Just Some Rants

Fly USA

2008-09-04T15:39:00.006-05:00

Warning: My socialistic tendencies will be showing themselves in this post.

I am seriously concerned about the state of the airline industry in this country. I flew to Key West over the Labor Day weekend and I experienced a delay on every flight. This included four flights over two different airlines. My flight never left on time nor did it ever arrive on time. And not one delay was due to weather, every delay was due to a technical malfunction with the plane. Doesn’t that make you feel comfortable when you are boarding a plane?

I was also reading in one of the airline magazines on the plane how the industry in general has formed a coalition to try and get the government to do something about the high price of gas. Apparently, 45% of your airline fare is just to cover the gas costs. This is up from 12% in 2001. Yeah, we really need to come up with an energy strategy in this country and I don’t think the answer is drilling for oil in Alaska or off shore. How about coming up with alternatives for electricity since fossil fuels are used to produce about 70% of the electricity used in the US. But I digress, that is a completely different rant.

Back to the airline industry. I don’t know how long many of you have been traveling, but I have been flying for a long time. And I can tell you that the airline industry has changed a lot over the years. I remember a time long ago when I missed a flight on American and they gave me a voucher on United to get home. That never happens today. There are fewer flights and much higher costs. United had only two flights all day on Monday from Miami to Dulles (Dulles is their hub for those of you not familiar). Two flights to a major hub all day. And both flights were oversold. So there weren’t even enough seats to accommodate all the passengers. Do you remember when there used to be open seats on a plane? Now airlines can’t afford to operate many flights so our travel schedule is at their mercy. Airlines are being killed by gas prices and competition amongst themselves.

Well, I have a solution. Why don’t we create a national airline? Why do we need so many airlines? Let’s have a single airline for the United States – many countries do this. It may seem a little counter intuitive, but fewer airlines could actually mean more flights. Think about it. There were 2 UA direct flights to DC from Miami on Monday, there were also 3 AA direct flights and those are just the ones I checked on. Who knows how many more there were. This is because each airline has to have a minimum number of flights to a location despite the demand. If there were just one airline, then they could manage the number of flights between locations based on demand. So the 12 total flights between Miami and DC could be reduced overall, but you could get on any of them. First benefit – fewer overall flights and more travel options for consumers.

They could also run the “USAirline” as a not for profit business. This is similar to how the government runs the commissary stores in the military. The stores are designed to break even. Therefore, they do not need to mark up their food as much as your typical grocery store. So a gallon of milk in the commissary is only $2.00 and not $4.00. The airline could operate in a similar manner. Make enough money to cover the cost of doing business and return anything over that as a surplus to the people. Next benefit – flights would be cheaper.

I believe there are certain industries that the government should manage as our society has gotten to a point where these industries might crumble under the pressure of capitalism. Transportation is definitely one of the industries that would benefit from a lack of competition and a little more regulation. You see, transportation is one area where we can’t afford to just let capitalism take its course and have airlines go out of business. We need to be able to travel across the US and not by horse and buggy.

If we can’t ensure that every American has health care in this country, can we at least make sure they can fly from Miami to Dulles on a holiday weekend?

Now I am sure that many of you immediately laughed at this idea. And I am sure you can come up with 100 reasons why we the government shouldn’t run the transportation industry in the US. But remember that you scoffed at this idea the next time your tax dollars are used to bail out an airline in bankruptcy. As a matter of fact, I would suggest that the next time an airline files bankruptcy, the government should step in and take over the company. Then they could systematically drive the other airlines out of business with lower prices, taking over each airline as they go. I don’t see how that would be anti-capitalistic…the US government would just become another competing airline…and maybe then the government would really care about the oil prices.

I am sure some of you are wondering how bad my travel was this weekend. Not to worry, my travel experience was not that harrowing. I missed a connecting flight in Miami and had to spend an extra day lounging on the beach at a Marriott Resort in South Beach while drinking pomegranate mojitos. I was also forced to have a really nice dinner at a Cuban restaurant. Yeah, I got it rough.

Just a couple of notes concerning this particular rant:

I have noticed over the years that whenever someone talks of concepts such as universal health care or national transportation, there are always a couple of reactions. First you will get people who will tell you why change is impossible. Don’t just let them tell you why we can’t change, ask them what they think we should do. Should we wait for the system to collapse on itself before we act? What can we do to fix the system today? Ask them to be solutions oriented and not just accept that change is impossible. I am not suggesting that a national airline would be perfect, but shouldn’t we develop a long term strategy before we can’t afford to fly anywhere.

And I would argue that for those people who can’t afford health care, universal health care WOULD be a perfect solution. Remember that just because the issue doesn’t affect you today, doesn’t mean it won’t someday. I mean I guess those of us that can afford health care are happy with the current system. That is until we get sick and can’t afford to pay our share of the medical bills and our health care gets cancelled. Then we may feel different about this issue.

Secondly, I would implore you to not fall prey to those people who use the media to spread fear about these issues. Don’t listen to those people who only want to tell you how your life will be ruined if we change. I can guarantee you that anyone who has the money to put together one of these campaigns of fear, does not have your best interest at heart. That is unless you are the CEO of a pharmaceutical or insurance company. I guess what I am really saying is do not let them condition you to automatically dismiss these ideas with their rhetoric. Changing these systems may be hard, but doing nothing will eventually be a lot worse. Maybe we can learn a lesson from the way we handled global warming. We stuck our head in the sand on that one and all we got was a sunburn on our ass.

Rant over.

And you thought US politicians were bad...

2008-08-25T11:27:00.002-05:00

This actually makes me think that US politicians are not as dumb as I thought. This has to be a Saturday Night Live skit. No one is this big an idiot...in any country.

