As readers have seen, there’s no such thing as a bad
vacation.
I am just finishing up one of the better one’s in Maui Hi where I
have been fortunate enough to spend Christmas/New Years for the past 27years.
Same hotel/time share, and many of the same people and even
their decedents of the older people I first met here so many years ago.
Many of the staff still remains all these years, and it’s
like visiting old friends, seeing them each year. A place full of memoires.
I thought I would take this opportunity to comment on some
observations.
Time
Vacations allow for time. Time for most of us to get off of
the treadmill of life and sit back and enjoy some of the things we like to do.
Where to go/what to do in West Maui
The biggest town and tourist/commercial center is Lahaina. An
old whaling town and once capital of the Islands. It’s a few miles away from
the Kanapalli beach area. If you ever plan to visit here, send me an email for
tips on where to stay, eat, play and enjoy, and I’ll be glad to share my
experiences with you.
People watching
Who doesn’t do it.
An airport/restaurant/vacation are prime spots/times. Any place where
you have some downtime and people are parading in front of you. We’re all
curious about others, and observing the fellow members of our species is
enjoyed by the masses.
If you’re with a friend, you can play critics of that
persons hair, or clothing, or whatever. A perverse game to be sure
Cold remedy
Don’t know exactly, but a good cold ran through our little
group of my daughter, her beaux, my fiancé and me this holiday. It settled in
our chest and throats until someone said try Mucinex. It works.
New people/friends
At least for me, it’s easy to meet new people, especially
friends of friends. Every day at 4 pm, several of us gather near the beach to
enjoy cigars and quite often some good scotch.
Many of these friends of friends
stop by and it’s always a treat for me to learn about new people and broaden
my own horizons. Recommend it anytime you have the chance.
After years and years of seeing the same friends returning,
it’s also interesting and fun to catch up with their families, work, views etc.
Books/movies
Have only had a chance to see one movie as the weather has
been perfect so far so we’re outside al the time. The movie we did see was
Julie and Julia that we downloaded to watch on the plane flying over. Very
entertaining. Don’s rating B
Read a wonderful book by James Patterson called Exile. It’s
been out several years and a friend recommended it.
A thrilling story about
Palestinian Terrorists assassinating the Prime Minister of Israel and the
solving of the mystery of whodunit. International intrigue and court
proceedings that I found fascinating. Don’s ratings A
Another book that I found interesting is called 90 days in
Heaven by Don Piper. It is about a minister who was killed in a crash, spent 90
minutes in heaven that he describes and how he recovered to help others in dire
situations. Don’s rating B+
Blink and the Tipping Point were written in recent years by
Maclom Gladwell. Am now reading his latest, which is called What the Dog Saw. I
highly recommend it if you liked either of the first two he wrote. They provide
fascinating insights into human behavior and my rating for this is an as well.
Another book I read was Standing Next to History by Joe
Petro. He was in the secret service protecting both presidents and Vice
Presidents and visiting dignitaries during the Regan, Ford and Carter years.
Another book in the A category in my opinion.
Most fun
My granddaughters.
3 o my five that are here with me and
range in age from 14 to 7. Each year we go for “desert before dinner.”
First
there’s ice cream, then all the fried food etc they like to eat for dinner, and
then more ice cream or candy and of course some shopping in between.
Having them
teach me how to say the name of the state fish of Hawaii;
umaumuanukanukaaphanaa was a highlight!
Then I get to take each one alone for lunch where we play
cards and they get to pick out any game/toy except the oldest one who wants a
manicure.
I loved showing my fiancé all of the places here and proudly
introducing her to all of these old friends.
Making utube video’s of some of my favorite jokes. If you
want to see them, email me for the link or go to my face book page
I enjoy hearing about the exploits of my daughter, the newly
minted entrepreneur and how well she’s doing.
The biggest bummer: Missing my son and two granddaughters in
Seattle who spend Christmas with their family there.
And finally, now only being able to walk the “running route”
I used to jog with both my kids and son in law.
New Years Eve
My mother used to tell me that New Years Eve is a time where
people try too hard to have a good time, and more often than not, don’t.
