Change

Jobs gone, jobs lost.

2011-10-06T01:33:00.000-07:00

"No one wants to die," he said. "Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true."

Evolution Revolution "For the People, By the People"

2010-11-09T05:31:00.000-08:00

There's a new keyword, theme, movement, out there: "Tea Party". The people are fighting back and remembering. The change they expected, wanted, needed just isn't happening. The one percent of the population that controls the wealth of our nation has no idea about The People.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement

If we get organized, what a dangerous place America will be. It speaks to our freedom and remembrance of what was and what should be, even after 273 years. Hopefully, the reinvention and validity today of what our founding fathers outlined are strong enough to keep the country together. The majority of the people will go on with their daily lives, trying to inch out a living. The small percent of radicals are where the danger lies and will force us to implode.

The Secret World of Extreme Militias

Change the way we consume and change the planet

2009-01-27T02:43:00.000-08:00

OK, it's simple to recycle right? Well, not really. The ownership of this responsibility is on the consumer, completely! And it's allot of work to recycle. It is simple enough in some communities that supply bins for paper, glass, and plastic. And each of these communities sets up it's own recycling services. It's not standardized. And this service is not available to all communities. And it costs tax payers money. You don't see it. Some people just don't care, can't be bothered. How come the benefits that are received from a town that recycles is not given back to the community?
How about when your out and about in town, how come there isn't trash bins for different types of trash? In order to ask people to do things, you have to make it available to them, otherwise it will be a long way to change peoples habits.
Now it is surprising to me that the ownership is on the consumer to recycle. Why can't companies find more economical ways of packaging their products to the consumer? Take all the toys you've just bought for the holidays for your children. They are very difficult to to un-package. They are wrapped in a very hard plastic, every single item in the package is wired together and the amount of cardboard and paper marketing material is overwhelming, not to mention the wrapping paper and the gift card. Think about the process it takes to make and print all the material in the toy product. Think about all the energy and material it takes to make the plastic mold and package. Think about the labor involved to wire all the pieces of the toy to the package. You pay allot for all this packaging for a cheapo product. But it's the thought that counts!
Here are some facts about how much we consume. I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. Think about this, the economy needs us to consume, there is a Zeitgeist of change the planet in our consciousness but in order for the economy to turn around, we need to consume. What happens when the wheels of the economy start moving again?

* Each print run of the New York Times newspaper consumes about 75,000 trees.
* Americans total yearly waste fills a convoy of garbage trucks long enough to wrap around the earth six times.
* Approximately 100 million trees are used every year for junk mail.
* A 15 year old tree produces about 500 paper bags at the supper market which gets consumed in about an hour.
* Mowing the lawn for half an hour produces as much smog as driving 172 miles.
* Americans throw away enough disposable plates and cups to give the world a picnic six times a year.
* You could circle the earth 436 times with all the styrofoam cups produced and consumed by Americans.
* You could build over 6000 DC-10 airplanes with the amount of aluminum cans Americans consume.
* Americans consume more than two million plastic bottles an hour.

Every country has tried to emulate the market of the USA, and.......?

Americans are 5% of the worlds population and consume 33% of the worlds resources and produce 50% of the hazardous waste. Whooooaaaa, compound this to other developing nations!

Paying for Consumption

2008-12-22T07:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Consumer,

You have choices, a lot of choices. The most important is the choice not to consume. There are alternatives and you either know what they are or you can find out. There is no lack of information today, so we have the knowledge at our fingertips. This is very unlike just the previous generation.

If you question the value of a product to consume, don't just buy it. Think first how this product is going to add value. Most times the pitch on a product is laser marketed directly towards a problem, but can often create other considerations. So this marketing appeals to you and so you try it and as often is the case, for example household cleaning products, it was a waste of money. Don't give in to impulse.

We the consumer have a choice and our choice is to use our experience as consumers to send a message. This message is simple, that we want more value and product. We want good design and products well thought through. In only this way can we change the way business operate and bring to market products.

Yes we can

2008-12-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

This is what we have been dreaming of. Leadership and guidance, inspiration and assuance, strength and honor. We have known all too long that something just wasn't right. The moral and spirit of people have never been so low. You can see in the eyes and faces of the people inspired by a moral and humble leader, eager and hungry for every word and utterance. You can see the spirits rise in the stare and glare of people listening. Never will you see this anywhere else, not at any conference and not at church.