New Pictures of Baby Sam

2008-08-25T08:08:00.002-05:00

I got some new pictures of Sam and thought I would share them. Here she is giving her dinner the thumbs up. She apparently has her father's table manners.

This is the two of us in nantucket ealrier this summer.

Competitive Juices

2008-08-18T10:28:00.003-05:00

“Real pressure in golf is playing for $10 when you’ve only got $5 in your pocket.” Lee Trevino

I was playing golf this weekend and not playing particularly well. When we finished the round, I found myself 11 over par, shooting an 82 on this particular course. For most golfers this wouldn’t necessarily be a bad day, but for me it really is.

As we were finishing up the round, one of the guys suggested we play 9 more holes for $20 a man. We all agreed. I don’t know if it was the pride factor, the $20 bet or the fact that I only had $16 in my wallet, but all of a sudden I started playing better. Not that the money was truly an issue as we are all friends and I am sure I could have slid on the $4.

I really haven’t played in many cash games since moving east. I used to play in games where hundreds of dollars could switch hands in a day, but out here most of the time no more than a few dollars ever switches hands.

Well, I guess it was the prospect of losing money I didn’t have or maybe it was just my competitive juices, but I played more to my potential that last nine. I shot two under par with two birdies and seven pars. One of the guys kept it close through the first six holes, feeding the competitive juices even more, but fell back during the last three. I won by five shots.

It is nice to get the competitive juices flowing occasionally. I am a very competitive person, but I learned a long time ago that the competition is actually with myself and not those I play against. This is particularly true with golf and other individual sports, but I also think it applies to all team sports. Whenever I compete in an activity, I don’t judge the outcome based on winning and losing. I base it on my individual performance. Did I play up to my ability…did I maintain my focus…did I do everything I could to make my team or myself successful. If I did those things, then the outcome is irrelevant to me. I think the hardest thing for most competitive people to understand is that it is possible to do everything right and still lose.

To bring this whole thing back to golf...I read in book by Bob Rotella, “You can hit the perfect putt and it still may not go in, so the success of a putt should not be based on whether the putt goes in or not. Rather it should be based on your preparation and execution.” I wish I understood that my entire life. Might have saved me a few putters.

So that is what they meant by, “it’s now whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.” Who knew?

My Weekend So Far

2008-08-10T08:13:00.005-05:00

1. The flight was oversold by 31 passengers. That's right - 31. How do you do that? Don't get me started on the need for a national airline.

2. Lunch at the grandparents was great as always. Needless to say, plenty of food.

3. Big dinner with the family including lobster and steamers from up north. Oh did I forget the chicken, ribs, shrimp with dinner as well. You will never go hungry in Norwood.

4. Now we are visiting the home of the Gorton's Fisherman. Mom would be proud as there is a large Portuguese community here.

More to come if I don't get her shorts wet again.

Update on the weekend:

5. The Rose's aunt has a great house right on the beach. I enjoyed staying there and the beach is fantastic. The weather could have been better, but Sunday was beautiful.

6. The golf course in Gloucester was very nice. A little short for me, but I enjoyed playing. The drinks at the 19th hole were very strong - always a sign of a great country club. Thanks to her uncle for the invite.

7. I might have made my best golf swing of the season on the 14th hole. I was making this swing about 30% of the time last year, but throughout this season it seemed to have vanished. Who knows, maybe it is back.

8. It was fun running around Rockport on Sunday in the rain. But I still don't understand why a lobster sandwich costs $22.00. I guess I should be thankful, it was $29.00 in Nantucket.

9. Of course it wouldn't be a trip without some airline issues. We sat on the plane for 2 hours waiting to take off. Some sort of broken part issue. So we got home very late instead of in time for a good night's sleep.

Overall it was a great trip. I enjoy traveling with The Rose. She has a great family, so it is easy to visit them. Next trip will be Key West in a few weeks.

Something New Please

2008-08-08T11:26:00.001-05:00

I wonder if Mr. T watches the new show Burn Notice. If so, does it ever occur to him that this new show is nothing more than a remake of the A-Team minus his character? I PITY THE FOOL!

Oh, and sorry Dirk Benedict, but I think Gabrielle Anwar is playing your character. Isn’t this twice you have been recast as a woman (for all you non sci-fi geeks, Starbuck on Battlestar Gallactia was also cast as a woman in the remake)? Dirk, is Hollywood trying to tell you something?

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Hollywood has run out of new ideas. All the new shows seem to just be a remake of an old show. And if it is not a direct remake, like Battlestar, then the concept is the same as a successful show from the past. Is it really so hard to come up with a new idea or is it just safer to use a “winning” formula. That would certainly explain all the reality shows on TV.

I would like to say that I am looking forward to the new TV season – especially after there being no real new shows this year, but to be honest, I am pretty sure it will be the same old shows. OK – I realize that I am exaggerating a bit...I think Lost and Heroes were fresh new ideas. And look how they have done. Are you listening Hollywood? We are tired of the same old shows with the same old scripts. Come up with some new ideas.

Island Life

2008-07-21T14:33:00.002-05:00

You know how they say you never know someone until you spend a week with them on Nantucket? Well, I am sure someone says it. I have to tell you, it is so true. Let me tell you a few things that The Rose found out about me last week.

I am good for about two hours on the beach and then I am ready to go. I would be useless in a labyrinth. I won’t be going on a boat anytime soon. I am a good moped rider. I am willing to try any vodka – even habanera. I like ice cream. I am pretty good with an outdoor grill. There are limits to what I am willing to spend for things - $330.00 for sunglasses, get real! I have good friends and a very happy goddaughter. And the one thing I really hoped she learned this week is that I really care for her.

