The 4th

For most folks in the United States, this has been a three day weekend.

Today is the Fourth of July.

But I wonder how many people know why they have this day off?

As a child of the 60's and teen in the 70's my parents were very patriotic.

When our country celebrated our bicentennial in 1976, I was a teenager with a drivers license and my own car.

But I was also a Boy Scout.

And one of the things our Scout Troop learned to do was march.

Almost military style, at least we knew enough to do some pretty cool moves in the 4th of July parade and we all marched in unison, (Left, Right, Left, Right, etc.).

Put aside the political disagreements and come together today and be thankful that we even have a country that has been around for 235 years.

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

Really, this is different from yesterdays site. Click on pic.

Fort Wayne Site-of-the-Day

Got my property tax bill last week, from these folks. Click on Pic.

Video Time: Mayor Hazel

from Kim Komando:

Videotime: The Credit Crisis Explained in 11 minutes

You may have to watch this a couple of times, but it takes a very complicated subject and explains what happened:


The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Feel free to pass it on.

Bailout or Bankruptcy?

Over the past few weeks we have heard about the cons, (and a few pros), of bailing out our auto industry. You've probably talked about it with someone.

Yet most of us don't really know what would happen if they were allowed to go under. (First of all, they don't just go under, they reorganize.) Congress told them to come up with a plan and do it fast, like 10 days.

Ain't gonna happen. Not a real plan that will be implemented. An outline perhaps.


I subscribe to Seth Godin's blog updates and use them on occasion on my Collective Wisdom website. However this piece I'm presenting here for you to read and mull over:

What to do about Detroit

I was in Detroit last week... I have family there. I also drive a car. And I would rather that the world doesn't melt and the economy thrive. So I'm uniquely qualified to weigh in on the automobile industry.

Not only should Congress encourage/facilitate the organized bankruptcy of the Big Three, but it should also make it easy for them to be replaced by 500 new car companies.

Or perhaps a thousand.

That's how many car companies there were 90 years ago.

That's right, when all the innovation hit the car industry, there were thousands of car companies, with hundreds running at any one time. From Wikipedia:

Throughout this era, development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to a huge number (hundreds) of small manufacturers all competing to gain the world's attention. Key developments included electric ignition (by Robert Bosch, 1903), independent suspension, and four-wheel brakes (by the Arrol-Johnston Company of Scotland in 1909).^[16] Leaf springs were widely used for suspension, though many other systems were still in use, with angle steel taking over from armored wood as the frame material of choice. Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings rather than the infinitely variable system familiar in cars of later eras.

Between 1907 and 1912, the high-wheel motor buggy (resembling the horse buggy of before 1900) was in its heyday, with over seventy-five makers including Holsman (Chicago), IHC (Chicago), and Sears (which sold via catalog); the high-wheeler would be killed by the Model T.

Back in its heyday, Ford Motor made every single part of its cars, including raising the sheep that grew the wool that made the fabric that upholstered the seats. That's not true any more. Now, suppliers make just about every part. We need those suppliers, and we need them to stay healthy.

What we don't need are giant companies with limited choice, confused priorities, private jets and a bully's attitude.

I'd spend a billion dollars to make the creation of a car company turnkey. Make it easy to get all the safety and regulatory approvals... as easy to start a car company as it is to start a web company. Use the bankruptcy to wipe out the hated, legacy marketing portion of the industry: the dealers.

We'd end up with a rational number of "car stores" in every city that sold lots of brands. We'd have super cheap cars and super efficient cars and super weird cars. There'd be an orgy of innovation, and from that, a whole new energy and approach would evolve. Betcha.

Iceland Issues

Never before have I given as much thought to Iceland as I have in the last 9 months.

My son Josh is spending the first tri-mester of his senior year of undergraduate studies there, returning in about 5 weeks.

The group he is with from the United States was keeping us up-to-date on a blog, which hasn't been updated recently but we get emails now from Josh. Click here to go to the blog and check out the pictures! (Like the one you are looking at right now.)

One of my radio co-horts, JJ Fabini and I were talking Friday about Iceland and he commented about how beatituful the women are in Iceland, and I discovered that he had been to Iceland several years ago with his dad on a trip to Germany and they spent several hours touring the country side.

