Terrorism 101

Terrorism is used to provoke an unlawful, disproportionate response that violates citizens expectation of rights and protections. By doing so a government breaks the social contract with citizens, which leads to questioning the right of that government to exist. Long term fear leads to anger, anger leads to blame. People blame their government for not protecting them. This leads to revolution, which is the terrorists' goal. The overthrow of governments by the citizens.

Terrorists are political animals. They don't eat, shit, or piss unless their politics tells them to do so. The are revolutionaries who realize their own cause can't draw enough people or funds to actually cause the revolution. So they turn to terrorism and wait for the targeted governments/societies to tear themselves apart. In that chaos they hope to emerge in a position of power, however they have accepted they may all die to get there.

So every idiot out there who tells you that you should be afraid, afraid of refugees fleeing these same terrorists, strangers, your government, your fellow citizens, they are doing the work of the terrorists for them. Donald Trump saying he would bomb ISIS is falling into that trap (if it were that easy, drop a few bombs, we would be way past the time when they were all dead). Every idiot saying "we should kill all the muslims" is doing the work of the terrorists. That's exactly what ISIS/al Qaeda wants us to do. Every Congressperson and Senator who says we shouldn't close Gitmo and handle these people as either criminals or repatriate them is doing the work of the terrorists.

This is how they work. They divide us up, make us come to the conclusion that only revolution will cure us of the disease. Drive us to remove rights and oppress others, violate our own laws and societal customs. All of this is exactly what the terrorist wants. Even to the point of their own extinction, this is what they want.

Because the ultimate goal is to kill off the targeted government. If the terrorists survive to take advantage of the situation, that's just the icing on top.

Don't fall into their trap.

And, yes, so far they're winning because G. W. Bush forgot that lesson once he walked back into the White House on 9/11 and fell prey to the chickenhawks in his administration. You only have to look at the racist, isolationist, chest beating responses to the Paris attacks to see that they are winning. Look at how Europe is responding. That's because they have had decades longer experience dealing with terrorism (especially when it was home brewed). They know this playbook better than we do.

The Treachery of Images

Of relevance to the day thing, it was time to revamp this classic.

Also
Ceci n'est pas une author.

The Lamentable State of the Business Today

Or why I'm doing the reboot.

Why the design market sucks. here's one example from Monster. Looking for a Graphic Designer/Assistant Manager to handle co-managing a team plus be responsible for 100+ "multiple page" publications within 4 months (4x4x5=80 days, which means 1+ large publications per day). Plus communications with their 100+ customer base. And what are they willing to pay? $13-15 an hour (or $27,040 to $31200 a year). "Company confidential"? Why, so we won't egg your place? Dear company confidential, same you pal, and the horses you rode in on. Seriously? The sad part is they're probably swamped with resumes. More fodder for the reboot.

I guess it could be worse. You could be applying for "This position is your opportunity to join a respected organization that is redefining media advertising in Northeast Ohio by offering an extensive portfolio of digital and print media solutions." :: rolls-eyes :: The small print, "Northeast Ohio Media Group is a new, digitally focused company…" So, a brand new company that's respected and redefining advertising. That's some shit slinging right there. Oh yea, the title is "Part-time", but the description is "full-time". That's redefining all right.

Last but not least is this designer position who is basically responsible for everything. I mean everything. Writing, layout, proof-reading, and all their social media out reach (that's 3 full-time jobs right there). Plus, "Possess strong graphic design skills." Oh yea, there's also the "Demonstrate strong computer skills including proficiency in Microsoft Office Applications…" (meaning they want you to design print ads using Powerpoint). And what education do they want? "Associates or Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university preferably in English, Marketing, or Business Administration." Uh, yea, Bob.

Had we but world enough, and time

Prince Richard: (King Henry is) here. He'll get no satisfaction out of me. He isn't going to see me beg.

Prince Geoffrey: My you chivalric fool… as if the way one fell down mattered.

Prince Richard: When the fall is all there is, it matters.

Jay Lake got the terminal diagnosis. Several metastasis sites, multiple tumors. So right now, as he says, the course of treatment is to take Regorafenib until that stops working (if it starts working), and then palliative care. There's the chance for stage one clinical trials. There's a reason why those are the last course of action.

