and the store uses it to replace the item I bought, and the wholesaler uses it to pay his employee, and the employee uses it to pay for gasoline, and the gas station owner uses it to buy more gasoline to sell, the same dollar changes hands six times in a few days. There are effectively six dollars pumped into circulation in a few days, or potentially, more than one hundred dollars added to the circulation in the same two month period as before. If we want a rapid recovery from our economic malaise, we need to get the new money pumped into the economy in ways that make it circulate from person to person and company to company in a high-velocity fashion. The faster the money circulates, the more quickly we will recover. The problem right now is that people have stopped buying whenever possible. In a bad economy the velocity of money circulation slows to a crawl.

What Is a Bank?

2009-01-31T10:09:00.002-06:00

I was in my local branch bank today to expedite a computer glitch, and the banker suggested that I cancel one of my accounts and open a different type that would pay 1% interest instead of 0.5% interest. My response was that at this time banks are Piggy Banks, places for holding your money securely, and places to store cash as a liquid asset, but that they are no longer sources of significant earnings. In this economy, it is important to have cash in the bank as protection against the declining stock market. Cash in the bank means you don't have to sell securities and turn a paper loss into an actual loss. However, most bankers still talk about their interest rates with a straight face, as though they mean something. Banks are quick to cut the interest rates they pay on deposits when the Fed lowers their rates for borrowing funds, but they completely resist lowering the rates they charge for outstanding balances on credit cards. Why is this so? What is there about the people on Wall Street who single-handedly ruined the world's economy, that makes them think they deserve huge bonuses for having done so? Maybe we need a new financial system wherein loans are issued by companies that have actually earned the money in their coffers. Then they would really be loaning their own money and would be more careful with it. The banks deal in someone else's money but treat it as their own.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

2009-01-22T13:47:00.002-06:00

President Obama is starting out well with an approach that is both pragmatic and positive in outlook. We do not yet know how successful he will be as he tackles the many problems facing the United States, but the important thing is that he is giving the strong impression that he knows how to get from here to positive results. Probably the most immediate problem facing the U.S. and the world as a whole is resurrecting the economy. There are many ambitious programs planned, but perhaps the most important thing is to generate a positive outlook in the marketplace. If we think things will get better, they will. We tend to act out our expectations. If we feel things are falling apart, we delay large expenditures and curtail spending on avoidable things such as dining out and home improvements. If we can convince ourselves that we are on the way back, people invest in the stock market because they expect to make a profit, they buy cars, and they consider moves to better jobs and homes. One counterproductive trend is that corporations take advantage of down times in the economy by cutting their payrolls and costs so that they will be more efficient when the economy improves. We are also seeing the greedy investment swindlers trying to disappear with their profits before they have to face the justice system. The stock market and our attitudes are leading indicators of the health of the economy. When they both turn positive, we will be on the way back. So, have a positive outlook. This is one time in history when we have nowhere to go but up.

Manufacturing Is Still the Key to the Economy

2009-01-17T10:19:00.002-06:00

For many years American corporations have been chasing short-term profits by having more and more products manufactured outside of the country where unit costs are substantially lower. Taken out of context, this is a logical thing to do in order to be competitive in worldwide markets. This approach does, however, give the U.S. major problems that may not be immediately obvious to the individual corporation. First, when we start having our products made internationally, we give away our technological techniques and capabilities. Not only do we teach others how to make our products, but we later tend to let them work out the hands-on local production techniques for subsequent orders rather than controlling them ourselves. The second problem with having products made elsewhere is that we remove large numbers of jobs from our available employment pool. The product may be more cheaply made elsewhere, but if our companies aren't paying our manufacturing workers, then our taxpayers end up paying them through unemployment compensation, retraining costs, and inefficiencies when well-trained workers in one sector are forced to take jobs for which they are improperly matched in another sector. The third problem is that each manufacturing job creates several other support and service jobs. There was a time when people claimed that the economy could thrive on service jobs alone. This works out in a boom period, but in a bust period we discover that many of the service jobs are not really necessary, and the amount of unemployment is enhanced when people stop making consumption expenditures. One of the better ways to turn the economy around is to return more products to high-quality domestic production and to convince our consumers that they have a large economic stake in keeping American manufacturers healthy by buying their products. Further, increases in domestic manufacturing and technology are increases in national security in time of war. Self-sufficiency enhances control of your destiny.

Wait 'til Next Year (Cubs 101:1-165)

2008-12-31T13:32:00.002-06:00

2009 is upon us, and I have to ask myself, "Is this really a new beginning?" We like to be neat about our life histories, and it always makes us feel good to have a fresh start. Why? Because if you start over fresh, you can stop worrying about the problems and difficulties you've had up to this point. Do it tomorrow; you've made enough mistakes today. The truth is that calendar years are convenient fictions. On New Year's Day, a forty-eight year old person born on January 1st could just as easily say, "Here I am at the 17532nd day of my life. What would be good to do today?"

