Koch Brothers Reach Out to Me

Yesterday a guy walked into my office, introduced himself as working for the California Small Business Association and would I mind, as the owner of a small business, taking a short one page survey so the CSBA could approach the legislature with "solutions" during the next legislative session.

I didn't like the looks of the guy from the get go. It was cool yesterday, California jacket weather and he had on a neatly pressed white shirt and tie, no jacket. My first thought was, where is his jacket?
He looked cold and had a semi-hipster goatee that he was just a little long in the tooth for. Add to the mix that nobody wears ties in Southern California, but I digress.

The first question he asked was on the "over-regulation" of business in California and how it slows things down for business owners like me. I said from my experience with the regulators, the problem is that not enough people are working at the agencies I have to deal with. He was surprised at my answer. I told him that the occupational licensing branch of the DMV has only one inspector for the northern portion of LA County and all of Ventura County and the inspector is responsible for all facets of transportation, from car dealers, ambulances, transmission shops,driving schools and anything having to do with wheeled vehicles. The office the guy works out of in Van Nuys has 15 cubicles and 3 employees. My licensing was slowed not because of inefficiency but by too few employees. The same with the DMV office in Sacramento. This asshat's response, "the DMV should be privatised!"

He continued on with this gem, "California has over 1,000 regulatory boards and Texas only has 110, do you think California would be better off with a regulatory scheme more like Texas? I answered with a question of my own, "Would you rather live in Texas or California?" He didn't know what to say, so I continued, our growth is as good or better as Texas in most categories and better in businesses of the future. If Texas wasn't propped up by the oil and gas industry they'd be dead in the water, don't you agree?" Once again no answer from me or from Mr. Goatee.

The next question was about "Obamacare"? I said are you referring to The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? Goatee Man was stopped in his tracks, I actually don't think he knew the name of the bill. I told him based on the experience of business owners in Massachusetts, I thought it was a good thing. He looked puzzled. I added, "it's the law of the land, pal."

He then asked about the power of Unions, my answer was, "do you mean those organizations that 12% of the workforce belong to?"

The questions went on, all phrased to to get a response that fit the the goals of the organization taking the survey, they weren't looking for opinions from small business owners, they were looking for support for their goals. The organization behind this CSBA group is ALEC or the American Legislative Exchange Council. An anti-regulation, anti-tax, anti-union, anti-environment, anti-public school, anti-government national organization funded by the Koch brothers hiding behind these so called local business and government groups. The goal is to gut any and all regulation and laws that billionaires like the Kochs don't agree wtih.

The Koch brothers point man didn't make any points with me.

Bristol Farms Adventures

We shop at Costco and Von's, but mostly at Costco, because I like having a year's supply of toilet paper and paper towels on hand. 

Occasionally I go to Bristol Farms, a high end grocery store. Why? Because of the really good meat, fish and their superb bakery. How high end is Bristol Farms? Amy's organic soup is a dollar more a can than it is at Costco, Knob Creek Bourbon is 9 dollars more a bottle than it is at Von's.

One Sunday morning at 8, I was in line behind a rather bummy looking guy, long white hair sticking out from under a baseball cap, ratty sweat shirt and faded jeans. He was dressed pretty much like I was. He was having trouble with his pin number, so much so he called home and asked what it was, no luck there. I thought I recognized his voice, he turned around and it was Sam Elliot.

Sam had a pound of bacon and bottle of orange juice and he was screwed, no cash and a forgotten pin number, Sam looked at me and said 'How fucked is this?" I bought his bacon and juice for him. Shook his hand, gave him my card and I got the money back a week later.

Another time at Bristol Farms, The Cakes and I were followed by this person, up one aisle and down another.

Heather was with her Mom and daughter, Heather looked pretty rough. The next week she was arrested for DUI. We've seen Heather at Costco, too.

Here's another Bristol Farms shopper:

And another:

Richie Sambora, Heather's ex and Jon Bon Jovi's guitarist. He really looked like shit, but his Lamborghini was nice!

We used to see Lenny Dykstra all the time:

Not so much anymore:

Here is a guy who should be in jail and isn't. (I only see him at the gas station)

Angelo Mozilo, ex Country Wide CEO.

That's the latest update from sunny SoCal! 80 degrees today.

