New York Public Libraries

Libraries are some of the greatest resources that a city can have.  You can borrow books and movies, use their reference section to look up things (note:wikipedia doesn't have everything), enjoy the air conditioning on a hot day, use their computers or bring your own and use their free wi-fi.  The best thing about the free wifi is that the staff does not come around to give you the evil eye if you sit around too long watching movies, surfing the net or running a small business.  As long as you do not exhibit any objectionable behavior and mind your own business, no one really cares what you do at the library.

Just as any institution with multiple branches, some libraries are better than others.  Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the neighborhood location.  Allow me to rate the 5 branches that I have frequented over the past month.  Ratings have absolutely nothing to do with the books or movies that are available to borrow, rather it has to do the the people who frequent the library.

The Battery Park City Branch -- You may think that because it is located in a posh neighborhood, that this one would receive the highest rating, but you are mistaken.  The library is located in very nice building and it seems very clean inside, but when you enter the library, there is a very strange odor.  Also, the clientele seems to vary between the borderline homeless, students and people with children.  Thankfully (for the children), the children's section is located far away from the adult reading section.  It has nothing to do with the amount of noise, rather it has to do with some of the questionable adults who frequent the library.  The second floor reading area seems clear, and I think it is because the borderline homeless usually come in to use the internet, or they do not bother to walk up the steps to the second level.

New Amsterdam Branch -- Located a few blocks north of the Financial District, one would think that this storefront branch would attract some of the more common library users.  Again, borderline homeless are asleep at the reading tables of this one floor library branch, but at least there is no strange odor upon entering this establishment.  There is a small children's section near the front of the library, but I do not know what parent would want to wade through all of the sleeping giants to get there.

Chatham Square Branch -- Right in the center (a little right of center) of Chinatown.  This branch is composed of three floors with the children's section on the upper floor and a reading room in the basement with some Chinese language reference material.  For the most part, the basement is quiet, but crowded.  The first floor and second floors are complete mayhem with kids running around playing first person shooter games on the computers and parents speaking very loudly in Chinese to other people or their children.  For some reason, the whole idea of a library is lost on these new immigrant Chinese who believe that holding a conversation across the room of a library is considered appropriate behavior.  This branch is nothing more than a place for hard working parents to drop off their kids in a relatively safe environment so that they can go to work with peace of mind that their kids are not picking up bad habits (did I mention that they are playing first player shooting games and holding conversations with each other across a room).  I would give this an extra point because there are no smelly homeless people here.

Seward Park Branch -- Located about 5 blocks north of the Chatham Square branch, this is another area where the immigration population tends to gather, but unlike the Chatham Square Branch, the atmosphere is much calmer here.  I believe that it is because there are three separate floors with considerable barriers that make this possible.  The first floor is mostly reserved books and movies, with a few tables for the occasional web surfer.  There is a youth community lab near the back, but no one really goes in there.  The children's section is on the second floor and is relatively large.  For some reason, it is much less chaotic than the Chatham Square Branch, one can actually read a book to their children without being interrupted by people yelling across the room to each other.  The third floor has a nice quiet area for students to study, people to read and bloggers to rate other neighborhood libraries on their laptops. 

Mulberry Street Branch -- This is located in a nice neighborhood and seems like it was a converted warehouse of some sort.  Composed of three levels going down. Again, movies on the first level with some banquette seating and little cafe tables for you to plunk down your laptop.  I did see a homeless guy sleep in the corner, but the security guard is quite vigilant and makes sure that no one goes near him.  The first level down is the children's section which is small and kind of maze like, but it works.  The second level down has a teen/youth section for studying and socializing and then a separate adult reading area for those who seem to be working on business plans, studying for professional exams or just surfing the web on their laptops.  Other than being in the sub-basement of a warehouse (very Silence of the Lambs), it is okay.  This branch gets style points and good library points.

