Time magazine...for those who rarely pick it up or grasp it's business structure...is a dying publication.
Profits have spiraled over the past decade and a strong segment of it's old subscription effort has evaporated.
This past week...Time went back to the Time basics...net in some enthusiasm by applying the "scare". You basically take a story....any story....and apply some science report to support your "scare". This topic? Melting Arctic seas.
The sad thing? The British press came out on the very same day of the article from Time, and admitted that the ice in northern waterways...is at the highest levels of the past decade. So as dramatically as Time pumped itself up....it's deflation occurs just as fast.
My guess is that Time will continue it's current pace...and within five years...be of a value that some Chinese or Taiwanese beer distributor will be able to walk in and buy the company.
Most folks will laugh when they hear about this deal...and then dismiss Time as a legit news publication "then". I'll laugh because I've been dismissing Time as a legit news publication for over a decade.
Sunday, 4 April 2010
The Problem with Local Government
I had an associate put forth an observation which leads to a question:
Sadly, several of the headlines in this list or articles are about the number of candidates, primarily incumbents, who have no opposition, while at the same time so many citizens complain about our legislature and the need of new faces with new and better ideas on Goat Hill and in other offices at the state and local levels. Why are so many lacking opposition do you suppose?
I sat for a while, and thought about it....and then considered an item that my brother sent me this weekend.
Sadly, several of the headlines in this list or articles are about the number of candidates, primarily incumbents, who have no opposition, while at the same time so many citizens complain about our legislature and the need of new faces with new and better ideas on Goat Hill and in other offices at the state and local levels. Why are so many lacking opposition do you suppose?
I sat for a while, and thought about it....and then considered an item that my brother sent me this weekend.
This story came from Cherokee, Bama....is a good example. Basically....folks from Cherokee are up in arms over local elected folks. Some folks perceive them as being corrupt, and some folks are perceived as being incompetent. In the end....a bunch of the locals just aren't happy at all.
They have seen incompetent folks manage and they have seen corrupt folks manage. Neither one appears to be fixing the problem. Why won't regular local folks step in?
Most regular folks tend to farms, run a transmission business, haul lumber, and make a honest living....they don't want the hassle of government operations where people want "favors", buy into a $4 billion dollar septic tank system for a 20,000 resident town, give contracts to their cousin to fix the city hall roof, and argue with the town cops over why they don't need a professionally trained assault force with $6k machine guns.
So the "real" folks stay home and do honest work....leaving the gov't mess for the "volunteers".
I watch the history channel every Sunday night....and Axmen comes on. There's this guy from Louisiana who does swamp-jacking.....walks around barefoot whilst near copperhead snakes....and swims in gator-infested waters. If you offered him a job as county commissioner with $100k a year attached to the deal....he'd make a fine, honest, and trust-worthy commissioner. But he'd never take the job because it'd make him unhappy.
I think most of us would act the same way.
In my home town in Bama....the auxiliary cops got into a whole bunch of trouble. The only way to fix it....was to fire all of them and rely on just one paid cop for the town. This got about one-third of the town all upset because they knew the auxiliary cops and felt this was just wrong. So the elected guys had to sit there and take tons of abuse.....making the right decision.
Nationally, we are upset at all the folks....Republicans and Democrats. The point of this stick is that we've got various channels showing us how stupid they are, and we just don't want to take much more. If there was a local channel showing how stupid our local guys were.....we might eventually take some action.....but considering the fact that someone has to replace them, there's a problem.
The only solution in this case? I'd like to say less government, but that never is an option. So As you mix ice tea this summer....set aside a bottle of Vodka and always toss three shots into the glass of tea. This solution will help you get over the problem.
A Dose or Two
My adventure for today...consisted going up to visit my cousin (the minister) and get a dose of Methodist religion (never hurts to lessen the Baptist effect...you know).
There are three observations about attending a Methodist church.
First, about every 8.5 minutes...they run up a song and get everybody to standing. So you never got a chance to sleep like you would in a Baptist Church.
Second, you kinda notice that an awful lot of folks are over the age of fifty. Recruitment is a bit difficult with the Methodists because they don't offer any fitness clubs, child care services, private school operations, or pumped-up enthusiasm (not to say that Baptist are fake when they pretend to be all pumped-up). You are left wondering what happens in two decades as most of these older guys pass on and how the churches deal with smaller operations.
Third and final...rather than dwell verse by verse on some topic...you come to appreciate an effort where a verse or two is applied to common sense or life skills or philosophy within our lives...and that becomes the 15-minute sermon itself.
One of the worst pains growing up and attending any Baptist church was thirty minute sermon that ran through fifteen verses and always ended with "do you feel guilty enough now"?