She
would say just relax and enjoy an evening and don’t make any big deal out of
it. She’s proven to be right over all these years.
Twelve months
In my wildest imagination I could never dreamed that in the
past twelve months, I would stop crying over the death of my wife in September
2008 (while never forgetting her either) and then fall in love with another
women one year ago.
We’re getting married in March. If someone would have
written this in a novel, I would say that the author was on drugs.
In a life time, a years is not a long time, but looking back
at all of the unexpected events that occurred to me these past 12 months, I can
only wonder what the future year will have in store for me.
It’s a little scary,
but mostly exciting to think of all the good possibilities that could occur. It
takes an optimist to get out of bed every morning!
I hope it’s the same for you and thank you for being a
regular reader of these blogs. Your input is always appreciated and encouraged.
My Uncle Herman
I often quote my old uncle who helped guide me early in
my career. His axioms were good to
know when the hide market plunged this past year “(the time to buy is when
everyone wants to sell; If you buy it right, you’ve got it half sold, etc.)”
But the one thing he taught me that comes to mind as I am
aging is that in my 20’s he would say, “If you have your health you have
everything.” I didn’t pay any attention to that until now.
I am blessed with good health and anyone else who is, should
be grateful and continue to live their lives to enhance their condition. For
those who are not so fortunate, I can only advise to do all you can to restore
it.
My best wishes to all for a HEALTHY, happy, and prosperous
2010.
There has been a story narrowly circulated in the US hide
and leather trades that coach handbags are using less and less leather.
There
was some concern as well that various consumer products that previously were
all leather have lately become partial leather mixed with another material, or
all made from fabric or plastic, etc and not leather.
I did a little checking and found that on the Coach website,
while there are some items that are more canvass than leather there is leather
in just about every item they sell.
I then went into a nearby Coach retail outlet. The wonderful
leather smell alone is enough to remind one of walking into a tannery.
I spoke with the manager who said that even their canvass products
have leather trim.
While 100% of their inventory were all leather about 10
years ago, and now contain about a 50/50 blend, there are not any items on
their shelves that do not at least have some leather trim.
Finally, a friend did some checking and found that in the
future, Coach will produce a children’s or teen line that may be all canvass to
meet a price point for that market. Even that may contain a little leather
One thing that that could be construed to be positive to come
out of the concern of less leather being used in consumer goods is consolidated
industry promotion.
This would be akin to something like the beef check off
where the red meat industry takes so much out of each head bought/sold at some
point to use to promote their product. The cotton and wool industries do
something like this.
Shoemakers and upholstery producers as well often talk about
synthetic substitution to reduce costs. More and more traditionally all leather
products are not so anymore.
However, in my view, if demand shrinks, regardless of the
dictates of fashion which have been in the forefront for years and years, and
cattle slaughter stays steady or increases as is likely over the long term (on
a worldwide basis) hides will simply become cheaper.
If hides become cheaper then so would leather and so would
products made from leather. They would become more competitive against
synthetics.
Bottom line: I personally don’t see any need to worry about
leather consumption in the years to come.
Down through history, the most prosperous men of their day were the fattest.
It was a sign of wealth. A fat man could eat his fill every day. He could hire servants to perform all of his daily activities. It was a true life of leisure that all other men aspired to.
In the last 50 years or so, our society has come full circle. Look at runway models. Look at those TV commercials. We’ve learned that being trim, that includes varying levels of being thin, will prolong and enhance our lives.
Yes, we all know this as we sit down to a restaurant with delectable delights arrayed before us in all price ranges. Our minds say; this must be full of calories, but it sure looks delicious.
Well, maybe we won’t eat the whole huge portion (that restaurants typically serve in this country of excess) but that’s soon forgotten as we start to eat.
Or how about when we go to the supermarket. There is all that good stuff arrayed before us. The donuts, the ice cream, the bread, the sauces, the pasta etc, not to mention the cakes. Here in the evening, there is often a wait to get served in the ice cream stores that abound in Lahaina.
