5 things I don't understand that others do understand. Or seem to.

Weddings. I definitely do not understand the modern wedding with its event-like atmosphere. And I wonder,   "Is the male a necessary or accidental component in a wedding? I mean if the girls could have a wedding without the guy, would they?

NASCAR. I like cars and I like driving fast, but I do not get the interest in this particular event. There's a big concrete circle, cars that look all the same except the color, and hairy man-fans with a man-crush on a driver. No thanks. 

Chicken and dumplings. It's bland, it's gooey, it doesn't smell very good, it looks worse, and it would taste a lot better if the components were left separate.

Chewing tobacco. How does this habit start?

Hair frosting for men. Look, if you're a guy and you've had your hair frosted, it's nothing personal, but is it really worth sitting in one of those beauty parlors with aluminum foil on your head to get the hair you want? I mean . . . dude, man-up a little.

That's it. You can go back to what you were doing . . .

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Ten Thoughts on Money.

Since the economy is in the Dipster Dumpster I have been thinking about money, and what happened to the little that I had accumulated.

Here are my thoughts, but first:
Assumed to be true:
a. The right of the individual to possess and own property is as old as recorded history. It is an assumed good.
b. The accumulation of those goods or properties which contribute to the owner's happiness is wealth in its good and proper sense. The inordinate desire for and accumulation of goods is the abuse of wealth and does not negate the proper use.

The thoughts, none of them original to the author:

1. All wealth is first local, then regional, national, and cross-national (I don't like the word inter-national)
2. Personal wealth in its elemental form is the result of labor applied to nature.

3. The wealth "pie", that is, the total wealth of a state or nation, can get bigger or smaller, depending on productivity, savings, growth, and sometimes just good luck. There is no fixed, permanent amount of wealth to divide.
4. The greater the population of an area, the greater the potential wealth.

5. All spending is the result of prior saving, even if the earnings have been saved for only minutes.
6. "Consumer spending" may be a sign of wealth but it is not the cause of wealth. Listen to the popular news and one is left with the idea that if everyone would spend everything they had saved, we would all be wealthier. Think about that a minute.

7. High demand for a commodity increases the value of the commodity, if the commodity has limited distribution. Dollars, like any commodity, increase and decrease in value based on supply. Inflation is the decreasing of the value of a dollar, not the increasing of the price of goods and services. Higher prices are the effect of inflation.
8. Civil governments do not produce wealth except in the general sense of "governing" the actions of wealth builders. A nation's wealth and the government's cash reserves are not the same thing. The cash reserves of the government are taken from the wealth of the taxpayer. The exception is the government that controls a highly valued commodity, as in the case of the United Arab Emirate countries who control the highly valued commodity, oil.
Corollary question: If it were true, as everyone seems to believe, that the issuer of currency (the government) could make everyone wealthier by issuing everyone a check for $100,000, why don't they?

9. Democracy, freedom and popular elections do not guarantee wealth. They are the "good soil" of prosperity. Frugality, industry, and honesty in transaction are better guarantors of wealth than the former. That is, give me the latter three in a monarchy and I am more likely to be wealthier (and happier) than someone in a democracy with wastefulness, dishonesty, and sloth.
10. In one sense, everything for sale is at an auction, like eBay, the difference is the amount of time it takes the seller to adjust prices based on the interest of the buyer.

11. Your turn. Please comment.

You CAN Find Good Food While Traveling.

One of the enjoyments of travel is finding new, good, and inexpensive restaurants. I kind of pride myself in the ability to sniff them out. But even when I find a bad restaurant, it can be fun.

Here are a couple of my rules (all of them have exceptions).

1. I try to do some research. Find the blogs that are written locally and have real opinions and not just links. (See below for a good blog for hamburger lovers traveling in Texas).