As for what I learned about her, well, she is a good fisherman. She would be very useful in a labyrinth. She also likes ice cream. She can cook anything and make it taste good. She is a trooper and will try to stick it out even if she should just say let’s go home. She can spend hours on the beach at a time. She is a good moped passenger. She thinks the Atlantic Ocean is cold. Believe me, these are all good things to know, since we have two more beach trips this summer planned.

As for Nantucket, I think we both agree that it was a good trip, but we would probably not choose to go back. Not that I have a problem with small, confining, overpriced islands filled with the over privileged. But I think you can have just as much fun getting a house at the beach on the cape itself. This would open up many day trip or excursion opportunities you can not get on the island.

Overall the vacation was great. There were a few bumps in the week, but I think we weathered them pretty well. Special thanks to T&K for being very good vacation buddies. It was also good to spend time with Baby Sam as she is really starting to grow and develop her personality. She couldn’t have been a better baby all week.

Oh and happy birthday to my mom. I hope you had a great day.

Op Ed Piece

2008-07-11T08:45:00.003-05:00

Spending so much time around people in Real Estate lately, I have come to appreciate the recent struggles in that industry. I have also realized how the media is playing directly into our fears and doubts when they report on the industry. It seems that oversensationalism is the only way we can report news these days. I wrote this opinion piece and sent it to the Washington Post. Needless to say they decided not to run it, so now I will post it here for all six of you to read.

Can we please stop reporting the current housing market as being in crisis? I realize over sensationalizing the news is the norm, but can we please take a step back and look at this realistically. The housing market is not in a crisis, it’s in a correction. Anyone of us who has lived in one of the very expensive coastal states over the last twenty years has thought that property values would eventually have to stop increasing and start to level off. Well, that didn’t happen. Instead the dotcom boom drove the already ridiculous property values to a point beyond ridiculous. The dotcom boom caused a huge spike in property values across the country. And these property values could not be sustained after the dotcom bust. So now the market is trying to correct itself.

Despite what you hear or read, I don’t believe the market is as gloomy as we’re all being told. There are people out there selling and buying homes. It is more difficult to qualify for a home loan today than it was two years ago, but there are loans available for qualified buyers. So what makes up a qualified buyer these days?
You need to have 10% down
You need to have good credit
You need to be employed
These don’t sound like unreasonable requirements to get a loan. Probably the same requirements you would ask for if you were going to give someone a rather large sum of money. As a matter of fact, these are the same requirements you needed ten years ago to qualify for a loan, before the lenders decided to cash in on the housing boom and give anyone a loan, no matter if they could meet these requirements or not. Not surprisingly, the lending market could not continue to hand out unqualified loans, so it corrected itself.
The housing market is also trying to correct itself. There are a few things we can do to try and aide in the correction. For one thing, real estate agents should do their jobs and manage expectations with sellers. Have the tough conversation with your clients and tell them that their house just isn’t worth what it was two years ago. Putting your house on the market at an over inflated price won’t do anything except cause it to sit on the market for a long time and make buyers think that your have become desperate to sell. It is not that you can’t sell your home, it’s that your home won’t sell at that price. Real estate agents need to be honest with their customers and explain the current market and price homes accordingly. Remember that something is only worth what someone is willing to pay, and not necessarily what you think you should be paid for it. Pricing homes correctly will help them sell quicker and eliminate the perception that the housing market is in crisis.
Sellers can also help speed up this market correction. Most people probably think that the majority of people selling their homes today are people who bought a few years ago and now can’t afford their loan or are upside down on their house. That isn’t who is selling homes today because they can’t afford to sell their home. They have wait for the market to stabilize and eventually return to the normal appreciation trends we saw before the dotcom boom.
The people selling today bought their homes five to seven years ago, before the unrealistic increase in home values and are now trying to escape with their profits. Their unwillingness to face the fact that their home isn’t worth the $800,000 that it was two years ago is a driving factor in prolonging the perception of a market crisis. Now they can only get $700,000 for their home that, by the way, they probably paid $400,000 for five years ago. And although they may feel like they have lost $100,000 on their home in the last two years, they haven’t. They have really made $300,000 on an investment in five years. Do you know of any other investment where you can see a 75% return in five years? I don’t. So let go of the notion that you are some how due the value of your home from 2006 and move on to 2008. You are still making a lot of money off a very short term investment.
I was one of the people who lived through both the technology boom and bust and I had to battle through the market correction that ensued afterward. And just like the technology sector was able to weather that correction, the real estate market in the U.S. will also survive the correction it’s enduring right now.

I could have written a lot more on the topic, but the Post limits all opinion pieces to 800 words. It was a good exercise for me and I think I will try again in the future. Who knows, maybe I will find a subject that they find suitable.

Have a great weekend. I know I will as I am off to Nantucket for the week. I will try to post while on my vacation using my BlackBerry…love that thing.

A Little Gas Pump Humor

2008-07-08T13:40:00.009-05:00

If we didn't laugh what would we do?

New Life Lessons

2008-06-16T09:49:00.003-05:00

Many of the lessons my father taught me as a child are still with me today. “You need to be able to take care of yourself as no one else will” and “it is not what you say, it is how you say it,” are two of the lessons I learned growing up – sometimes the hard way. But I think the most important life lesson my father ever taught me was this:

"Don’t get stuck working a job you hate your whole life because it is the most money you can make with the job skills you have."

That is what happened to my dad. He worked a job for most of his life that he hated, because he had to. I will admit that this is a lesson that I did not understand well as a teenager. I think it took some hard times with my own career before I truly understood it. It is about marketable skills and finding a job you love – or at least like. I am fortunate that I found a career that I like. I wouldn’t say love, but I can’t make a living at what I love, which is why we all have hobbies. If you can’t work at something you love, play at something you love.