Bombarded by advertising and temptation, we pick up, just a small package, or just a little of this and that. Once we’re home, “well, we can’t waste it can we? We realize that in our heart of hearts that if we don’t waste it, we’ll waist it!
Walking around the swimming pool and oceanfront here, I see it all. A good deal of it is what is known as “eye candy.”
Delightful young women, trying to act nonchalant in their over priced attire that used to pass as scandalous underwear in my youth. Their toned bodies are yet to suffer the ravages of age, and most can often be seen jogging or at the gym. Even for youth it doesn’t come naturally.
Their male equivalents also look great in their bathing attire, and they too work out frequently.
Then there’s my generation, hiking our bathing suits over our protruding bellies, or wearing loose fitting shirts to cover a life of excess from the eyes of strangers we’ll never know or speak to.
We visited a local Borders bookstore last night after dinner. There is a very large section devoted to books on health.
Most of the books on diet were the most prevalently displayed. They all sell well.
There's the this diet and the that diet. You can’t turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper without seeing an advertisement that promises the quick and easy way to “shed those unwanted pounds.”
So is it all vanity or is it for health that we’re all concerned about our weight?
I think its vanity.
I think that vanity is a major factor in everyone’s life. This can be in the form of clothing, hairstyle, and potentially risking skin cancer to get that “all over good looking tan.” It's the car we drive and the place we live.
I’ve read that ancient Egyptian women used make up. Looks like striving to look our best hasn’t changed much in the ensuing 2,000 years or so.
Our government tells us that there is that we shouldn’t be
concerned about inflation. Ours isn’t the only one either.
Flooding the world with dollars and even Yuan in China may
have helped with last year’s financial crisis, but in my opinion, the worlds
two biggest economies should now be reducing the money supply to reduce the
risk of rampant inflation.
Some of this is already starting to show. In this weeks
edition of THIS WEEK IN LEATHER, there were two stories about a “larger than
expected 1.8% increase in wholesale prices (mostly due to increases in energy
costs) and that the consumer price index (CPI) has gained 2.4% since November
2008.
Another story in the current edition told about consumer
sentiment improving, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Index from
67.4 in November to 73.4 in early December.
Then there was the story that really caught my eye. The
headline reads: Footwear prices incrementally higher. They rose 0.7% in
November compared to a year earlier. Women’s shoes went up 1.6% and men’s 0.8%
All these signs are indicators that higher prices for
everything we buy is coming sooner or later. The Federal Reserve announced this
week that it was holding interest rates steady at their historically low rates.
At some point, this will add fuel to the inflationary fire
when the time will come for them to have to raise rates again.
What’s this means for leather and hides? Higher prices as
well. Not in a month or a quarter, but in my view, before 2010 comes to an end.
The President and leaders of the Senate are doing their best
to pass Health Care legislation before their Christmas holiday.
I haven’t heard of anyone, including all of the democratic
senators, who think it’s a perfect bill.
It’s so complex and far reaching that
even some of them think it needs to be reviewed. Still the leadership does all
it can, including presidential arm-twisting, to try to get it done in the next
week or so.
Someone said that “you can fool some of the people all of
the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
The polls are showing that voters are not in favor of the
current plan. Some of the Democratic Senators are not either.
Most think that our health care system can be improved and
needs to be modified. There are too many people who cannot get health coverage
due to pre-existing conditions, and those who simply can’t afford it under our
current system.
However, the bill now before the Senate is so complex that
even those who are discussing it don’t fully comprehend all of its
ramifications.
This is why I ask; Where are the Republicans? They’ve now
been labeled as the “Party of No.” They don’t like this or that and they vote
99% or more against all of the democratic proposed legislation on health care
and other issues as well.
The Republican Party does have alternatives to the Democrats
health care plan.
Normally the two sides would debate the various aspects of their
thinking and they would come to a compromise that could be acceptable to the
majority of their constituents.
So why don’t the Republcians buy space in leading newspapers
outlining the salient points of an alternative plan?
Why don’t’ they use the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn
Block do flog their their views on a better plan? Why don’t they get their
congressional leaders to appear on the Sunday talk shows etc and explain their suggestions?
