Out of the Freezer

After a week of freezing nights, we are having a warm, rainy spell this week.  I can only hope we do not have another winter like last year, but at least it was warm enough to feel like poking around in the house (What for on my other blog).

Gaming!

I got to play Empire Builder, one of my all time favorite family type railroad games last weekend;  Very enjoyable, my difficulty finding people to play that kind of game around here is why I am so down on this area.

New Poverty Measure

Lot's of media coverage of this. 

What really torqued me off was the American Enterprise Institute (Conservative Think Tank) noting that many "poor" people have Air Conditioning (This is a Luxury in a trailer house in the American South?), Computers (50%), cell phones, etc.  Whats next, denouncing the existence of indoor plumbing as a needless luxury?

On NPR.  Why give S*&$#@%* like that the air time.

What's killing me financially is the transportation cost. And my credit card debt (Where's my bailout?).

The assault on those on the bottom of our two tier society continues.

Main Street Rogers (Arkansas)

Reported a "survey" in the local paper last Monday (9/26/2011); They are running a "closed" web site model, so I can't even provide a link.

As a method of forecasting and guiding our economic future- I am aghast/amazed/astonished anyone would pay for the CRAP that was delivered.  It is so typical of the crap that "professional" promotion committees generate.  Or the public at large. 

Nothing that will stand close scrutiny was mentioned as a possible economic stimulus project, the three that come to mind were an Aquarium (?), a "Performance Venue" and a Boutique Hotel.

Er, ah, WRONG on all three;  The first two are just two BIG for the space, where would visitors park?  Or are we supposed to bulldoze what residential space is left to build parking structure?
Not to mention the awkward financing question.

And we already have a modest little performance space, Rogers Little Theatre (Community Dinner Theater);  Six different shows a year.  Getting people to use the venue at least once a month for other activities, and someplace to stick around afterwards for a drink would seem to be the problem.  Oh- it's a dry county.  Another issue for another time....

As for a high end Boutique Hotel, Why?  What makes this mediocre little town a "destination"?  People doing business with Walmart, there are already such establishments closer to the home office.  For recreational travel, you can go up the road a bit to Eureka Springs or Branson.  Maybe in Bentonville to "Service" the Crystal Bridges museum.  But it is not going to be an economic winner in Rogers. 

What really disturbs me, someone got paid rather well to put that nonsense together.

Hershey's Chocolate and the J-1 Visas

This is in the National News currently,  it should be a wake up call about the manipulation and deterioration of conditions for the working class in America.    The bottom 20% is being asked to work harder for less, and gee, strangely enough, we can't even figure out who is responsible. 

The Yahoo story mentioned that Hershey is scheduled to shed 500 of the remaining 1900 union jobs in the near future. Why don't we unionize the warehouse where the foreign students were working?   So we have to pay an extra nickel for our candy bars?  Even better, cut the executive compensation package by 20%.

Another Quarter

Of Declining (Domestic) Same Store Sales at Walmart;  You have to read the fine print in the news stories to learn that, Profits Are UP!  Things are looking Wonderful.....

That's NINE (9) CONSECUTIVE QUARTERS. 

Something is seriously wrong with the economy Wallmart shoppers live in. 

And no one wants to talk about it.

But what do I know?

Crisis Du Jour

Well, last night I managed to roll over in my bed and ruin the frames to my eyeglasses. 

At least I did receive my SSI deposit Friday, so I was able to go to Walmart and they sold me new frames this morning;  $41.42.

Hey, the Republicans all know us disabled folks just spend our Government Checks on cigarettes and beer.

The Debt Crisis

Have to say something somewhere about this.

First, there is the existential despair created by the entire crisis.  The Tea Parties 25% membership in the house does NOT give them the right to set the political agenda in our country.  But it seems to be working that way, and their lunatic prescriptions for out economic problems - well, existential despair.

Krugman's NYT column today (7/29/2011) pretty much sums it up, with over eight hundred comments so far this afternoon. (Final total 885, Saturday morning). The usual mix of insight and applause, and a few fringe Republican true believers, who dismiss his arguments as the ravings of a liberal who just doesn't understand.  About balanced by the leftists who insist ending all our military commitments would solve our fiscal problems.  The Tea Party represents a lunatic fringe, or sock puppet for the plutocrats (or both);  The end all military expenditures is a similar lunatic position, which has not gained media traction.  If only the Tea Party faction was similarly consigned to the tin foil hat department.

