Cool Hand Luke

Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008)

In school, I took a film class and we dissected every cut of every scene in the movie "Cool Hand Luke". You had to like Luke.

Hmmm... let's consider

Constructive dilemmas--

1. (If X, then Y) and (If W, then Z).
2. X or W.
3. Therefore, Y or Z.

Destructive dilemmas--

1. (If X, then Y) and (If W, then Z).
2. Not Y or not Z.
3. Therefore, not X or not W.

McCain's Economic plan - "Marry a Beer Heiress"

McCain's Economic Plan For Nation: "Everyone Marry A Beer Heiress"

And That's Why I don't like Cricket

Mighty Boosh - Fossil Dance.

Amateur Balloonist

Amateur balloonist floats around the world.

The Stone Church

Who would have guessed? Not me.
We'll see what we can do. It should be interesting.

Pencils down. When?

Is it time?

What time is it?

When?

Now?

Soon?

Pencils down!

No - not pencils down.

Yes indeed, it's just about time for pencils down.

So - it isn't actually pencils down. How much time is left before the real pencils down?

Not much.

Oh boy.

.

Eventually...

Eventually, home prices will be relatively stable. Somewhere just under what it costs to put up a new one. This will mean that perceptions about puffed values will no longer drive people's decisions. Those with bloated mortgages will simply be "upside-down". They'll accept it as a fact and act accordingly. Some will stiff the bank, and others will find a way to get their positions right. Buyers will buy the homes offered at acceptable prices and walk past the rest. This is just the way it will be.

Lenders will lend money based on the new value reality and they'll be happy to do a 30-year fixed mortgage for folks with some kind of a down payment. There will be much less creativity when it comes to financing.

Some people will rent from those with enough money to control rental properties. There will be some balance between what you get and what you pay for. Of course this will happen.

Oh - and one more thing... Eventually, nuclear power will deliver energy in abundance and demand for fossil fuels will be only for those applications in which it is necessary.

Now then, isn't all that nice to know?

From Brand Camp

Here's a buck - go buy something

Here you go. Here's a dollar. Go buy... almost nothing. You might get a bottle of water. Not a name brand water (what?), but a generic - crappy water in a plastic bottle that will probably give you a disease of some kind. Hey - how about a sandwich at a drive through. Mmmmm... nice huh? But wait - with tax, even that 99 cent "thing" is going to require a little more cash. No, no, no, I know - go get a package of sparklers in New Hampshire (no tax). There you go. Look - five sparklers for a dollar. That's a half hour of real solid fun. What a deal. If you have another dollar, you can get a lighter. You'll have to settle for a stupid looking one that is one-sale because it didn't sell. It probably has a skull on it. Hopefully it will work so you can light up your sparklers. Oh boy, we're having some fun now aren't we?

Sales Bully

Can you bully someone into a sale?

Of course you can.

It's human nature to resist saying yes. Human nature makes us hesitate, sometimes for a week or a month, at the very last minute, at the moment of truth.

One technique to get through this hesitation is to be a sales bully.

Sales bullies describe their approach as ethical, because, after all, it's in the best interest of the prospect to say yes. It's okay to be a sales bully when you're trying to get someone to take their TB medicine, so it must be okay to be a sales bully to get them to sign this contract.

And it works. On some people.

The flaw in thinking is this... the people you most want to sell to won't respond well to this. The people you most need to spread the word, the people who are the best partners, the most loyal customers--they blanch in the face of bullying. They walk out.

So, if bullying is the only tool you've got, it makes sense to focus on an audience that responds to it (and lower your expecations accordingly). Even better, get some new tools.

Nothing But Tears

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—After decades of coddling young children, Johnson & Johnson unveiled its new "Nothing But Tears" shampoo this week, an aggressive bath-time product the company says will help to prepare meek and fragile newborns for the real world.

A radical departure for the health goods manufacturer, the new shampoo features an all-alcohol-based formula, has never once been approved by leading dermatologists, and is as gentle on a baby's skin as "having to grow up and fend for your goddamn self."

"We at Johnson & Johnson have been making bath time a safe and soothing experience for far too long," company CEO William C. Weldon said. "Years of pampering have left our newborns helpless, feeble, and ill-equipped for the arduous road ahead."

Nine things to know - coming soon

1. Your lawn and the real story about grass
2. The keys to proper personal hygiene
3. Golf secrets they don't want you to know
4. The truth about choosing PC or a Mac
5. Stocks and investing - the most important thing
6. Trading in (selling) your car
7. Home recording studio myths busted
8. Get rid of that hot tub
9. Time, perception, and the endless summer
   

Apparently, there are no exceptions

Nope. There isn't an easy way; not as far as I can tell. To create real success - money and satisfaction - everything requires effort bordering on obsession and the ability to handle risk. You can be oblivious to the risk, and avoid having to swallow hard, but it's there. Apparently, there are no exceptions. You can take it easy, and not "go hard", but you'll fail. Oh yes you will. Even if you do everything right, you can still crash.

Too bad huh?

There is a chance that [insert unexplored notion] might get us there.

Frostee

Just because I'm frozen
doesn't mean I give up

Just because I'm frozen
doesn't mean I'm gonna stop

Here for a while
Thrilled to be chilled
Thrilled to be chilled
Here for a while
Thrilled to be chilled
Thrilled to be chilled

Just because I'm frozen
doesn't mean I give up

Just because I'm frozen
doesn't mean I give up

Got the time?

Nice Clock!

Wild ties

I predict that wild ties will become cool. Yes. You heard it here first. Make note.

Key piece

What could be more satisfying than solving a puzzle?

Let's look for a situation in which the previous attempts have failed. Why did they fail? Is it something simple? Chances are it's not simple. Unless maybe the key piece to the puzzle is just plain missing - say what? What if the weak link is in charge of figuring out what / who is the weak link?

After tearing apart a bunch of these deals, it looks like the key piece (the weak link) is a person. Crazy huh?

We need ya Mellon!

Let's go with - - - "King". Perfect!

After much thought, I have decided that I will become - - - the King.

Yes, I know - it seems like a big job doesn't it? It is. In fact - it comes with great responsibility. However, I've decided that I'm okay with all that it entails.

I won't be your typical King. Nope. It's unlikely that I will wear a crown, and my plan is to not have people around to tell me what I want to hear. I'll earn all the necessary loyalty, and I'll be good to almost everyone. There are nasty people out there, and I can't promise to be good to the nasty ones. They will however, certainly not be asked to hang out with the rest of us.

Hopefully, my assent to the position of King will happen soon. I've got several things planned that will be made much easier if I'm already established as King.

I realize this is big news and I hope I haven't shocked anyone with the announcement. I thought maybe that if I did it just after game 6 of the Celtic-Piston series, it could be done without much fanfare. Fanfare is a King thing (trumpets etc), but we'll reserve all that for after the official day, a.k.a. coronation.

There you have it.