For all too long I have given up. There was something I couldn't explain, I couldn't put my finger on it. I couldn't describe it. I felt it. It was there when I went to the grocery store, it was there in the upper ranks of management where I earned my living, it was in the weight of the office where my manager sat and it was in the attitudes of my friends. I was exposed to headline grabbing media, the TV was saturated with immoral topics and valueless bling bling. The value had to hide in dramas willing to take a leap of faith, and reveal what is real. The value had to hide deep behind the surface of Homer and Family Man.

I have hope, we have hope. This is the leadership we have been thirsting for. It will trickle down to every man, woman and child. It will breath new meaning into how we do business, how we see our neighbors, countrymen and people of other nations. I have hope that all barriers of human disposition will be put aside so that we may finally work together and not just sit toghether in tolerance. The world is indeed a smaller place and this is a speech that all must see and hear.

Inspiration kick in the ass.

2008-12-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, I'm reminded of Tim Robbins. I think there is a contradiction here. For the most part, the core essence of inspiration and making it real and feeling that gets portrayed when watching or listening to someone or something is must be there. And it is there when something gets picked up or else it's dead in the water. This has always been the same, there is no change here. So this must be that because people are the same and we have always known how to connect. We pick up very well if someone is fake or if something just didn't feel right. The contradiction is that although there is a revolution going on with the demand for our senses, the core of the messages are the same and that is; those who can connect and have that power and honesty are the ones we pick up.

Hal Turner, Zeitgeist, What is the Amero.

2008-11-16T15:47:00.000-08:00

Who is Hal Turner, what is Zeitgeist, Is the Amero real?

A family member sent me this video to look at and asked what I thought about the Amero.

Here is my response and I thought it would useful and applicable to anyone who is being influenced:

I think that the question is what do you think about it? The reason I bounce the question back is because this has a bit of flavor from the Zeitgeist, well at least the Zeitgeist movement. As for the other forms of Zeitgeist, I believe that they are true and earnest. I refer to organizations and people that use the meaning of the word in speaking about the current state and baseline of corporate and social morals, beliefs and values. This is good as they are trying to build awareness and move along forward thinking. Unlike " Zeitgeist?, ?Scientology?, ?Anonymous?, etc.

I wanted to be able to provide an informed opinion. I did not know anything about this guy Hal Turner and the little bit of information that I have found out about him is that he is a poorly informed individual that is simply propagating himself with propaganda that is extreme and controversial. The Internet is packed full of "Campaigns" and often times it has an affect on those of us who are vulnerable, "for the moment". It is extremely easy to capture an audience in times of unrest and build upon the chaos of chaos. Much of his Campaign has appeared to back fire. The mass has spoken and most of America and the World know the results of his type of thinking and have done well to soften his voice. But the fact of the matter is that he has and will always have a nitch, a "minority" following of people. I cannot imagine that people of the world and America have forgotten so much in less than a century!

There really is not much more on the financial topics that he speaks of "directly" involving Hal Turner. There is a ton of information regarding his racist and white supremist attitude. So, as with any news source and piece of news; the beholder of the information must use all that they have acquired in knowledge and understanding to make an opinion of his/her own. In my own case, the experience I have gained by researching and listening to Hal Turner says to me that the credibility of this type of individual is in question. And when something is in question, it is best to move on. There are a great deal of other things you can do and read.

I have put some thought into the financial crisis, 911, the war on the middle east, Katrina, homeland security, etc. etc. and, I have determined that it is easy for anyone to try and put a face upon our detriment and call it/them zionists, supremist, they, rockafellers, illuminati, etc. etc. are the cause of our misery. I cannot believe it is so, the pure fact of all of this is Greed. And the American dollar is in the pockets of far too many, it is so deeply embedded into so many systems that a collapse is not in the interest of the world. The fact that the world standing behind the current financial system speaks to this. The fact that the housing crisis and the depreciation of assets backed by paper, CDO, MBS, Derivatives, etc have impacted the worlds financial system in measures that they are unable to comprehend, speaks to how valuable the dollar is and what a compounding impact it has on the world.

I do not deny that there are allot of strange and unanswered things happening in the world today, and that at times I think how could this be? How could we/they not know? But I am but a little fish swimming in an ocean trying not to get eaten by the bigger fish.

