The Leap?

Rigorous and careful study, weighing all known factors, generating detailed plans, forecasts and probabilities for success - the venture appears to have significant risk. The decision is made to stop. The search continues. You're smart enough to have avoided the chance of failure.

The back of the napkin essentials looks reasonable. After investigating a few of the key elements, the evidence suggests that the idea is good enough to be in the zone where "you really won't know till you do it, because some things you have to do on the fly." Issues of certainty, confidence and consequence remain. The decision is made to go ahead. You're engaged in the effort and apply your abilities as required. You're dumb enough to find success.

Hmmm... Recognizing the power of the leap, its influence can be calculated (considered).

Liquid & Patient

The markets sold off heavily today and it feels like there's more to come. Maybe not the end of the world type of selling, but certainly a downward move that will shake off the froth. Yup - a 10% moonwalk may be in the cards. That won't be fun. It looks like housing is weaker than anticipated and the "bottom" has not yet arrived. In spite of relatively low interest rates, buyers are in short supply and inventories continue to climb. Hmmm... Prices have fallen a bit more with some areas (even those previously resistant) in real pain. It's really a lot about credit, and greed, and denial. The extension of credit to those less qualified and the creativity of the terms are unraveling. Somebody somewhere must have known that not all these silly loans would get paid as agreed. Pain... Real pain is likely here. Well, I guess you can call it real pain - even though it's essentially the head being blown off the brew (froth). There's probably more selling to come. The ill feeling and the underlying concerns are heavy thought s to carry into business.

This yuck is spilling over into autos as AutoNation and a few other big fellows seem to be coming up short. The stale mortgage environment (especially sub prime) is sure to catch up with cars. When people struggle to pay their mortgage, they are likely to struggle with their car payment as well. Lenders will quickly tighten. If dealers can only sell cars to people with good credit, they will struggle. They've had a steady diet of "finance anyone" that will soon dry up. Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., said last week that business conditions have created "one of the toughest environments I've ever seen." In the northeast auto business there are stories about some suffering. It looks like those who were surviving in a strong market (1998 - 2006 was an extended period of good times) are now bleeding in the soft one. You can no longer be clueless and still get by. Some situations; sinking franchise in beefy real estate, or maybe a dealer who moved his awareness and involvement to the periphery when things were easy pickings - are causing more problems. The tighter lending standards (forced by years of easy paper) are coming you guys. Don't think it won't happen - it will. Some dealers will try to survive and fail. Some will be fortunate to recover their working capital and get out. Some will take advantage of the herd thinning, and do just fine.

Chrysler came out with a lifetime powertrain warranty today. What? Yup - lifetime, whatever that means. It's an act of desperation. We'll see more of these.

This shake out should produce some opportunities for the liquid and the patient. Hmmm...

"Not a Problem" - Eeeeeeh!

I just don't like it when you thank someone and they respond with "Not a problem". Maybe it's just me, I don't know. Why would that bother me? It probably shouldn't. I mean the responder isn't trying to be a wiseguy or anything. It's just something people say. This is particularly common in service situations - like a waiter etc. where patrons often say thank you. I will suggest that you just go with "You're welcome", or perhaps "My pleasure". Maybe it's just me. Maybe for you it's not a problem.

Wide Turn

I'm makin a wide wide turn, a wide wide turn
I'm makin a wide wide turn and then back to square
I'm seeing a little baby southern to the geo metro
I'm not thinking tempo, just doin it tempo slow
I'm makin a wide turn and then back to square
I'm hangin inside a hair cause it falls that way
Not press'n, not stress'n, just let - set - go

Systems - Go figure

All businesses - make that successful businesses, are systems or sets of systems. A quality system design includes the ability to change. When a business makes a change to a system(s), how it manages the change is yet another system - at least it should be. Go figure.

Fiddy

Whoopdeedoo.

The Newspaper - ba bye

This isn't a stretch, but I have to join those who believe the printed daily newspaper will not survive. It lives because it remains a "business" that can money - lots of it sometimes. Still, it is a highly inefficient use of resources and and equally as inefficient as a tool. You can't line the bird cage with it, but digital media (www) is hands down a better method for managing the same information. It isn't all bad. Picking up the paper and turning the pages - scanning the ads (or not) and noticing things you might otherwise have not, isn't painful - it's just not going to survive. The paper will be replaced by a better thing. Indeed it will.

Even if we just work with a newspaper's web site and assume that all the printed material is presented online, it offers so much more. Searchable and easily archived, the digital versions offer significantly more utility.

Information (searchable or delivered by request) on your device will retire the newspaper. I know this isn't a bold claim, but the pile in my garage is silly. I feel sort if stupid having it there. I'm not sure how long it will take, but at some point we'll look back - perhaps with fond memories - and remember the newspaper.

Well then... I'm sure you'll sleep better now.
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If you have not read them - please do

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If you haven't read "The Catcher in the Rye" (JD Salinger), or "On the Road" (Jack Kerouac), you should. Written and set in another time in America - both are captivating and interesting works, unpretentious and enjoyable. Good books.

Enjoy!
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The case for straight!

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Golf equipment (clubs and balls) makers have invested a lot in developing ways to make the ball go straight. There are balls that actually make it difficult to shape your shot. Yes, you can still do it, but it takes more effort. Lower spin rates and higher trajectories contribute to greater distance off the tee. This has become the "way to approach the game". Hit hit big. It does however require that you adapt the rest of your game to the characteristics of this type of ball flight, feel and ground behavior.

I've always played the game with a shape in mind for every full shot. Whether it was a fade or a draw - even just slightly - I've always felt more comfortable having a shape intention. It was part of my image of how the shot would be played.