Excuse me while I go outside and yell at the Universe for its unfairness.

Back. I think I just used up my yearly quota of "fucks" in all its varients. The Universe didn't much care.

Jay, thanks for your courage sharing your journey and your stories. I just wanted to say that early on because there are better things to talk about and better people you'll talk about them with later.

These days it may not seem all that strange, but when my grandfather had his first cancer diagnosis we talked about it in whispers. The more people say, "this is my life and death with cancer and you don't get to co-opt it" the less our culture thinks that cancer is embarrassing. The less we think people with cancer should vanish from society and stop reminding us of our mortality. The more we are able to connect to each other and share our real lives, the less these things seem strange and terrifying. It really wasn't all that long ago doctors wouldn't even tell their patients if they had a diagnosis of cancer.

For me, I will mourn for Jay Lake when he is dead. And not a moment earlier. As the Irish saying goes, "There's time enough for resting when we're in the ground, there's to much work to do before then." Or was it "too much drinking to do". Or maybe it was Warren Zevon.

Also, our culture loves to talk about the survivors. The brave souls who never gave up and "beat" cancer, as if all was required was a firm conviction. Like the link shared earlier, the dirty secret is people still die from cancer. In fact, most of them do.

Ray Harryhausen

Some of you aren't old enough to remember the time before CGI (or motion-tracking cameras and blue screen). Way back in the caveman days of color cinema, special effects had to be done the old fashioned way, with clay models and stop-motion effects and paint on glass and masks (not the thing you wear on your head). In that day of wearing bearskins and hunting the buffalo with flint knives, no one person was better at this than Ray Harryhausen.

I have a complex relationship with Harryhausen films. My brother tormented me with watching them when I was young. But as I grew older I was able to appreciate the art that was the b-movie special effects extravaganzas he helped produce and animated. Things like Jason and the Argonauts. Who doesn't have some memory of the classic fight with skeletons (expect to see clips of that on the news about his death). The immortal Sinbad movies. He and his comrades of garage animators did tons and tons of special effects for other flixs (giant radioactive ants anyone?). Our current love affair with special effects comes directly from the work Ray and his compatriots pioneered.

Mr. Harryhausen was such an icon, the restaurant in Dreamwork's Monsters, Inc was named after him. And when they make nods in your direction from animated films, that's when you know you've made it big.

Thanks, Ray, for all those movies of my youth and for being the inspiration that allows us to enjoy the movies of our tomorrows.

You're joking me, aren't you

This morning on the way in to work there was plenty of discussion about how the CT State Police might release what they believe is the motive for the Newtown killings. With the heady addition of, "and then we'll know."

Really?

No. Seriously. Really?

This is the motive of someone who shot their Mother in the head several times. And then, just for giggles, went to his old elementary school and shoot the youngest kids there. And now you expect the internal motivations of this person to make any sense?

I understand this is a "search for answers." The reality is, "there are no good answers." Part of the healing process for the nation needs to be to accept that truth. There are no good answers here. Something was going to set this off. Low blood sugar, only getting 3 ketchups at the drive-thru when you specifically ask for 5-8, a low flying airplane, something.

But I'm sure something will come of it and we all feel safe once we ban kids from wearing leather dusters, wearing black, or coming in costume to movies. Because that's what's really responsible. Just like we all have to take our shoes off when we go through the airport because it's the shoe's fault. Thankfully backscatter x-ray machines arrived just in time to avoid making the TSA screening area look like a clothing optional community after the underwear bomber.

One small step

Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has left the building.

One of these days we'll go and see your footsteps and remember the first human to step out onto the surface of another world. And when that happens, kids everywhere will begin dreaming of adventure again.

Godspeed Neil. The stars won't be as bright without you.

They're baaaaackkkk

Had to go into a craft store yesterday. Not only did they have their Halloween Decorations ready for sale, they were setting up the shelves for the first wave of Christmas stuff. Just thought you might want to know that.

