It's raining again outside.  The sky is a ghost white.  I sit in my regular haunt, Backspace, checking e-mail and getting prepared for my Tuesday.  On the speakers play a kind of surreal acoustic hippy slop, which is just fine for this type of weather.  I'm feeling kind of surreal myself today, as I have the last few days.  I feel like the chemicals (all legal) in my brain are screwing with my reality.  Maybe I drank or ate something funky and it is still with me.  Whatever it may be I feel more like I've been taking something illegal more than a mere ailing of some type.

The weather however is calm.  The weather in turn, with the almost silent drops of rain, adds calm to me.  I sit and ponder my day, hoping that I can have most of the work day out of the office.  It helps my morale to just work out of the office every once in a while.  I feel like it might be another one of those days that is super hectic but only seems to last about an hour or two.

The brightness of the day is slowly encroaching on the sky.  The sky is also growing darker even with the increased ambient light of day.  Across the way cars are parking on the surface lot and beyond that against the backdrop of China Town the buses stop.  After unloading passengers and loading passengers they're off for their north bound journeys.

Done with the thoughts, off to face the day.  Cheers.

Thought: If Daimler-Chrysler couldn't make it, how can Fiat-Chrysler. If the Germans couldn't do it, how could the crazy Italians???

AFH randomness on Sun. AM

My Response

So very true. I personally think Chrysler is dead. Fiat tried to enter the US market before and made horrid mistakes. Not to say I'm not for second chances, but the record between these two companies does not look good. I've got my money on a cleaned up GM before I have any money on Chrysler.

From the looks of what the car czar and Obama will do, they're going to smash the Union grip, throw away most of the existing contracts, eliminate many of the complete losses that GM owns for liquidation, and get the good backbone of the company moving forward with things like the new Camaro & electric car stuff. GM can do it, but they just have to do the aforementioned things first and finish modernizing their plants - which they can't do until the unions are broken and contracts are renegotiated. The companies that are probably going to be liquidated are; Saturn, Humvee, parts of the big truck division, Pontiac, and I believe a few others.

If GM would stick to trying to make cars instead of financing, being a welfare system, a retirement system, and a be all end all to everything in Detroit they'd do fine. Until they stop doing those things it's dead also. Chrysler is more focused but with the drops in auto sales they won't last too long even under the restructured and HEAVILY subsidized Fiat-Chrysler. If sales don't increase at least 2x what they are now within 1 year, Chrysler-Fiat won't make it except as a small couple thousand car a year niche player. At that point the remains would probably be snatched up for a single model within some larger companies line up.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda will all weather this storm well. Coming out with cars ahead of others with continuing quality enhancements. They have culture, process, and technology on their side still.

Mercedes & BMW will weather the storm, but possibly with bailouts of their own and maybe a small retraction in the US market and a larger one in European markets. The aforementioned Japanese makers are already eating away at their home markets and will continue to do so, since the quality, technology, and luxury gap has been eliminated....that's my analysis for the next 1-2 years. :) U guys have any thoughts on that?

Ok, so the economy, how bad is it?  Sure we’ve lost a ton of blue collar and other low income work.  With our struggle to move to socialism this will become standard practice, except the nation will provide a safety net for those workers ala France, Germany, and others.  At least in theory that is how it works.

But as the US moves forward, with barely a drop of the printed money the Federal Government has milked out of the Federal Reserve or out of tax payers or whatever magical cloud they’ve squeezed to get it from, we’ve gained a sort of levity point.  Some industries have slowly moved back into the positive.  The deal seekers are buying, you know, the smart Americans that didn’t go idiotically over buy a house.

The car buyers are out their intelligently buying cars still, namely NOT GM products still.  Another covet is even Obama has slammed the Unions that have milked the unthinking management of GM into outrageous benefits.  With the reigns off, the shedding of decades of unneeded girth, and general thinning GM could streak back to profit in short order.  In addition with some of the products they have lined up a reclaiming of auto leader could possibly be in the future..  That is a really big emphasis on possibly.