I believe that demand for currency will continue and will continue to rise in value. I believe that AmeriCANs will continue to do what they do best and I believe that the rest of the world will follow. I believe, I believe, I believe I am Alice in Wonderland.

Benefits of Globalization

2008-10-29T14:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve been pondering lately what exactly is globalization and the affects it has on societies. I question things like if we were meant to move this freely from one place to another or if cultures are meant to intermingle and transport across the globe. I am absolutely hypocritical for questioning this because I am the product of globalization. My own absorption and dilution of my own culture and difficulties of understanding other cultures and social aspects is the root of my questioning. I know of and in fact there are those who absolutely disagree, in fact I disagree with myself. I am simply asking the question.

Globalization has been occurring on varying levels all throughout existence but it served a purpose. I look to Nature for the purpose, survival (of the fittest), (natural) selection, and advancement. It was meant to happen, I’m sure of it. Geographical boundaries, exactly that, boundaries… were they meant to be boundaries, borders, natural means of protection and containment. Of course they were, otherwise Nature in its wisdom would not have scaled us and the environment as it is. But the fact of the matter is that it has never happened in the scale that it is occurring today. And why is it happening today; I see it happening for all the reasons that it has always been happening but mostly I see it happening for economic reasons; Capitalism.

Now, don’t get me wrong; the benefits are there and they outweigh anything I can imagine. Any extreme ideology is detrimental whether political, economical or social. I’m not an advocate of any of it and in fact it is because of Globalization that we have been able to further refine any system that is currently established around the world. The thing I see is that the discrepancies across nations and people are not what Globalization would have maximized in terms of information, freedom, liberties, economies, prosperity of people, and values. In fact I believe that the gap between the haves and have not has increased not only between people but also across nations.

What I cannot understand is how can we have more poverty, hunger, despair, pillaging, and brutality in a world where information is so much more readily available than at any given point in history. Readily available does not translate of course into “educated” people. In fact, we are not more educated. My own perception is that we are more aware, but we chose to turn away. We are more aware but we have so much information to absorb consciously and unconsciously that we are overwhelmed. And of course when we do have information that is so totally against what we believe could be possible, we reject it, no way can we believe it. There is too much information and we have difficulty validating shocking information. Our perception of the world is a reflection of our own reality. And for the majority of us, it is difficult enough to survive in this reality let alone extend a helping hand.

With the Globalization of knowledge, shouldn’t we as a collective people be able to solve the problems we have with energy, poverty, war, and freedoms. We can, we have the technology, we have the money, and we have the organizations and institutions in place. So why have we made no significant progress in these areas. I can think of tons of reasons such as greed, capitalism, national security, self-interest, etc. etc. What are these, human traits and can we overcome them? What has history, a hundred centuries of human and social development taught us? How do we revert rooted and established ideas and history? Would it benefit to throw it all out, start fresh; eliminate all known established principles? I doubt it, but my brain cannot think why we repeat history.

So what is Globalization? There is a ton of literature out there about this. My interpretation is simple; it is the spread and acceptance of ideas. It has affects on politics, society and economics. The majority is due to economics and the other two affects are tied to it. It is the driver of change. So, it is like the “Market” and it will equalize. I doubt it; it’s all highly regulated and requires more regulation.

I guess I would start with the population of the current world and the growth in the past decade; and how this compares with the centuries before to scale. If indeed globalization has had an impact and I believe it has, is the impact no different than any other point in time relatively.

I wonder if this ecosystem we live in can sustain all these benefits of Globalization. IF maybe Nature is taking care of itself and that is the simple reason for my question in the first place. Have you ever put too many fish in a fish bowl? What happened?

The other question is of course is the result of all this integration on the development of humanity and society. Maybe the financial crisis is the “Market” equalizing itself and we are counterbalancing this equalization. These trillions of dollars we are fabricating out of thin air could be used to distribute “equality”. But then again, what I’ve to terms with here at the end of my own thought patterns is that, Nature is about inequality. It is the natural progression, the “food chain”, without it there is no governance of the “system”. And so, I’ve come to realize that we must fend for ourselves in our time.

Buy Quality!