But it looks like they will have the unintended effect of trashing our economy;  The cuts alone being proposed will have that effect.

Economic Malaise

Well, it seems to be getting worse; I ordered a book from Amazon last Wednesday (July 5, 2011), standard (Free) Shipping, and received it Monday (July 11).  This means it was surely picked and packed on Thursday, possibly even Wednesday night.

Sad, I know book sales are sluggish right now, but this is really worrying.  In the past it shipping has taken a week or so, five or six working days.

June 22

OK, in my other life I was really into Soviet history,

June 22, 1941 is the Soviet equivalent of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.  Duh.

And this evening the President is going to say something about our ongoing war in Afghanistan.

But today there was a good Op-Ed in the New York Times by Nelson Lichtenstein, all about the Monday Supreme court decision and how poorly they understand Wal Mart corporate culture.

Things will continue to get worse, at least some in Washington are beginning to contemplate Keynesian economic intervention.

New Coffee Maker

The most interesting thing I did this month was a trip to Target to buy a new coffee maker.

I wanted one an automatic one hour shutoff, so if I wander off in a computer gaming fog, the coffee will still be sort of drinkable.  OK, mission accomplished, plug it in and start it, wander off to play Civilization, back for coffee (er, it had shut off), and why is the pot only half full and there is a bog puddle of water on the counter?

Oh- there is a hole in the back of the water resevoir, and a matching one in the back of the box the machine came in.  Dumb, back to Target who were happy to exchange it, no questions asked.  This time I inspected the box carefully....

So make that two trips.  Target is just so different from Wal Mart Number one it might as well be a foreign coutry.  I didn't hear any shoppers speaking Spanish in the aisles, and a total absence of large pick up trucks in the parking lot.  Much nicer cars in general in the parking lot too.

Wal Mart Annual Meeting

Was today;  I'm sure there will be a fawning story in the local paper about it tomorrow, already one story about how they are going to see better (domestic) sales real soon now, it is all about the merchandise mix.

No, it isn't. Wal Mart are up against the effect of shipping their customers jobs to China.

They (Wal Mart) can continue to look for new fields to conquer, but until the working class in American has good factory jobs again, Wal Mart same store sales will continue to lag.

Well, things are almost certainly going to get worse with all the Republicans in congress, see Krugman's column today about "Rule by Rentiers", even if it was edged off of the top of the most emailed list by the story about the Great French Hamster.  Honest.

Krugman's Commentators

OK, I am a fan of Paul Krugman's NYT column and blog.   Again yesterday (Monday April 9, 2011) he called out the right on their lies.  He has a dedicated fan base that usually makes insightful comments and adds something to the debate, even if only anecdotal evidence at times. 

And usually comments are closed by 0900-1000 (Eastern) in the morning.

But more and more they seem to be driven out by the trolls and those that just don't get it, or write long confusing posts trying to rebut his arguments (If It more than fills the screen, it is TOO LONG). 

And even the NYT seems to be joining the right wing noise machine these days.  The first "Highlighted" post yesterday (see) was one complaining that he cited Bush, but did not mention Obama as the source of our economic problems.  Excuse Me?  Is this guy a paid flak for the Koch Brothers?  OK, this is where he and I part with the right wing narrative.  Let's be quite clear, it was the BUSH (II)  administration (remember, the Inside Trader in Chief?) who oversaw the ballooning deficit through unjustified tax cuts and putting a War of Choice (Iraq) on the national credit card.  and watched (or drove?) the economy over a cliff, necessitating TARP, etc.  Things the Democrats had very little control over. 

Basically, I believe President Obama inherited a really shitty mess.  Much of it is a legacy of thirty years of right wing and plutocratic agendas, but in no way can he be held "responsible" for our poor economy and job creation for the last two years. 

We will see what happens this election cycle.

American Legion Elections

Were back about two weeks ago;

So much for the Organizational fix being in.  Here I volunteered for a minor office (Sergeant at Arms) (Still unclear what it involves) because no one else was steping forward (March Meeting).