This is also a lesson I also tried to instill in Nick as he grew up, although I phrased it a bit differently. “Life is about options…you always need to give yourself options…if you woke up one day and decided that you wanted to be an astronaut, wouldn’t it be nice to have the option to try.” I think Nick understood the intent of this lesson much sooner than I did in life. He is definitely working hard at something he loves. I admire him for chasing his dream, but I would still like to see him hedge his bet a little bit and give himself some other options.

I spoke with my dad yesterday and I am amazed that he is still teaching me life lessons. You see, my dad finally retired from that crappy job this year and when I asked him how his retirement was going, his response was this:

"Retirement isn’t for the young, that is for sure. The hardest part is getting up and having to figure out what you are going to do that day."

Read between the lines and you find some words of wisdom here. My dad has worked hard his whole life. He has supported his family, much longer than any parent should have to, and now that he is retired, he does not know what to do with himself. His whole life has been about work and his family. His days were only filled with work and home life. The problem with retirement is one of those has been taken from him. I always marveled at the old timers my dad worked with that are ten or twenty years older than him, guys that could have retired years ago and chose to continue to work. And why? “Why retire, so I can sit at home and do nothing, at least when I am working, I get to come here and play cards with my friends.” I always hoped my dad wouldn’t be one of those guys and end up working into his seventies. Well my dad did retire this year, but in one of life’s ironies, he also found out that he is very sick. I don’t think this is a sudden illness, as I am sure he has been sick for a long time, he was just better at coping with it that most would have been. As he told me when he was diagnosed, “I have felt this way for years, I just didn’t know any different.”

So now that he and my mother have both reached an age where they shouldn’t be worried about anything except enjoying their days together, visiting with grandchildren or seeing the world, they are at home, visiting doctors and waking up asking, "What should we do today?"

New life lessons from my dad.

Take care of you body, you will want to use it for a long time.
Don’t let your job be your life. Let your life be your job.
Have some fun today, because you never know what will happen tomorrow.

I am really glad that my dad is still teaching me lessons at my age, I just wish they weren’t always at his expense. Happy Father’s Day, dad.

I am saving room for dinner…

2008-06-10T16:29:00.004-05:00

I spent last weekend visiting The Rose’s grandparents in a small town outside of Boston, where they have lived since the 50’s in their small square grandparent’s house. They are without a doubt the nicest, littlest, oldest people I have ever spent any time around in my life. Her grandfather spends his days in the garden and her grandmother spends her days cooking.

You have to understand that I lost all of my grandparents when I was still a child. I believe the last of them died when I was around 14 years old. Now that I am old enough to technically be a grandparent – don’t get any ideas Nick – my parents are the oldest people I know and they are in their early sixties. The Rose’s grandparents are in their mid eighties. They have been married since they were in their early twenties…yeah, they will be married sixty-six years in August. Imagine that sometime.

Her grandparents are great. Her Nunna is constantly cooking and thus tried to feed me all weekend. There is always room for a little more macaroni. She is the type of grandmother that makes something special for you because you like it. Her brother made a random comment, around the time the second or third course came up from the basement, about not having fried meatballs and low and behold, ten minutes later – fried meatballs. Oh and delicious fried meatballs. I mentioned to her that I like the bragiole she cooked Friday night and so she made it for me again on Sunday. Again delicious.

There was so much food and it just kept coming up from the basement – where her SECOND kitchen is. I got to the point that, if asked if I needed more food, I would always respond, "no thanks I am saving room for dinner," even after dinner was served. We had home made pasta with “sauce” – you Italians will know what that means – and bragiole, sausage, meatballs, pork and lamb for dinner. Oh and lest I forget the chicken cutlets. This was after having soppressata and cheese as well as meatballs and fried meatballs for a snack. AND THIS WAS JUST FRIDAY NIGHT! We had a BBQ on Saturday – for the cousin who graduate high school – and another big dinner on Sunday. I have never eaten so much food in three days.

After dinner Friday night, Nunna said she had thought of making rice pudding but hadn’t gotten to it, so The Rose and she made it together, just in case we had saved room for dessert. What room? Her brother could barely move while sitting in a chair after dinner.

We spent a lot of time this weekend just talking to them and I found their lives to be fascinating. They are funny and insightful. Her grandfather told us stories of delivering mail before there were zip codes. He is a retired postal worker. Nunna spent her youth sewing in a sweat shop in Boston.

We discussed what it was like to raise a family in the old days. How they didn’t have heat growing up so in the winter time they would sleep with a hot brick in their bed. Or how it was so cold they would close off the front room of their apartment because, according to her uncle, ”it would snow in there.” How they used to use every ounce of food they could get and how meat was a luxury. How they used to “fight over the last piece of fried blood for breakfast,” according to her dad. The conversations were great and I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a long time.

And Nunna, don’t worry I will still talk to you even if you vote republican this year.

They made me feel like a part of the family and I am really glad I got to meet them. It makes me wish that my grandparents had lived long enough for me to become an adult and truly appreciate their experiences and their lives. If you are lucky enough to have some old timers still around in your family, take the time to learn about their lives. It is truly amazing how different our lives are today from theirs. I really don’t know how they made it.

I met most of the Rose’s family this weekend and I am amazed at how close they all are. I am lucky that over the last decade I have gotten close with my immediate family – my siblings and parents. But it is different for The Rose. Her entire family is very close. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews are all part of one big family unit. They celebrate and commiserate together. And although I may think it a little strange to travel to Boston just to see a cousin graduate from high school, I think it must be incredible to have a family that would.

Who Do I Talk To About This?

2008-05-20T09:49:00.004-05:00

I wrote some time ago about the phenomena that no one ever sees a fancy sports car pulled over and getting a ticket. It is like the police avoid the one group of people who can probably afford to pay the speeding ticket and always seem to focus on the people driving the crappy Ford held together by duct tape.