2. I never dine in areas populated by out-of-town tourists. I love the San Antonio Riverwalk but there are a lot of bad restaurants on the Riverwalk. These restaurants survive because of location and not food quality. I go a block or two away from the main tourist area. The food is almost always better, the service is better, and they are less expensive. Again, San Antonio is a good example of this with great restaurants downtown. Similarly, I seldom dine in a restaurant with a good view because they are selling the view not the food. There are exceptions, of course.

3. Look for local patrons -- but also look for locals going in and out. Many local restaurants are just hangouts for guys who drink coffee. A healthy supply of newspaper "kiosks" outside of the restaurant is a good sign of heavy traffic.

4. An empty restaurant is empty for a reason, unless it is new, it's a bad reason.

5. I try to find the "specialty of the day." It is usually the freshest thing on the menu.

6. Look for the local specialties. That is, look for good crab cakes in Baltimore and good tacos in Texas.

7. Smell first, taste second. If the restaurant smells bad it tastes bad.

8. You don't eat the furniture. Who cares if the chairs match.

Speaking of finding good food. There is an excellent website, locally written, for folks traveling in Texas who like to stop for burgers. The name is Texas Burger Stops, and in those pages you can get opinions on burger spots from Mabank to Southlake. I like the way TBS gives the details of a good burger: the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and the meat and cheese.

http://texasburgerstops.blogspot.com/

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NBA All Stars in 2010.

I know there are many residents of our fair burgs who do not agree with municipal involvement in sports franchises. I am not one of them. I don't care how rich Jerry Jones or any franchise owner gets from it. I'm still not one of them.

I supported enthusiastically the Dallas Cowboys moving Texas Stadium to Tarrant County and supported the sales tax initiative even though I live in Fort Worth not Arlington.

Now, it is reported that the Dallas Mavericks are supporting the 2010 NBA All-Star game being played in the new Tarrant County Texas Stadium. That means millions of dollars to Arlington and Fort Worth coming from out of town to here. Besides the great bragging rights. I will repeat for the dozenth time that Dallas was wrong in not working out some deal to bring the Cowboys back to Dallas.

Tarrant County is still growing and it is activity like this that helps.

I can't wait.

The Seven Stages of a Cold.

Day 1. I'm not feeling too good, must be allergies.
Day 2. I'm not feeling too good, I hope it's not a cold.
Day 3. It's okay, I'll feel better in a day or two.
Day 4. Damn. I feel like &X&%.
Day 5. I think I'm dying.
Day 6. I'm going to the Doctor.
Day 7. I feel better. I probably didn't need to go to the Doctor.

I'm at Day 4.

Mob Rule.

“Avoid whatever is approved of by the mob . . ." Seneca

In my not so short life, I have seen two large rallies with ugly crowds. One in New York City in the 70's, which I have mostly forgotten except for a few angry faces, and the other, last Saturday in Philadelphia, which I hope I can forget.

Governor Sarah Palin was in Philadelphia staying at the Bellevue Hotel on Broad Street. I live nearby (temporarily) and was walking by the hotel when I noticed a crowd gathering. It was obviously a pro-Obama, anti-McCain rally, or more accurately, an anti-Palin rally. The word vitriol comes mind in reference to the groups disposition. About 500 attended with dozens of obscenity-worded placards sprinkled freely throughout, including the f-bomb with "Palin" at the end of the two word sentence. And then there was the shouting of same, over and over. I heard on the news of the 4 green t-shirts with "Palin is a . . . ". I stood on the outside fringe and watched for about 5 minutes, and departed after the first smoke bomb (just smoke) was dropped about 20 feet from me.

I mention this not as a Republican to criticize Senator Obama or to connect it to him. I have no doubt that he would find this as offensive as I did. Everyone did sport an Obama button or t-shirt or something, which associates him unfairly or not, just as the Obama-haters at McCain rallies do for McCain. I mention it because we have the idea that there is virtue in a majority of opinion, and a group like this illustrates how wrong that notion can be. As I have said before, envy and hatred are never good dispositions to build a political philosophy.