Overall, the economy isn’t in that bad of shape (by depression standards).  However there is one thing that is still in dire self suicide still.  This thing still sits in life support after its recent attempt.  This thing is the American monetary system.  With the Obama administration having key members speak out for a single reserve currency, non-US reserve currency, there is a possibility that we could get back to some monetary solidity.  However this again is with a big emphasis on possibly.  I don’t see Obama or any American leader stepping up to bat for a solid non-fractional, honest banking style system being brought back.  This type of system just offers the politicians too little, the bankers not enough, and too much integrity and truth to the average American.

So what are our next steps?  The citizens of the US?  The unemployment is ticking by for millions of Americans.  Around the world economies have fared vastly worse than ours, which also is par for the course for the parity of political leanings.  Our independence, what we have left of it, is empowering millions of Americans to leap forward into individual business.  As always, this is risky, with the current leadership (just as with Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr, Reagan, Carter, and on back for several decades now) offering very little but piddly hand outs and dishonest business regulations these new businesses are increasingly staying under the table.  This leaves all the more taxes to burden the dwindling middle class and to slam the few upper income earners that don’t have the time or money to avoid being slammed with taxes.

I ponder also what will happen when the tax breaks and tax increases hit us.  Million of upper income earners will lose another 2-8% on top of the 50%+ that they already pay.  The lower income earners in the nation will increase their burden on the system, paying in, but getting back a gain in services (no matter how crappy) of 5-15% in costs.  Things could get better, things might get worse, but the biggest indicator is merely the mood of the nation as a whole.

As I ride the bus, as always by choice, across the Ross Island Bridge heading home I feel a sense of levity, yet a sense of frustration and hopelessness from a political perspective.  Even with Obama changing the game in such a massive way, which makes me happy, he is burdened by such a huge amount of weight from the previous administrations.  So far I’ve been happy with his performance, somewhat more happy with his than with Bush’s first 2 years.  Either way, it looks like I’ll get another tax increase for 09’, just like I have gotten the last 10+ years of working.  It’s amazing how those little 1-2% tax and fee hikes really start to add up.  At least I get some decent services for the money in Portland, unlike the other places I’ve lived where I got squat.

I’m going to write some code and drop all this economic and political pondering for now.  Got things to do and cool stuff to make.  Cheers.

The election ended and the crowds in bars and taverns where filled with joyous customers.  Imbibing drink after drink and speaking merrily of the salvation from the previous party.  The new President, according to the merry makers would bring new jobs, reconstruction, reestablishment of known freedoms, and bring home the troops.

The crowds spoke of how the labor would be saved by the tumultuous competition that was unfair to them.  In other moments they spoke of how unfair and stupid the previous administration was for making the trade deals they had made.

As the election ended and the economy plunged into darker territory, fear gripped the nation, but the new President would have many solutions.  He’d save us from our own mistakes by applying what the previous President had done to create the mistakes.  Many where sure of this, and they where ready to put their money down – or more realistically to trigger those credit cards again for some purchases!  For no doubt, the Federal Reserve would fix things by printing more money or making money cheap and easy.  Somehow, someway, some miracle would bring us through!

The days before the inauguration brought tears to the eyes of many women, who now felt empowered to go about their business.  They thought, finally, “we won’t have to listen to the other side and their sexist demeaning ramblings”.  These ladies thought, “we’ll stand on our own in the world of business now with this new leader”.  In fact they would.

Men stood by solemnly, wanting to move further ahead in business.  Many men wanted to provide for their families, some wanting tradition, some just wanting to know that they could find a job.  The new President gave them hope, not particularly because they where prepared, but because the previous President was a let down.

Millions however, still stood apathetic in the face of the media blitz.

These stories tell of what I saw, at the end of an election cycle at the end of a two term President.