I don’t have an answer.
A friend suggested the other day that they don’t want to
really stop the democrats plan as it will cause such a disruption amongst the
populace and wreck our finances that the republicans will all be elected for
the available congressional seats next fall.
Hard to believe but with the type of politico’s now in Washington,
who seem to be even worse than their predecessors, anything is possible.
One final thought.
Another friend said that if Congress were forced to give up
their own current superior health care plan that they enjoy, (and all other
federal employee’s) they would initiate a plan that mirrors what they now have
for the rest of us.
I have a question that I can’t answer. Is it best to put
your brain in “sleep” or “off line” mode when on vacation, or use the time to
stimulate it?
Not devoting full time to work leaves a great amount of free
time to be used in any pursuit that’s of interest, and of course affordable and
practical.
Am I smart, or most likely, considered stupid enough to
bring my laptop with me on vacation? I do this to monitor how Hidenet is doing
and take care of any issues that subscribers may have, and of course to write
these wonderful blogs!
But I also use it to read the news, perused various
editorials, or even to look up restaurants or places of interest to visit. I
also use it to communicate by email with friends and family. I can even ICHAT
with my mac and my grand kids at home and show them live pictures of where I am.
But aside from grandkid time, should I be spending my
cherished vacation time keeping abreast of the latest news or opinions, or the
world around me or should I just vegetate?
What is best for me? What is best for you or anyone? Is it
good for the brain to turn off, or instead turn on to stuff we never have the
time in the normal workday to give our attention to?
Experts have said, and I agree, that it takes on average
about 3 days for one to relax and to “settle in” on vacation.
Well, it’s only
my second day so maybe my brain will turn off and take in the sun and sand and
some good books, or TV, or conversation with friends. There’s some video’s I
want to watch as well. Let’s see what becomes of me!
Vacations are wonderful. Someone once said that vacations
are like Sex. Even when they’re bad they’re good!!
My fiancé, my daughter and her beaux arrived in Maui Hi with
me last night. I’ve been fortunate enough to have come here at Christmas time
for the past 27 years but more on Maui another time.
A good friend of mine gave us a Kindle for a wedding present
that is still 4 months away. He wanted us to have it on our 6-½ hr flight to
Maui Sunday.
No doubt you’ve heard of them. I understand that Amazon is
selling them like hot cakes. Well, they cost a bit more than hot cakes, like
about $250 more but after using it, I can see why they are so popular.
You can download books, newspapers, or magazines in a minute
or two and at a moments notice. My Fiancé wanted to see the Sunday New York Times
on the plane and in no time, for 2 weeks free and $14.00/month, we got it.
No five lbs of paper to carry, or how to unfold it and read
the various sections. It’s all there on Kindle in any print size you can need.
It’s comfortable and easy to read and ideal for plane travel.
I love to read and what’s better than to do it while sitting
in the typical cramped airplane seat (cramped unless you’re 4 ft tall and weigh
about 75 lbs) shoulder-to-shoulder, hip-to-hip with the person next to you.
Instead of carrying a heavy book or two for the trip, just
pay about $9.00 and download it on Kindle. I’m a fan. Can’t you tell?
So far, have read it bed, and on the patio. Reluctant to
take it to the beach though.
Speaking of travel, I have been doing it extensively since I
was six months old. My Mom used to tell how on my first flight, she had to sit
on my bottle to keep it warm. Those were the days of DC3’s landing in
cornfields.
Anyway, I’m experienced right? Upon in un packing in Maui, I
discovered that I forgot my razor and a belt. Once I went to a funeral out of
town, and forgot my socks!
I didn’t forget my computer or mobile phone, or flip camera,
or other camera and most of all, my head is still attached. Could be worse!
Ok, so I’m not an economist but I think I know that one and
one and one equals two and that there have been few if any times where some
government program did or more so, cost what it was said it would.
In the past year, we’ve had the “stimulus” bill, which I
call the “spending” bill that our government still hasn’t been able to
distribute in its’ entirety.
There was a big debate between the Obama administration and
statistics from various authorities saying it created or saved so many jobs.