2008-10-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

If you have or had the means, you will know what I mean. The market is flooded with products, too many products. Everyone trying to fill a nitch, everyone is trying to fill a nitch because products don't satisfy us. Or they say there is a gap, but is there really? Or do the product manufacturers simply hold back on features for pricing and market segmentation.

So why not produce a product with the features that consumers want? Why offer less of a product and sound off that the whole value of the product is more than the component value of the feature/s. Because it eats into the margin of profitability! But what are these margins? And are they sustainable? Is the product sustainable?

Buy Quality! You will never go wrong. Pay more! You will not be let down. You know this. Companies price the price points that they think due to market studies/surveys and so right off the bat, the product is hindered with limitations. All products of quality, go further and the brands stand behind them for a long time. Take Tiffanys, you can take anything you buy there and bring it back to get fixed or cleaned for nothing; and you don' t loose value if you ever need to part with it. Take BMWs, although I think they have tinkered a bit too much with their designs, the quality is still there. Anything wrong with the car and the brand takes care of it and the car is of a higher quality so things don't fall off and last longer. And what other car can go so many miles kilometers without the standard 3000 or 3500 mile oil change, maintenace. Cost of ownership is huge. And what about those beautify purses you buy from Gucci or what ever, take them back anytime for service, free of charge and you will have that purse in ship shape condition for as long as you want. Enough examples, you get the point, I think.

It's really not paying more. The cost of the lesser products over time is more. The addage, you get what you pay for really applies. You just need to know when and where to buy these things at your price point. And, just save up for them. Learn to do without for a while.

My notion of what is wrong with the economy

2008-10-23T18:20:00.001-07:00

In the words of former chairman Greenspan, "Irrational exuberance"!

Consumption is the problem, we consume too much. The products that we buy come in large quantities and so our impression is that everything is a plenty. We buy it in quantity because it is less expensive, but this is deceiving. The mentality is that it only costs a little more for a substantial amount more product. It's marketing and efficiency. Hmmm, efficiciency, this is only percieved because companies have been able to gain "cost" efficiencies by outsourcing. Outsourcing labor, manufacturing, operations, etc. all to our own detriment now.

I am a consumer. I am a very conscious consumer. And I am a very educated consumer. The companies now know this and it is getting tougher to satisfy me and so all sorts of value added things go into products because they were cheap, because they were outsourced. In the end though, the added value only got me to buy, but didn't actual give me any added value. I just thought, hey this one comes with this thing, so let's get this one. I took advantage of sales and deals even if I didn't need them; I just thought we'll use it eventually. Things like paper towels, diapers, basically consumables. I took advantage because this stuff was always in my face, from Target, Costco, Walmart, Staples, Circuit City, etc. in my mail, my e-mail, road signs, newspapers and on and on. So I stocked, and guess what? I"m still using this stuff two years later. I stopped consuming as much some two years ago. And I still have vast quantities of consumables, I think I have a supply of shampoo for the next 7 years. In hindsight, I think it was the smart thing to do since prices will start to increase and I always bought this stuff at a discount and it's all stuff I was using regularly.

I'm now in Europe and I gotta tell ya, Capitalism has a long reach. But the consumers here are not as experienced as Americans, but getting there. More importantly, Europeans know how to do without. There is no need to buy it and if you are going to buy it, it comes in small/er quantities. It also costs more, but in the end you pay for what you use. And you learn to conserve and it doesn't affect you one bit less. You can use less of everything and it has no impact on your quality of life, if that is what you would call it. The other thing is that there is a serious difference in pricing, advantages are taken! It could be time dependent (and I don't mean time to market; dependent) and it could be store to store dependent. I can't tell you how many times, I have paid one price for something only to find it cheaper somewhere else. This could also just be the learning process of knowing where to shop. But I'll tell you, I don't shop in ritzy places and I always look for a bargain. I suppose it is the lack of big chains, but this happens in the chains.

So, when things are good we consume and companies are more than willing to feed us the consumption. But this is the excess, this is the problem. We got more and more and more. Our cars got bigger and bigger and bigger and faster. And it got disposible, it is cheaper to just buy another one than fix it or send it in for repair or replace the batteries. In some respects quality got better, through design. And in most respects quality decreased. Things broke more often. But it was cheap so I never made a fuss. Where does all this trash go?.....