And if you haven't heard, the economy in Iceland is going thru some hardships, which may serve as a warning to our government leaders. This story was in the Wall Street Journal 4 days ago:

Dispatch From Iceland: ‘We Might Lose Our Country’

Iceland’s central bank today slashed its key policy rate for the first time since 2003 in an unscheduled announcement as the country remains perhaps the hardest hit in the financial crisis. The nation fell into crisis last week on concern that the Icelandic authorities couldn’t back up debt obligations of the struggling, almost entirely domestic-owned banking sector. Meanwhile, international trading in the krona has since all but stopped due to low confidence in the currency. Amid such broad turmoil, sometimes the plight of the average citizen gets lost. Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir, an Icelandic journalist, writes from Reykjavík to a friend in New York.

Hallgrimskirkja, a modernist church in Reykjavik, Iceland. (Getty Images)

Thanks for asking how we are — we’re fine, although the situation here is very strained. It’s such a strange feeling, having your entire perception of reality changed so drastically in a few days. Until these past weeks, we were living in one of the richest countries in the world, and although we were a little worried about the economy, nobody would have imagined anything like this storm. Now, all our biggest banks are bankrupt, our currency is basically dead, it may be difficult to buy food, oil and other necessities from abroad, and we even fear that we might lose our country, just like happened to Newfoundland. Hundreds of people are losing their jobs, many more might be losing their homes, and people’s life savings are either lost or drastically reduced. People are scared for the future, that our state may actually go bankrupt.

Everybody is very tired — watching your country suffer like this is almost like watching someone you love become ill, it’s like suffering from a broken heart. Most of our tycoons seem to have left the country, and the government is under police protection — a first — but it doesn’t seem like people are angry or aggressive. We are stunned, very surprised, that this expansion adventure that made a few people very rich but didn’t really affect the general public, has turned out this disastrous. Yes, people here bought expensive cars, and allowed themselves an annual trip to Copenhagen or to a Spanish beach, but most of us kept working 10 hours a day and kept on as we have always done.

There is also a sense of hope and unity, even a sense of humor — people seem determined to go on with their lives, even if it will be a bit harsh for a while. You can hear people all around say things like: we survived the terrible volcanic eruptions of the 18th century, we survived the frost winter of 1918, we survived famines, Black Death, earthquakes, we’ll survive this. Families and friends are coming together for dinners and chats, at night there are candles burning in the windows in most houses here, and inside people are sitting together, talking, talking, talking. Most of us are hoping something positive will come out of this, that our greed, arrogance and materialism will be replaced by care and gratitude for the more important things in life.

My family and friends are not affected by the storm yet; most of us are government workers, teachers, doctors, journalists etc., and not part of the jet set. None of us have been particularly patriotic up until now, most have lived for long periods of time outside Iceland. Now, however, we feel fiercely loyal to our nation, basically a big extended family, grandchildren of farmers and fishermen, who lost their way on the international markets.

Tonights Video: The Wall Street Melt Down

This piece from CBS's 60 minutes was today's featured video from Kim Komando:


Watch CBS Videos Online

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A Post -Olympic Commentary

Not by me, but by Roy Williams:

A Post-American World? Really?

Our American men dropped the baton in the 4x100 meter relay. It was embarrassing. Unthinkable.

A few minutes later our American women did precisely the same thing.

The commentators were brutal, but accurate: “You have to look at the new leadership at USA Track and Field and wonder if it’s been a vacuum of leadership. There does seem to be no cohesiveness. It seems that everyone has their own agenda.”

Bob Costas wrapped it up by saying, “Did you notice that all the other nations had their country names nicely printed on their bibs? And look at the Americans: ‘USA’ written on theirs in magic marker.”

Oil is more than $120/barrel, which makes the cost of driving home from work approximately the same as the cost of dinner. Gold and platinum recently rose to all-time high prices because rich people hoard precious metals when they lose confidence in the leadership of America. Our newscasters make certain we go to bed each night knowing inflation and unemployment are on the rise.

Thanks guys. You’re a real ray of sunshine.