If you are looking for a good library experience, you may want to consider the following:
--Find a library with multiple levels.  This is to avoid those who are borderline homeless or those who generally do not bathe.  They tend not to make a trip up or down stairs for reasons only they will know. 
--Avoid libraries where the clientele do not understand the purpose of a library.  It is not a daycare center where you can drop off your kids. 
--If it smells bad on the first step in, then it's not going to get any better.

I hope that your library experience will be a productive one.

What would you do for five cents?

Now that I have resigned from my formal job, I have a lot more time on my hands.  I have a planned reading schedule in addition to doing small errands.  In the past three days, I have finished a book, re-filed some documents, borrowed out a book and fixed the shower faucets.  Most of these things required some amount of time that I did not have due to the work schedule that I have had.  Most libraries and hardware stores are not open past 8pm, my family requires round the clock use of the bathroom and it is difficult to read when my children feel like sleeping in our bed and by the time I move them, it is even more difficult to read more than 4-5 pages of a serious book.

In between the all of the tasks that I have performed in the past 3 days, I have been able to observe the lives of others.

Just sitting  and looking out the window in the early evening, I noticed some strange economic activity taking place across the street.  Living in a big city, we are accustomed to seeing various people going through garbage to collect cans or bottles and redeem them for the the deposit of five cents.  Most of us can live without redeeming the bottle/can deposit for five cents and because of that, an economy was created where people rummage through garbage and collect the bottles and cans.  Most supermarkets have machines set up outside and away from their entrances to collect the bottles and cans where there are long lines of people with overfilled shopping carts making the redemption. 

It is quite predictable that these collectors become quite frustrated with each other and displays of unpleasantness result.  In order to avoid semi-violent confrontation, redemption schedules are arranged among the groups who utilize this service.  But what happens if the redemption machine becomes the problem and refuses to cooperate.  There is no overnight storage facility for their collection and they must make room for the new inventory for the next day.  This can result in a loss of a day's work for a person who derives their income from such activity. 

Let us estimate the possible income from such activity.  It is five cents per can, so 20 cans is equal to 1 dollar.  200 cans is 20 dollars.  The volume of a typical can is 12 ounces and a typical large garbage bag can hold 30 gallons.  If 1 gallon is 128 ounces, it is possible that each large garbage bag is equal to 15 dollars in redemption fees.  Let us consider the amount of labor that goes into collecting 300 cans and the sordid behavior at a can redemption center, can that be worth 15 dollars?  Usually, a day's harvest can be 6 bags of cans which can bring in 75 dollars.  For 30 days work, that is 2100 dollars.  So, if the machines at the redemption center are not working or if you lose your turn, you can lose at least 2 days of harvest.

Luckily, there are even more industrious people around who can help.  Since scrap metal can trade at a premium and the quality of the metal collected in the cans has already been sorted out by the harvesters, a "grey" market can be created for those who do not want to deal with the redemption centers.  Every evening at about 6 pm, a the can harvesters wait along the street and a box truck drives up to collect their harvest.  Looking at the back of the truck, it does not seem that this is is first pickup, nor will it be his last for the day.  Whatever he pays, it cannot be more than what they get at the redemption center, but upside for the harvesters is that they do not have to deal with the seamy and surly behavior of those who monopolize the redemption machines.  Even if they receive 80 % of their harvest they will be receiving 1680 per month.  This is approximately 20000 a year...tax free!!!!  That may not seem like a lot of money, but if one is collecting cans for income, they are probably not sitting back watching CNBC nor are they reading BusinessWeek.  For the trucker, at 20% per bag and consider that a truck can hold 128 bags, that is approximately 140,000 annually before the the cost of fuel and truck maintenance.  Everyone wins, the harvesters receive cash, the trucker/aggregator make money on the difference paid out and the actual redemption fee, cans are recycled, and the environment is greener.  Possibly the only loser is the consumer who pays the 5 cents and does not redeem.

Collecting and redeeming cans is a completely sustainable industry. As long as beverages are delivered in metal cans and consumers are forced to pay the 5 cent deposit, but not redeem the cans themselves, there will be a whole industry centered around the redemption cans. 

Priorities...