Old, Tired and Cranky

I worked 50 6 day weeks last year, including New Year's Eve and Christmas Eve, so far in 2013 I've had one Saturday off. I was thinking about this last night while reading David Halberstram's book on Bill Belichick, "The Making of a Coach"

      (coachehttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1116069/index.htms)

NFL coaches work massive hours with little or no time off. They say, the coaching staff has a soft period after the draft and free agent signing period in the spring, the rest of the year it's 7 days a week, 12-14 hours a day. They do it because they love it, they live it and it's their life. There is an anecdote in the book about Bill Walsh the revered 49's coach. Walsh was out with his wife on their anniversary, they were at a fine Bay Area restaurant, he was staring off into space and his wife said, "What is it Bill? 3rd and 8?"

I understand that mindset completely! All the years I was in radio, I was consumed by it. I took a 5 day vacation one summer to paint my house and I listened to the radio all day while I was on the ladder, I'd climb down and write a thought or a note and then get back up and paint the damned eaves. There was hell to pay when I got back to work the next week, I learned more about my station in 5 days of using it like a listener than I ever did going to endless meetings.

The problem with being consumed by your work is the rest of your life goes to hell in a hand basket, you neglect your wife, your kids, the rest of your family, that part sucked. The good part was I liked my work a lot more than my neighbors liked theirs, so I didn't sit around and bitch about my job like they did. I only had one neighbor who liked his job as much as I did, he was the starting center for the Patriots. In radio the only way to get away from your job was to drive far enough away to lose the signal and most of my career the stations I worked at had huge signals, you'd have to drive all day to get away from them and a few had night signals you could get from Massachusetts all the way to Florida. I was one of those radio guys who just couldn't shut the damn thing off. I cared, too much.

Now, I don't listen to radio at all, I don't miss it either, you know why? The people involved in it don't care anymore, about anything. I can hear it.

Radio was the original "free" medium, the original wireless medium, access was easy, in the 50's you could buy a small, pocket sized box, with an ear bud for a couple of bucks and like magic you had news, weather, sports and entertainment anywhere you went. The cost? A few commercials. When I got into FM we ran 6 minutes an hour of commercials, today it's 20. I wonder who that is good for? Certainly not the people who use the medium. I think it's only good for the people who loaned today's owners the money to buy the signals in the first place.

I love my new thing, DRIVE! Driver's Training. I like the families, I like the kids and I love it when we turn out a great young teen driver. I love it when we can help a Senior get his or her license back and get their driving squared away, it's is a small, rewarding business. Are there shit operators in this business? You bet! I know how bad they are because we end up re-training some of their students and just like in radio, they don't care.

Sometimes I look in the mirror and think, "Jesus, I'm 67 years old and I'm busting my ass all day, everyday and my face shows it." Then I think how worn out, tired and beat up I'd be if I had spent my life doing some shit I didn't care about and had to drag my self off to a job I hated.

I took some classes at Harvard Business School years ago and there was a lecture about internalizing and externalizing work. The happiest people find a job they can internalize. So I may bitch about the hours from time to time or be whiny about how tired I am at 11 at night. In retrospect I think I've been fortunate to have spent most of my life doing something I really liked and enjoyed doing. Even if I did have to spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with an incredible number of genuine assholes.

There is an episode in the book about Belichick's first meeting with the Giant's defensive players after Bill Parcells hired him to be the Defensive Coordinator. Belichick was standing at the podium,  when he started the meeting the players were screwing around talking and laughing. The ignored him completely. Belichick pounded on the podium and said, "You fuckers were 5 and 11 last year, so if you don't think you have anything to learn, get the fuck out, now!" They shut up and won the Super two seasons later.

I have been in that meeting so many times in my management life, you wouldn't believe it, if I gave you a list!

Yosemite Trip February, 2013

After you drive through the tunnel on your way to Yosemite Valley, this is your first sight of the spectacular valley!

 I took this about 9:15 in the morning, El Capitan is on the left, Half Dome is in the center of the background and Bridal Veil Falls is on the right. There is very little snow this year in the valley much to the concern of the Park Rangers. We had superb weather, mid 50's in the daytime, 25 at night.

 

The Cakes had never been to Yosemite, I hadn't been there for years. She was moved to tears by the beauty. The last time I was there was in summer when the Valley is bumper to bumper. This time we had the park to ourselves. (almost) The lack of traffic and so few people made it possible to see things with out being shoulder to shoulder with the crowds, it was quiet, peaceful and breathtaking.

The Park Service now uses all electric buses for shuttles, if you go, use them. They are free!

We owe, Galen Clark for lobbying President Lincoln to set aside the Yosemite region as a preserve, we owe John Muir for his efforts in publicizing and expanding the park and we all owe the CCC for building the trails, bridges and the stone walkways and walls like the one in the picture.

 

As we walked around I thought about what the valley would be like if it had been left to the developers and what it would be like today.