It’s very difficult to measure but by all accounts, if there were any
improvement in employment, it was minimal.
Further re the “stimulus” there was an article in my
hometown newspaper today that typlifies the situation. It said: “ the first wave of projects in Scottsdale
funded by federal stimulus dollars will start coming to life in a few months.”
Think about it. When did the bill pass and when will the funds arrive?
It's still
unclear how stimulus money will impact jobs in Scottsdale. The paper said the
city is waiting for projects to go out for bid and be assigned to contractors
before counting jobs in order to have a "more accurate reflection of a
real-life situation."
Three of
Scottsdale's stimulus requests, worth more than $11 million, have been
rejected by Washington.
One was a
$9 million request to the Department of
Homeland Security that the city would have used toward
construction of two fire stations.
The city
also was rejected for two other requests worth almost $2 million that would
have allowed for the purchase of 21 natural-gas-powered garbage trucks and
alternative-fuel vehicles.”
My town is
not different from any other municipality. Even our government can’t toss out
that kind of money in any kind of responsible way at a rapid rate. It takes
months if not years to even set up (and of course use how much of the
“stimulus” money to create more federal jobs) to administer the distribution.
Those in
the know have suggested a better way, at least in my opinion. If business could
get immediate tax incentives to add employees it wouldn’t take months and a
vast new bureaucracy. Another idea would be an expansion of the investment tax
credit, and extend or lower permanent capital gains rates.
If the
government could do something to encourage and guarantee bank loans with
prudent collateral so banks would start lending again to small business that
would stiulater hiring as these companies would have the ability expand.
One
organization already exits for this and it’s called the Small Business
Authority or SBA.
Some say
that tax credits or tax cuts cost the government money. They don’t in the long run. Every time tax cuts are imposed, income
to the government increases. Incentives to profit create more money for all
including the government and create employment. Employment of tax paying
citizens.
Stimulate
business, not welfare. Don’t burden taxpayers and business who make the economy
go with increases in the current code and new spending working it’s way through
Congress. We can't afford the present health care bill and cap and trade.
If these ideas have merit, so be
it, but not now. It’s not a time to burden the country at a time when so many
people are out of work.
One final
thought: Figures lie and liars figure is an old adage.
What the real
unemployment number is never clear. Even in good times, we have 4-5% unemployment, so
the current rate is a little more double than that of a prosperous time. The
worst is the unemployment rate in inner cities, especially among youth.
Most in the industry seem to be always working on a
reservation to fly here or there. I have had a similar experience of late.
I am told that tickets are not plentiful to over-seas
destinations and upgrades (my favorite form to travel in business on a coach
fare using points) are more difficult than ever.
To top it all off, to use upgrades on American Airlines charges
something like $700.00 to use 100,000 miles, or $350 for 50,000 miles. United
does not do this but other airlines do. Both charge full fare coach prices to
upgrade.
I used to be able to fly to the Far East for about
$800-$1200 upgradable coach. Now it’s typically $2,000-$2,400 – if there are
any upgrade seats
I’m heading off to Hawaii this week end for a vacation. My
travel agent cautioned me to book my tickets last Feb. I asked if she was crazy
given the economy. She said fewer planes = fewer seats, especially around
holiday time.
I figured fares would come down during the year, but they
haven’t. Now I will end up paying about $850 coach and since Feb, no upgrades
to business or first class are available.
Domestic seats aren’t that plentiful either and rarely cheap
except red eyes to major cities sometimes.
Then, once you’re on the plane, there are few if any vacant
seats, and the babies are crying. I often have the bad luck to get a seat next to the “not thinnest”
person on the plane, and with my height, never have enough leg room unless I
can score an emergency row. That’s a rarity as well.
Did I mention the on time percentage of airlines? If they're as high as 70% they're at the top of the list. Making connections? Always a challenge.
The only good thing about recession travel is that the
airports aren’t as crowded and the security lines are shorter.
I always find it strange that friends who rarely travel
think it’s fun and exciting while business people who are in the air all too
often find it a grind. Guess the grass is definitely greener on the other side
of the aisle.