The truth is that we are who and what we are because of all of our past learning and experiences, and that is what gives today its potential for being something special for us. When we feel pleased that we are starting fresh, we are really trying to sweep the past under the rug, and that is a mistake. Each person's life builds on the experiences and values of those who have gone before him or her. What you should do with 2009 is to live it in a way that adds to your values in order to further grow your personal, family, and religious traditions. If you really started over anew, you would be like a tree that had no roots.

The Cubs are who they are in the Friendly Confines because they have learned to cherish their roots. Maybe this year they'll learn how to make those roots sprout.

Shameless Commercial

2008-12-06T12:26:00.003-06:00

This is the time of year when people are looking for unique and useful gifts, and I am pleased to offer my book as a suitable answer. DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life gives practical approaches and suggestions to anyone who has to face real life decisions on an ongoing basis. Davidson's Doctrine is a key tool to approaching any difficult decision, allowing you to avoid tendencies toward vacillation and indecision. Practical applications include games, preparing for college, getting attention from government authorities, negotiations, workplace social dynamics, shopping, and many more. Please click on the title of this article or go directly to http://www.davidsonbooks.com for additional information. This is a book that can help you succeed and live in better harmony with others. Try it. You'll like it.

The Star Power Economy

2008-12-01T14:31:00.002-06:00

Barack Obama has not yet been sworn in as President, but he has already had a positive impact on the economy. Right after he won the election, newspapers issued commemorative sections, and those sections plus the banner headline editions as Obama declared victory sold out quickly. The newspapers printed additional commemorative runs of the special papers and sold more copies than they had in years. Newspapers qualify as collectible pieces of history, but Internet printouts don't. Commemorative coins, newspaper headline collages, Obama plates and pottery are all big sellers and future eBay features. All of the money being spent on trips to Washington for the inauguration plus housing, meals, and purchases while there are going to be just as significant for the economy as Christmas shopping. I doubt that people will be as enthusiastic about saving souvenirs of the new cabinet appointees, but if they at least think that these people have the qualifications to make a difference, they also will have fan clubs that will help us to turn the psychology of the markets around. Negative thinking is a self-fulfilling prophecy, but get enough positive "vibes" going, and the economic outlook can be self-fulfilling in a positive direction - at least until the new administration is actually installed and starts to be judged by its accomplishments and not by its star power.

Consumer Good News and Bad News

2008-11-18T12:47:00.002-06:00

The good news is that gasoline prices are (pardon the pun) tanking. Every day I see the prices at the gas stations going down by a few cents. The reason for this is that when prices rose to well over $4.00 per gallon, we finally changed our driving habits. Going for a long drive became a luxury instead of merely normal. The American public collectively drove many billions of miles less than previously every single month. This, plus a shrinking economy, left too much gasoline waiting to be sold and too few buyers willing to consume it. If we keep up our new habits prices will stay low. Drive less, and don't think that as prices go down it again becomes OK to drive a gas guzzler. Continue to economize and look at better efficiency cars when it becomes time to replace yours.

The bad news is that with the economy and the stock market in a downturn, retailers are finding fewer people going through their checkout lanes. Many stores and restaurants are facing the prospect of going out of business. In this kind of economy, the best thing we can do is to keep buying, but only buy things that are good values. You will find many bargains out there as sellers become desperate. Take advantage of these to get good values for yourself and also to help support the merchants. We want them to stay in business if they are viable. Keeping stores in business preserves jobs and maintains a high level of competition between the sellers for your business. When sellers compete you get good value for your money. When some sellers go out of business, there is less competition for your business, and prices go up because you have fewer places to shop.

Post-Election Limerick P

2008-11-11T09:41:00.002-06:00

Alaska Governor Palin
Thought that she'd have easy sailin'.
But some bad interviews
And too many bought shoes
Left her after the vote, sadly trailin'.

Post-Election Limerick M

2008-11-11T09:35:00.001-06:00

That distinguished hero, McCain
Started out speaking words that were plain.
When he changed them to rancor,
It hurt like a canker,
And caused many voters to refrain.

Post-Election Limerick B

2008-11-11T09:29:00.003-06:00

Well-versed Senator Joe Biden
Spoke some words that he should have been hidin'.
Though he traveled the south
With his foot in his mouth,
To the VP's big office he's ridin'.

Post-Election Limerick O

2008-11-11T09:20:00.003-06:00

There was a young man named Obama
Who always debated much calmer.
He pulled out the race
With a smile on his face,
and a loving goodbye to Grandmama.