Deja Vu

The strange thing is, this has happened to me twice.  Once just recently, with the inauguration set.  The irrational joys bring fear to me as I know how things pan out afterwards, at least according to past Presidents taking the throne of power.  The other however, was 8 years ago when George W. Bush took office.  Revered in the red counties as one who would give the farmers an ability to stand up again.  Someone who would bring the troops home.  Either way, one sees the same emotional responses, you just have to be in the right place.

The only real question though, that is left, is will Obama be different?  I’d garner that the real question is how different will he be?  Will this scenario get replayed again in 8 years?  One thing is for sure, I’m up for something, I wouldn’t call it change, but Obama seems to at least spurring something.  Let’s hope it doesn’t become irrational exuberance, and hopefully America will get a little sober in it’s drunken binges of easy money.

We shall see.

The last time something like this swept over me, I believe it was the last century.  I think I've hit a point in my life where I'm starting to question things left and right.  The onset of this is this economic stupidity that has taken place.

I sit looking at the answers in the words of the books I've read.  The books being history, to see and know these things and watch people make these bad decisions for power to know it will lead to their own fall from grace.  I can't help but wonder, why the hell are they doing this?  They'll be removed from their pretty palaces and perches of power by the peon again.  As history has shown, when push comes to shove, common man will rise.

It's mere physical reality, there are billions of us and a few of them.  These bankers and such that think short term with things like central banks and the destructive boom and bust cycles.  But why does it have to keep repeating?

Is it the stupid gal and guy sitting in school that ignores the history?  I don't think so, the public system is trite, contrived, and incapable of preparing students today for things like what is coming upon us.  Is it the fact that after they leave school they're robots programmed to watch their CNN, stay smart by some means of faith in their leaders, vote as if it matters if they know not what they vote for?  I'd say yes, this is the problem.  When school ends, that is when real intelligence and education need put together, not when it ends, as it seems to so often.

I sit powerless looking at these things, knowing and have understood so much about the history of this country, the Federal Reserve, and so many other absurd things that leaders get away with right in front of our eyes.  I'm however powerless.  The fight between the right and the left, the conservative and liberal, the Democrat and Republican in this country is blinding to the reality at hand.  No one cares to even read the history and realize, they are the same wolves, in different sheep's clothing.

So amid all this I've for the first time in my life wondered, have I led myself in the right direction, to the right place?  Have I done what I truly wanted?  Have I convinced myself that I've done what I wanted when I was just avoiding reality? Maybe so, it is really hard to tell.

Recently I spoke with a friend whom I played guitar with.  This is a true friend, not one that I second guess, not one that 99.995% of the planet would ever get the pleasure of knowing and finding.  This is the friend that would squeeze the trigger to defend me and I would for them.  There are few that I'd trust with that promise, that trust of my life.  We've written music together, had adventures, and run the gamut of trouble and learning.  Our combined knowledge is one of rarity and oddity in this country today.

I live 2400 miles from this friend, in a place I love, but do I?  I'm surrounded by passive aggressive, schmucks as bad sometimes as the aggressive misguided religious crazed people of the south.  Either way, I've been unable to effectively escape from these people.  But the people I tend to prefer I somehow manage to end up away from.  What a screwed up twisted irony.

Here I sit pondering other promises I've made to myself.  I said I'd leave this area if the big collapse actually happened.  I'd convinced myself it would happen either when I was old, or after I had passed away.  Now, I'm sitting at the throes of the beginning of it all.  How did I end up here?  Why am I looking at this valley of life with disdain?

Simply put, I'm scared.  I've thought this through a thousand times.  The Federal Reserve struggling desperately to keep things together, and I'm not sure now, even with all the scenarios I've played through in my head, that I'm even remotely prepared for it.  So what do I do?  I don't honestly know.  I've moved my parents to this part of the country, Portland, Oregon.  No I wonder, are they as prepared as advertised?  Surrounded by the creative class I question that.  But there are many farmers, and farms, that might maintain the state and that's a good thing.  But overall, the area is ripe for devastating job losses which I fear might change the passive aggressive north west into the not so passive aggressive north west.