Well, I was driving to work and I actually saw a Nissan 350Z pulled over and getting a ticket. Did the 350Z not qualify for the “can speed all they want” list? Did someone forget to send in the proper paperwork? I mean I realize it is a Nissan and that has to work against it somewhat. But it is also one of the fastest cars you can buy today. It is not meant to be driven at 65 MPH. Maybe it is the fact that it doesn’t have the same price tag as a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. But if that is a determining factor, all you Boxster drivers had better look out. The Porsche name will only get you so far.

I used to be able to drive my Jaguar worry free on the highways as the XK8 apparently qualified for fancy sports car status. Now that I only have the hybrid to drive around, I have relinquished my carefree status. I must actually pay attention to my speed and slow down when I see a police car parked on the side of the road. Who knows, maybe the police will learn to have a soft spot for all of us GREEN drivers. It really isn’t a stretch as most of you don’t do over 50 MPH anyway.

And speaking of people driving on the highways…I would like to personally thank those of you out there that have taken it upon yourselves to make sure that the rest of us don’t speed on the highways. I know it is grueling work to drive on every highway at 5 MPH under the speed limit to protect the rest of us from ourselves. It is especially nice when two or three of you get together on the same road to help us all. Although I appreciate your tireless efforts, do me a favor, let me worry about my own speed and get the hell out of my way.

Here are a few tips for all of you commuters that would greatly reduce the overall frustration on the road:

Keep up with the car in front of you. This is probably the biggest thing that you can do to eliminate traffic. I am not asking that you tailgate the car in front of you, but don’t let the car get 20 car lengths in front of you. All the impatient people behind you, me for one, then just feel the need to go around your slow ass and that causes more traffic. Keep up!
Learn how to merge. All of my trouble spots on the way into work are caused by merging. If you are even somewhat considerate and leave people a little room to merge, then everyone behind you won’t have to come to a complete stop every time someone has to squeeze in. And if you are the mergee and someone leaves you some room, take it and stop trying to wait until the last second to merge in.
And the very last thing that I implore you all to do while driving home is this: GET OF YOUR DAMN CELL PHONE! I don’t know how many times I notice the person causing the traffic jam has their cell phone attached to their ear. Holding a phone to your head is not only distracting, but it blocks half your peripheral vision. How can you pay attention to what you are doing if you are busy having that conversation that couldn’t possible wait ten more minutes for you to get home. Use a headset if you have to, but stop holding the phone to your ear.

Thanks for listening and happy commuting.

Nick

2008-05-08T15:19:00.003-05:00

I haven’t had much to write about lately, so I thought I would share a few of the conversations I have had with Nick over the years.

Nick called me out of the blue one day and this is how our conversation went:

Nick: “Dad, I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
Blue: “Really? Why is that?”
Nick: “I am no longer living below the poverty line.”
Blue: “Great. How much money did you make last year?”
Nick: “Fifteeeen thousand dollars.”
Blue: “Nick, just where do you think the poverty line is? You will need to make a lot more money than that to get above the poverty line.”
Nick: “Really?”

Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.

From the first story you can probably gather than money is not a big motivating factor in my son’s life. He tends to lead a very simple, bohemian like lifestyle. As long as he has money to pay rent and buy beer, he is usually happy. He doesn’t own a car because public transportation can take him everywhere he needs to go. He likes to shop at second hand stores because other stores are overpriced. And this brings me to my next story.

Nick and I were walking down the street in Seattle on one of my many visits there.

Nick: “Hey dad, see these shoes?”
Blue: “Yeah,” as I look down at them.
Nick: “Fifty cents.” He said so proudly.
Blue: “Yeah, but Nick, somebody else wore them.”

One of the things I truly admire about Nick is the comfort he has with himself. He seems to know himself and understand what he needs to be happy in life. And he is not willing to settle for something because it is convenient. This really shows up in his romantic life. Even at his young age, he is willing to wait for the right person and not be with someone just to be with them. So when he introduces me to a girlfriend, it is usually someone he truly likes.

We planned to meet one night in Seattle for dinner and he asked to bring his
girlfriend along. I agreed, of course, and then the following conversation happened.

Nick: “She was a little nervous about meeting you.”
Blue: “Really?”
Nick: “Yeah, but I told her not to worry, you pick on me a lot more than she does and that she would have a good time.”

The scary part is that is so true. I think Nick and I have a relationship that doesn’t quite fit into the normal father – son category. Maybe it is because we are close in age for father and son. Maybe it is because he lived apart from me practically his whole life and so our time together was not always parent to child like. Either way, I am happy for the relationship we have and the fact that Nick still sees me as his friend and still likes to hang out with his dad.

At that dinner, Nick was talking about their weekend plans to go to some happening in Seattle. He was excited because they were giving away free cheese at the event. We all laughed and had a great dinner. After dinner as the three of us were having a drink at the bar, I gave Nick this piece of advice.

Blue: “You know Nick, I realize that you are young and that this bohemian lifestyle you lead seems pretty cool right now. And I can see that the girls think you are pretty cool, but one day you will meet a girl and she is going to want you to be able to take her to dinner. And pay for it. And not just take her places because they are giving away free cheese.”

One of the common interests that Nick and I share is music. He obviously is into it at a very different level than I am, playing in a band and trying to make a living at it. I am happy to just listen to it. I remember that as we wandered our way together around Spain and Portugal a few years ago, we spent many a days and nights discussing music. One of our conversations went something like this.