I mention it also because we are losing our civility. I enjoy the sport we call elections as much as anyone. I enjoy a well placed cuss word as much as the next guy. I even enjoy a little mudslinging dirty politics and the "if the defender is in the base path run him over" way of playing it. But I fear what I saw Saturday. If that is who we are as a culture, we deserve to be conquered by whichever barbarians are at our gate and should invite them in. This was ugly.

The United States is a Republic, more specifically a federal republic of states united, constrained and instructed by a constitution and bill of rights. But a Republic requires a certain level of civility, without which, no law or weapon can protect it.
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Camping at the Marriott (or Mandalay).

A press release for Omni Hotel's "weekend getaway special" got me thinking about a "johnpetersmith" comment on my recent camping post. In that comment he proposed the idea of "urban camping."

Actually, we had done this . . . kind of.

When the children were young, and after multiple attempts at actually enjoying camping, the wife and I decided on one hot summer day to try something more relaxing for the children abd us. I looked for a hotel nearby with a good swimming pool so that the kids could cool off in the water and the wife and I could watch old movies. The DFW Marriott had a weekend special, $55 per night, including breakfast for two ( this was 1990). We signed up for a weekend visit, got a room on the pool and all had a great weekend. The children spent about 50% of the time in the pool and about 50% of the time eating junk food. I even invented a putt-putt golf game that we played in the hallways. The wife and daughter used the breakfast tickets.

Needless to say, after that, I retired the tents and the propane stove.

The special Omni is offering is a little more than urban camping, okay, it's a lot more than urban camping, but for what you get, and if you are planning a birthday or anniversary night out anyway, it's a pretty good deal. As a matter of fact, I'd say it's a great deal. So I thought I would pass it on, directly from their press release,

“Savor the Flavors of France.”

. . . on select weekends this fall, Omni guests will have another opportunity to experience France with “French Toast,” an enticing weekend package offering guests a complete immersion into the magnificent wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, sparkling wines of the Champagne region and authentic cuisine of France. The package includes luxury accommodations at participating hotels across the country (including the Mandalay), plus a cooking and wine pairing class with an Omni chef to learn authentic French cooking techniques, French dinner and breakfast, and a unique wine tote. Rates start from $339 and vary by property and date.

Cooking class, dinner, great accommodations for around $350. I like it. Now if only the Fort Worth Omni were complete . . .

Here's the link. http://www.omnihotels.com

What Me Worry? Yes.

Mad Magazine's, Alfred E. Neuman


Everyone worries. We just worry about different things. Those of us with children understand worry in its deepest level. Most of us worry about money, which is actually one thing I don't worry about, though I should. Some worries are justified, such as, fretting over a test for which we did not study, and some are not, such as, fretting over a test for which we did study and waking up in the middle of the night thinking, "did I study enough?" Once when my wife and I were practicing group worry, she made the comment that we reserve a certain amount of mental space for worry that we feel obligated to fill. I think this is true.

Sometimes, when I don't have enough of my own problems to worry about, I worry about my children's problems, and sometimes family or friend's problems, and sometimes the children of family or friend's, which is worry's hat trick. Of course, now I have grandchildren so my friend's problems are just going to have to wait in line for a while. I'll even worry for total strangers. Recently, I saw a mother nearly yank a little girl's arm off whilst correcting her and it bothered me for days. That was more pain than worry, though.

Maybe too seriously, I worry what will become of us as a nation and culture. I worry that we mock any attempt at virtue and the belief in a Transcendent Good. I worry about the effect of our cultural satire and sarcasm, mine especially.

In summary, if my owns sins and problems are not enough to worry about at any given time, I will worry about sundry other things in complete disregard to our Lord's instruction to, "take therefore no thought for the morrow . . . Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof."

Which allows me, oddly enough, to come full circle, that is, to worry about the fact that one should not worry . . . so much. People are funny.