Then, at this months meeting, one of the regulars (?) was nominated from the floor for the office, and I lost the vote.  No, I didn't ask for a recount, we'll see how this plays out over the next year.   The organization had all of thirty members present for the election (Two people did seek me out and told me they voted for me);  It's just, well, I'm kind of ambiguous about the whole situation.  Put some effort into recruiting new members, and creating volunteer opportunities for existing members that are not all consuming.

The New York Times

Is going to a paid web site model, some time, er, real soon now, I received the email warning about it this morning to my free account email.  Everyone has been expecting this, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

The Hand of God

Was hovering over me last Wednesday (March 9th, 2011) (OK, I have been remiss in posting). 

I had a flat tire;  Totally ruined the Left Rear tire on my truck, and the spare was flat. 

But, Wednesday night is the only night of the week anyone cares where I am, so was able to get a ride over to Wal Mart to buy a new one.  So my wheels are still functional.

Thank god for the people of First United Methodist Church Rogers.

And I must have lived in NW Arkansas to long, because I can mention the hand of providence like this with a straight face.

More Roads?

Seem to be the only "transportation" need the planners around here understand, the front page headline in the Rogers Morning News this morning (March 8, 2011) says "More Roads Possible" (Above the fold).

This is the second such story in a week, while gas prices are going up.

It's the intellectually challenged aspect of it that bothers me.  We as a culture have to get away from the automobile centered development policies.  Multi-million dollar freeway widening projects are paving our way into disaster.

Wal Mart Same Store Sales

Were down again (Domestically) last quarter;  No surprize, this is seven consecutive quarters.

Lot's of press about this, NYT, WSJ, front page of the local paper (Above the Fold), repeating the corporate bushwa about how it was all for technical and merchandising reasons.

Nah, I stand by my off the cuff analyisis.  They are up against the limitatations of shipping their own customers jobs to China.  When you don't have a job at the local plant, how can you spend money at WalMart on stuff you didn't now you needed?

More Snow

Three days of School closings this week (Wednesday thru Friday), so very little activity.

Snowed in with everyone else.

Six foot mounds of snow on the edges of some of the local parking lots.

The streets and parking lots that didn't get plowed had the traditiona (local?) four inches or so of freezing/refreezing slush on Saturday.

Last week Wal Mart was COMPLETELY sold out of Snow Shovels (And everything else related to dealing with this kind of extreme weather).  So much for their logistics expertise.

Netflix doesn't want me!

No, not quite that severe yet.  But NPR had a brief sound bite two weeks ago about how they want to get out of the business of shipping those pesky DVD's back and forth soon (Two or three years?);  I've noticed when updating my que at the local public library that they keep trying to direct me to the "Watch it Now" streaming video. 

Gee folks, I DON'T HAVE high speed internet access at my house.  And have no prospect of such, the "Last Mile" problem (Actually, about two miles from a "better" subdivision).  It's the bundled cable service (Which I can't afford) or nothing. 

I've enjoyed it, but this is just another symptom of our overstressed infrastructure and bankrupt urban planning process.   Streaming video may very well be the future in affluent neighborhoods, but what about the rest of us?

(As a follow up to the previous post, it's usually about twenty four hours or so before the county makes the first pass with a plow and salt on my street when it snows)   I'm three miles "Back in the woods" from the main highway.

More Snow!

Four consecutive school canceling snow days last week (Tuesday through Friday).

And most of the smaller school districts were still closed this morning (Monday, 2/7/2011).

Snow clearance off the main highways and in the parking lots around here is based on people driving around to reduce it to slush, and wait until it melts.  Not so good when you have multiple arctic fronts through like we are having this year, I was out of the house on Saturday, some of the parking lots were two inches deep in melt water, so now have refroze with an inch or two of ice.

The Manager on duty at one of the local McDonald's gave me a "Not my Job" look when I suggested he might have had his crew out in the parking lot for thirty minutes to at least push the slush to the side when it was liquid last Saturday afternoon.  So now they have four inches or so of (hard) frozen slush on top of the inch of ice in their parking lot.

With sub freezing temperatures all day today, and more snow forecast for Wednesday

WalMarts Future!