 

"2 acre Yosemite Meadows Lot, perfect for your summer dream home or year 'round retreat. Direct view of Yosemite Falls. This is one of the few remaining undeveloped, buildable lots in the highly sought after "Falls View Development". $3,999,000.

 

Gorgeous 5,000 sq foot home at the base of El Capitan located in one of the Yosemite Valley's most prestigious locations. The home features 5 bedrooms. 7 baths, heated pool and a 4 car garage plus a lovely 2 bedroom guest house. The El Capitan neighborhood maintains a private bridge with 24 hour security for your peace of mind whether home or away. This architect designed home was built in 1959 from the last of the old growth Sequoia trees and has been just been completely renovated to high standard. Offered at $21,565,000.

 

I think we dodged a bullet, don't you?

 

I thought it was interesting after Bush signed the bill that let guns in our National Parks, there are now signs on certain buldings and exhibits that prohibit carrying guns. There was a big one on the doors to the Yellowstone Visitor's Center Theater and Museum. 

Radio Daze

Every once in awhile I find myself thinking about radio. I know, know, but when you spent the vast majority of your life in the business, it does pop into your head from time to time. First of all I don't listen to it anymore, with the exception of NPR (Terri Gross, Keillor, Click and Clack reruns, etc) I just don't turn it on anymore. I use satellite radio, Pandora and have a good bit of music downloaded, so in most cases radio is redundant, boring and over commercialized.

I still get radio newsletters via e-mail because I'm too lazy to unsubscribe. I got one today on developing a Country-Rock hybrid format. I guess since so much of today's country music is a shitty version of pop-rock (country is now the anti-dance-urban-rap music) some programmers think that you could play that dreck and toss in a few classic rock nuggets and charm the audience with this "new breakthrough"....good luck with it. Especially when you play the Steve Miller Band back to back with Reba McIntire. Or John Mellencamp's "Authority Song" next to Dirks Bentley. If these brilliant programmers want to know what rock songs the country audience wants to hear go to a shit kicker country bar and listen to the rock songs the bands play or to the major country artist concerts and hear what they play from the rock and roll genre. I heard Alabama play BTO's "Taking Care of Business" at a concert and Travis Tritt always sprinkled RnR in his shows, I suspect they learned that it works from time to time because they both played the beach circuit in the Carolinas night after god damned night. Of course what a country fan likes when they are drunk and smoked up is one thing and what they want to hear when they are straight is another.

I got drunk one night in Florida with Jimmy Bowen, who at the time was the President of Capitol Records Nashville (he made Garth a star and got fired) Jimmy produced everyone from the Beach Boys to Sinatra, he knew music! He said Nashville is interested in one thing and it isn't artists. It's hit singles written by a fraternity of hack song writers. The artists are considered   disposable and interchangeable. Bowen was from the school of recording, one that focuses on building an artist with a long term catalog of music, music that sells over the long haul, 180 degrees from Nashville's mentality. After about the fifth or sixth cocktail, he told me that much to Nashville's surprise their efforts in the 70's to urbanize country music fizzled when they produced record after record of music with strings and horns, a kind of mash up of adult contemporary music. That 'rock" artists like the Eagles, Pure Prairie League, Lynrd Skynrd, Marshall Tucker Band the various spin offs from the original Byrds and others were making hit records that were actually country but not played on country radio. No horns, no strings and banjos were used from time to time. No wonder Willie and Waylon left for Lukenbach and didn't look back. At the same time Johnny Cash was ignored and lost his deal with Columbia records. I think it's a good thing when a kid like Taylor Swift intuitively knew this and walked away from Music Row and set her own terms for her career.

The whole mixing classic rock with country is bullshit. Country radio needs to look at it's own past for help...how about Rosanne Cash? Lacy J. Dalton? Southern Pacific? Even my old pal Susie Boguss or gasp, Pam Tillis, Travis Tritt, The Mavericks, Hal Ketcham, Don Williams and so many more. Maybe even some Waylon, Willie and the Boys would show up with the Man in Black in tow.

There is also a series called "State of the DJ" another pile of horseshit. Broadcast Companies now look at air talent as an unnecessary expense. The business is a long way from when I was a kid and we put rock and roll on FM. The mantra in those days was "round up some kids put them on the radio and tell them to make their friends happy". It worked so well it killed itself!

Wednesday Thoughts

One of the parents of a little kid slain in Newtown, CT at Sandy Hook school was heckled by NRA gun nuts during his testimony the other day. WTF is wrong with these people? What responsible gun owner would even want to associate with them? Jesus H. Christ! BTW, since Sandy Hook, 1800 people have been shot in the USA.