We fueled the economy. We fueled the economy with our "disposible" income, that we got through cheap financing and maybe our Home Equity lines of credit. We the Consumer. And the world was more than willing to go and get a piece of the pie. So, we got more especially when the Dollar was strong. And that inflated our deficit, so of course the Dollar had to decline. And then the Dollar declined and "We" got hit with layoffs, and a freeze on credit. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, the Dollar is climbing for a short while, only because the long reach of Capitalism has not really understood world Consumers. And so a retreat to the Dollar, of course, it is the currency most widely held and infused into other world economies. It's becuase the world is realizing that hey it's not just America, and America will fare better, I/we think.

So the breaks are on and so what, for those of you who were smart and stayed straight and true and kept your fundamentals sound, your OK and you will fare the weather. This means that the folks who kept that 30 year fixed mortgage and didn't tussle around with it; this means those that didn't out balance your 401k with solely risky equities, this means those who shopped for good car loans, this means those who didn't extend themselves too much and kept an eye on your credit scores, etc. etc. etc. For those who took risks and then took more risk and then more; like a gambler HOT on a winning streak; we didn't know when to stop and so now the House "Has you".

Well, not really. This excess was financed, the House doesn't have you and can't break your legs. The poor poor banks. I don't blame them. You can't sell drugs if there are no buyers. We are to blame. Guns don't kill, people do.

Financial Crisis

2008-10-19T10:01:00.000-07:00

OK so all the Bears and Pessimists are coming out of the woodwork. It’s easy considering the current state of our world. The ones that are telling you I told you so are the ones to stay away from. These self-proclaimed experts are just further marketing their personal agenda. I for one would be seeking out the ones we don’t hear about. These quiet settlers looking to take over the Range by using their leverage and puppets to do the dirty work. This might be a little conspiring, as I’m not sure there is this group out there controlling the world; rather it might be true on a smaller scale. And that the smaller groups have the same mentality, feeling of supremacy and that the moral natures of these groups are woven together and thus creates this monster we call "them".

So what is going on? Are we asking what is happening, and what did I do wrong. I for one have followed the path straight and true. I went to a good school. Thanks to my parents whom actually moved just for the school district. I went to a good College. Well, I had to change for financial reasons. But in the end, I graduated. I was not fortunate enough to follow the route as some of my peers and close friends and relatives as they went to Ivy League route. I suppose I have some prejudice about this but nonetheless I accomplished the “path”. I worked; I worked hard and true and got to where I wanted to be. Growing up, I was fascinated by Wall Street. I read all the books and learned of the culture and “the” money. I read books like “Bonfire of the Vanities”, “Den of Thieves” and “Liars Poker”. These books animated the real life characters and popular culture further famed them in “Wall Street” and Gordon Gecko “Greed is good”. So where did I end up? Yes, Wall Street. Not as a banker but IT. For me I was home. I was where Michael Milken the Junk Bond King rose and fell. So, I made a good living. Lived in what I felt was the capital of the world and started a family. We did well, well enough. We were in the top percentile, although this is highly skewed, as the median household income in the United States is something like thirty six thousand a year. I paid more in taxes! Yes, I followed the rules. I paid my taxes and I contributed and I ran the rat race and I was a good citizen and I consumed. It was flawless!

Things began to change; noticing now in hindsight it has been changing for at least the past ten years. The beginning was when I began noticing a creeping rise in the cost of services As the years progressed our income was getting chipped at a little here and a little there. The alternative minimum tax sucked. Taxes rose slowly, unnoticeably and we were suppose to give thanks for the tax rebate check that simply faded as soon as you got them. I know this because I would track local, state and federal taxes. We have to be extremely educated consumers and personal advisers to combat this creep. I would research and purchase everything I could with pre-tax dollars. And every service that we required to maintain a household, get to work, service the home and provide for our young children all began to rise all under the preface of rising energy costs. Actually the purchasing of products still remained low. I actually still find products to be very inexpensive relatively. But I do think that inflation will absolutely be setting in soon. All the increases in services happen very justifiably. Business knows how to push the right tone across to the consumer, passing the buck. In so many instances, the services we required increased because they were able to put a twist around itemizing expenditures that we would have to absorb. This applied to cable, electricity, cell phone service, telephone service, etc. This creep was very mischievous in my opinion. Gone are the days that business provides a service to the customer at a cost, a competitive cost and adjusts it’s own operations to maintain that competency all the while absorbing all the costs of doing business. It’s like the consumer is expected to be a partner when in reality we don’t care. This itemization in our business culture is extremely effective, but it should be completely transparent to the consumer. This works because there is competition. When there is no competition, I can understand having to justify to the consumer. But the reality is that there is no justification. Take for example the de-monopolization of energy. It didn’t help the consumer in the end because in the end it was not economically feasible to enter certain markets and so the local energy market stayed a free market with a single provider.

