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Corporate America Keeps Profits Strong, Jobs Weak
Refried and Don, For video lectures and interviews on economics, politics, world history, science, and other interesting topics, I like: * http://www.ted.com * http://mitworld.mit.edu/ * http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/ Best, Fred— September 12, 2010 1:19 a.m.
Times Highlights Malecot Indictment
How much do we owe today on Petco and Qualcomm...and I mean total, including interest and fees? Does anyone even know? Best, Fred— September 8, 2010 7:51 a.m.
Linda Vista Landmark Skateworld Faces the Wrecking Ball of Redevelopment
San Diego's Redevelopment Plan: 1. Find a neighborhood without organized residents. 2. Declare the neighborhood "blighted". 3. Shift the "redevelopment funds" to downtown insiders. 4. Repeat. The folks who have honest businesses, paying taxes and contributing to the community, end up losing what they've built. Insiders stuff their pockets, then scram, leaving the public to pay off the debts. Let's stop this pattern in Grantville first, then Linda Vista. Brian Peterson and the Grantville Action Group have stood up and fought, and they have a great chance of winning in court next month. Donate at: www.GrantvilleActionGroup.com Once Dr. Peterson and GAG wins their lawsuit, it's time to work on what's happening in Linda Vista. Thanks, Joe, for a great article. Best, Fred— September 4, 2010 6:45 a.m.
What??? Mr. Upbeat, Tony Robbins, Warns of Gloom
Don, you may be a bald-talking inpecunious sans culottes, yet compared to the charmingly overpaid and underworked charlatans selling pseudo-spiritual seminars and duplicitous derivatives through synthetic sincerity and pathetic plastic prettiness, you are the epitome of pulchritude. (Yup...I kin right them there english real good, huh?) Don, the next question is, where do we sans culottes brandish our pikes? After the world's transformational festival of fecal financing, no one seems to have been forced to eat the inevitable cloacal output except...us! Instead of performing basic civic administration, the San Diego "leadership" borrowed irresponsibly from the pension fund and the bond markets to squander the money on stadiums, ballparks, and political conventions. Yet those same buggering 'tards have been elected to higher office, appointed to prestigious posts, or retired in luxury. Can we name names? Susan Golding Jack McGrory Casey Gwinn Byron Wear Jim Madaffer Harry Mathis Barbara Warden Toni Atkins Ron Saathof ...those are just off the top of my head. None of them have experienced any negative consequences from their duplicitous dealings with the public purse. While most San Diegans face an inevitable decline in what they can expect in the future, the ass-clowns named above (and there are many more to add to the list) continue to be esteemed members or minions of the tight little oligarchy running the show. Ecclesiastes sums it up: "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned...." Time and chance could shift further still, and serious social unrest is not out of the question for America's future. I somehow doubt the path Mr. Robbins promotes will lead anywhere. Reading some history...perhaps about the prelude to the French Revolution or the pivotal events leading to the revolutions of 1848, suggests things could get quite bad. And most likely the fools who drove us here will get away with it...completely. There is no justice in America today, yet another symbol and symptom of its tragic decline. O tempora o mores!— August 27, 2010 10:57 p.m.
What??? Mr. Upbeat, Tony Robbins, Warns of Gloom
Re: Firewalking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W5FRl0qhOM Paul is right. It's not faith. It's not motivation. It's not hypnotism. It's physics. For tall talking charlatans to sell this as some sort of mystical event is lucrative, but not admirable. For Robbins to now come out as a gloom and doomer is laughable. OR is it just more entertainment in the guise of self-help? Bah! I'd rather listen to gloomy, but truth telling, realists like Don Bauder. He's not trying to sell me hot coal walks or breezy motivational nostrums. Best, Fred— August 26, 2010 11:46 p.m.
Luna’s lacuna
a2z...here's what happened to Marin's SAP implementation: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/… Marin County pulls plug on $30M computer program— August 26, 2010 4:50 a.m.
Did Somebody Change the Charter?
Pat, Don, a2z, Look deeper into the SAP implementation project...it's required under the SEC consent agreement, and looks to be over budget and late. I read the original contractor's statement of work, a few years back, and I could see why it failed. Now that SAP has taken over the implementation, what's going on? They didn't want to touch it at first, hence the failed (thwarted?) contractor attempt...have they somehow succeeded in deriving realistic requirements, developing the system, and deploying it? As a2z mentions, the City's IBA and CFO haven't sat down to review if the new system's financial reports are accurate... Compared to original estimates, what have we spent so far on this SAP system, and how much more do we anticipate spending? Most importantly, did this new system lead to re-working the basic business processes of the city, thereby saving us money through new efficiencies, or did it get manhandled by public employees who forced the system designers to duplicate existing processes, leading to stagnation, an illogical workflow within the system, and little lasting advantage over the old systems? It sure would be nice to learn more... Best, Fred— July 28, 2010 9:21 p.m.
There Go the Lovers
To anyone who doesn't like this article, you "may go to Hell and f--k spiders"! Great article. Great story. Greatest quote!— July 25, 2010 12:55 a.m.
How Lobbyist Tried to Sway Pat Kruer
Ian Trowbridge is a San Diego hero. Thanks yet again, Ian. Keep up the good fight! Best, Fred— July 10, 2010 1:31 a.m.
Luna’s lacuna
A2Z, keep on that...this SAP systems integration/replacement contract's Statement of Work, when I saw if a few years ago, was very revealing. It would be great if you could take the time to track each of those items against actual results so far...maybe it shouldn't amaze me that no journalist is on this story, since the few who have any technical skill left journalism a long time ago...and it's this ignorance on the part of the journalism crowd that stops us from finding out about massive waste and fraud in the IT sector. A2Z, I know you've got the knowledge to dig into this...it would be a great public service. Maybe after you do the spadework, a so-called "real" journalist will follow up with a story or two. Best, Fred— July 10, 2010 1:29 a.m.