I switched off the TV, went online and stumbled across a headline posted by CBS News: “Coming Soon: A Post-American World.” The subtitle said, “With The Rise Of China And Other Economies, The Golden Age Of American Influence May Be Coming To An End.”

The story opened by saying, “Millions of us have been swept up in the color and drama of the Olympic Games. But the Beijing Stadium isn't the only arena for global competition. Now, after decades of dominance, will the U.S. soon be 'passing the torch'"?

CBS went on to say, “America's beverage, Budweiser beer, is now owned by Belgians… And isn't the United States supposed to be the place with the biggest and best of everything? The tallest building in the world isn't in New York or Chicago anymore. It's in Taipei. The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, once the world's largest, isn't even in the top ten now. The biggest one's in - surprise, surprise - China.”

CBS then quoted Albert Keidel, an expert on China's economy, as saying China “will deserve and demand leadership in global institutions."

CBS asked rhetorically, “Are we slipping? Are we reaching some inevitable tipping point that will change the world as we know it? Is the golden age of America coming to an end?”

I turned off my computer and grinned as I recalled Mark Twain’s response to the American newspaper that printed his obituary. His telegram said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Yes, it’s dark and it’s getting cold. But I’ve already seen this movie, so I know how it ends. It was 1980. Our president was miffed because Russia had invaded Afghanistan, so he told our athletes they couldn’t compete in the Olympics in Moscow. Oil and gold were at an all-time high and we were in the grip of rising inflation. Even more embarrassing was the fact that fifty-two U.S. diplomats were held hostage in Iran for 444 days. Our president tried to rescue them but America’s helicopters broke down and 8 of our military people lost their lives.

Iran laughed at us.

Then we got a new president. The Iranians respected the new guy and released the hostages while he was taking the oath of office.

My comments today have nothing to do with political parties. My comments have to do with leadership. And optimism. And the ability to inspire optimism in others.

When times are good, America gets soft. I’ve seen it. But when times get tough, America tightens her belt, rolls up her sleeve and shows her true colors. I’ve seen that, too. All we need is a leader.

Oh, yes. I have one last thing to say:

Kiss my ass, CBS. We’re about to have an election.

Roy H. Williams

"Adversity brings out the best or worst in us.
Advantage puts them both to sleep."
– Princess Pennie Williams

An Energy Policy we can get behind

Have you seen this from Paris Hilton? Click here for the video.

Better than The Library?

I found it ironic that we spent lots and lots of money expanding our downtown library and many of the branches. Why?

At a time when more and more is available via the internet, we invested in old fashioned brick and steel buildings. Now I realize that there were also tech advances, but I doubt that we spent enough money to provide internet access to those that could not have access it on their own.

Currently each library card holder is allowed one hour per day for whatever they want to do online. Most of the terminals are full when I have stopped in. Including kids that are just playing games. So what happens when we have more people with a need for internet access? I doubt that our current library has the funds to expand to meet the demands of the community.

What this does is create another version of "have's" vs. "have nots". Yes there are cheaper computers out there, but now with inflation, the poor will be poorer.

Enough of my rant, take a look at this from the DLM Blog This is stuff that you don't need a library for, just an internet connection:

15 Awesome Tutorial Websites You Probably Don't Know About

Posted: 07 Jul 2008 10:40 AM CDT

Written on 7/07/2008 by Abhijeet Mukherjee, of Jeet Blog.

If I were forced to choose an aspect of the internet that made it simply indispensable, it would definitely be its availability as a huge learning resource. 20 years ago, who would have thought that one would have easy access to already completed business documents, research papers of world class universities, free encyclopedias and some great books, no matter where he or she is located in the world.

The internet also boasts of accommodating tutorials to absolutely anything. Here are 15 such super-useful sites which aim to provide you with all the tutorials you'd ever need.

1. How Stuff Works
   How Stuff Works is probably the best known How-to tutorials site. It has has a vast and diverse collection with topics ranging from food, health, computers, etc. One of the best things about this site is that it explains even the toughest tutorial in a very simple and easy to understand language.
   