Let's Get Mavericky.

Words, like coastal tides, have their highs and lows, ins and outs. Thanks to a John McCain co-option, the word maverick, is in.

The first time I heard it was in the late 50's when I watched the television show of the same name. Maverick, was a comedy/western starring James Garner as Bret Maverick, a poker playing non-conformist, and brother, Bart Maverick, played by Jack Kelly. I distinctly remember asking my father what the title word meant, though I don't remember his answer.

Sarah Palin used the maverick word a dozen times in her debate with Senator Biden, hoping maybe some of that James Garner personna would stick to her partner. Saturday Night Live spoofed the debate and the word when Tina Fey said, "we are not afraid to get maverick-y in there and ruffle feathers."

Today, much more somberly, I noticed a headline describing the late Steve Fossett, adventurer and aviator, after his plane was discovered in Colorado. The newspaper called him "an aviation maverick." The word suited Mr. Fossett more than most.

I do not think the word was originally meant as a compliment. The first dictionary definition is,

"1. an unbranded range animal, especially a calf that has become separated from its mother, traditionally considered the property of the first person who brands it."

The second definition makes the anthropomorphic switch as,

"2. one that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter."

Maverick, the show, was a favorite of mine as a child, but I think the tide is going out on maverick, the word.

That's Sarah . . . with an "H"

What should Sarah Palin do?

That's the question the politically curious are asking. Dems are asking it with glee, Republicans with apprehension.

I have a suggestion. . . Nothing.

I like her just the way she is. Unpolished, passionate, authentic. Will it sell to the general public? Maybe not, if it doesn't, trying to be a Republican Hillary isn't going to work either.

I say, talk about what matters to you. Talk about your vision, what contribution you can make to the public good and why your vision is better than the other guys, knowing that you had much to learn, even when you accepted the offer. Make sure everyone knows that you love the opportunity you have been given and accept the criticism that accompanies the opportunity.

America's great Presidents have not been the sharpest knives in the drawer. The idea that the President or vice-President has to be an economist, a foreign affairs analyst and a rhetorician is just wrong. The opposite is more likely true.

Let SNL, Leno and Letterman have their fun. It's equal-opportunity fun making.

I do have one suggestion for Governor Palin: after you introduce yourself, say, "that's Sarah . . . with an H" . . . Chump.

WSJ: Texas economy strong vs Ohio.

So says an editorial in the Monday edition of the Wall Street Journal. I guess with all the primary attention being on these two large states somebody decided to do some comparing. The economic and demographic numbers, shown below, look good for Texas and bad for Ohio. I bring this to readers' attention not to gloat, but to say we are fortunate, considering the national economy.

The WSJournal has conjectural (it is an editorial) reasons for Texas' advantage, reasons I happen to agree with. For instance, nearly 1,000 new manufacturing plants have been built in Texas since 2005. One of the reasons given, that manufacturers like the labor pool and the lack of labor regulation; that is, manufacturers are first looking for ways to get value inexpensively, just like you do when you go shoe shopping. If manufacturers can do that in Texas they will move here, if not, they won't. That may be an over-simplification, but you get the point.

One statistic I had not heard before: Texas is the largest international exporter among the 50 states.

Here are the main WSJ stats:

New Job Creation
Texas: 1,615,000
Ohio: -10,400

Net domestic migration
Texas: 667,000
Ohio: -362,000

Unemployment rate
Texas: 4.5%
Ohio: 6%

Per capita income growth (10 yr)
Texas: 55%
Ohio: 43%

Exports (in billions)
Texas: $150.9
Ohio: $37.8

Fort Worth: Dodging the Downturn Bullet?

The late House Speaker "Tip" O'Neill said that all politics is local, a statement with layers of meaning, but the simplest one is that both the source and the consequences of action in Washington, DC are in small communities.