The October Country

Ray Bradbury has gone back to Greentown, IL. In that idealized small town, there's now one more child running wild through the streets, shops, clapboard houses, and fields with a brand new pair of sneakers that will last all Summer long. A Summer eternal. He'll listen as the wind brings him snippets of radio shows, walls glow from the hearth-fires of black and white TVs, none of which he'll really pay attention to. He'll sneak out of the window and run through the night, watch the carnival set up in abandoned fields outside of town, smell the corn ripening, and chew sweet grass as clouds scuttle past making fantastical shapes in the sky. He'll listen to distant rocket thunder. He'll watch his world turn green and play the game, and he knows the secrets all boys know. Never trust adults and you're only alive for a short while, be alive now.

RIP, Ray Bradbury. Yes, I know all about how your politics near the end disturbed people. But you're a great writer, and I'll miss not seeing new stories from you.

I picture him now, on Mars with all the other great writers of history, living with their creations. "Live forever," Mr. Electro, the living lightning-rod, told him. As long as we remember and keep reading him, and as long as our dreams are filled with the stars and a small town the USA could have been, he will.

Thanks, Ray, for everything.

To sum up

NC Bigotry: "Hey privileged majority, would you like to enshrine your privilege into the constitution to make sure you never have to deal with things that might make you feel icky for no apparent reason and at the same time maybe screw up a whole host of other relationships and maybe indemnify a bunch of people who like to injure others because domestic abuse laws are poorly written? Or would you like to expand the privilege to be more inclusive and support loving relationships of all types which may strengthen the whole concept of marriage?"

NC Voters: "No, 60% of us would like to keep that privilege for ourselves, thanks."

Don't worry, North Carolina. Ignorant, bigoted, and fearful Ohioans did the same thing a few years ago.

And to those people who opposed Amendment One (and the Ohio State Issue 1), did you really expect a different answer? Look, after we went down the rabbit hole here in Ohio, people are finally waking up and thinking, you know, that wasn't such a good decision after all. So we might, might, have an amendment to repeal that amendment (and according to recent polls, given the choice, a very slim majority of people have realized that by expanding the franchise, we strengthen the institution and it really doesn't challenge anybody with a brain).

But what'll really change things is when these amendments and laws are challenged in the Supreme Court under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution. Which, you may remember, is what DOMA was all about (which is why it was and is Unconstitutional, and why President Obama directed the DoJ to stop defending it). Yeah, it sucks getting your way through the courts instead of positive affirmation from the people, but that's how most minority positions find protection against majority intransigence.

Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain

Look, I appreciate Gov. Nikki Haley trying to get all spiny and lead out the propaganda that "Women don't care about contraception" and that they're smart enough to see through the "media generated hype" surrounding "the war on women." She, and the GOP, want to make sure you don't see the ACA battle over contraception as anything more that just that issue.

You know, except this week, Gov. Walker signed a bill to repeal the Equal Pay Enforcement Act. You know, for a guy facing recall, you have to wonder just WTF is going through his empty little head.

And then add in all the new laws restricting a women's right to her own health care decisions. That includes the Georgia law, that during debate, one representative compared women to cows, pigs and chickens while trying to make the point that these animals don't get abortions and neither should women (I think that was the point he was trying to make, forget the fact that they do when the farmer is watching out for the health of their animals, the others believe in acceptable loss if a pregnant animal dies because of a bad pregnancy).

And then there's the multiple front war on defunding Planned Parenthood (remember when conservatives were all about the "government not getting between you and your doctor", apparently there was an exemption clause with OB/GYNs). For many low-income women, PP provides the only healthcare they received. For even more women, PP is the only reproductive healthcare service they can afford. And now, because PP has separated out the abortion side of their business to comply with federal law, which is only 3% of the services they provide, (edited to finish thought> there's now a movement to just defund the whole damn thing.

So, yes, Gov. Haley, women are smarter than that. Which is why the gender gap is back in full force and growing.

Oh, and yes, it turns out they do care about contraception… especially since progesterone and estradiol pills are used for much more than just birth control. Even though since that's how they're categorized by the health insurance industry, no matter what they're prescribed for, the insurance companies consider any prescription to be just for birth control.

Newt Gingrich Is Full of Crap

Okay, one of the things Newt is promising he'll do is bring gas down to $2.50 and make us less dependent on "foreign oil" (and here we'll continue to include Canadian imports, because we really can't quit the Canadians without making us more dependent on places like Venezuela, African West Coast countries, and the dreaded Middle-East). About every price fluctuation of $10 a barrel translates to $0.25 in gas prices. Light sweet oil is about $106 a barrel right now. Current average gas price is $3.80. Okay, so to get to $2.50 a gallon oil prices per barrel would need to be reduced by approximately $52. Sounds doable, right?