Save That Old TV Set

2008-10-17T11:47:00.003-05:00

The government is bombarding us with information about the transition of broadcast TV signals from analog to digital in February, 2009. They and all of the broadcast TV channels are saying that if you receive your TV signal via an antenna, you will need to purchase a digital convertor box to continue to receive broadcast TV signals on older analog receivers. This information is absolutely correct, but it implies that your older TV sets without the convertor box will be useless. This part is incorrect. Analog TV sets without the convertor box will still work fine for wired applications such as playing back your video tapes and DVDs. They can also be retained in case you want to someday connect to cable TV networks. They are useful if you want to play back tapes from your camcorder or digital camera. They can even be connected to your computer for larger screen photo and movie displays if your computer has a video output. Older TV sets will be especially useful for permanent setups of video games. Updating to digital and high-definition TV receivers is fine, but don't face those high costs until you feel you are ready for them. You don't have to panic and spend a lot of money replacing all of your equipment. THEY ALSO DON'T TELL YOU THAT THE MOST CRITICAL COMPONENT IN THE CONVERSION TO BROADCAST DIGITAL TV IS YOUR ANTENNA. A weak analog TV signal will give you a snowy or wavy picture. A weak digital TV signal will give you hesitating freeze-frame pictures or a blank screen. With digital signals the picture is either very good or it isn't there at all, and you won't know whether your antenna is good enough until you actually try it.

Stop It Right Now!

2008-10-10T09:29:00.003-05:00

Remember the old saying, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned"? The same thing is happening right now, and I'm getting pretty tired of it. Our beloved presidential candidates are throwing character assassination brickbats at each other while our economy and the economies of the rest of the world are falling apart. If you have answers for our problems, tell us. If you are going to behave like nasty little kids, do it somewhere offstage, because we don't want to hear about it. There are serious problems, and the American people want to know what you have to contribute to their solution...Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way!

What If?

2008-09-25T15:28:00.003-05:00

What if lenders were required to submit loan analysis forms showing a reasonable probability of repayment to a regulating or insuring agency before issuing mortgage loans? (or at least a computerized go/no-go program to minimize feedback delays)?

What if the government had been willing to invest even half of the proposed bailout amount into infrastructure improvements so that more people had jobs and the wherewithall to repay their loans (Does anyone remember Keynesian economics?)?

What if the government encouraged people to Buy American so that more of our capital and jobs stayed here and the dollar was worth more?

What if the government encouraged people to save money in the banking system by not taxing interest on savings accounts?

What if business management salaries were pegged to results in both directions so that they went down when the business did poorly as well as going up on increased profits?

What if U.S. imports carried higher duties that could be partially offset by purchases of our exports?

What if non-emergency government spending was required by law to be balanced by corresponding income?

What if banking and credit companies were legally barred from having fees and penalties that were not openly shown in the LARGE PRINT and proportional only to the amount of money specifically involved in the case of late amounts?

What if companies and banks could not disclose your personal information to others unless you specifically allowed them to (Opt IN, rather than Opt OUT)?

What if automobile companies could not promote "Flex-Fuel" or natural gas vehicles in any area where the alternate fuel was not readily available for purchase?

What if we all had to avoid complaining for at least one day per week (You would live longer.)?

Thousand Pound Gorillas

2008-09-17T20:43:00.003-05:00

Everybody treads very carefully when there is a thousand pound Gorilla in the room. Then there is the other old saying: When you owe the bank one thousand dollars, you lose sleep over it. When you owe the bank one million dollars, the banker loses sleep over it! Both of these sayings are pertinent to the current financial mess with the government bailing out one huge failing financial firm after another. The Feds are afraid of the large number of investors [Read "voters"] who will have their savings or investments wiped out if the huge financial firms are allowed to fail. Don't forget that we all will have to pay the bill in taxes and/or inflation for these bailouts. When Enron went under because of manipulation and unethical practices, the government didn't step in. I personally lost a bunch on that one because my stock in Portland General Electric had become Enron stock when "Big E" took over that utility. It hurt, but life went on, and investors in Enron learned a hard lesson. If huge financial firms are so greedy that they follow unsound business practices to make a quick profit, they deserve to fail, and the government shouldn't prop them up so that they can do more stupid things in the future. Financial firms like all of the rest of us have to learn that if the potential profits of an undertaking or investment sound too good to be true, they usually are. Too many people were willing to loan money to people and firms that could not realistically be expected to pay it back. Then they acted surprised when those people had to default on their loans. What ever happened to financial analysis?

September Should be Two Months Long

2008-09-09T08:46:00.003-05:00

Here we are again in September, the busiest and most promising month of the year. This is the month when the hot weather of summer gives way to a period when you can comfortably catch up with all of those chores and home improvements that you would like to get done before winter. Unfortunately, it is also the month when students have to get back into the school groove. Politicians are panicking because there isn't much time before the general election. Baseball teams are in the home stretch while football teams are just beginning to play "real games that count". The month is full of birthdays of babies conceived on New Years Eve or in the depth of winter. This is the month that is the beginning of the academic year, and as such is full of promise like all beginnings. Plan-ahead types are starting to do their Christmas shopping, and many stores are enticing them with displays of Christmas decorations long before we have come to Halloween or Thanksgiving. Churches are having "Rally Days" to attract worshippers and Sunday Schoolers back after summer vacations. Business Management is relieved because they got through the short-handedness of summer vacations. People are looking forward to fall foliage, but not to preparations for the cold winter ahead. Final fall weekend trips are in the planning stages. Car dealers are trying to sell off the old models before the new ones fill their showrooms. And I'm trying to finish off my first mystery novel manuscript before starting the sequel...Viva September!