This north west, in other times, has led to some very violent confrontations.  People in the Tacoma Unions led a battle against the unarmed Chinese American Citizens about a hundred years ago killing many of them.  Portland was the capitol of crime and vice in this part of the country.  Strange thoughts these, I know, but oh so true.

So many questions and all I can really muster right now is pondering.  So I suppose, pondering I will do.  Hopefully I'll gain a view at some point, but at the current time things are quit amiss.  I'm off to sleep, maybe that will set my pondering at ease.

It always impresses me when a judge slams down laws on parents that have been, well, simply, crappy parents.

In other News The French are as Whiney as Us Americans

In the article "A curiously French Complaint" the author points out the French's addiction to antibiotics.  Americans are on pain killers (which often do nothing but fill the pockets of biotech and such and only act as mere placebos) and Frenchies are on antibiotics because they're freaked about their health.

This brings up several questions.  I wonder how much waste and abuse is inherent in France's Health Care System, and could America even afford such a cluster?  The author went back to England and in short order went home empty handed with the simple analysis that she had a cold.

What's the dealio with the similarities between Americans and the French?  I seriously think that we dislike each other because we have so many similarities in our snobbish, aloof, the world owes us, nose in the air attitudes.  Technically we do owe each other, our country exists because they backed us in the Revolution (and many other times) and we went and saved them from that little plague of Europe called Nazism.  But in all seriousness, we ought to just drop those points, respect them, but drop em' and get on with life already.

...and of course quit being whiney fussy pansies that are hooked on antibiotics and pain killers.  Pathetic.

What Portland, Oregon is and is not.

Portland is not for you If...

If you want to be a devout Right Wing Republican Christian, you're going to be in misery here.  If you want to spend your time converting people to religion then forget it, this is not the place to come to.  If you want to eat fast food all the time, there are better places to live.  If you hate to think, and want to live a nice numbed existence, you probably wouldn't like it either.  If you want to race on the Interstate or street race in general, also not the best city to live in.  If you want to play country music, not so hot either.  If you want to not be involved in your surrounding community, also not a good place.  If you want to cut yourself off from society and dwell in solitude, definitely not the place for you.  If you like big box stores, suburbia, or things like that you will hate Portland.

Portland is for you if...

If you like vegan food, vegetarian food, steak, fish, Mexican, Thai, Spanish, Brazilian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, British, German, French, Indian, Mediterranean, Balkan, or other types of food Portland is for you.  If you like domestic and local products with a minimal need for outsourced, offshore, or other products Portland is for you.  If you don't like Bush, Republicans, or the ideals around the Patriot Act or the propaganda that surrounds Muslims and Arabs in general, Portland is for you.  If you like weird & diversified music Portland is for you.  If you like computers, programming, software, geeks, nerds, and gaming Portland is absolutely for you.  If you hate driving and prefer to walk, bike, or take transit you should move here immediately.  If you like small business, a LOT of small business, you will love Portland.

Some other things that are a mixed boat in Portland.  Libertarians have a rather large presence here.  Republicans do not.  Extremist Democrats and Leftists also have a fair sized presence here.  There are also a large number of completely out of touch people, that awkwardly enough vote and attempt to enact things that are of an extremely questionable nature.  The city often gets a little giddy over itself and attempts to do some really oddball things, some of them it finishes (like the aerial tram), some it does not (light rail to Vancouver WA - still not done).  Overall though, these things are not much of an issue, Portland for most people who like the things stated, ROCKS.

This is my public message for the day.  Thanks for listening, message complete.