Wrong. That gives us a per barrel price of $54. To keep oil flowing from the Canadian Oil Sands the price per barrel needs to be above $70. Let's say they're making 15% profit at $70, that gives us a break even point of $59.50 a barrel to mine that oil (if they'll continue to pump the stuff for costs, anybody believe they'll do that?). Canada accounts for over 20% of all our imported oil (they are by far and away the largest single contributor to our imported oil).

All that "domestic oil" that people are salivating over? That's shale oil which costs even more to produce (notice not much is being made from shale oil). Deep sea oil drilling? Not really economical for below $60 a barrel (for what we're exploring now, all the cheeper oil is being produced). PRetty much all the new oil we're looking for in the US has a bottom base price of around $60 (median, some areas are as low as $30, some as high as $80 with most being on the upper end).

So, let's say Gringrich is actually able to wave his fairy wand and make gas $2.50 a gallon (let us not discuss the over control of the market that would be necessary here, and how antithetical that control is to conservatives). Domestic oil exploration ceases. Canadian oil imports dry up (which might be good for Canada who still imports much of their oil, oddly enough). And we'll be at the mercy of countries that actually do hate us.

So, still think Gingrich has great ideas? He's farting in the pews and everybody is thinking that someone delivered roses.

Unless we have a severe program for conservation, somehow make cars that get over 80mpg, or everybody stops driving and our economy crashes to the ground, we aren't going to see $2.50 gas anytime soon. If ever again.

And before anybody says, "but if we produce more domestically…", look, oil is sold on a world market. Doesn't matter where it's produced. The only difference is that we'll stop making other countries rich from our oil habit. At best we can hope for is $2.80 a gallon. And unless we stop speculators (which is the real reason oil prices are above $80 a barrel), we won't see that either. And does anybody believe that with the current political environment that we'll be able to reign in commodity speculators?

And so it goes

For those of you watch the news, you know that Chardon is in a state of shock today from the shootings. So begins the search for reasons, people lining up on sides, the anger, the sympathy and the insanity that insanity breeds. Cry havoc and let slip the asinine comments of the blowhards.

But I have a few thoughts. One, metal detectors wouldn't help. More guns in schools wouldn't help. Anti-bullying laws wouldn't help (just research Columbine, now more than a decade behind us). Gun controls wouldn't help.

On the cold rational side of things, I want to find everybody who ever told me a .22 couldn't be a "killing weapon" and rub their face in this.

What will happen is everybody's life will be changed. Angry kids will be angrier, disenfranchised kids will be even farther out, scared kids will be even more scared, the in-clique will be tighter and more insular, and everybody will lie about how that won't happen. Not in this town. Not after what happened.

Chardon isn't my local school district, but I worked in Chardon for almost 8 years. I did work for Chardon High School. I know the parents of some of the kids who would be attending high school now. I know the reporters who were first on the scene.

These things don't always happen in someone else's town. Who ever said they'd stay away and not come close? If someone told you that, even if they spoke in your voice, the lied.

You're getting your religious freedom in my personal freedom

Well it seems even after an accomodation with the insurance companies, the loony-right has found what they believe will be their issue for the election (or at least for this month). Religious freedom in the form of being in full-on dick mode to women and teh gays not accepting that if a religious organization owns a business outside that of tending to the flocks (as it were), that if they buy insurance (instead of being self-insured), they must cover contraceptives, and that they get a pass when it comes to bullying laws.

Can I just say this is unmitigated bullshit of the highest order and end the argument there? No, I guess not.

First off, and lets be clear about this, this issue has already been litigated to the highest court and the Churches have lost. See, many states already require insurance to cover contraceptives (and here we're talking about that scourge of modern society, the pill, not something like free condoms if you show your insurance card). And the Churches (well, some of the more loony-right winged churches) cried foul and said, "We'll sue!" And they all lost. Every single one of them.