It was a constant tug of war to balance the rising cost of services. In some cases it was easy, for example beating the local phone carrier was easy with VOIP or with the aggressive competition in insurance you could easily find coverage that was less expensive. Same goes with financing; how did all this liquidity just dry up?The wool has been pulled from under our feet. We have been shepherd to the slaughterhouse. The circulation and accumulation of wealth is disparate. How do we get it back in the hands of the people? The whole shifting of the economic scenery may be a painful blessing. Think about it, everything was put into a handful of baskets. You know the expression “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”? Well that is what was happening. Seems contrarien to think so, but corporate America was consolidated and we worked for companies employing tens of thousands, and everything was franchised. So now when business goes bust, it hits more and more of us. I for one think it is OK; I don’t need another one of them. I have enough with the handful of companies that I know and trust. I say let the survivors adjust and “Grow” again. And maybe revert back to what they do best instead of trying to be competitive. And in the meantime, spawn back the mom and pops and the days of service and quality, where you didn’t have to advertise and market this; you just got it and you knew it because you felt comfortable. You felt the service, not the Bullshit scripted customer service crap that sounds down right condescending. But of course it is absolutely required because “this phone call may be recorded for training purposes”. These changing times, Now is the time to change your hat, rethink what you want to do, what you want to be. Do you want to deal with intangibles, intrinsic value, intellectual property and proprietary knowledge? Or would you like to own something that is tangible? I’m heading in this direction. Empower the change! I am trying to gain control of my future.

Sign of the changing times

2008-10-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

For years now we have been traveling internationally. We have never had any problems other than the typical things that we are responsible for. These are things as making sure all of our travel documents are up to date and confirmed, packing what we need and time management. These are the basics and of course we understand further our responsibilities as outlined by most airlines. These can usually be found on Airline websites. As time has progressed in the past fifteen years of traveling, we have noticed a great deal of changes. It is incredible how fluid travel can be. If you think about it, moving from one part of the world to another has never been easier. It is logistically involved, but not really.

You buy a ticket; you pack; get to the airport, board the plan and arrive at your destination. We all know that it generally works like this until of course we miss a rule that the airlines have documented for us but of course we have not read; such as forgetting a key ring knife you had on your key chain. But of course this was never a big deal; they had this service box where you just mailed it to yourself, if you wanted to. These have somehow disappeared, no doubt for some security reason. Probably for fear that someone would deposit an explosive or something. Gone are the days of services. Today everything is driven around FEAR. Flying has been easy and the cost has really not increased. Noticeably the cost of flights for the same destinations in the past ten years really has not changed considerably. Oh, and facilities have gotten so much better. Firstly, the airports have all been considerably revamped and upgraded. Our experiences inside the airports have become a non-issue regarding checking in, security, customs and baggage. When in the airport, we have plenty to occupy our time and services to aid us to work or communicate. It’s really pretty amazing.