Mystery People

2008-08-20T08:33:00.003-05:00

Within a very short time the presidential race will move into its next stage with the naming of the two vice-presidential candidates. Obama is expected to announce his running mate by Saturday of this week in order to have everything in place for next week's Democratic convention. McCain will follow shortly afterward in order to take some of the press coverage away from the Democrats and their convention. Right now, the favorite media sport is speculating on the VP candidates. The press is narrowing in on three possibilities for the Democrats and three or four for the Republicans. Frankly, I would like the answer to be "None of the above" for this one, both because the people touted by the press are far from capable of shifting the campaigns into higher gears (and who needs more of the same?), and because I would like to see the presidential candidates outsmart the press. At this point I'm hoping that we're in for a pair of surprises...but maybe not of the Dan Quayle type.

Gas Saving Tip

2008-08-13T14:42:00.003-05:00

Here's a simple tip for reducing the amount of gasoline(petrol) you use. When you refuel, fill up your tank or purchase a constant number of gallons(litres) so that you know the amount of fuel you have to begin with. Before you leave the pump, reset your trip odometer to zero. When you do this, you will always know the number of miles(km) you have driven since your last refueling. Then remain conscious of the distance you have driven by watching the miles(km) on the trip odometer accumulate. You will find yourself reducing unnecessary trips to slow down the increase in the displayed number, and you will also soon learn how many miles(km) you can expect on your fill-up or constant amount of fuel purchased. This will tell you at any time what percentage of the way to your next refueling you are. Drive so as to maximize the time to your next refueling, and you will purchase less fuel and save money.

The Year of the Veep?

2008-08-06T08:56:00.003-05:00

The race for president is tightening up, and both sides need something that will generate a boost in the poll ratings and in voter interest. John McCain has succeeded in turning the media's attention to nitty-gritty details as opposed to Obama's long-term "Change" philosophy. They also both have potential liability aspects as voters weigh the impact of age and race on their decisions. The key to victory in this election may well be the identities of the two VP candidates. Each presidential candidate needs to choose someone who will: enhance their combined impact and stature (1+1=3); bring additional votes to the ticket that would not be likely for the presidential candidate alone; give geographic and/or demographic nationwide appeal to the ticket; and offset one or more perceived weaknesses of the top candidate. The selection of VP candidates who cover all of these criteria will be very difficult, but it very well may be critical to the results of the general election and to the perception of the electorate of the worth of each party's ticket. There have been several elections when I voted one way or the other because of my feelings for the vice-presidential candidate, and one or two where I wished the VP candidate was the one running for president. This year the election is going to be extremely close, and the VP candidates may make the difference. I also think that this year's election competition will go right down to the wire and will feature some high-impact last-minute surprises.

Gas Prices Going Down - Is That Good or Bad News?

2008-07-26T09:55:00.003-05:00

To most of us the change to a recent downward trend in gasoline prices is great news. However, given the fickle nature of overconsumers and automobile companies, it may not be. How many times have the automobile companies learned that the long-term trend in fuel prices is violently upward, only to go for short-term profits with huge SUVs and high-power engines? How many times have high-income status seekers complained about gasoline prices and then bought those short-term-profit gas guzzlers to maintain their status and keep gas prices high for the rest of us?
Gas prices have started to go down for two reasons, and if we concentrate on those reasons, prices will continue to go down. The most basic reason is that $4.00-plus gasoline (Europeans, stop laughing. We know and appreciate that yours is much higher.) finally encouraged most drivers to cut back on the number of miles that they drive. If you continually evaluate whether a trip is necessary, run several errands in tandem, and drive your car that gets the best gas mileage, total demand for gasoline will decrease as will prices. The other reason for prices going down is that investors, seeing a slight upward direction to stock prices are starting to switch from driving up the market price for oil to investing again in stocks as a better long-term alternative. The problem with driving up the price for oil as an investment is that the resulting high-priced energy drives down all of your other investments, and you end up shooting yourself in the foot (Which you will need after high energy prices make us all walk or ride bicycles.). Of course, increased walking and/or riding bicycles will both decrease the number of total miles driven and start to make us physically fit again, so it's a win-win situation.

Save the Economy - Bring Back the Shmoo?

2008-07-16T09:55:00.007-05:00

Al Capp, the ingenious creator of the "Li'l Abner" comic strip solved our economic problems in the late 1940's with his introduction of the Shmoo. The Shmoo was a cute pear-shaped creature which would do anything to make people happy. (Click on the title of this post for more Shmoo info.) It would lay eggs and milk, turn itself into a sizzling steak, or serve as a toy for young children. In today's world, I'm sure a Shmoo would be more than happy to become a tankful of gasoline. Shmoos multiplied at an alarming rate, so there was never a lack of Schmoos waiting to please you in some way. Sounds great, doesn't it? The problem is that we get lazy when everything is done for us, and we lose our capability to solve problems on our own. When times are good, we are more than willing to coast and accept things the way they are. Only in hard times do we maximize our resources and turn them toward solving the problems we face. Sometimes we have to take the doom and gloom out of bad news in order to look at it as an opportunity to solve some problems. Progress comes out of adversity. Fifty years from now when we are driving around in our magnetically levitated fuel cell powered two-passenger vehicles with modular storage add-ons, we will appreciate the incentive that we gained from high-priced gasoline. In the meantime, drive less, carpool, and be a Shmoo to all of your friends. (And don't misspell the word to be ornery...)