Why? Because the law doesn't mandate that they use birth control, they're not being singled out for special provisions, and not everyone who works for those organizations is actually a member of the said religion. Also (and we'll get back to this), they accept government money (your tax dollars) to run their charities (thank you G. W. Bush), fix and repair their buildings (again, since GW), and Medicare, Medicaid, and both direct payments to hospitals and partial block grants (state distributed federal money). And, again, for the church offices, employees, etc, you have an exemption. It's only when you run an outside business that you need to comply with the law.

So first, a little thing about the compromise. President Obama basically went to the insurance companies and said, "Hey, what I want you to do is cover the birth control prescriptions for free, and not include that in whatever you bill these church affiliated (and sometimes not much more affiliated than with a name or address) business." And the insurance companies went, "Wait, you want us to cover the pill, the thing that lowers out costs (and price), that essentially costs us less than $10 a month, AND we get to bill them like we weren't including that (which is a higher amount)? Fuck yeah!" See, health insurance companies cover the pill, vasectomies, tubal ligation, hysterectomies, etc, because they are much cheaper than even a non-complicated pregnancy (also, see notes about how we're waiting much longer to have babies, which adds to the complexity of the pregnancy, which adds to the costs). So they see it as both reducing their costs for those pregnancies and then the added costs of the pediatrics (which are normally discounted to the end user). When you specifically request to not have those services covered, your potential use and cost goes up, and then so does your premiums (insurance is all about covering the spread).

But now that compromise isn't enough. It's a classic case of moving the goal posts. Also, I'll note here, that while the Catholic Church is against all forms of birth control (except the rhythm method or abstinence), 85% of Catholic women have used the pill (I couldn't find a stat on condom use). Now it's "we don't want anybody using the pill, and because it's our 'religious freedom' we want to make sure the rest of you don't have the choice either." Or, "You can have your religious freedom all you want, as long as it conforms to the most conservative Catholic or Evangelical faiths, and you must belong to one of them."

That's right, what the Churches want is the freedom to enforce their religious precepts on everybody else. Protestant? Agnostic/Atheist? Buddhist, Hindi, Vodun, whatever… domani, domani, domani, you're all Catholics now. That's what this is about.

See, if it was about "religious freedom" those very same people would say, "We don't want your government money." What's that? You don't hear them talking about how they'll leave all that juicy, juicy tax money behind so that they can remain pure to their faith?

And here I will point out the the very same people who cry that religions can separate their mission money from their church funds and that the two aren't related are also the ones who talk about how even with Planned Parenthood having separate bank accounts and business structures (and in some countries, having completely separate corporate identities sharing facilities) that you can't really separate out those funds because any money that goes to the good will and health services also free up funds/help pay the rent of the abortion side of businesses.

So, that's fine. You want to keep your "religious freedom" to enforce your will on people who aren't of your faith? Stop taking government money.

Also notice they're not decrying coverage for those other medical procedures (vasectomy, etc), or coverage for viagra, or really any of the other things that also violate their "religious freedoms" (well, they don't see it that way, because they benefit men), just abortion and the pill. Because they want a government that gets out of your personal business, doesn't get between you and your doctor (and God), and is a government that's smaller. Just small enough to fit inside women's uteruses (see also Personhood Bills)

So, that this is about "religious freedom" is a bunch of bull. This is about keeping power over women by regulating their reproduction. This is about not wanting to live in modern society because it's all icky and people have to share. It's about convincing you that some people are more equal than others.

What the Universe Wants

Like yesterday, sometimes I complain to the Universe about what it's trying to do to me. There's several tricks the Universe plays. Like when I buy something nice for myself (ie. not something that is absolutely needed, typically more expensive that $25, and/or could be purchased to make my life easier - an example is I need new glasses) the Universe sends something that either 1) costs a whole lot more money and needs to be done (ie. car/home repair or something health related) or 2) bad news of some sort (like being informed that an employee has resigned, or needs to be fired, and I need to hire in the next person - although, ha ha, Universe, I don't do that anymore :: gives the Universe a raspberry ::).

The Universe also has this habit of trying to distract me from things I like to do.

Here's an example. I've listened to the Writing Excuses episode discussing the "Hollywood Formula" with Lou Anders a few times (episode 6:18, 10-02-2011). This morning I wanted to listen to it again and take notes (as this will help me keep the lesson in my head). I started trying to do this at 8:30am (I listen to podcasts and audiobooks while working, which is why sometimes detailed things in the audio get lost as I focus in on actual work, not what I'm listening to). Since then I've had 5 phone calls, had to go to someone's office twice, was interrupted in person three times, three IM conversations, and a few other things. The podcast is 20 minutes long. I've gotten 2 minutes in with all the distractions.