I work in an office where all of our gustatory need and wants are not lacking.  The pantries are filled with all types of snacks and ready to eat meals.  The refrigerator is stocked with soft drinks, juices, milk, yogurts, etc.  We have an ice machine that makes perfect cubes of crystal clear ice and an espresso machine that can rival that of any coffee bar in the area.  In addition to these gastronomical delights, we have dishwasher that cleans the plates, cups and other associated utensils that are used to consume the food contents of the kitchen.  (Are you really going to eat that Snickers bar with you hands?). 

At the beginning, in order to reduce waste and be ecologically responsible, we had ordered plates, cups, mugs, forks, knives and the like from a local home goods store.  It was a great experience to have pizza on bone china with a knife and fork.  The immediate problem that arose was that no one wanted to load the dishwasher and left everything in the sing (I mean EVERYTHING, or worse, the half-eaten meals were just left on the desk.  The situation was remedied when an extra person was hired to load the dishwasher and to round up the half-eaten food off the desks and bring them into the kitchen.  Also, various members of the company were put to shame for not cleaning up. 

A second problem arose when people started to toss various items in the trash absent-mindedly.  Soon, there were an uneven pairs of bamboo chopsticks, sets of silverware became individual pieces and demitasse spoons for the esspresso cups went missing.  The addition of disposable cutlery and plates mitigated the inadvertent disposal of the more permanent cutlery, but it also increased the amount of waste that was produced.  Soon, paper and plastic cups where available to everyone and it further reduced the load on the dishwasher. 

The presentation of these things have a point.  Not that reducing waste (disposable plates, cups and cutlery) will increase water usage by the dishwasher because I do not have any metrics to support that assertion nor do I even want to make that point.  Rather, last night as I was leaving the office, I went into the kitchen to put my coffee cup in the sink because I was a good and responsible citizen.  It seems that I am not the only moral being in the office because to my surprise I found another item in the sink...a plastic 16 oz. cup that was filled with detergent and water. 

Addiction

Why do become become addicted to things?  Addictions can be to substances or activities.  I can attempt to explain with with a lot of neurochemistry and how the biology of some brains have over or under expressed receptors for neurochemicals or how certain neurochemicals are over or under produced and that these imbalances drive some people towards addiction.  The biochemical explanantion would make it hopeless to break out of addiction and external chemicals are necessary to restore balance.  Medication can be remedy for a small percentage of people.

I suspect that most people become addicted to something because they need an escape from reality.  The numbness results from addiction gives one a temporary respite from the pains and pressures of the real world.  It would be great if all I had to do was to close my eyes and everything would disappear.  The world would not matter, there would be no problems because I do not see them anymore. 

The search for such ephermal peace makes some people so desparate that they will try anything, just to get back to where things did not matter anymore.  To live like a person in nature, where all needs and wants are provided without asking.  A few minutes of a mind altering substance does not solve any problems because eventually, everyone has to come back to live in this reality.  The need to stay in the altered state becomes the goal because the pain of reality becomes unbearable.  When does it stop? 

Although addicts do not want to harm themselves, ultimately, they  do harm themselves.  Their quest is no different than that of anyone else.  All of us are searching for some kind of paradise, an Eden, so that we can live there forever.  Numbing the pain cannot bring you there, because paradise is place where there is no pain, there are no deadlines.  Each of us has to make an earnest attempt to find heaven, and it is not by numbing the pain of everyday life.  There is something out there, beyond what we know and see. A life that is longing to be.

The 1 %

No, not the rich Wall Street bankers who reaped zillion dollar bonuses and not pay any taxes while the rest of the country suffered and lost their jobs.  I am speaking of people who live in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments with the most tenuous claims to those apartments. 

Recently, residents of the upper west side of New York City have complained about large chain stores taking over complete blocks with their stores.  The residents say that the small business owner has no chance of succeeding when these stores come into their neighborhood, so they have proposed some kind of zoning regulation that new stores can only occupy a certain amount of storefronts.  All in the name of protecting small buisnesses, neighborhood aesthetics and warding off large and greedy businesses.  Yes, the true champions of humanity.