I'm now suggesting that the ball and the clubs may have reached the point where "straight" needs to become the idea, the intention and the new image to employ. The equipment is such that (if necessary) you can create a shape. I still think you need this capability in your game. However, the margin for error (unintended shape / side spin) is wider than ever. You can choose to just go ahead and try to hit it straight at your target. With the minimized side spin effect, this may be the path to better golf.

Or not.
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Compete or don't play

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I enjoy playing golf - usually. I like to compete. If I'm not competing, I feel like it has to be treated as practice or it's just a waste of time. I've played some pretty bad golf. It's usually accompanied by a lack of focus. Sometimes I find myself unable to stay interested and I don't really care. I just "go through the motions". That's not much fun and it produces poor results.
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Painting

• Advice for exterior painting:
  
  Scrape and wire brush your surfaces. Don't think you can just seal the old paint in. If it's loose - even just a little - it needs to come off.
  
  Use a healthy drop cloth. By healthy I mean one that isn't going to rip and certainly not made of nonabsorbent plastic (oh no). Get a big one and toss that bad boy between you and anything that doesn't want to get painted.
  
  Have an absorbent rag handy. You'll need it.
  
  Use latex only. You are not qualified to use oil based paints. No - you're not. Trust me.
  
  Don't paint from the can. The can is awkward and not ideal for the purpose. Get a lightweight container well suited for the purpose - one that you can easily handle. Fill it to 1/3 only. That's it.
  
  Use a brush with angled bristles. This will help you cut along lines more carefully.
  
  When painting, dab trouble spots first and then: load that brush tip with paint. Don't be a wussy. Get some paint up there. The paint should not be dripping from the brush, but almost. Let your first few contacts with the surface deposit the most paint and then work it with your strokes. Yeaaaa... there you go. Nice!
  
  
  Painting can be quite fun. Fun for a couple of hours on day number one. Anything beyond that starts to be not fun. I suggest that unless it is a reasonably small project or if you are bored and have nothing else to do. Hire someone to paint.
  
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The Dunes

Erosion of the dunes puts the properties along the beach at risk. In an attempt to capture the sand and allow it to restore the dune, snow fence is installed on the seaward side of the dune. The wind blows the sand through, up and over the fence. Since the deposit of sand is protected by the existing dune behind and the wind direction predictable, the sand collects at the base of and behind the snow fence. In as few as 10 weeks, the sand level can rise to cover half the fence or more. Additional rows of fencing placed in front of each other can be installed to continue the process. By doing this, and by planting vegetation (American Sea Grass: Ammophila breviligulata) to hold the sand in place and to help continue the process, we can rebuild a substantial dune.

Profitable Errors

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Obywon Opportunity Partners LLC

About us:

OOP is the nation's #1 "Profitable Error" consulting firm.

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Double billing, missing credits, odd fees, one time and repeatable mystery charges, billing cycle manipulation, and a long list of clever ways to get extra money from your customers.

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Our client's profitable errors often add 10% or more to the bottom line.

No one's perfect right?

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Why wait? Let us help you to help yourself. Get your share - and a little bit more.

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Remember, if you get caught you can always say:

"Oh... We're terribly sorry"

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Ten Bucks Worth of Quotes, (Hand Selected)

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There is no pleasure in having nothing to do. The pleasure is in having lots to do, and not doing it.
John W. Raper

I'm trying to arrange my life so that I don't even have to be present.
Unknown

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
Mark Twain

I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.
Steve Martin

Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once.
Unknown

The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it's just sort of a tired feeling.
Paula Poundstone

I have enough money to last the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
Jackie Mason

There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at, without results.
Winston Churchill

Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
G. K. Chesterton

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.
Mitch Ratliffe

You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is: Never try.
Homer Simpson

Better stop your groovin' round another rooster's hen.
song lyric by Lee Hazlewood

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Everyone is crazy

Ohhhh ya...

Almost everyone is missing the point
Don't they get it
Maybe it's just me
Maybe it's just me

Almost everyone is crazy
Don't they get it
Maybe it's just me
Maybe it's just me

I don't have the time or the patience anymore
They don't feel the need
Is everyone crazy, but me
Maybe it's just me

More on the Contrail / Chemtrail Hmmm...

Say what?

This video highlights the conspiracy theory discussed in a previous post titled: Chemtrails? Contrails? Conspiracy?

Hmmm...

Time / Summer Time

"Time seems to move so quickly these days".

Actually, time moves at precisely the same pace as always. However as a percent of our total experience, we see it differently.

Why then - when I was a kid, did summer seem to last longer?

A season (let's say summer - I like summer) lasts for three months. At age 50, a season is .005 of my total experience. At age ten it was only .025 of my total experience. So at age ten, summer (as a percent of total experience) was 5 times longer.

There you have it.

Memo to driving ranges

Some of you who own or operate a driving range, have a policy that prohibits people from bringing their golf bags. You want folks to only bring the clubs. Apparently, you're afraid that people will steal your balls. That's silly. If you have another reason, let me know. Send me an email at what@tenbucksworth.com.

Just for the record; if you have this policy, you are most likely a knucklehead. Let me know if you want to get out of the business - perhaps I'll buy it (depending on location and other factors), or maybe I can help you sell it. However, you really should go do something else.

Alternately, you can just let your customers bring their bags.

Stuck?

Cut = Haste
Measure and cut = Notion
Measure twice and cut = Process

Measure many times and cut = Inefficiency
Measure continuously without cutting = Problem

KT Tunstall - Big Black Horse

She is creating loops, probably on a delay modeler of some type. The technology isn't all that amazing, but she's put the performance together well. Nicely done.

Enjoy...