My favorite domestic airline is South West. They can't be beat in my view. I understand that Jet Blue is equally as good. Over-seas, the International carriers are usually tops, depending on when and where.
Title: Horsing around- Duh. What did they think would happen?
A few years ago, the well-meaning yet unrealistic segment of
our society managed to convince those in authority that it was terrible that we
would slaughter the likes of Mr. Ed
Playing right into the hands of PETA, Washington decided
that it wasn’t nice to take Black Beauty to a slaughter house for her
meat. The “protectors” of the horse world that
that Trigger should spend his last days in some sort of equine equivalent of a
nursing home.
This led to the extinction of not horses, but of the meat packers that bought them and processed them (uner federal inspection) into popular meat items on European menus.
The residual effect was the absence of many by products such as horse hides and
pet food for the by- products trade that was also consumed worldwide.
Before this wonderful legislation, packers would buy wild
horses as well as old “put out to pasture” horses that their owners no longer
wanted or were able to feed. Owners of riding horses were pressed to find
someone to take them when their owners could no longer afford them.
Now the government estimates that the mustang population in
10 western states and burros on public lands is about 37,000 head. 32,000
additional wild horses are also out there foraging for food.
The Bureau of Land Management proposed destroying a
percentage of these wild horses to protect them for a slow death by starvation.
The “do gooders” of our society think it’s terrible to trap
a fur, or kill a deer, or shoot a pheasant. They think it’s inhumane. What is
humane is to see them die by starvation and disease.
What they don’t think about is that there is no longer
enough open land or forest or stream or wild areas in our nation that can
support the population growth of wild animals. They need to be harvested so
that a sizeable number can prosper based on what feed is available to them.
This has been done very successfully with local and state
laws that only allow seasonal hunting and trapping. As a result, these
populations have flourished as their numbers have been controlled to the forage
that can support them.
But not the horse. The new plan is to ship 11,500-25,000 to pastures
and corals in the Midwest and East.
An article I saw today said that “The California-based
Defense of Animals strongly opposes roundups, arguing that the horses are an
integral part of the ecosystem and that using helicopters can traumatize,
injure or kill the animals.
The BLM
spent about $50 million this year to feed, corral and otherwise manage the
nation's wild horses, up from $36 million last year. Without contraception or
other such measures, mustang herds can double in size about every four years,
authorities say.”
Bring back
the packers who humanely kill the horses that nobody wants? Tsk Tsk. Better to
let them starve and consume grass for cattle and other livestock. To me, that
idea is pure horseshit!
Max Bacus, the democratic senator from Montana got caught
with his pants down this week.
This epitome of bad judgment coincidentally is
chairman of the Senate Finance committee that is deeply involved with the
pending health care bill that will affect about 1/6 of the US economy.
Then there’s perhaps the greatest golfer of all times, Tiger
Woods, who also displayed bad judgment and who also got caught in an “embarrassing”
situation. However, he’s just a sports figure who is not involved in running
the US government.
I happened to read passages from a book this weekend by a
retired secret service officer. He served in the White House during the Johnson
and Kennedy administrations. He tells tales of heavy drinking and associated
irrational behavior by President Johnson when in office. He also said that President, Johnson enjoyed his
share of female companions in the “Peoples House” and down at the ranch.
Kennedy, as it is widely known, must have used a good deal of his energy and
time in affairs with a bevy of beauties in the White House as well.
Both Presidents had the secret service alert them when/if
their wives were ever approaching the location of their assignations. Then of
course there was Clinton, the master of affairs, but I didn’t get that far in
the book, or maybe the author had retired by then.
There’s a long list, some just gossip, but mostly true, of
personalities around the world having extra martial affairs. Drunkenness is not
rare. Never forget that it takes “two to tango.” It’s not just the men.
It’s immoral by Judeo/Christian believes to stray from the
marriage bed but its done in not small numbers by more then a few members of
the world society. In the Far East, most cultures take it for granted. In many
European countries as well.