2. YouTube
   Surprised? Well, it shouldn't be if you use YouTube a lot. Yesterday my younger brother bought a new guitar and the very first thing he needed to do was to tune it. So he just logged on, went to youtube.com and searched for "How to tune a guitar". And there you go! He had a nice video explaining the process step-by-step.


3. eHow
   eHow is another comprehensive tutorials website with detailed instructions on how to do just about anything. Like How Stuff Works, this site also covers a wide range of topics.


4. About.com's Video Tutorials
   About.com's video tutorial site has a collection of very informative how-to videos and screencasts on topics which include Parenting, Style, Electronics and Gadgets, etc. I found the collection to be very comprehensive and probably better than You Tube's collection of similar videos.


5. wikiHow
   wikiHow, as it says, is an editable How-to site with 40,100 articles contributed by volunteers from different parts of the world. You're sure to find some nice tutorials here too.


6. Instructables
   Instructables is a cool Do-It-Yourself site that has an extensive collection of user submitted how-to articles and easy instructions complete with videos and photographs. It's a community driven website where you can submit content, vote and comment on existing content.


7. Wired's How-To Wiki
   Wired magazine's how-to wiki has some very elaborate and detailed tutorials focussed primarily on topics like Gadgets, Technology and Computers. You can also subscribe to its RSS feed to get them the new how-to articles directly in your feed reader.


8. PC World's How-to Site
   PC World, one of the best tech journals available, also has a how to site that publishes technology focused tutorials related to various electronic gadgets, hardware and software applications.


9. VideoJug
   When it comes to how-to video tutorial sites, VideoJug is probably the largest and most comprehensive. It has videos on varied subjects like choosing a new hairstyle, playing golf, installing windows or how to kiss someone passionately.


10. W3Schools
    W3Schools is a first class web development tutorials website which provides easy reference guides on languages like HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP and JavaScript. All the tutorials are free and nicely explained through various examples.


11. NETTUTS And PSDTUTS
    NETTUTS and PSDTUTS are sister sites, in fact blogs, and definitely one of the best online resources on web development and Photoshop skills. NETTUTS explores web development and designing in detail while PSDTUTS provides some world-class Adobe Photoshop tutorials.


12. 5min
    5min is a video tutorial site with a difference- the videos are short and no more than 5 mins. Like other video sites, this too covers a wide range of topics, however it's yet to take on sites like VideoJug in the online video tutorial space.


13. SuTree
    Sutree aggregates the best video tutorials from other video sites and covers a variety of topics like softwares, games, pets & animals etc. Like instructables, SuTree is also a community driven website and lets you find videos through tags and subscribe to the RSS feed of the site.


14. VTC
    Although VTC is not entirely free to use, it does provide some nice tutorials on software and business applications. Out of around 66,000 tutorials, it provides 12,500 for free.


15. Good Tutorials
    Good Tutorials has a nice collection of graphic design tutorials which it aggregates through various web design sites and blogs. And yes, it's free to use !

So overall, with the exception of VTC, all the other sites are completely free and can certainly fetch you any tutorial you can ever imagine. Hope you enjoy using them. :)

Cheers,

Abhijeet


Now if you really want to read a book or two, click here.

Not on this Blog

Due to my profession and desires, I do not publicize my political thoughts. I will talk to friends and family, but even there I choose my words carefully.

I do not use this personal blog to promote political beliefs, although I have a few links to blogs that are of a political nature on the right side of this page, that I will check on.

I like to hear all sides of the arguments. I like to question lots of opinions.

All of my kids, step kids and their significant others are old enough to vote. On November 9, 2007, I started a blog that is of a political nature. It is designed to get some thinking going. Thinking about this country, about our foundations, and about where we are going.

Without any publicity, it has registered 200 hits with just 16 posts including the one I wrote today.

If you want to go there, and read and comment, simply go to my home page at WWW.ScLoHo.Net, where there are links to all of my web pages on the left side. Click on the Political ScLoHo and any of the other links for that matter.

Memorial Days Past and Present.

Memorial Day.

To some, it's the start of Summer, like Labor Day is the end of Summer.

To others it's another day for a sale, yet there seems to always be a sale.

Perhaps cookouts, camping, spending time with family.