Allow me to suggest another motive, rent-control or rent-stablized aparrtments.  I think that most of these concerned citizens are more concerned with the status of their cheap rent in that neighborhood.  In the past fifty years, the price of almost everything has gone up, except for the rent they pay to live in those apartments.  The owners and landlords of those apartments have to pay for all of the services of those places, but they cannot pass on the costs to the renters.  So, how can they maintain these residences for low rent paying people?  One way to do it is to rent storefronts to chain stores who will pay market price or even a premium for the space to offset all of the low rent coming in from rent stabilized/controlled apartments. 

The fear of the large chain stores is that a different set of people will move into the neighborhood.  People looking for the convience of chain stores that are open for 24 hours and not just during working hours when those residents are actually at work.  Imagine working a very long day and getting home at 9 pm, only to find that there is nothing in the refrigerator, and all of the stores around you had closed at 8:30 pm.  You would have to go back out, walk 8 blocks to the large super chain store to get a package of instant noodles for dinner before collapsing in front of your television at 11 pm.  You are the type of person that these champions of humanity are rallying against.  Because you can afford to pay more rent than they pay, they fear that they will lose their sweet deal of an apartment. 

The fear of modernization and moving forward because one has to give a deal to which they are not entititled is worse than being a banker who bought insurance on bad debt and profited from it.  No one wants to pay rent, just as no one wants to pay taxes, but all of us do because that is the cost of living in a society.  If everyone just looked out for their own interests, then no good would come out of it.  For those who do not like paying market prices for rent, they should heed the advice of the President of the United States...PAY YOUR FAIR SHARE!!!!

The War Between The States...

...and the Federal Government of the United States of America.
That is what it should have been called instead of The Civil War (what the winners called it) or The War Between the States (which is how it is referred to in the South). 

New York City public schools have cast it as the war to free the slaves.  Although slaves were freed during the war, it was not the main point of the war as many would have you believe.  The war did end slavery and the slave trade in the South, but eventually, that was going to come to an end.  I understand that slavery (as practiced in the United States until the end of the 1870's) was a really bad thing because human beings were routinely mistreated and involuntarily denied their freedom.  The practice of slavery had to end for that reason.

Let us go back to the discussion of the war in the 1860's.  The reason for the war was that some states felt that the federal government had overreached its mandate and started to butt into the rights of the states.  The ugly practice of slavery was just one of the issues, but because it was really convienient and a despicable practice, it became the face of this war.  The South could not frame the war as a fight for the sovereignty of States and that is one of the reasons they lost the war.  If they had a better public relations machine, then they would have stood a chance. 

What was so important about States' rights?  The Constitution of the United States allots the Federal goverenment a certain degree of responsibility and it also leaves other responsibilities to the States.  The Bill of Rights, specifically the tenth Amendment, grants the States the rights that are not given to the Federal government and not prohibited by the US Constitution.  States are sovereign entities, although the exist within the context of the United States.  They are recognized for their individuality and entrepreneurship.  The States were not meant to be clones of each other.  When the Federal Government steps in and starts to regulate the States so that Vermont can be the same as Georgia, there is a problem.  The Federal goverenment has to recognize that the States have different economies, different resources and different needs and things that are good for Vermont are not necessarily good for the Georgia. 

The Civil War was much deeper than slavery, it was about the ability to decide one's own destiny (ironically for some Southerners, the ability to decide their own destiny depended on the suppression of that ability in other people).  A 'watered-down' presentation of the Civil War as the struggle to free the slaves is really a disservice to history.  It is a deep discussion on the resposibilities and roles of the many pieces of our government.  If it is simply presented as a war to end slavery, then where is the discussion of state sovereignty?  How will anyone learn about their rights and responsibilities?  By not delving further into the subject matter, all of us have become slaves of the federal government. 