With all the modernization around the airport facilities around the country and the world, there is a missed target from the management of these airports. They forget about “the people”. I wonder if there has been anyone brought in to study and focus around “Process” and “Service” of the “System”. This System is a conglomeration of services and for sure I feel that each of these parts have studied their process and service to see how they can further ease and influence the customer experience, especially since it pertains to profit. I don’t have a problem with profit; it is a driver and a good driver against ourselves. I say this because you can never be too one sided as one side will always take advantage, this is just human nature. I think it is, but I’ve also seen this to be an aspect of a society. So this missed target, may very likely be because facilities management is focused around managing the facility, so what happens is that no one has any focus on this area. This may not be true; I’ve no knowledge about the business. Our experiences around the airport facility are due to good design. This is planned and studied from the beginning by Architects and civil planners who specialize in the flow of traffic; people traffic. So for the most part, they are getting it right. What has been happening that affects our experiences is when the companies come in and alter the original plans. It may not be alter; it may be utilizing inefficiently the space. This of course is all due to contracts and rights of use, etc., etc. So when there are not enough people to assist us in direction or questions, someone should be looking at the whole customer experience, an ergonomic process flow around time and space. I for one wished that signage was better, simpler and that I didn’t have to stand in so many lines. What about all the stupid issues around luggage. Why are they making luggage that does not conform to international standards? We always have a problem with weight or size or what we can take on board or not. For example you could get on one leg of a flight with a carry on with no problem but then on your connecting flight, your told that you have to check that carry on because it is too big and then when you go to check it, they tell you, you have to pay. Or book a seat and then have to reconfirm and then get re-assigned the seat that I booked. Or be dealt suspicious and/or suspiciously by Customs and Security. It really kills the experience. And what about First Class seating, haven’t we advanced our society a bit better than the Bourgeois-Proletariat days.

So, with the advancement of the aviation industry why do things still happen? Simple, as with any other thing; Human factor/s. Funny thing is that my thoughts are contradicting. I think that there should be more controls around the human factor but I am also a believer in that people will generally do the right thing given they are not mistreated. Well unfortunately we don’t treat each other equally and society does not perceive us all to be equal, and thus the Controls. Funny thing about controls and rules and regulations, it stops us from thinking. I’m often told that those are the rules and they don’t know why, “I don’t know why, those are the rules”. Wow!

So yea, we’ve been traveling for over a decade and shuttling stuff and bought stuff from here to there without a hitch. Until recently, on a leg from Boston to Madrid with a stop over in Paris. We were robbed. This was with Air France. Now everything went without a hitch leaving Boston. All our luggage arrived in Paris. In Paris, we missed our connecting flight and had to take the next one. One of our luggages didn’t make either flight from Paris to Madrid. In Madrid, you had to make a claim. Funny how you have to make a claim with all the tagging and coding done to your luggage. And the luggage arrived later in the evening and was delivered the next morning. And then we discovered the robbery. This was not an item or two, this was a timely search and carefully planned robbery. This particular piece of luggage contained a lot of shopped merchandise from clothing for the kids, to Halloween items to cosmetics. Funny how this piece of luggage didn’t make the trip in conjunction. So here is the list of items stolen:
Adult male Polo Sweater
Adult female Polo Sweater
Adult female sweater from Macy’s
Woman’s Clinique repairware
Woman’s hairclip
Woman’s purses, two purses
Girls Halloween costume
Girls dress, two dresses
Girls American Girl store gift (little stuffed dog Coconut)
Boys Polo sweater
Boys Gap shoes
Boys Gap pants
Three packs of Halloween sticker for the kids.

This was half the luggage. This was not just one or two items, this was a person brazen and ballzy. This was a person who knew what was of value and maybe even strapped for the holidays. Or this person was hit by the crisis and knew they were going to get laid off soon. This person was family person, I’m thinking woman only because of the hairclip thing who had two children. In any event this is a sign of the times.

Airport Secuity x-ray vision

2008-10-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

If you can imagine this propsal for the use of x-ray vision to further enhance airport security, then you know that there is indeed somethng wrong with our society. It doesn't matter where this stuff comes from, generally it comes from developed countries, but it catches on. And if one country tries it then another, then another, then we all have lost our rights. Another idea I've heard of is the RFID chip for humans. Where does it stop? And what is the point? All this will do is hinder international commerce and migration. Plus if one country tries this without the collaboration of the world, then what civil rights do people have not from that country?

This technology is very revealing. You basically will be able to see people naked. How would you feel about airport security knowing you a bit more intimately than you would like. And what about our health and the effects? Think about when you go to the hospital or the dentist, they protect you when you are having an x-ray done. And, the staff are never in the room to expose themselves. There must be safety issues.

What exactly has caused this type of technology to be neccessary? There are much better ways to get things on board a plane than the typical passenger route. I for one think that the airlines and airports need to have better controls and security for their own staff. How many of us have had problems with staff in London or baggage issues, things stolen from our luggage.

What is going to happen to this data and are they looking into how to minimize the affects and limit the technology to only what is required. You don't need to see me virtually naked, the technology only needs to see any object that is not me. If the technology cannot do this, then it is not ready and I am not ready to have another liberty stolen!