Memorial Day for me though as a youngster included a trip with a blanket or a couple of lawn chairs to the parade route that ended at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

There were a few years in my high school days, that instead of watching the parade with my Dad, he and I were marching in it as members of Scout Troop 12.

Now, my father and one of his brothers who also served in the military are both gone, but remembered.

Their will be parades in our town and across the country today, and once again we will remember with thankfulness those that served that are missing from the cookouts.

Another Plant Closing?

Fort Wayne has suffered significant job losses when a major employer leaves town or shuts down.

Years ago it was International Harvester.

Later it was Lincoln Life.

There have been plenty of others, but those 2 stick out in my mind.

The following story is of local importance because on the southwest edge of town, we have a GM Truck plant that pumps lots of money into the Northeast Indiana economy.

What, (if anything), is being done if that plant closes?

Read this:

GM Studies the Future of Full-Sized Trucks

General Motors might be closer to becoming more of a car company and less of a truck company.

The automaker is conducting a major study on full-sized trucks and SUVs. The internal study looks four years ahead to determine market conditions and how much GM should change its lineup, possibly by offering fewer trucks and SUVs.

GM has asked its researchers to "give us a view as to what the long-term truck and full-size SUV demand might be and why you think it is that way," Troy Clarke, GM's president of North America, said in an interview with Automotive News.

He said GM needs to understand whether the current shift in sales mix from big pickup trucks and SUVs to more fuel-efficient vehicles represents a long-term change -- what Clarke calls a "structural impact."

The industry also has seen demand for the vehicles decline in an era of near-$4-per-gallon gasoline.

Through April, sales of GM's full-sized pickups were down 18.5 percent compared with April 2007. Over the same period, GM's SUV sales were down 31.5 percent compared with last year. That is making GM consider adding more crossovers, says Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of global market and industry analysis.

"We're keeping a close eye on full-sized trucks and asking ourselves how much more aggressively we want to enter the crossover space, given where the world is going," he says.

DiGiovanni is leading the study. He is looking at all the factors that drive up oil prices and considering the impact on GM's lineup if gasoline prices stay the same or go higher.

"I will tell you that even with higher oil prices, there'll still be a sizable market for full-sized pickups," DiGiovanni says. "It'll be down from where it is now, but it'll still be there."

If oil prices stabilize, there would be modest declines in SUV demand, DiGiovanni says. But, he adds, "All bets are off if oil skyrockets."

(Source: Automotive News, 05/19/08)

What are you gonna do with your check?

Voting Mishap

I got chased out of my polling place this morning.

No, I didn't do anything outrageous, or weird.

As a matter of fact, all I did was vote. Or at least I thought I was voting.

But as I was unlocking my car and getting ready to drive away, two people came running after me.

They said I forgot to press the red button on the voting machine which is the final step in casting your vote.

So back in I went and there was my machine, waiting for my finger to press the red button.

And I did.

And I thanked them.

And all is well in the world.

At least at precinct 211 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Now go do your part and press the red button before you walk away.

Political Endorsements

I don't use this blog to discuss my personal politics. But there is some interesting political stuff out there right now.

I heard Former Mayor Graham Richard in a commercial for Obama. It appears that his successor is a Clinton supporter due to his appearances with her and Bill.

Do endorsements matter to you? I think it makes more of an impact on how I feel about the endorser, not how I feel about the candidate.

Also I came across this in my email today:

Taking The Political Temperature Of Search Engine Employees
StraightUpSearch
Amy Booth digs into the political sentiments of search engine employees, culling data from the Federal Election Commission (via Chicagotribune.com) to see which Presidential candidate drummed up the most fiscal support.

Microsoft employees spent more than $212,000 on contributions to Presidential candidates last year, with the bulk of those donations going to Hillary Clinton. With over $201,000, Google workers spent slightly less, but the bulk of their contributions went to Barack Obama's campaign. Meanwhile, Yahoos gave just about $50,000 to the candidates overall, with over half of those funds headed toward Obama.

"And although Microsoft, Google and Yahoo are fierce competitors online, their employees seem to have come to a consensus on John McCain," Booth says. "He comes in third in contributions for all three." - Read the whole story...