Sarah Palin is out of work, so is Bristol and Todd didn't fish last year or work his good Union job on the oil rigs. Hope Ms Snowbilly saved some of the cash Fox paid her or that house she bought in North Scottsdale is going to be up for sale soon. Maybe it can be packaged with Bristol's pad? Fame is fleeting!

I live in a state with a ton of illegals and as much talk I hear of them ripping off the system, believe me they get ripped off by the system, big time. There are businesses here (and in other states) that do contract labor for employers. Let's say I need 15 laborers to clean up a warehouse. I get a hold of one of these outfits and they send the guys to do the work I need done. I write a check for a flat amount and the suppliers takes care of the details. The supplier pays the workers and the job is done. I have a clean warehouse and no worries. The labor supplier deducts Social Security, Medicare, Federal and State taxes from the workers pay, doesn't send the deductions anywhere because there are no SS numbers involved. The supplier just pockets the money. Some business are ballsy enough to do it themselves, a car wash in Thousand Oaks operated like this for years, finally someone blew the whistle, the car wash was fined 450k, sounds like a lot of money and a big fine, right? The best estimates say the car wash owner pocketed 900k during the years he was fined for. Another car wash operator (5 locations) had illegals 'audition" for 2 weeks at no pay to see if the customers "approved of them". On a personal note, I had a husband and wife cleaning crew do my office, they were illegal, the billing was sent by a straw company, I paid the straw company, god only knows what they got paid by their front. I pay them cash out of  my pocket now. They are good at their jobs, bring their own cleaning supplies, show up on time. He has been here for 8 years his wife for 6 and they've worked their asses off the entire time and been screwed everyday. Time to make them legal taxpayers.

Odds and Ends.

Patti Page died this month, my memories of her are not good! When "Old Cape Cod" was a hit record we were at the lake cabin. It was raining almost everyday and the radio was on from morning to night. I must of heard the damned song 100's of times, maybe thousands. It was torture to a Jr High boy's ears. In Centerville, MA on Cape Cod there is a street named Patti Page Way. Ms Page had never been to Cape Cod when she recorded the song, finally visited and fell in love with it! Add "Old Cape Cod" to "How Much is That Doggie in the Window" and "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" you have three songs that probably play back to back on the Muszak System in Hell!


The summer before Patti Page drove me crazy, the same radio in the cabin fascinated me with the news reports of the sinking of the Andrea Doria off Nantucket after she collided with the Stockholm.


The Prius is the best selling car in California. In the rest of the country it's the Ford F-150. Oddly enough if you own a Prius in California, you get a sticker that let's you drive in the High Occupancy Vehicle Lane with only one person in the car. Prius owners speed by the slow moving traffic at speeds that deliver its worst gas mileage! When I had my Corvette, The Cakes and I were rolling along Highway 10 out in the desert. The Corvette was doing just under 85mph at 1850 rpm in 6th gear and was delivering gas mileage in the low 30's. We were passed by a Prius like we were standing still. I told The Cakes, we were probably getting 10 more miles to the gallon than he was! BTW, the new C-7 Corvette should get even better mileage since they have added 8-6-4 technology! Our little Chevy training car gets 22 mpg with students driving it, when I drove it for a couple of months before the school opened I averaged 28 mpg, technique counts!

While we are on cars for a moment, one morning last week the local Model A Club gathered in our parking lot before heading off to do a fund raiser for The Many Mansions charity group. (Many Mansions does housing for abused and battered women and their children) there were Model As of all shapes and configurations, in fact Ford built 34 different models. It was strange to be so old and remembering a few of them being used for daily transportaion when I was a kid in the 50's. The Larson's who lived across the street from us on Lincoln Drive had two cars, a newer Plymouth and Mr. Larson drove a '30 Model A to work everyday. 30 hp and a top speed of 65! Mileage in the mid 20's at best, but better than the Model T's 15 mpg or lower. A base Model A sold for $385.00 when they came out in 1927. Model As in decent original condition are worth from 15 to 25k today depending on the body style and considering Ford built close to 5 million there are plenty of survivors.



One of our student's father runs the syndication company that distributes Delilah. he told me last week that Delilah told him I was one of the best guys she ever worked for and she had a ton of respect for me. Nice to hear. Delilah and I worked together before she was famous. She recently told CBS TV that she was crazy and had been since she was 15, in the beginning she did all bad crazy things and now she only does crazy good things. Like Point Hope.
http://www.delilah.com/pages/pointhope.html


I haven't been posting much lately, busy at work and bummed out about the dog. Cakes and I are going out on a date this weekend, first time in months we can leave home without worrying about our boy!