Understand I can go for weeks at a time without a phone call. The only times I normally go to someone's office is for information I need (instead of them calling me to their office). While I do get interrupted in person several times a day (ie. people coming to my cubicle), it's normally first thing when I get in, near noon, 3pm, or end of day. The IMing and email is ongoing, but much of it wasn't really about me, but other people's crisis (and other things).

I can hear you asking the question, "So, Steve, just how did you get time to write this post, then?" That's because this last time I came back to my desk, I didn't put my headset on. I didn't try to restart the podcast. That is, I'm not doing the thing I want to do to improve my writing (the Universe can be a bitch about my writing times and attention). So, because of that, it's now been the longest stretch of time today where I haven't been interrupted (about 10 minutes).

This is what I'm talking about.

Update in the 10 minutes after this post, I've had 8 emails, 2 immediate requests for help and 1 new project (which will bump back all the other projects). Because the Universe figured out I also like blogging.

Update 2 In the past 5 minutes of restarting note taking, 8 emails, one of which needs me to "call (someone) right now to solve problem." Which I'm about to do.

Update 3 It's now 2:20pm, finally finished the 20 minute podcast taking notes (I had to rewind a few times).

What Steve did on his Holiday Vacation - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Over my extended vacation this past holiday, we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see their exhibit, Women Who Rock. I think I've said it before, some guy dig women with guns, women on motorcycles, women who like football, but for me there's very few things that can top a women in a rock and roll band. Fronting, playing guitar (of any stripe), drummers, whatever; they're damn sexy. So I totally expected this show to be fantastic.

Unfortunately it was full of fail. Not the women themselves, not even the local photographer's pictures that weren't displayed with the actual show, but 4 floors away in a side room, but the actual displays, which mostly consisted of dresses and album covers. Now, I'm sure the curation, research, and organization were just fantastic, but you really couldn't tell. See, they put the show on the top two floors (which used to be the actual Hall of Fame part, which was much better when it was there, BTW) which are the smallest spaces they have. Just one of the galleries on the lowest level hold more square footage than both top floors (the place is a pyramid, they were big when the place was designed and IM Pei was trying to redeem himself from the Louvre glass pyramid controversy). So it made for a very cramped space to hold a major show. With the number of people viewing the displays, and placing the actual informational text at the bottom of the full length displays, it was nearly impossible to read all that curation stuff. Then, because of the cramped space, objects were severely overlapped so it was difficult to see the album covers, sheet music, and other random artifacts displayed on the walls behind the dresses.

Plus, it was so cramped it was difficult to move around. Didn't you all at the Hall expect this to be well attended? I mean, you cut off half the entrance way by a pop-up scrim, which also decreased the natural light flowing into the space. And the Hall has been open for, what, over a decade now and you haven't been able to solve the heating problem on the top level? Seriously, it was broiling up there. Put in adequate ventilation, that would solve the problem. And placing the two video screens (noticeably inadequate compared to other displays) in exactly the wrong places and positions so people viewing what was on the screen blocked other people trying to view items in the display cases behind them (there was no place else for the people viewing the video to stand), fail.

And since we're talking about the physical space and traffic flows, just WTF were you thinking with the minimal spacing between the display cases in the middle of the floor? Also, I know there's another exit from the top floor that leads back down to where you now have the HoF. I couldn't find it. And I knew it was there, but I had to go back down through the display to leave. I wasn't the only one.

And then there were the display graphics. Really? Putting the major advances of women in R'nR on 12" paper "records" and pasted at different heights along the wall? Are we in grade school? Are we doing a bulletin board at the local YMCA? And did you forget that at the top of the circular stair there are no lights so you couldn't read the last few? And then there's the quotes along the stairwell wall on the top floor. They stretch too far around the circular low wall that you can't read the entire quote from one standing position, and they often run behind the standing display cases, so you can't read those. Then the sitting platform that runs around the wall was the only sitting spot in the show. When people who were tired of climbing and affected by the heat would sit down, they would block the quotes even more. People sitting on the seats obviously were often bored because they peeled off some of the letters, which again made them hard to read. And the screen on the top level slowed down the traffic circling in the cramped space which made the heat worse as well as trying to see the actual displays. Then there was the lack of indication of which way we should go to leave the exhibit.