Electronic Rudeness

I resisted getting a cell phone until I inherited a Tracfone when my Mom passed away in 2001. I did not need one and neither did she. It was just a "security measure" that she took with her when she was out and about.

Now that I'm back in the business world, everyone in my family has their own cellphone and at least two webpages (including Blogs, MySpace, Facebook, etc), and at least 2 or more email addresses. (I gave up Instant Messaging a few years ago and resist texting too).

The latest from Harvey Mackay addresses this issue:

You can be high tech without being highly offensive

All I wanted to do was to see a film in a quiet movie theater. The lights dimmed, the movie started, and suddenly I saw the light. And that's when the problem of modern technology and old-fashioned courtesy and respect for other people clashed.

The person sitting next to me took out his BlackBerry to check messages. Instead of being engrossed by the film, I became distracted by the bright light emanating from my neighbor's technology. Every 15 minutes or so, he'd take out his BlackBerry to check messages, ruining my concentration on the movie. I wasn't sure whether to ask him to stop being rude, which would have caused another distraction, or just let it go. I decided to let it go, but I ended up seeing three-quarters of the film.

There is no question that computers, cell phones, BlackBerrys, global positioning systems and personal digital assistants make our lives easier. These high-tech gadgets enable us to access information, search the web, be available 24/7, find the easiest route to an unknown destination, and stay in touch with friends and colleagues. In short, many of us think we couldn't live without them.

But I wonder what price we pay in civility for this technology. As Walt Kelly's Pogo once said in a classic comic strip, "We have met the enemy and he is us." The problem isn't the technology, but the people who use the gadgets without considering the rights of others. Some users forget that people have the right not to be interrupted by another's phone conversations or distracted by their tech toys.

Often I find that these high-tech wizardries promote rudeness. People yell when using their cell phones on most urban streets, on public buses and airplanes, in doctor's offices and elevators, disrespecting other people.

James Katz, the director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University, noted, "If anything characterizes the 21st century, it's our inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of other people." Cell phones are all about me, me, me, and forget about you, you, you.

Recently, at a restaurant a close friend of mine received a call from her 21-year-old son, asking her where the hot chocolate mix was located in the kitchen. A table of six sat paralyzed while she directed him through various cabinets to locate the hot chocolate. Was there another way for my friend to handle this but take the call at dinner? Was this an emergency?

Cell phones, of course, can be helpful during an emergency but can also cause problems. Some states now have rules against driving while talking on cell phones. Most experts say that this is distracting and causes accidents, but most people think these rules don't apply to them. And most law enforcement personnel have placed little emphasis on enforcing these laws. Since driving while on a cell phone can trigger traffic accidents, these laws should be stringently enforced.

I've written about rudeness before and remember fondly that one of my columns on "A cure for the rudeness epidemic" triggered many responses from people frustrated by their co-workers' or friends' incivility. That problem has only intensified, and the latest technology exacerbates the issue.

The noted 20th century social historian Eric Hoffer once wrote, "Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." I think people who shout when using their cell phones, holler in elevators, sit in movie theaters accessing messages, are trying to appear more important than the rest of us. Their rudeness really says, "Look at how important I am." It's time that the other person's rights for silence in a movie theatre and other public places are respected.

Here are my suggestions:

• The next time you're about to get on your cell phone or use your BlackBerry, look around and see if anyone is going to be disturbed. Don't touch that dial, make that call or shout into your phone unless you know you're in private and aren't disturbing anyone.
• If you're in a busy restaurant or an elevator, call the person back or step outside so you don't disturb your fellow diners or other people.
• If you must use the gadget, do so in a quiet, unobtrusive way because the world doesn't revolve around your needs. How you treat and respect other people says volumes about your character.

Mackay's Moral: Technology is no excuse for rudeness

More information and learning tools can be found online at harveymackay.com.

Match your views with the candidates

How will you vote?

Do you know who you should support?

Here's one site that might be able to help....


Obama wins big in South Carolina... will it continue?

So what is this internet thing all about?

Go here to see a video that is posted on the SoundBite Back Blog that will not only answer the question, but hopefully provoke action.

And one of the leading stories on the news in Fort Wayne this week had to do with transcribing video taped city council meetings?!?! Click For the Record... and see it for yourself