Change your chip

2008-10-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

Changes occurring in today’s society, culture, economics and personal dynamics have happened all throughout history. I don’t believe that the changes are of anything new to humanity. Of course the effects of change were limited and/or confined according to the scale of the demographics and geographic areas. The difference today is that we are more aware and/or more educated, communication happens instantly and we are able to migrate readily. These aspects of our society pose some challenges as it has an effect on what is happening. It also means that solutions and gaps can be solved and filled much more rapidly. There is a majority of our world’s population that exists as if nothing has happened. They are not for better or worse. I envy their simplicity. However I/we cannot deny ourselves, and the exposure to a life that we are so fortunate to have. As the world changes, we adjust to the changes. I am no different than any other and must remind myself many times a day not to only adjust, but to empower the changes I see.

Power is fear. Could this be the root of all evil? It exists everywhere and anywhere. It is arrogance, animosity, superiority, control, and ambition. All traits that can be used for good, traits that drive us, succeed us, protect us, restrain us and make us better. Fear is good; it is self-preservation. Power is a hunger and a thirst that cannot be satisfied. Identifying the risks of Power and Fear may allow us to have a healthy balance in society and in our personal lives. I feel that everything has been built around Power and Fear. The shifting of power in Government has used us as pawns and sucked the life out of what would be a healthy society. It starts from the top and it has a trickle affect to and on the people of a society. It is not any different than what a child learns in terms of behavior from parents. You don’t notice it; it is so integrated in your family and social dynamics. The shifting of economic power has us all rushing and scrambling to take what we can and run. It, fails us, and our longevity to continue to build and continue to do business WELL with our respective employees, business partners, associates, family and friends. I want to think that there is a consciousness out there that sees this. And I want to believe that there is a change occurring because of this consciousness.

Greed and more. We want and we see. We see what business wants us to see and we are manipulated to think we are in control. We are inundated and bombarded daily and it has dulled our perception and reality. It’s actually altered our reality. We believe it because it is on the TV or in print. I seek it out, I need what you have, and they have. I want it because everyone else has it so that I’m the same; I’m integrated and connected. And what happens in the end is that it consumes me or it sits in a box, trashed or given away or just becomes obsolete. Obsolescence is built in; it is part of the design. I’m brain washed to think it is of Quality and of Value. I don’t have a baseline of what this is and what baseline I have is given to me by the same entity, organization, and enterprise. I don’t know if this will ever change, but I believe that we are more conscious. I don’t know that I believe in business but rather what comes out of business that adds value to our lives. This consciousness or awareness may not be honest; it may simply have been forced upon us. The change is that our resources are limited and we should utilize our resources efficiently. The change is that the world is a better place, our standard of living is better for it and hopefully it will propagate further. On the other hand, it has the affect of turning us all into the Borg.

More and more. The drive to profit, expand and grow or at least “show well” is complicated. It’s a social problem, you asked for it; and so you have pressured those in charge to “show well”. You want the profit as an investor, you are greedy just as the next person and so am I. This “showing well” of things and data is not easy to comprehend. It is convoluted in jargon, management speech and very difficult to understand SEC filings, annual reports, perspectives, and complex legal entity structures. So you get more, more value, more excess, more volume, and more waste. We get addicted; we need it. It’s designed so that we need to refill it, buy it again after it’s been consumed. It’s designed to spin off other businesses and services so that you consume even more. Consumption grows and we all feel the affects of this consumption. We are over weigh. We buy one remedy to resolve the affects of another remedy that was suppose to be the remedy we needed. We need a bigger house that we can’t afford, to house all this consumption and it’s not just to consume, it’s to house the shit we buy. Our pass time is shopping; we bring our kids with us shopping so we can spend quality time with the family. We compete with friends and neighbors to “have” that something better, cool thing to “better appearances”. Our kids don’t know the value of what they have; they don’t know what is of value. And now we are conscious of what we are doing to our planet. What do we do with all this digestion from our consumption? We’ve run out of places and what to do with the garbage. We are running out of natural resources. And now the cost of these resources for these things, this consumption is passed back on to us. It is a vicious cycle. Can we do without it and OH my God, how did our generations before us survive? They must have been barbarians!