I decided to jump in and go for it.  The Interview Experiment is in full swing over on cdcstudies.com | portfolio v7.1.  Tyler Sticka sent me the following interview questions.  Here are the rules: 

The first person who comments on this post, will get interviewed by me. I will read the person’s blog, then email him ten or so specific questions, hopefully more about his life (what makes them tick) than their favorite blogger (too obvious! — me). I’ll give my interviewee as much time as necessary to answer the questions, but hopefully he’ll finish it by next week. There might be a back-and-forth if the person feel uncomfortable with a question, etc. or if I want to explore a topic further. Finally, when it is all written up, I will polish the draft, send it back, and the interviewee can proudly publish the interview on their own blog.

It doesn’t end there. While I am interviewing the first commenter, he will be interviewing the second commenter. The second commenter will be interviewing the third commenter. Each person should then put their own interview on their own blog, or on the interviewer’s blog, or both (your choice!), answering the questions as openly and honestly as he chooses. Not only will this give others a new way to know you, but we will sabotage the idea of an interview only being for “somebody.” Everyone is somebody.

...and here's the bits.

1. You describe yourself as a developer and from the content of "Loosely Coupled Human Code Factory" there seems to be a slight emphasis on Microsoft technologies such as .NET, VB and SQL Studio. How are these tools particularly well-suited for the job?

Yup.  The title "Software Developer", "Software Architect", or "Software Lead Architectural Motivator Solutions Guru Person" might fit as well.

2. Having developed on Windows, Ubuntu, and OS X platforms, which do you consider your favorite?

Because of familiarity and straight forwardness of the platform, my first is still Windows.  The .NET Platform is still, even in its agedness, impressive.  I however would say that Ubuntu & OS X is ok to develop for, but for these later options I'd have to go with something like the Adobe Air Platform instead of something proprietary.  Either which way, the OS is kind of my secondary concern and a web interface with across the board standard compliance is my top priority.

3. In September, you considered moving from Windows to Ubuntu as your predominant OS. Do you see any of the Windows 7 usability enhancements as enticing enough to draw you back?

I still use Windows Vista, XP, Server 2003, and Server 2008 extensively.  Namely because those OSs pay the bills.  I also though still run Ubunt for now, even though I've found little reason for much expansion of my usage at this time because it isn't on a laptop.  I'd really like to get it running on a laptop so that I could do more #afterhours work and really get deeper into the alternate platforms.

As for Windows 7, there is a strong likelihood that it might bring me back into the Microsoft camp more solidly.  However the biggest thing that would pull me into the Microsoft Camp a bit more would be their finding a new and robust stream of funding that isn't reliant solely on their continued OEM sales of OSs and other traditional software sales.  If they get more into the social and web based communities I'd be a little happier using their software.  However Microsoft as a whole, has a long way to go to earn peoples trust in these fields.

4. You've mentioned Opera a couple times on your blog, and in early October said that it was handling passport authentication more consistently than IE, Firefox and Chrome. Which browser do you prefer as a developer, and which as a user?

As a developer, I like Firefox.  As an Internet Surfer I like Opera.  Chrome has threatened Opera's lead as my favorite though.  Chrome is by far the fastest browser out, with smooth consistency.  Opera is a really close second.  After that comes Safari, IE7, and the others.  I do however have to add that I despise what Microsoft did with IE6, and am not a really big fan of Safari.  Safari seems to need too much clicking to be truly smooth like Chrome or Opera.

5. Microsoft, Google and Yahoo have all taken steps to support OpenID. In late October, you seemed a bit hesitant about the technology, but since then your blog has built up a considerable enthusiasm. Do you feel that OpenID will ever become an ubiquitous standard?

I'm not sure how ubiquitous it will become.  There are two main points, one I like and one that bothers me.  1:  I like Open ID because it provides a single place to tie in all my identities to.   2:  It provides one place for someone to steal my identity.  I think the security and overall use can be overcome if someone uses a provider like Vidoop though.  A good solid source and we're all good and happy.  :)

6. You attended Wordstock and seem pleased to add books to your "stack of must reads. Do you see a future for paper as opposed to eBooks like the Kindle?