Make Her Happy

2008-07-11T10:08:00.003-05:00

I saw a billboard today from a jewelry store which showed a woman with a big smile on her face and had the caption, "Make her happy". My first question was whether you can really buy a woman's happiness with a glittery piece of jewelry that has no function (unless you want to cut a piece of glass). This triggered my second question: Why do advertisers try to sell things to make women happy while they never advertise about happiness as a goal when they are selling things to men? If men and women are supposed to be treated equally, how did happiness get to be more of a feminine goal than a masculine one? Can you buy happiness at all? Perhaps the problem is that advertisers are not talking about true happiness. It is even possible that men and women have different interpretations of what happiness is, and they may not even realize when they have achieved it because of a deficient contentment gene. I guess our forefathers (and foremothers) were right in setting the official goal as the "pursuit of happiness". If at first you don't succeed, try, try again...

Restaurant Pricing

2008-07-02T08:29:00.003-05:00

Did you ever notice that when you go to a restaurant the bill is roughly constant? My wife and I tend to go to moderate family restaurants, and the bill is almost always about $20.00 for the two of us before tax and tip. Restaurants of all types design their menus around the amount of money they wish to receive from each customer. In a typical family restaurant where we live, you can purchase an egg/pancake dish for $7.95, a sandwich plate for $7.95, or a dinner special for $7.95. To be sure, you can shave the price slightly by ordering only one egg or get a better dinner for a few dollars more. In addition, the pricing is biased by whether you order drinks, side dishes, or desserts, which are higher profit items.

Restaurants today are businesses which happen to serve food as their product, rather than hospitality centers where the main goal is to impress the guest with the quality of the food and service. The primary approach is to attract and process through as many customers as possible at a certain average dollar value per customer. This is usually done by compressing the range of prices on the menu as discussed above and by streamlining the process in order to get as many customers as possible through in a given period of time. The latter approach is the fast food philosophy.

It will be interesting to see whether the restaurant business starts to introduce some cost-reduction innovations now that gasoline prices are getting higher every day. The easiest way to compensate for the higher cost of gasoline is to eat at home, saving both the costs of driving and of the restaurant. Some restaurants are now packaging menu items as frozen entrees that you can purchase at the supermarket and eat at home. Is this the best of both worlds?

Transportation and Communication

2008-06-30T10:58:00.004-05:00

Two sectors of the economy that are usually mentioned in a single sentence are transportation and communication. They are the twin facilitators that make the difference between living in a worldwide economy and living in a purely local economy. The latter situation was common and normal in the nineteenth century and earlier, and people lived their lives at a slower pace because of it. With the advent of accelerated oil pricing increases, whether due to shortages, increased demand, speculation, hedging, or sinister plots, we have to try to decrease our oil requirements by emphasizing communication over transportation. Fortunately, computers and the internet have been moving in the correct direction for this increased reliance on communication. It is much easier, quicker, and less expensive to keep in touch with people by e-mail than it is with postal mail. I have been involved with international commerce for many years with only a minimum of international travel. With the developing capability for video links and electronic conferencing who wouldn't prefer efficient communication over waiting in airports due to delayed and cancelled flights. A major tool for offsetting increased transportation costs definitely lies in improved communication, and we should all try to emphasize moving thoughts and words rather than bodies and physical objects whenever possible...Now if we could only do something about spam and telemarketing from the other side of the world, we'd really be doing a better job of communicating.

What Are You Doing? Nothing...

2008-05-30T10:28:00.003-05:00

This blog, my book, and a lot of my writing is about making decisions as you go through your day-to-day journey through life. It is a blessing that on some of those days you won't have to make significant decisions. Every once in a while it is great just to coast for a while. People think of such times as coming when you are on vacation, but I find that the planning of a vacation frequently requires more decisions than you have when you are in "home" mode. It's not a matter of goofing off. It's more a sense of staying within the "comfort zone" that we all establish through routine and repetition of activities at which we have achieved a good level of capability.
This is all part of the slower pace of life that our society used to have. Even if your normal day is a complete rat-race, you should periodically do nothing, smell the flowers, or read for the sake of reading rather than achieving - just to prove that you still can. If you can't relax enough to do nothing, you may have a problem.