Nick: “The only good music ever made was made in the 60’s.”
Blue: “What?”
Nick: “The music made today and over the last few decades is all crap. The guys in the 60’s really knew how to make music.”
Blue: “Are you crazy?”
Nick: “No, Bob Dylan and Neil Young and all those guys they really made good music. Today’s musicians are all crap.”
Blue: “You know every generation that comes along thinks that the 60’s were this magical musical time. Have you ever stopped to think that the reason the music from the 60’s seems so great is that today you are only hearing the great music from the 60’s.”
Nick: “Huh?”
Blue: “Well there not playing the crappy songs from the 60’s on the radio today. I grew up in the 70’s and I can tell you that the music they play from the 70’s on the radio is only the great music from the 70’s. They aren’t playing 'Disco Duck' and 'Convoy' on the radio anymore and you know why?”
Nick: “Why?”
Blue: “Because those songs sucked! But they played the hell out of them in the 70's. You want to judge today’s music, I say wait 30 years and see what they are still playing. That will be the great music from today.”
Nick thought about this for a few minutes and then he said, “You know that is a really good point.”

I will admit that much of what I find fascinating about Nick he seems to have gotten from his mom. Not that he and I don’t share a lot of traits, but I think he gets his laid back attitude and his artistic ability from his mom. I have often thought that his mom would have been happy to run away and join a traveling renaissance fair when she was 17. Nick always seems to have a bit of that attitude in him. Sometimes I wish that he shared more of my drive to succeed and get ahead in life. I believe those characteristics are within him, but they are definitely secondary to some of his more artistic characteristics. I honestly believe that as long as he was able to play music and hang out with his friends, he would be happy. And at the end of the day, can any parent say that they want anything else for their child?

The Rose

2008-04-29T10:20:00.003-05:00

I promised an update on The Rose and I always keep my promises. It has been almost five months since we first met, so I think we have gotten know each other pretty well. Here are some random thoughts about her and many of the things I find so irresistible:

For the most part, she tells you exactly what is on her mind. This is refreshing as I don’t have to spend all my time trying to figure out what it is that we are REALLY talking about.
She is very self aware and, as someone who thinks of himself as being self aware, I really appreciate the fact that she knows her own tendencies.
She doesn’t like any science fiction shows or movies – I mean she has never even seen “The Matrix” – but she never misses American Idol – amazing!
She is always the first to realize that she has overreacted to something and is the first to apologize for it. This usually doesn’t take days, but rather minutes.
She always puts the TP roll on upside down. Don’t laugh, there is an upside down.
She is very smart and in tune with the things that are happening in the world, much more than I am.
She is fussy and likes things done her way – like all women I have ever known.
She is unbelievably sweet and kind to people even when she doesn’t have to be.
She is very sassy and never misses a chance to pick on me. And she certainly doesn't let me get away with anything.
She will not admit that she has ever been wrong about anything we have discussed in the last five months. This is actually pretty cute.
She is a horrible typist and I need my secret decoder ring to carry on an IM conversation with her.
She enjoys good food and good wine and is a very good cook.
She is a Virgo, but with a Sagittarian moon so, despite conventional wisdom that we wouldn't get along, we share some important traits.
Oh, and of course, she is beautiful. I truly enjoy the "What is she doing with him?" looks I get when we are together.

As far as an update on us, well things are good. Our schedules don’t always allow us to see each other much during the week, but we spend a lot of time together on the weekends. My friends told me a few months ago that they have not seen me this happy in a long time and I can assure that The Rose is the reason why.

I Hate Always Being Right

2008-04-23T15:15:00.002-05:00

Has anyone noticed that gas has almost reached $4.00 a gallon – and likely has in some parts of the country? Is my post from March 22 starting to resonate with you? Once we get used to $4.00 a gallon, then they will slowly raise the price to $5.00 a gallon. This is the same thing they did to get from $2.00 to $3.00 and now $4.00.

I would also like to point out something else that most of you might have missed. I saw the list for the fortune 500 companies and probably to no one’s surprise, Wal-Mart is number one. But guess what company was number two? Yep – Exxon-Mobile. But here is the rub of it. While Wal-Mart pulled in a little more in revenue for 2007 – $351B to Exxon’s $347B, guess which company was most profitable. Yeah, Exxon. They made $40B in profit in 2007. In case you missed that let me say it again –that is FORTY BILLION! Wal-Mart only made $11B in profit. I am not sure, but I think Exxon could afford to lower the prices of gas just a bit.

Oh and let’s not forget the other gas companies – Chevron is number 4 on the list and made $17B in profit. Conoco Philips (76 Stations) is number 5 on the list with $15B in profit. Even the little known Valero Energy was 16 on the list and made $5B in profit in 2007. Please don’t tell me that these petroleum companies need to make this much money in PROFIT every year. Don’t worry, I am sure that they use these profits for the good of all mankind. I am sure they will spend most of it on lobbyist and politicians to ensure that any clean air or alternate fuel legislation never gets enacted by Congress.

I am really starting to wonder why this is not regulated by the government. Talk about taking advantage of a situation. They really have us over the barrel.

Casual = Beach?

2008-04-23T14:50:00.000-05:00

Maybe it is just me, but there is a very disturbing trend happening in my office right now. I have noticed that more and more people are taking the “casual” dress to a disturbing level. Don’t get me wrong, I am the first to wear a pair of jeans into the office. However, I usually wear a shirt with them, but the way things are going around here lately, I may be able to just throw on some cut off shorts and wear some Birkenstocks to work – not that I would be caught dead in Birkenstocks. I am just not sure when “casual” became beach wear.

I work for a web company, and I expect that the creative people here are going to be, well, a little kooky. And believe me, they are. But some people are taking the relaxed dress a bit too far. I thought it was strange that someone, during my day one orientation, was wearing flip flops. But that seems dressy in comparison these days. Maybe it is the fact that I have spent my career talking to customers and not stuck in my cubicle, but I don’t think that you should wear tank tops to work – men or women. I don’t think that mini skirts are appropriate – I know I can’t believe I am saying it either. I am really sure that you should not wear the $1.99 flip flops you got for buying three bags of groceries at Safeway. We are a large company and I really think there should be some standard of dress. I say bring back the shirt and tie era.