Prostitution
has flourished since biblical times and for all I know, a chunk if dinosaur
meat might have gotten you some hairy dolly in the time of cavemen/women
While I believe that morals are the individual’s
responsibility, I do take umbrage with leaders of our country displaying very
poor judgment in their private affairs. They never stay private either.
We elect these leaders in the hope that their judgment will
lead us down a path that’s good for our country, state or local municipality.
Would our electorate, which still has some moral values
remaining, knowingly elect someone to high office with the knowledge of their inappropriate
(to say the least) private lives? Would we elect them if we caught them lying
or cheating or if they were corrupt before they got elected? Would we even elect them to be dog catcher?
In my opinion, anyone who takes advantage of their office to
find jobs for a "friend" or for that matter, a business favor for a
contributor to their campaign is criminal. I think they should be treated and
dealt with as such. Do you agree?
I had occasion to visit two of my favorite retailers
yesterday.
While doing errands this weekend, I went to Cosco where I
probably go at least every two weeks. This chain of well over 100 mega stores continues
to prosper because they continually offer excellent value on a large variety of
products.
My son who sells to them says they truly work on only a 10%
gross margin. Ask producers of many items where they go to dump/unload their
name branded products, and they will tell you Cosco who takes it all and pays
promptly.
In food, their meat is tops and cheaper than anyplace else I
know. They have fresh roasted chickens for $4.99 that I always buy just for
“inventory.” It made a great lunch today and two of us can warm it up for
dinner and have left over’s the next day. If they don’t’ sell in two hours
after coming off the rotisserie, they turn them into chicken salad! Their
baked goods are fresh. They’re the largest opticians in the country as well
Wine is usually 10-20% cheaper at Cosco with a good
selection. Other beverages including alcohol is about the cheapest place you
can go. If, like me, you’re always using AA or AAA batteries, the price can’t
be beat either. Same for drug items like razor blades or vitamin pills.
They used to have a top-notch hot dog for $1.50 with a soft
drink. Can you imagine? It was made by Hebrew National and worth a trip just
for that. However, six months or so ago they switched to their old brand. Not
for me and most others I’ve talked to. It’s just not the same.
Clothing is a steal there as well. Camera’s, luggage and
yes, even leather and non-leather furniture. Auto parts, you name it. If you
don’t go there, or have never been there, I can’t recommend it enough.
In addition, anything, except the food of course, can be
returned.
There’s one caveat however. It cost $50/year to belong. If
you have a large enough family and live within a reasonable distance, it’s well
worth it. If you’ve never been, ask someone who is a member to take you. It’s a
treat to go there, and I’m a guy who hates to shop!
Costco currently runs 566 warehouses, including 413 in the U.S. and
Puerto Rico, 77 in Canada, 21 in the U.K., seven in Korea, six in
Taiwan, nine in Japan, one in Australia and 32 in Mexico.
My other favorite retailer is The Cheese Cake Factory. I’ve
never had a bad meal there except strangely enough, I don’t like their Cheese
Cake!
Their classic burger must be about a pound of meat for
$10.95 and two sensible adults could share it. Comes with fries. One of the
very best burgers around in my book. I recommend their salads and a plethora of
other delicious dishes all at pretty reasonable prices for what you get. Almost
all of their dishes are large enough for sharing. I even love their iced tea.
Most everyone I know in most sizeable cities across the
country have a Cheese Cake near by and go there pretty often. However, if you’re
not, or are visiting here from another country, the restaurant chain is one of
the don’t miss things to experience in America.
The importance of friends should never be underrated. People
need people as the old Barbara Streisand song used to say.
For many years, I have been eating lunch on Thursdays with
between 4 and 10 contemporaries. They come from all walks of life but most are
upper middle class businessmen, similar to me in age but unlike me, mostly
retired.
It’s rare when we all show up as somebody is always out of
town on business or pleasure, or has a significant appointment on Thursday’s.
We all have grandkids and especially when they visit from ourt
of town, we usually bring them with us.
We meet at Fuddruckers. Not exactly where the “elite meat to
eat”, but it’s fast, convenient and as it’s main criteria, separate checks!