All of us need to understand our system of government to become better citizens.  Following rules does not make us better citizens, it makes us slaves.  Being able to operate freely because of our deep understanding of our system of government makes us better citizens.  Better citizens make this country better.  The United States alows us to be free, but what does it really mean to be free in this country and what should we do with that freedom?

Fanatics

At least once a year adults get dressed up in outrageous costumes to engage in fun.  I am not talking about what goes on in the privacy of one's bedroom (or whatever rooms on their private property that they may choose to engage in that type of activity between consenting adults).  Nor am I talking about Halloween, when some adults indulge in some healthy (and not so healthy) fantasies.  I am talking about sports fanatics, a breed that is probably worse than the most avid D and D 15th level warrior/mage fluent in Elvish, Orcish and Dwarvish.  I am not preaching tolerance, rather, I would like to propose that as a society, both should be treated with the utmost disdain because they are the same animal.

Let us consider two events and their participants.  The San Diego ComicCon which is considered the Super Bowl of all ComicCons.  Other cities may host their own events, but nothing can compare to this one event where people from all over the world come to see the lates in science fiction/fantasy dressed up as their favorite characters that range from Japanese anime characters to modern television adaptations of Japanese anime characters.  And the one sporting event that brings everyone together from all over the world (mostly the United States), the Super Bowl, which is considered the San Diego ComicCon of all football games.  There are other football games, but none of them can attain the fever pitch of the once a year event of The Super Bowl.  Fans come dressed, rather, adorned in their team uniforms (I choose the word "adorned" because some fans tatoo and paint themselves in the colors of that team).  Is it becoming obvious that these are the same type of people?

Let us examine some of the similarities...

Each is extremely knowledgable about their subject.  The sports fan can recite the rosters of each team (pre-season, regular season and post-season) since inception and even if they had switched cities.  They can also explain why the 1965 incarnation of the team (although not a championship season for them) was much superior to the 1988 incarnation of that team (a championship season) adjusting for all of the rule changes in the game and the extended regular season, the dilution of talent, the impact of free agency and the extended post-season.  They will insist that in a head to head match up, the 1965 team will handedly beat the 1988 team.  The Battlestar Galactica super fan will be able to recite the constitution of the governmental system and all of its laws and amendments of the 12 planets.  Not only that, he can list all of the presidents of the 12 worlds and their major political achievements. 

Each has a sacret object (or objects, depending on their economic status).  For the sports fan, it will be a signed football from a past championship season that has all of the autographs of the players and coaches.  If it is a super fan, then he would have bribed a locker room attendant for a used towel on that championship day.  This item will be sealed in a glass case and placed in a prominent area of the home.  For the sci-fi/fantasy devotee, it will be the lightsaber that was used by Darth Vader when he struck down Obi-Wan Kenobi on the Death Star as Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie were boading the Millenium Falcon.  And if he is lucky, there would be a picture of him and George Lucas in this collection of objects.  Actually, it will technically be a picture of him and Mr. Lucas, because as George Lucas was waiting for his take out order, this fan sidled into view and a friend snapped a quick photo to record this moment in history when the fan met his god.

Each will also have built a shrine in his place of residence (that is if his place of residence is not already a shrine) to their object of worship.  This most sacred place will be filled with the sacred objects much to the envy of their friends who share the same passion and to the misfortune of all others.  With every object, the story of its signficance to the team and the adventure of how it was obtained will be unfolded before you like the gift of crisp underwear on a Christmas morning.  All will listen with mouths agape, some in wonder and awe, and others in disgust and utter disdain for the loss of 30 minutes of their lives that can never be reclaimed.

One area tha I would also like to discuss is the pageantry of the events where the individuals arrive in full regalia of their respective events.  The confidence of a person to dress in this manner with utter disregard to the lack of physical fitness is not quantifiable in humanly attainable methods.  Sports jerseys (modest ones) may be acceptable, but tattoos, body paint and other types of identifying marks cross the lines of good taste.  The same can be said of people dressed as costumed superheroes.  I am quite certain in the limited number of comic books that I have read that Superman did not have a beer gut and Wonder Woman did not have spider veins (also, I am quite sure that neither Spiderman nor Spiderwoman had spider veins).  Just for the sake of decency, please consider the rules of good taste.