Wow, I am getting old.

A Good Golf Memory

2008-04-16T15:00:00.002-05:00

Quick story from the golf trip…I was playing the first morning with three guys. Four of us went out to play while we waited for some of the others to arrive. There was a round later that afternoon with the entire group, but for some reason, the four of us seemed to think we needed to cram a sixth round into the weekend.

I knew one of the guys in the foursome, but I met the other two that morning. One of the new guys started out the round struggling very badly. I waited until about the 5th or 6th hole and then I asked him if I could give him some advice. I told him that I could not help him with his swing as I have never played with him and had no point of reference. However, I asked him if he had ever played a good round of golf. He laughed and said yes. I told him that instead of focusing on figuring out what he was doing wrong today, he should think back to that day when he played well and focus on how he felt that day. Think about that day and what he did to play well. I explained that focusing on what you are doing wrong is a common amateur mistake in golf, and he would be better off to focus on something positive.

He began playing a little better over the next few holes. About four holes later after hitting a great shot, he turned to me and said all he was thinking about was the day he got a blowjob on the golf course.

I have to admit, that wasn’t quite what I had in mind when I gave him the advice, but hell, whatever works. I am a little surprised that I needed to remind him to think about that day. If that had happened to me, I would think about it everyday.

This was just day one – round one - of the trip. Imagine what happened after that.

Someone Pass Me the Pepto

2008-04-13T17:09:00.001-05:00

It has been a long weekend of golf, drinking and eating way to much chicken. These guys really like wings - we ate at Hooters, Buffalo Hot Wings and too much KFC. I could use a good fish dinner.

The golf trip was great. Twenty guys competing on the course and boozing it up at night. I played too many rounds - six total in four days. I am exhausted and really tired of being in the car. I am writing this to pass the time as we are about four hours into a seven hour drive home. Brutal.

I like most of the guys on the trip. I did seem to have a golf course personality clash with one of them, but that is likely to happen with so many guys.

It was also tough being the only low handicap golfer in the group. With a low handicap comes a lot of expectations. As I told The Rose, I think I lived up to the hype. The golf definitely got worse as the weekend progressed, but not just for me, everyone seemed to play a little worse each day.

It really has been a long couple of weeks. Vegas last week and Myrtle Beach this week. The nice thing is I won money on both trips. Of course I spent it all, but that's what these trips are for.

Next for me will be a trip to Atlantic City next month. It will be a short trip - one night. The Rose and I will meet K&T for some light gambling and a good dinner. We are also talking about renting a beach house on Nantucket in July. My first time in Nantucket.

Next week I will be back in the gym as all the good work I have done over the last few months was undone in the last two weeks. I need some ruffage and a good workout.

Easter Pictures

2008-03-24T09:06:00.003-05:00

Just a couple of Easter pictures of Samantha. She is getting very big.

MBA Final Exam

2008-03-22T12:41:00.008-05:00

I have a scenario for all of you MBA types. Let’s see if that $50,000 in tuition was well spent or not.

Imagine you are a C-level executive at a petroleum company. Your company is and has been doing very well over the last few decades with the huge dependency that the US has on gasoline for our everyday lives. But a few years ago the price per barrel of oil started to go up and gasoline began to hit record high prices. Now most of the overindulgent American citizens didn’t pay much attention, but you did.

Then Al Gore got on his Global Warming soapbox and started to point out the negative effect we are having on the planet. Couple the rise in popularity of the global warming bandwagon with the ever increasing oil prices and all of a sudden the public decides that 20 MPG is not good enough.

Next thing you know the auto industry is developing more fuel efficient vehicles and the suddenly popular hybrid. There is even talk that the government will mandate that all vehicles get 40 MPG by the year 2012. So here is your final exam question. Which of the following do you think those C-level petroleum executives would do next?

Would they look at the revenue they currently generate, which is in the billions, and decide that, if ALL cars got 40 MPG instead of 20 MPG, it would be OK to generate half the revenue they generate today because it will be better for the country, the environment and the planet? Or…
Would they think they need to generate the same revenue once ALL cars get 40 MPG instead of 20 MPG and the only way to do that would be to DOUBLE the price of gas? Would they double the price of gas over night? Or would they gradually increase the price of gas over a span of years to make it more acceptable to the public?

Which one did you choose?

Mark my words…when all cars get better gas mileage, a gallon of gas will cost $6.00 to $8.00 a gallon. We live in a greedy, capitalistic society and there is no way that a large company looks into the future and thinks it will be OK to make half the money they do today. It is not as if this is unprecedented. If you have ever visited a country in Europe, you will notice that gas prices in Europe are much higher and, guess what, cars get 50 MPG. You probably just didn’t notice the price of gas because they charge by the liter – sneaky bastards!

As a recent hybrid owner, I wanted to acknowledge my part in causing the increasing gas prices in the US. It is people like me that have caused the petroleum companies to consider new revenue strategies. So for my part in the ridiculous gas prices, I apologize to you all.

I wonder if we all went out and bought monster trucks instead, would gas prices drop back to under a buck? Owning a monster truck would be fun and it sure would make traffic jams more interesting.

Good Luck in Hell

2008-03-20T12:59:00.002-05:00

Someone sent this to me and I just thought it was funny.

Nick's band got a write up in the Seattle Times....Here it is.

2008-03-17T13:00:00.008-05:00

The Moondoggies rise and shine at night

"I love a band where the singer is playing harmonica!," gushed a 40-something listener at a Moondoggies show last week.