The same could be said of wealth, or more accurately, wealth distribution and accumulation. It too has its source and its effects locally. A visible example in our state is the wealth that Dell Computer has brought to the relatively small city of Austin. A company started by a Michael Dell while he was a student at the University of Texas. International reach, local source and a large local effect.

The Star Telegram had a comprehensive article in the February 17 online edition about how we in North Texas and especially Tarrant County may be able to bypass the full effect of the sluggish economy and housing crisis because of a strong local economy. Why? Primarily, Barnett Shale production, but also the old and reliable: ground and air transportation, rail carriers, military equipment, inexpensive property values, banking, tourism, retail corporate headquarters, etc.

So far, the standard economic statistics show us faring better than the national averages in just about everything including, job growth, housing starts, foreclosures, even the aptly named Booze Barometer, which measures bar and restaurant alcohol sales, up 7% year-over-year for January.

The fact that wealth is primarily locally generated is not to say that a failing national or world economy doesn't effect us, it does, the value of the dollar, interest rates, tax rates, wars, etc. are influences on our economy, but as long as people are needing natural gas North Texas may be able to duck what looks like a bullet that will hit a target.

High-Speed Rail. What Do You Think?

I don't know about you but in concept, I like it. Traffic between DFW and the "lower 48" is becoming more than just annoying. It's getting dangerous, and if the danger materializes in front of you, forget it.
Austin, San Antonio and Houston would all benefit from a closer commute to us and we from being "closer" to them. DFW Airport would benefit. Southwest Airlines must be lobbying hard against it. One suggestion: have at least one car dedicated to forklift loadable cargo. I have driven from DFW to Houston and San Antonio in the evening and it is 75% FedEx, UPS and other freight company trucks.

I also like the private company investment side of it. If a financier is willing to speculate about the future as far ahead as 2020, have at it. If it pays off big for him, he deserves it.

Downsides:

• It is speculative, so if Texas stops growing at the current rates we could have a lot of hat and no cattle. But the chances of that are small, there seems to be no stopping the movement to the southern states (or northern if below the border).
• Security concerns me with high speed rail, but the French, Germans and Japanese are dealing with it.
• I'd hate to see them go hog-wild enforcing eminent domain laws.
  

Purely personal interest: I would love to take a 1.5 hour train to San Antonio. Leave Saturday morning, come back Saturday night.

I'm just starting to hear and read about this, if you know of any definite dates and plans please let me know.

In the News: Some Things are Just Cool.

You think you're SUV is killing you at the pump? Try fueling up a cross-Atlantic cargo ship. About 50,000 gallons a stop. The high price of fuel got cargo guys thinking of a way to save a couple of bucks, or Euros in this case.

So, some ingenious fellow decided to add a large para-sail to the bow of the cargo ship. Then add 100 yards or so of line, allowing the sail to rise to where the winds are stronger and steadier, and then let mother nature take over. Voila, wind power. I love the simplicity, economics and the aesthetics.

Fuel savings: 15 - 30 %.
Investment payback: 3 years

By the way, 65% of the USA consumed goods are moved by cargo ship.

Have You Been to a Barnes & Noble, Lately?

Thanks to Blogs Like a Girl for the subject of this post. Details on her blog at bottom of post.
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Do you find the at-the-cash-register upsell as annoying as I do? Next to the at-dinner telemarketing call it ranks high in the common-annoyance meter.

Not long ago, I was at the Best Buy near the Northeast Mall buying batteries. About $4 worth. At the checkout I was first asked my zipcode, no problem, they to like track sales, then I was asked if I would like to sign up for a credit card. I said no. Just the batteries. Finally -- and at this point with others in line behind me and me only buying $4 worth of product -- I'm upset, I was asked if I wanted a free trial subscription to Sports Illustrated, to which, I replied, I wanted the batteries and to talk to a manager. The cashier is doing what he is told to do and often, reluctantly. Most of them don't want the sales job, that's why they are cashiers. He called his manager and I politely registered my complaint and asked him to pass it on. Best Buy is a selling machine and they could care less what I think, but in my view the upsell is short term gain and long term loss and I wanted them to know my view, whether they care or not.