After the Methodist service...since you don't have any guilty feelings...half the crowd runs out back to have coffee and cake, while the other half runs home to settle on lunch or to catch up on football or baseball.
So a dose of some ethical words and a bit of Biblical philosophy was part of my day. And maybe I'll take another couple of doses as time passes this year while living in DC.
There are three observations about attending a Methodist church.
First, about every 8.5 minutes...they run up a song and get everybody to standing. So you never got a chance to sleep like you would in a Baptist Church.
Second, you kinda notice that an awful lot of folks are over the age of fifty. Recruitment is a bit difficult with the Methodists because they don't offer any fitness clubs, child care services, private school operations, or pumped-up enthusiasm (not to say that Baptist are fake when they pretend to be all pumped-up). You are left wondering what happens in two decades as most of these older guys pass on and how the churches deal with smaller operations.
Third and final...rather than dwell verse by verse on some topic...you come to appreciate an effort where a verse or two is applied to common sense or life skills or philosophy within our lives...and that becomes the 15-minute sermon itself.
One of the worst pains growing up and attending any Baptist church was thirty minute sermon that ran through fifteen verses and always ended with "do you feel guilty enough now"?
After the Methodist service...since you don't have any guilty feelings...half the crowd runs out back to have coffee and cake, while the other half runs home to settle on lunch or to catch up on football or baseball.
So a dose of some ethical words and a bit of Biblical philosophy was part of my day. And maybe I'll take another couple of doses as time passes this year while living in DC.
Metro
Almost daily...there's some episode to occur with Metro rail or Metro bus in DC. Today....I was going to make the journey up to my cousin's place (25 miles away), via Metro here in DC.
So I arrived at 0710 to find the Pentagon subway station locked up. Forty folks were waiting. Station was supposed to open at 6AM. So I stood there for ten minutes...and the big manager finally appears to open the subway door, almost 80 minutes past when it was supposed to be open.
Where was the station manager? You have to wonder about that...but hey, this is DC, and this is how Metro works.
Last week on Friday....they had a Metro bus driver who had a car pull out in front of him. Driver gives the finger....car driver returns the finger. Then the car driver pulls out a knife and waves it at the bus driver. Then the bus driver pulls out a knife and waves it at the car driver.
Now the passengers watch this....call the cops and watch both guys get eventually arrested. So here was the bus driver, lead away in handcuffs and the passengers stand around for thirty minutes until another bus driver can be brought in.
You can't go a day in DC...without a Metro episode of some type.
So I arrived at 0710 to find the Pentagon subway station locked up. Forty folks were waiting. Station was supposed to open at 6AM. So I stood there for ten minutes...and the big manager finally appears to open the subway door, almost 80 minutes past when it was supposed to be open.
Where was the station manager? You have to wonder about that...but hey, this is DC, and this is how Metro works.
Last week on Friday....they had a Metro bus driver who had a car pull out in front of him. Driver gives the finger....car driver returns the finger. Then the car driver pulls out a knife and waves it at the bus driver. Then the bus driver pulls out a knife and waves it at the car driver.
Now the passengers watch this....call the cops and watch both guys get eventually arrested. So here was the bus driver, lead away in handcuffs and the passengers stand around for thirty minutes until another bus driver can be brought in.
You can't go a day in DC...without a Metro episode of some type.
Gadgets
I spent around fifteen minutes yesterday....looking at the spec's of the new IPAD. No USB connection and limited storage space. For the $600 you'd pay....it just didn't make a lot of sense. Lines were forming up and apparently, it was doing a brisk sales job yesterday.
The common sense guys like me....won't touch this model. The excited types....will spend the $600. Then around December...another model will hit the streets. This model will have the USB capability and the storage space. The first wave of guys who bought the lesser model...will dump theirs and go to this. The second wave of common sense guys will walk in and buy their model. The company will make a huge profit off the first model with lower expectations.
So the real winner by the end of the year....is Ebay, as folks try to sell off the first model that lacked the extras. The new gadget that folks bought for $600 this week....will sell for $100 in December off Ebay.
The common sense guys like me....won't touch this model. The excited types....will spend the $600. Then around December...another model will hit the streets. This model will have the USB capability and the storage space. The first wave of guys who bought the lesser model...will dump theirs and go to this. The second wave of common sense guys will walk in and buy their model. The company will make a huge profit off the first model with lower expectations.
So the real winner by the end of the year....is Ebay, as folks try to sell off the first model that lacked the extras. The new gadget that folks bought for $600 this week....will sell for $100 in December off Ebay.
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