Kevin Murphy had only busted out the harmonica for one song. Still, for the discerning listener, it was a clue to where this band's soul lives — in '60s and '70s groups like the Band, the Grateful Dead and Neil Young's Crazy Horse.

Others in the crowd — some who weren't even born when those bands were in their primes — were nodding and swaying and dancing and generally captivated by the Moondoggies, one of Seattle's fastest-growing bands.

The Moondoggies recently signed with Sub Pop Records offshoot Hardly Art, then had the signing announced in Pitchfork, perhaps the most prestigious music Web site going. Last week, the Moondoggies were playing a Real Change benefit at the swank new club Sole Repair (across from Neumo's on Capitol Hill).

And that's where the glamour comes to a full stop, for now at least. The Moondoggies return to their old haunt, that thoroughly glamourless — though not without a certain charm — dive-of-dives, the U District's Blue Moon Tavern, where they play Saturday (10 p.m., no cover).

Though the overlap in names is coincidental, the Moondoggies have played the Blue Moon a half-dozen times in the past two years, and the band members are not against meeting at the tavern for beer and pool. Four of the five gathered for an interview on Monday night.

"All our friends like to come see us here," said the sideburned, soft-spoken Murphy.

"People like free shows," added the impish Robert Terreberry.

Keyboardist Caleb Quick took over the answer from there: "The best thing about this place is it feels uninhibited — free. It's the place where people always dance the most, at our shows... "

"My grandparents used to come here," tossed in drummer Carl Dahlen — gangling and wild-haired, like an ingenuous version of New York Dolls bass player Arthur "Killer" Kane.

Nicholas Davis wasn't at the Blue Moon on this night, or he probably would have picked up the beat. The way they answer questions is not unlike their songs: democratic. It's a far cry from most bands, which center on a singer-guitar player.

Formed by four graduates of Cascade High in Everett (Quick went to high school in nearby Bothell), the Moondoggies did start out as a tentative backing band for Murphy's compositions. They sensed that harmonizing was the way to go, but the others at first were self-conscious about singing too loudly, or in the wrong parts. In the past two years, they've grown far more confident, both in their singing and musical layering.

"We all like to play minimalist," said Quick, who sports a full beard and at 26 is the eldest Moondoggie, "but when it's your turn, it's your turn."

The five minimalists together create a sound that is far from it. Live, they have a big, expansive sound — often starting modestly, but allowing the music to grow and fold back on itself hypnotically, then exploring tangential paths before looping back to a base camp.

They certainly jam, in a good way. But — please — don't call them a jam band.

"It makes me think of Phish," Terreberry said. "And then I want to vomit."

"We don't really jam on stage," Murphy said, and the others started to agree with him ("String Cheese Incident!" Dahlen exclaimed, then giggled.) But then ...

"We're kind of a jam band during the week," Quick said.

Live, though, there isn't much improvising. The five-minute-plus epics are all carefully composed, the product of hours of practicing.

The Moondoggies have several different gears, sometimes within the same song.

"Want You to Know" is probably the Moondoggies' best song, with a Band-like opening that instantly had fans at Sole Repair tapping their feet and bopping their heads. It developed like a Polaroid, slowly taking on more colors and brightness — Southern-style, country rock, with bold shifts and spiral-staircaselike progressions.

They are in the process of mastering their debut album, which they expect Hardly Art to release sometime this summer. At which point this band that hasn't played outside of Washington will hit the road for its first tour.

Hardly Art continues to have a foot firmly planted in the '60s, as previous Seattle signings Arthur & Yu and the Dutchess & the Duke both explore psychedelic folk of years gone past.

By Tom Scanlon
Seattle Times staff reporter

Hear demo versions of a few Moondoggies songs: www.myspace.com/thefamilyliars.

All Hail The Chair

2008-03-07T13:49:00.002-05:00

I volunteered to join one of the committees that were formed in my condo association. This is actually a pretty big deal as I never volunteer for anything. I learned my lesson when I was young. I volunteered when I was 17 and the next thing I knew I was in the Navy for six years. I haven’t raised my hand since.

The condo board formed four committees - social, communications, facilities and budget. Guess which one I joined. No not the social committee, I don’t like people that much. I joined the communications committee. We are chartered with setting up a newsletter, web site and generally communications process for the building. We had our first meeting last night and although there is a lot of work involved, the group seems very sharp and we should have some fun. Oh, and they elected me as the Chair of the Communications committee.

The Rose and I are going to a vodka and caviar tasting tonight at Morton’s Steakhouse. Morton’s is having these tastings across the country in the month of March. I am not really sure what to expect, but since The Rose likes caviar and I like vodka, it seems like a good fit.

Speaking of The Rose, here is a photo of us in Myrtle a few weeks ago. I love it when the beach is deserted. No crowds, just the two of us, a few surfers and some birds…what could be better.

**Myrtle Beach 2008**

The picture used in this post was not doctored or altered in any way. She is that beautiful and I look that bad. What can I say, the generosity of some women never ceases to amaze me.

Tuesday Sucks

2008-03-04T07:37:00.002-05:00

I don't feel well today. I woke up with a sore throat. I have also pretty much been dragging ass for the last few days. Problem is I have wall to wall meetings today so I am headed to the office. Hopefully I will feel better later.

Three Things to Ponder:

2008-02-29T09:59:00.001-05:00

1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

C O W S
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

T H E C O N S T I T U T I O N
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq . Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

T H E 1 0 C O M M A N D M E N T S
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this: You cannot post "Thou Shalt Not Steal," "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery," and "Thou Shall Not Lie" in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians...It creates a hostile work environment.

The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author of this blog, they are just damn funny. So save your nasty comments and emails for someone that cares. Life is funny – try to laugh once in a while.