Ways to Reduce Your Gasoline Costs

2008-05-21T09:31:00.003-05:00

In these days of extremely high gas prices you have to think about your car and your driving habits to save gasoline:

1. Fill gas tank halfway only. – Reduce the weight the car carries.
2. Combine your short errand trips. – Don’t make a single errand and return.
3. Design your route to maximize right turns. – Left turns take waiting and extra gas.
4. Keep your tire pressures up. – Less tire wear and better mileage.
5. Fill tires with nitrogen instead of air. – Maintains tire pressure longer.
6. Turn off engine if idling longer than 30 seconds – IF car is in good shape to restart engine.
7. Park in lot to pull out forward if possible. - Backing and maneuvering take extra gas.
8. Reduce the load in your trunk. – Extra weight requires extra gas.
9. Keep your car clean. – A smooth surface has less drag.
10. Telephone or e-mail rather than driving. – Reduce trips to reduce gas.
11. Move closer to your work to reduce commuting miles.
12. Carpool whenever possible.
13. Take public transportation whenever possible and practical.
14. Buy the lowest grade of gasoline that matches your car’s specifications.
15. Change your oil regularly and maintain oil levels.
16. Use synthetic oil for better lubrication.
17. If you have two cars, use the higher mpg car for long trips.
18. Schedule meetings near the midway geographical point among participants to reduce average travel mileage.
19. Use conference phone calls rather than having meetings.
20. Shop locally.
21. When you have alternate possible places to shop go to the nearest one.
22. Monitor prices and go to the gas station with lowest prices that is within a reasonable travel distance.
23. Reduce eating out. – This saves mileage and reduces your restaurant budget to increase your gas budget.
24. Ride a bike or walk for local trips.
25. Ask yourself, “Is this trip necessary?” – If not, don’t go.
26. Mow your lawn with an electric lawn mower.
27. Keep your car tuned and serviced properly.
28. Slow down approaching red lights. Time your approach to eliminate or reduce complete stops.
29. Use only moderate acceleration. Maximum acceleration wastes gas.
30. Take turns smoothly. Tight turns and stops/starts on turn waste gas and increase tire wear.
31. Cruise at 55 mph on highways. Higher speeds waste gas.
32. Try to maintain constant or slowly changing speeds whether local or distance driving.
33. Shop online or by catalog rather than by car.
34. Use online banking when practical.
35. Don’t idle your car for a long time to warm it up. – Start up and go.
36. Drive in dry rather than wet weather when possible. – Rain causes extra drag and worse friction control between tires and pavement. (same for ice/snow)
37. Don’t use drive-up lanes at fast food restaurants, banks, etc. – Too much idling.
38. Plan your trip to take bridges and underpasses where possible to avoid possible long waits at train crossings.
39. Use limited-access highways rather than local roads to maintain cruising speed and avoid multiple stops at traffic lights.
40. Avoid construction zones.
41. Get an I-Pass (EZ-Pass, etc.) when traveling toll roads to pay your tolls without stopping and waiting in line.
42. Put outgoing mail in your home mailbox for the mail carrier to pick up rather than taking it to a public mailbox or the post office.
43. Walk rather than drive your child to and from school or the school bus stop.
44. Don’t use your air conditioner unless you really need it. If you do use it, set the controls to recirculate the air inside the car. This will mean that the air conditioner cools air that has already been cooled, which uses less energy than cooling hot outside air.
45. Watch your tachometer to keep your rpm’s fairly constant. Generally, cruise rpm’s should be in the 1500 to 2000 range. If you are trying to save gas, they should never be much higher.
46. Use tires designed for highway driving rather than off-road tire types or snow tires (except when required for the conditions you are facing).
47. Avoid bumpy roads and potholed surfaces. – Your car can’t get good mileage if the tires are not in continuous contact with the road.

Gas Prices and Improved Cars

2008-05-11T12:03:00.003-05:00

As the price of gasoline continues to rise, many people start to think about trading in their existing car for one that goes more miles per gallon of gas. When you do get such thoughts, make sure you look at the actual mathematics of the gas cost vs. car cost situation. Assume you are an average driver who might drive 12,000 miles per year. If you are consciously trying to limit your driving miles by such tricks as making many planned stops on a single trip rather than taking many individual trips, 12,000 miles per year is quite reasonable. Assume that your current car goes 20 miles per gallon of gas. If we assume that gas soars to a price of $5.00 per gallon, you would use 600 gallons per year for a cost of $3,000 per year. If you were able to trade in your car for one that has double the fuel economy, that goes 40 miles per gallon of gas, your annual gas cost would drop from $3,000 to $1,500. That's a good bit of savings. Now if you are going to keep your new car for five years, you have to find a new car that you can buy for the five-year savings, or $7,500 in order to spend the same for gasoline plus car costs as you would by continuing to drive your old car. Go ahead, enjoy your $7,500 new car if you can find it. If you want to pay even less than you are now paying, your new car would have to have an even lower price...And don't forget, this calculation was based on $5.00 per gallon gasoline. Perhaps "rusty but trusty" is the better solution until your current car has to be replaced for functional reasons.

Merger Report

2008-04-27T11:57:00.003-05:00

There's a recent merger in my town which might merit attention. The oldest funeral home has merged with a bank. Right now they are in the process of remodeling the funeral home to be the latest in modern suburban banking. The reason this merger is worthy of note is that it may signal the change that everyone has been seeking for a long time: You can take it with you!

How Many Robins?