Look, this stuff isn't hard. I know you have professionals on staff, did you let the interns run wild on this one? It was very amateurish. The flow of people in the exhibits, the design of the exhibits, the lighting, the sound space, and the access to the space - fail, fail, fail.

That's all before we get to the prize of your show, the Lady Ga Ga Meat Dress. Not impressed. Especially with painting it "to make it look fresh." It didn't. In fact it made it look completely artificial, like it was plastic. I know the drying processes darkened the meat to a jerky like appearance, but that would have been better (maybe with a photo of it "fresh").

Then we get to the general Hall flow. I appreciate that with the escalators (hey, there's 6 floors, you need to use them a lot) you wanted people to walk the long way around so visitors will look at all the exhibits or something. It kept throwing me off. I expected to get off the escalator, make a 180 turn and get on the next one going my way. Instead, while going up say, the escalator right next to the top of the escalator going up was the bottom of the escalator coming down from the floor above. Instead you need to walk the long way around to the opposite side of the escalator column to get either the next one up, or to go back down. This goes against every other escalator set up I have ever used. It's called "learned behavior" and you're screwing with it. Again, I wasn't the only one who had this problem.

That the final down escalator dumps you into the gift store really isn't a problem, although by that point it's like the final insult, instead of feeling "natural." And then lets talk about the gift store. And here let me say I know you outsource the actual running of the store to FYE (formerly Camelot, IIRC). But, it's still in your building and is allowed to represent you).

While I normally wear sold color t-shirts, I really do love a good designed t-shirt. And you had some excellent ones. Not in my size. And yet there were some t-shirts in my size (so it's not like you don't offer 4-5x sizes, just not in the t-shirts I really liked - like the lightning guitar shirt). And then I wanted a show t-shirt. Okay, you're graphics for the show weren't all that good (at this point that was the least of the fails, hey, I'm available and I'm relatively cheap), but like I said above, women in rock and roll = roawr roawr. But you didn't offer a show t-shirt for men. You only offered a princess cut t-shirt for the "Rocker Girls." Fail. Didn't you think that there are actual guys who like women rockers? Did you think only "the chickeroos" would come to the show? Fail. Fail, and did I mention, Fail. Oh, and how long ago was the Elvis show and I can still buy items for that one?

Then no postcards of the show, no mugs, no magnets either. And then when we ask a sales person, he explains that, "we had them, but we sold out, and the show only goes for another week or two." Fail. Major epic fail because at that time there were still two months of show time (so, fail because you didn't have enough stock and/or enough brains to reorder and fail because the staff don't fucking know the show went for another two months, not weeks)

I know I screwed up because at the time you were building I didn't spend the $100 to get a lifetime membership. At this point, I may be willing to pay twice that. See, at the time I was just starting my career and $100 was a bit steep (just a note to show you how much we love R'nR, my Mom bought a lifetime membership). So now every time I come to your house, I have to pay the $22 a piece. When I pay more for entrance to someplace less than an acre and that can be gone through in a few hours than I would pay for a single entree, I expect a little more. You're other displays show me you know what you're doing. Why couldn't you have come up to 50% for a Special Exhibit (ie. "come and spend your money with us again"). Display graphics are damn cheap. How about full wall size displays wallpapered to the open areas? Custom wallpaper has been available for over a decade now. How about using the head space for other information (instead, except for the top floor video display, all that space was wasted)?

As a staunch supporter of the R'nR HoF being in Cleveland (hey, NYC, if it wasn't in Cleveland it should have been in Detroit; NYC and LA don't have as strong a claim), it's really disappointing. My guess is it'll be several years before I go back.

I fought the deer and the deer won

In case you're wondering, "Hey, just what does a Civic look like after hitting a 6-point buck at around 45mph?" Both are guesses, he did have antlers, was pretty tall, but just barely seen in the headlights before I was calculating vectors to avoid the bastard. Also, I was standing on the brakes when we hit, but wasn't fully decelerated. I was doing about 30-35mph on the other side of him. All in all, it was about 2 seconds of interaction. I didn't see a body (but it was very dark, and I didn't have a good flashlight). I don't think he survived too long. So, technically, I think I won.