Irony being, a friend of mine and myself had a workable product exactly like the Kindle.  Not saying they stole it from us, but we had created this device.  We however didn't pursue the idea because we had no real connections or knew anyone that could help make it happen.  So needless to say I love the idea of the Kindle and eventually will probably get one.  However, sometimes one cannot replace sitting down with a book and reading without power, without the need for power, or the odd feeling of plastic.  Maybe one day people won't care about the warm feeling a book gives a person, but I still enjoy the experience, but it won't prevent me from getting a Kindle also.

7. You published a quote on November 3rd from a "campy movie," which happened to be Demolition Man. After a quick Google search, I learned that the line was spoken by comedian Denis Leary as the character Edgar Friendly, and the section of dialogue you reproduced is revered by many libertarians. Are you libertarian, or just a fan of Irish comedians?

I'm libertarian in the sense that I believe markets are far more honest than politicians and I believe people are inherently good and when provided the chance do good and sometimes great things.  I also happen to be registered Libertarian because I find both Democrats and Republicans to be reprehensible and can't deal with aligning myself with the two prarties that are the same.  I also, am a fan of comedians and Irish Comedians.

8. When encountering public transportation out-of-state, it's always struck me how much better Portland's transit is by comparison. As someone with a passion (or "obsession") for all kinds of transportation news and minutae, what would you say is the best thing about the TriMet bus and/or MAX service? The worst?

The best thing about TriMet is how close and responsive they actually are to the community here in Portland.  Many would say they aren't, but often they haven't seen other agencies in the US.  The worse part of TriMet is how tied they are to the political masters of the city.  TriMet, even though they work for, are paid by, and try pretty hard to be as involved and beneficial to the City of Portland there still is a lot to be desired.  Compared to what this city has in the past in private options it is a sad and sorry state that we're in now.  But every day is a new day and another change to improve, TriMet and TriMet's staff do a pretty good job working toward improving.

9. In October, you published an image of McCain and Obama with the joint caption "Selling-Out America". Do you consider yourself a political cynic? Are you happy with the results of the election?

A cynic?  I think more a realist.  Most think that the Republicans (yes, contrary to Portland views) or the Democrats are going to save the country somehow.  I see them for what they are, the guilty for dragging us down while most of the citizenry of this nation struggle to keep us afloat and moving forward in life.

10. Enough serious questions. If you were a car, which car would you be?

Nissan GT-R.  Technology, power, clean, maneuverable, comfortable, high value, and the list goes on.  The final major point, is the car is a true dominating speed monster.

In the near future I'll post the interview questions I'm posing to @rvillon (Rebekah Villon) and will also post the answers.  So stay tuned as always.

Every year in Portland, Oregon there is an event called Wordstock.  The event is a collection of publishers, writers, and artists that are in the book publishing industry.  This year I noticed they even had people from Dark Horse and other comic book publishers.  If you can read, and enjoy reading, this is the event for you.  If you hate books for whatever reason, you should probably stay home.

I've been to this event twice so far and both times it has been a smashing bit of fun.  I've also picked up books both times.  The last time I picked up a few books about this region's history.  This year I picked up a book about history, and how it is taught so poorly in the United States, and a book about economics.  I could have picked these up anywhere, but quit a few of the books on the last day of the event are discounted.

Overall, fun event as expected, and now I have more additions to my stack of must reads.

My Writing

While en route on the way back Joleen mentioned to me, "you ought to write a book."  To which I thought, "about what?"  So I asked, "about what?"  Here reply was pretty straight to the obvious truth, "You write all the time, what can't you write about?"  At this point I realized that it would probably be an interesting endeavor to do this.  Write a book for people who read, what a novel concept!

So I just think, that I might start publishing some of these things via my blog here.  I'm still not sure what topic I should focus on for my first book, who knows, maybe I'll go out on a limb and write a fiction book.  Either way, I'll figure out something.