2008-04-14T10:09:00.003-05:00

I have a bird feeder which I fill with the usual wild bird seed mixture. I do confess that I tend to fill it in good weather rather than in the middle of a snowy winter when the birds really need it. Anyway, it is a rite of spring to get some seed mix into the bird feeder and watch for the birds to come back to my yard after the winter. I'm sure that many of you do the same thing. I don't talk to the birds, but sometimes I bet on them. Right now I am ready to bet on the number of robins that will eat at my bird feeder today. My bet is zero. The reason is that robins don't eat grain; they very capably find and eat worms. They are meat eaters. (Just as there were diet differences among the different types of dinosaurs that were ancestors of the birds.) The point of this discussion is not to show what I know about birds but to remind you that in placing any bet or making any decision you will have better chance of success if you bet on something for which you have prior knowledge. It is always better to own stocks of companies for which you know something about their businesses rather than companies that you know by name only. Likewise, you are better off starting up a company in a field in which you have worked or which you have studied rather than a business which sounds interesting but about which you know nothing. Knowledge is power, and that's why you hear the expression, "The smart money is betting on ______."

Figures Can Lie and Liars Can Figure

2008-04-11T09:13:00.005-05:00

Every time you read an article about the forever ongoing presidential election campaign you see citations of statistics from the latest polls. Always remember to take these with a bit of scepticism, even when they show the result you prefer. If I were taking a poll of these matters, I could get totally different results from the same group of people if I simply changed the wording of my questions. For instance, "How troubling will Bill Clinton's presence in a new Clinton White House be for Hillary?" will lead to a totally different result from "Does Hillary Clinton have a great advantage because of Bill being with her in a new Clinton White House?" Similarly, "Does Barack Obama's having lived among people of many ethnic and national backgrounds give him an edge in understanding people from other countries?" will yield a different result from "Do you consider Barack Obama's limited experience in international negotiation meetings a liability?" Going to John McCain, you could ask "Do you think that John McCain's willingness to disagree with George Bush about tactics and spending shows that he would be an independent-minded President?" or you could ask "Do you think that John McCain's continued support of the Iraq war shows that his presidency would be more of the Stay the course mentality?"

Always remember to read the questions (if they even show them) when you examine poll results. In addition, you should look at as many polls as possible, and average the results to get more realistic figures.

Playing in the Mud

2008-04-08T09:31:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time there were three kids playing in the mud at day camp. While they were having a break for milk and cookies, their counselor, George, asked them what they wanted to do when they grew up. John said, "I want to be just like you, George, and defend little kids from evil gangs." Barack said, "I want to change the world so that everyone will have an equal chance and there will be no acceptance of evil gangs." Hillary said, "I'm just going to keep playing in the mud forever."

Original Factory Specifications

2008-03-26T08:55:00.004-05:00

I had my eight year old car in to the dealer's service department to repair a couple of things that had worn out. Before doing the repairs, the service manager had the technician thoroughly check out the car, and then the manager came out to me with an estimate of what it would cost to perform the suggested service jobs. The list of things that they proposed to do were aimed at restoring the car to "original factory specifications". It would have cost me thousands of dollars to do all that work, and isn't it just a bit unrealistic to think that you could restore an eight year old car to its original condition? I ended up having the service department do the jobs for which I had originally come to them. Extrapolating from this situation a little bit, how would you react if you went for your annual physical exam, and the doctor told you that they could restore you to original factory specifications if you would undergo a series of operations which the insurance company would not cover? Would you say that it was worth all of your savings to get you back into better shape with less apparent age despite the risks of those operations? Would you as in the automobile analogy just get the required work done and try to age gracefully? Would you just laugh when the doctor offered you the possibility of original condition? What would be the social effects on your life if you had all of that work done? Interesting to think about...

Economic Security or Temptation Toward Problems?

2008-03-20T16:11:00.003-05:00

I heard a financial advisor on television say that the first thing you should do to guard against financial problems is to set up a line of credit against the equity you have in your home. She said that you don't have to borrow against your home equity unless you have to, but that this step would give you instant access to capital when you needed it. Frankly, this advice made me feel very uneasy. If you are in a position where it is at all likely that you will need capital, this approach will keep dangling the temptation in front of you to borrow and maintain a rich lifestyle. If you want to plan ahead against possible financial adversity, you are better off to learn how to trim your lifestyle so that it doesn't take as much capital to sustain it. If you start borrowing even a little against the equity you have in your home, especially in an economy that is tending to reduce the value of that home, then you are going to be tempted to do it again the next time you need a little cash. The commentator said that borrowing against your home equity line of credit is as easy as using a credit card. That is exactly the problem. The banks and mortgage holders make it easy because they want you to borrow. It tends to be a one-way street of borrowing more and more and not paying anything back beyond the interest, of which there will be plenty. Has anyone else noticed that the Fed has been reducing interest rates while the credit card companies have either left them the same or found more reasons to increase interest rates whenever you get into a technically incorrect position? Now is the time to learn how to reduce your spending in step with the reductions in the economy. Now is not the time to set yourself up to be tempted to borrow more and more.