Just one more comment about dressing up.  Putting on the sports uniform of your favorite quarterback will not give you the magical ability to throw touchdown passes with pinpoin accuracy, nor can you catch passes thrown at 90 miles an hour.  The same goes for comic characters, fashioning Batman's utility belt out a hardware tool belt does not make you Batman and capable of fighting crime.  A piece of paper with the bus schedule between the convention center and the basement apartment in home of your parents is not a GPS. 

I am certain that many more simliarties can be made between these types of people, but I must go back to the original question: why is society more tolerant of a sports fan than a comic book fan?  The sports fan may have partcipated in organized sports in school which give him some kind of physical development that Jedi Knight training academy or Klingon language schools may not have endowed on others.  The present society encourages the bullying of the weak by the strong.  Is there one school counselor in the world who would advise a football player that maybe he should work on his Boba Fett costume because the jet pack does not match the armor?  If it were the other way around, a school counselor would advise someone working on armor for the Society of Anachronistic Arts to play some sports. 

It has been embedded into our belief system that might is right, and that is the reason that sports fanaticism is much more tolerable and accepted than sci-fi fanaticism. 

Limited edition

Today, I read an article where there was some violence surrounding the sales of Air Jordan sneakers.  People were physically beating each other and some shoppers had to be calmed down with pepper spray because of these new pair of sneakers going on sale.  The reason for the frenzy is that they are limited edition sneakers which mean only a certain number are made, so no more will be made once they are sold out.  Unfortunately, I did not partake in the festivities known as "beat up your fellow shopper for a pair of sneakers."  I may also add that they were much more expensive than a normal pair of sneakers.  Let us come to our senses here, these are SNEAKERS!!!!!!!!!  They go on your feet.

Another example of limited edition items comes in the form of Lego building blocks.  One year, Lego made a limited number of a Star Wars Star Destroyer set.  It was initially sold at three hundred dollars.  The very next year, it was selling on an online auction site for ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!!!  Never been opened, just being sold in mint condition.  Allow me to put this into perspective.  THIS IS A TOY!!!!!!!!!!! It was meant to be played with.

Then there are those who buy comic books right off the press and preserved in plastic.  Forever preserved.  At this point, it might as well be in amber.  I can appreciate artistry that goes into drawing the pictures, but these are printed by machine and not drawn by hand individually.  Again, THIS IS A COMIC BOOK!!!!!!! It was meant to be read and provoke thought.

Sure, I can accept that one man's trash is another man's treasure, but has the world completely gone mad?  I can understand assigning value to things such as diamonds, Rolex watches or even Corvettes, but sneakers, Lego blocks and comic books?   Have we completely lost our way as human beings?  Where is our self-estseem?  Where is our dignity? 

wrong place, wrong time

Often, when tragedy strikes an innocent victim, the pharse, "wrong place, wrong time" is used.  What happens if the person is waiting for a bus, the bus arrives on schedule and he gets on, but a plane falls out of the sky and hits the bus?  Then, the phrase, "wrong place, wrong time" would not necessarily apply to this situation.  The phrase is usually applied when a child is at a store buying a carton of milk and a robbery takes place and the child is injured.  Wrong place, wrong time.

Where am I going with this?  Is there a right place, right time?  For example, let us take the case above where a child is buying something in a grocery store and a robbery takes place.  Let us swap out the child and say that a pedophile is in the grocery store buying a carton of milk and the same events happen, would that be the right place and right time?  Being that it is a pedophile (and most pedophiles project such nice personalities), people would say still say that he was at the wrong place and at the wrong time.  Then when they find out he is a pedophile, their perception will change that he was at the right place at the right time. 

Let us take it one step further, would the robber who fired the fatal shot be rewarded for ridding the world of this menace?  Then in this case, the robber would be in the wrong place at the wrong time, because he only wanted to rob the store and not shoot a pedophile.  But let us replace the pedophile with just any type of fugitive with a bounty.  Would the robber be eligible for the reward?  The fugitive would be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and so would the robber.  But in this case two wrongs probably made a right, but for who? 