Half a league, half a league, half a league onward

Tweet of my heart: @eyerweb: Dear business leaders whining about uncertainty: know what reduces uncertainty? Nationalization. Any takers? The line forms to the left.

Yes. That. I've said it before, I'm damn tired of hearing about how our "brave and entrepreneurial business leaders" are paralyzed and can't move forward because of "uncertainty." You can't have both. Either our business leaders are "brave and entrepreneurial" or they're quaking in their birkenstockings about "uncertainty." One cancels out the other.

No, really. Personally I blame this on the rise of the MBA. People who aren't really entrepreneurial or have insight into business are running our businesses (or are consulting for them). They have a degree, but in most cases, no actual working experience. Then they are capriciously put into positions of responsibility. These are people who are now looking at the world with a deer in the headlights look.

Here's the thing. If you are running a business, now is the exact moment to make your move. This is the time of "fortune favors the bold."

As for "uncertainty" in the future being a problem, it is never different. In most cases this "uncertainty" is shirt rending over "new possible regulations" or "new taxes". Well, most of this is being driven by the fear engine that is one of our major news outlets, and one of our political parties. And it will never change. We have elections every two years where the make up of Congress could change from one party to the next. Every four years we get to change who sits in the White House. It doesn't stop.

Once you think you may know exactly what is going to happen, in two years that can be overturned. Always thus.

Want to know what real entrepreneurs do? They entrepreneur. They take risks, and put their money on the line. Corporate profits (and money in the bank) are at all time highs. All this, "UNCERTAINTY!" is a bunch of manufactured FUD pap that a certain political faction wants you to believe. But only because it benefits them.

Shut up, Universe. This is something I want to do.

Remember how I've said that life keeps trying to interfere with writing (or really having any fun at all)? The last time was getting an emergency rush ad booklet for the graphic design freelance job right before the last writers retreat (three weeks ago). I was up until 1am the night before and the two nights after getting it done. So sleepy Steve is still sleepy.

Well, this is about the time I normally do a newsletter for a client. In fact, I heard from them that I should have the materials today. Which I told them was great because I could work over this weekend and that I'm gone next weekend.

Think I have the stuff yet? Think I'll get it today at all?

Edited 9pm, Okay, got the stuff a little before 4.

There has to be an invisible sun

You know, all the free marketers are for the Invisible Hand of zombie Adam Smith. They're especially for it when they're cutting other people's pay or positions. They use it to justify their outrageous management and executive raises because they have to retain the best people. Oh, they're all for it when they don't want to be tied down by those nasty regulations, like making sure your paint and gas doesn't have lead added to it. But when that Hand comes around to dope slap them, they no wanna.

I keep hearing about all these employers gnashing their teeth and rending their shirts that they just can't find good employees. Yes, after making sure that the unemployed shouldn't even bother to apply, cut benefits and pay scales, removed OSHA regulations, and generally create a work environment that people of my age (tween Boomer and Gen-X) and younger know for certain that the job you're giving them won't last a moment longer than you need it too (and that cycle is about 5 years or so), that you're constantly looking for younger employees, you're bitching because you can't find anybody willing to take that shit and be happy about it.

Well here are the cows coming back to Capistrano to lay in the bed they made.

Okay Mr. Free Market, yes, I know you're just trying to hammer home the point about how there are jobs out there if people would just bend over and take them (there wouldn't be any unemployment if we could just pay people $1 an hour to flip hamburgers). I know you're also trying to make a point about how horrible the laboring class is (see, those lazy labor unionists just want to soak us dry of our well earned 8-12% yearly raises). I get that this is an ongoing part of the "we need to outsource overseas" idiocy (we can't find anybody).

But here is the Invisible Hand coming to dope slap you. If those are the actual conditions you find yourself in (can't get anybody to apply, those that do aren't skilled, or don't have the work ethic), then you have to respond to the market by hiring older workers (ageism is rampant again) and pay more for them. That's the Invisible Hand of the Market working.

I know, you don't want to hear it. I believe there's a proverb about living by cutting things out. Oh, wait, I think it was about a sword.