The
food is pretty good too but we don’t go for the food We go for the camaraderie. We talk about the latest mobile
phones, politics, or the pending surgery or recovery of one of us. We share experiences
of work, of vacations, restaurants, plumbers, electricians, movies, but never
gossip and never anything too personal like finances or problems with wives or
kids. That’s for different kinds of relationships.
Sometimes, one of us will be supporting and raising funds
for a particular charity. Most if not all always contribute to our buddies
cause. For the past several years, we have been giving Christmas presents to
kids in an elementary school in a poor area of town.
Some of us go out socially for dinner or to a party with our
wives and some do not, but when one of us has a special occasion in our lives,
or bad things like a funeral, we all show up.
Especially to those of who are retired, the weekly lunch is
one of the things we eagerly look forward to and highlights the week.
Four of the
guys play 9 holes of golf before lunch but don’t keep score. They do it just
for fun and laugh about how bad they all are.
We are not unique. There are many groups like ours. We don’t
do it to network or for any hidden purpose. We just like to get together with
our peers.
Oops, it’s almost noon. Gotta run. Don’t want to be late. If
any of us are late, we can call another to place our order for us to avoid the
long line that forms at noon. After all, what are friends for?
The price of gold hit a new record this week. A lack of faith in the dollar is one of the main reasons.
Gold is also bought as a hedge against inflationary fears that many think will eventually plague world economies.
There are few if any governments that have not thrown unparalleled amounts of new money into their economies to ward off the effects of the recession of the past 12+ months. The world is awash in dollars, Euros’ and Yuan in China
While not yet at record levels, steer prices are getting there. Using heavy Texas steers as an example, the peak in 2008 was $68.00-$69.00. The highest price since 1999 however was $82.00-$83.00 in 2001.
HEAVY TEXAS STEERS PRICE CHART
So prices have been above their current levels more than a few times before. The difference is that hides have to be made into a finished product. They have to compete with other raw materials for upholstery, footwear, garments and accessories that gold does not.
The price of that finished product made from leather, even while even in the pinnacle of fashion demand, has a retail price point at which consumers will buy it.
There is really no limit at which gold can go. However, there is on hides and as a result, leather prices.
Are we there yet?
For the time being I think so. However, if the economy continues to improve as it has of late, and retail sales clean out already reduced inventories in the next three weeks or so, it’s well within the realm of possibility to see higher prices in early 2010
How many times have any of us visited a doctor or some other
place where medical services are dispensed and told that you have to wait?
It happens too often. We make sure we get to the right place
at the appointed time, and then all too often, we sit. Many times the
receptionists then takes you into another room to await the physicians arrival.
This can take 20-40 minutes or sometimes even more.
Do you keep any of your customers waiting to see you? Do you
ever rush them when they call upon you? How do you treat salesmen who call on
you? Courteously? Make them wait? Most do not and instead treat people who
visit them with common courtesy and respect
So why is it this way in a good deal of the time in the
medical profession?
One reason is that we look at physicians as someone special.
Someone who can make us feel good or better, someone who can save our life. We
feel fortunate to see them. We’ll do anything we can to get them to see/treat
us. We’ll take their scheduling abuse. After all, they’re the doctors!
Another reason is that unfortunately, in order to generate
the kind of income that they would like to make, they have to do volume. They
have to see x number of patients in y number of hours. They typically have huge
over-heads to pay and after having studied until their 30’s for little or no
income, they are anxious to make all they can while they can. Medicare and
Medicaid don’t help with their small payments.
Finally, in order to crank through as many patients as
possible, they have to “book tight.” Don’t leave any downtime. Don’t leave any
slack to treat the emergencies that crops up all to often, or the patient that
requires more time than originally thought.
I heard a story today of someone who billed his clients at
$300/hr and was kept waiting to see his doctor for 2 hrs. He billed the Doctor
$600.00. It went to small claims court and the patient one!
I can see both sides of the story. What I typically due is
to call the Doctors office an hour or two before my appointment, speak to the
gate keeper who really controls the schedule, and ask if the Doctor/dentist etc
is on time today or running behind.
They always tell me what’s up and I can
arrive for my appointment accordingly.
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