We should just settle that things happen and the rightness or wrongness of the place or the timing is purely subjective.

holidary cheer...

For the past two years, it seems that every year when I decide to take my children on the subway to see the model trains at the train museum at Grand Central Station, we end up in the midst of SantaCon.

SantaCon, the time of year when fat, ugly white people ( yes, I have not seen any diversity in the participants) dress up as either Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, an elf, reindeer or some amalgamation of all of them.  They meet up at some place in NYC and start drinking.  Most have already started drinking before they hit public transit, so the are pretty loud and rude. 

It is a good thing that my children belive that Santa Claus is a fictional character, can you imagine what it would be like to explain this debauchery to a young child who has his or her hopes pinned on the story of Santa?  Actually, it is already quite difficult to explain the fat, ugly white people to my children and why they are so dressed up and loud. 

SantaCon is one of those rare (and we are very thankful that it is rare) occasions that people feel the need to dress up as some fanatasy character.  The other two occasions that I can think of are Halloween and ComiCon (or some variant like TrekCon or StarWarsCon).  Those costumes are made for people who can wear them, and because the characters are cartoons, no living person is supposed to be wearing skin tight suits.

If I was to start the war on Christmas, I would start by eliminating SantaCon.

 

in this holiday season...

So, on Black Friday, there was this one incident where a woman used pepper spray at a store to gain an advantage over the other shoppers in order to get a video game console.  Despite all of the security measures (camera, guards, etc), she was able to escape undetected.  A few days later she turned herself into the police and decided to "face the music".  Quite admirable, considering that no one died and only twenty people experienced a good deal of discomfort with being exposed to pepper spray. 

The policed examined the case and the best they can come up with is possibly charging her with a misdemeanor.  Considering the behavior and bloodlust for a video console, a possible misdemeanor is close to nothing.  As the saying goes, "it's not like she had killed anyone."  Then again, if that is the nicest thing that anything can be said of anyone, it should not be said at all.

A week has past since she has come forward and admitted to subjecting fellow shoppers to pepper spray.  Now, she has filed a lawsuit against the store for inadequate security which had prompted her to use pepper spray to protect herself and her children from the surrounding mob.  I hope the error of her ways is obvious to everyone. 

First, considering all of the hype surrounding Black Friday events, it is unimaginable that any sane person would not expect a mob at most of these stores.  Second, she brings her children with her to such an event.  At this point, I think child protective services should really look into that home situation because any parent that would expose children to such a dangerous situation should be visited by child protective services.  Third, it is really a display of ingratitude at its worse when one decides to sue the store for inadequate security.  The fact that she was able to carry pepper spray into the store without being search may indicate that the store should review it's security protocols and search everyone at one of these events, it will also prevent a mad rush for items on that day.

In this holiday season, we have a blatant display of indecency, bad judgement, greed, lack of consideration for others, and most of all ingratitude. 

A man has got to know his limitations

I believe that Dirty Harry said that in one of his movies.

Today, Jon Corzine testified in Congress about the demise of MF Global.  He was quoted as saying, "I simply do now know where the money is."  He is referring to the 1.2 billion dollars missing from the customers' accounts at MF Global. 

Some people find that surprising and frankly appalling that he does not know how he lost that much money or the status of customers' funds.  Why is that surprising?  He does not know where all the money of  New Jersey tax payers went during his tenure as the governor of that state.

Before he was hired at MF Global, did anyone read his resume, especially the part of how New Jersey was in worse financial state as he ended his term?  It is not as though he made the state more fiscally responsibile or turned a profit in that state.  Everyone emphasizes the fact that he was successful at Goldman Sachs...well, that was two jobs ago.  In between, he was a as United States Senator and the Governor of New Jersey.  I want to point out that he did not make any of those organizations better.  One can make the argument that there were 99 other Senators that he had to work with and it was diffiult, but at Goldman, there are hundreds of other partners and that is a successful company.  And when he did get to run the show as the Governor of New Jersey, he did not fare any better. 