Old Irish Saying

2008-03-17T10:15:00.003-05:00

There's an old Irish saying that goes something like this:

You either have good health or bad health.
If you have good health, there's no need to worry.
If you have bad health, you'll either get better or worse.
If you get better, there's no need to worry.
If you get worse, you'll either live or die.
If you live, there's no need to worry.
If you die, you'll either go to heaven or hell.
If you go to heaven, there's no need to worry.
If you go to hell, you will meet all of your old friends and relatives there.
So, why worry?

Worrying never solves anything. It just gets in the way of thinking clearly as you go through the process of making new decisions.

Routines Are Important to Efficient & Enjoyable Living (from DECISION TIME! Better Decisions for a Better Life)

2008-03-14T13:17:00.003-05:00

As an example (of the use of routine), when you first learn to drive you devote a great deal of concentration to the mechanical steps of operating an automobile: shifting, steering, peddle pressures, instrument panel control positions, etc. Once you have become an accomplished driver, those mechanical operation decisions are handled subconsciously, allowing you to devote your conscious attention to more important matters like safety and navigating to your destination. Routines allow you to handle the many minimal decisions of each day on a subconscious level. Rules also eliminate individual decisions on small matters. For example, traffic lights eliminate large numbers of repetitious decisions as to which car should proceed first at an intersection.

The Future Belongs to Those Still Willing to Get Their Hands Dirty.

2008-03-11T10:11:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time there was a country so ingenious and tied into the work ethic that when aggressors were inundating the world with warfare, this country within just a few years manufactured enough advanced equipment to turn the tide and restore peace. This happened right after that same country's economy went through a depression during which all that latent capability had nothing to do, and many people were out of work and struggling to survive. After that big war the people of this country said they wanted to never be poor again, so they surrounded themselves with fancy material things they had learned how to manufacture. Later they said that they could be even richer and could better forget that past depression if they just did clean service work and let other countries do the dirty work for them. So the ingenious country taught lots of other countries how to make things for them and told their industrial people to do clean service jobs. Time passed, and the people of the ingenious country were content with using their service profits to buy many neat things from countries they had taught to supply them. This worked well until they learned that in a world unified by computers and communications, other countries could do the service jobs too. And when the people of the ingenious country tried to go back to making their own products, they learned that they no longer had up-to-date capabilities, and that they had convinced themselves that products made by others were better. So the ingenious country headed once more for a depression because it had very little to sell that others wanted, and it sent most of its money to others for the things it thought it needed. The moral of the story: 1. Capabilities and their continuous further development are far more important than short term rewards. 2. Assets that are squandered are no longer assets. 3. What you know trumps what you have in the long run.

John McCain's Campaign Loves Hillary Clinton

2008-03-07T14:45:00.003-06:00

The old adage goes "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Someone should mention this to Hillary Clinton. She's getting meaner and more adversarial toward Barack Obama while at the same time saying it would be great if they were running mates for President and Vice President. The first translation of those comments is that it would be nice to be running mates so long as it would be Hillary for President and Barack for Vice President. The second translation is that she is implying that people should vote for her because they could get Barack too (as Vice President). Barack is being forced to fire back more shots at Hillary rather than just defensively responding to her offensives, and every time he does, her staff says he's being mean. If they keep it up, the public will get more than tired of it, and only John McCain's campaign will benefit from it. - And by the way, Hillary, that 3:00 AM phone call to the White House commercial just makes people think positively about John McCain.

Leap Year

2008-02-29T10:12:00.003-06:00

Do you realize that if you were (had been) born on February 29th in a Leap Year, your life expectancy in Leap Year birthdays would be only about 19.5? It's probably the reason why states that have your driver's license expire on your birthday usually have four-year license durations. U.S. Presidents are elected in Leap Years, possibly because it takes a great leap of faith to decide who deserves your vote.

How about a totally new calendar. Let's have a simple calendar with every month 30 days long. This calendar would have an extra part that is .4375 of a day left over (instead of the current .25). If we stayed with the 30-day months, we could accumulate the fractional days, and every 16 years we would have a Leap Week. Think of the huge parties you can have with a Leap Week! If you like this idea, write to your Congressman, Senator, MP, or the UN Secretary General. Let's start a movement for change!

Vice Presidential Candidates

2008-02-25T15:33:00.004-06:00

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are in a tight race to the finish for the Democratic presidential nomination. Many have suggested that the winner select the loser as vice-presidential candidate. Things are clearer on the Republican side, but do you think John McCain should take Mike Huckabee as his vice-presidential candidate? Is it a good idea to have someone you have criticized to be your running mate? Will a Vice President who thinks he/she should really be the President be loyal and supportive. We have had cases in the past where this was done, and where it worked out well. There have also probably been some cases where it was a disaster. A Vice President who had tried for the top job is certainly more likely to be acceptable to the people as President if succession is necessary than a complete unknown who was selected for loyalty rather than for competence. On the other hand, does a President feel safe and secure with an ambitious rival in the number two job? What do you think?