Now, Barnes and Noble is taking it a step further with the donation upsell, guilt included. That's after the, "do you have, want, and yes, you need a Barnes and Noble card."

Which leads me to the Blog Like a Girl post, written by Fort Worth Star Telegram sports writer, Jennifer Floyd Engel. That is her post for the day, the BN holiday upsell. It's well done. Some of the ST reporters have weblogs and they are good, well written -- and people read them.

http://startelegram.typepad.com/blogs_like_a_girl/2007/11/not-sports-so-i.html?cid=89610084#comments

The New Cowboys Stadium

In a recent post I mentioned what an asset the Cowboy's stadium will be to the area. That area is North Texas moving in concentric circles, with Arlington as the center. I just drove by the Stadium and I have to say again, that is one great structure. Not that all sports stadiums are beneficial to the areas they are in, they aren't. But this one will be. It is preparing itself to be a premier national facility. Another thing, Six Flags, The Ballpark, Glorypark, Wet & Wild, and now the Cowboys, add up to be a sports and family entertainment district.
Given time, I think you'll see a train running through there as well as public transport buses.

Change DFW to AFW?

Arlington (that's Texas, not Virginia) has received several recent mentions in the national news lately, both of interest to us in Fort Worth.
A Wall Street Journal article Thursday, reported on the fact that Arlington is the largest city in the U.S. (around 350,000) without public transportation. Residential and business growth has now burdened the road capacity to the point where they have to do something and and one solution being considered is cooperation with Fort Worth in their public transit system. An example of this growth is the Tom Hicks development, GloryPark. The development will add several hotels, retail centers and apartments, about 500 million dollars worth, to the already booming Ballpark/Cowboys Stadium area.
Related but a separate news item: the Dallas Cowboys are now valued #1 of all the franchises in the NFL according to a recent Forbes magazine study. Forbes currently values them at 1.5 billion dollars.
Which brings me to the change of DFW to AFW. I wasn't born here and don't know the antipathy developed over the years between Dallas and Fort Worth. But I shake my head in disbelief of Dallas sometimes. Why let the number one sports franchise in football not only move out of the city but move out of the county? I'm sorry, the Laura Miller argument doesn't work for me, and the libertarians need to get a grip on reality. If only for civic pride they ought to support it. I don't care how rich Jerry Jones is. I was around the people who almost got the Mavericks to move to the north- of- Dallas suburb cities. Dallas almost lost the Mavericks and would have lost them had it not been for Mayor Kirk. Now look at what is happening near the AA Center, and that is as it should be. But Dallas' loss of the Cowboys is our gain and kudos to Arlington for their vision. Dallas still gets the name recognition but Arlington gets the future income. I'll take the latter, but Dallas could have had both. I don't seriously think DFW will ever be AFW but Arlington and Fort Worth are winning their fair share of the competition for incoming businesses and residents. A drive down the tollway from Highway 121 in Frisco to Downtown Dallas gives you an idea of how much bigger the Dallas and immediate north is than Fort Worth, Arlington and its immediate north. But the difference today is a whole lot less than when I moved here 25 years ago especially when you consider that the growth immediately north of Dallas is not in Dallas. It's in Addison, Carrollton, Richardson, Plano and now Frisco. Frankly, if I were in charge of Dallas, I would be worried about it. I think Dallas has a problem, I really do. If you think growth is automatic in a city, ask someone from Cleveland or Detroit where populations have halved in the last 15 years.
Congratulations to Arlington, all of DFW will benefit, but next to Arlington itself Fort Worth and its residents will benefit the most.

Dallas Cowboys stadium: http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/
Dallas Cowboys, #1 valuation in NFL: http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/235074.html