Their next target is the Convenience (C-Store) store, the recently opened an experimental "WalMart on Campus" on the Univesity of Arkansas campus (Fayetteville);  Have not actually visited the store, this is based on a front page article in the local paper.

Honestly, other than as another demonstration of their domination of the retail space, it really will not make much difference in the short term.  They can't roll this concept out that fast.

C-Stores workers are already on the WalMart level, low pay and poor or non-existent benefits, mandatory night shifts and often one deep when there really should be two present in the store, double shifts (with no overtime) when someone calls in sick, etc.

I wrote a paper on the topic at one point.

("Have you ever been robbed?"- several said yes.)

But, do we really want them controlling all the retail space in America?

(More refereces and data from the article in the future)

Used Books and Everyone Wants a Bargain (The $.01 book on Amazon)

The whole "Every Day Low Prices" mantra of WalMart seems to have corrupted our whole culture.

I am particularly familiar with the used and remainder book business, which has moved online through the Amazon Marketplace venue.  This is the "Buy Used and New" Link on any Amazon catalog page, let's you see any "Third Party" (3P) seller who cares to list a copy for sale.

It's a low cost of entry business, you can list for "free."  

Amazon takes a $1.99 fee plus a 15% commission off the top when you (I) sell an item.

You can get a lower per item cost ($1) by becoming a pro merchant for $39.95 a month. 

I have had an Amazon sales account since 2006.  Never sell enough to justify the Pro Merchant account, I did create an Alibris account last year but am not even selling enough to justify the $19.95 annual fee.  (Two sales in six months- do the math).

But, you might ask, why are their all these books for sale for $.01;  Well, there is a standing thread on the subject, (Amazon does provide a couple of discussion boards for sellers, but there is NOT a sticky thread provision).  There are just enough foolish people out there, a regular feature on the help threads is - Why am I not making any Money? 

Enter the "MegaSeller."  Specifically "Better World Books" (BWB) and your local Salvation Army. 
There are others (Idaho Youth Ranch and Thrift Books), but BWB is the most prominent actor in ruining the secondary book market (aftermarket) in the United States. 

They get their merchandise for FREE (It's Charity you know) (well, at least a portion of it goes to a worthy cause, see their website), and (Salvation Army) has FREE LABOR to Pick & Pack.  Not sure how BWB does that.  And they all skimp on Packaging (An unfortunate experience with the Idaho Youth Ranch).

And they (the Megasellers) use Automated repricing software, in some cases hourly, to make sure they have the lowest price.  So any used book in moderately good supply can rapidly crash in price to $.01.

Now, if I sell an item for that price, I would lose money on every sale.  But some people don't figure that out as quickly as I did, so I have listings that will probably never recover to the price I have them listed at. 

OK, VCR tapes are as dead as Eight Track;  And used DVD prices have crashed in the last year, too many people picking them up at Garage sales as the affluent switch to HD. 

But everyone looses a price war.  A Bargain where I lose money on commission, packaging and Shipping is merely a direct transfer of money from my pocket to Amazon.

Please, if you are buying (Used) books from 3P sellers on Amazon, avoid BWB etc;  Look at the number of feedback they have received, look for smaller sellers with LOW (total) numbers of feeedback.   

The only major sellers I endorse are "GoHastings" and "Powell's." I know they actually pay people for their merchandise.

Cultural Diversity

Is the code phrase these days for "Middle Aged White Guys Need Not Apply"

Just wanted to rant about that someplace.

We're Doomed

Listening to NPR this morning (A Second Consecutive Snow Day- More on that later)

About Citizens United and Republican efforts to remove campaign finance limitations.

I actually found a new book I was interested in at the Public Library, Antony and Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy (Yale, 2010), a complement to the more widely publicized/reviewed biography of Cleopatra. He is my favorite modern author working in the classics, I really enjoyed The Fall of Rome (2009) and his biography of Caesar. 

He is treading familiar ground to him;  It is the corrosive influence of unlimited campaign finance in the fall of the Roman Republic that he covers (again) (See Caesar).  OK, I know the historical literacy standard is slipping in our society.  In many ways it is just too depressing to think about.

Snow

Brought everyting to a halt yesterday (1/11/10);  And there really has not been anything to report for the last couple of weeks.

Watching the old folks mesermized by Fox news- ugh.  No wonder I am depressed.