Here is a guy who was just riding the wave and after it was over, it was over. 

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, signals the first day of the Christmas shopping season.  This has not become a sport, a very violent one.  Much like the presidential primaries, every vendor wants to be the first one open their doors for customers. 

In recent years, some malls and stores have opened at midnight on Friday and have attracted customers with deep discounts on a select number of items.  So, after Thanksgiving dinner, people would drive out to these places and stand in line or wait in the parking lot until the doors opened at midnight.  It is quite a spectacle.  Other stores, opened later in the wee hours of the morning with the same enticements.  Because of the frenzy, there would be throngs of people at the entrances and when the store was opened, a mass of humanity (and I use the term very loosely, more biological than philsophical) would rush into the store and grab whatever was marked down. 

As in any scenario where a lot of people are trying to squeeze into  small space, injuries (sometimes fatalities) do occur.  People have been trampled by this rush, sometimes store employees or even shoppers.  Comparatively, the running of the bulls in Spain seem safer because the bulls will only knock you over and the rest will try to avoid you.  What kind of people (again, I use the term loosely) would just step over a person who was knocked down and grab a discounted appliance?

That was last year, when some people were trampled to death in the mad rush, this year, people were robbed in a parking lot (seemingly unrelated to shopping, yet, if you sit in a dark parking lot with lots of money, you will be robbed).  One person employed the use of pepper spray to get to the front of the line for a video game.  If there is anything that video games have taught us, it is the proper use of pepper spray to disperse large crowds.  In one other instance, a grandfather (50 year old or so) was slammed to the ground by security because someone accused him of shoving a video game (yet, another video game) into his shirt.  The explanation was that he was trying to secure it for his grandson, whom he had brought along, because others had wanted this item as well.  There were other stories this past season of shoppers rushing into a store that was not even scheduled to open and then looting the store as the employees hid and called the police.  What is going on?

Some people blame the retailers for causing this frenzy by marking down items well below any sane price.  Are retailers really to blame?  I saw this one video where a shop offered waffle irons for five dollars and that caused a fight.  WAFFLE IRONS!!!!!!! We are talking about WAFFLE IRONS!!!!!!!  Has everyone lost their minds?!?!?!!??  Even for five dollars, all you can make are waffles.  The economy is in a free fall and spending five dollars on something like that is considered a deal?!?!?!?!?!?!

A friend once told me that if you wanted to slow traffic down, you did not need to cause an accident, all you had to do was to throw a mattress (it does not matter what condition) on the the shoulder of a highway and you can cause the greatest traffic jam in the world because every single car would slow down just to look at it.  I scoffed at the comment until one time, I slowed down and looked at a mattress that was on the shoulder of a highway wondering how it got there.  Just like everyone else, I slowed down and looked at it.

I cannot blame the retailers for this frenzy on Black Friday.  The mass hysteria about buying last year's technololgy at cut rate prices is from the consumer.  The general consuming public is not smart enough to see that the stores wait until this time and then start to unload inventory to goose their year end numbers.  The warehouses are empty so that by February, they can be filled with the newest items in fashion and technology.  The public just eats up this crap that is dumped on them. 

All explained by economic behavior and the theory of games.  The notion of utility and what people will pay for  certain things.  Of course economists can explain it more techinically, but in the end, P.T. Barnum is righ, "there is a sucker born every minute", and I will add that these suckers are the result of multiple births. 

Retailers know that the more money you give, the more money they have.  .

Post Office

The United States Post Office is considering a new cost cutting measure...they plan to eliminate 1-2 day service, so that people will have to wait 3-5 days for their mail.  I am not quite sure how this makes sense, does this mean that they will sort mail slower?  Or are they scaling back on delivery? 

Currently, the mail gets delivered six times a week, Monday through Saturday.  This means that the mail truck makes a delivery everyday.  If I put a letter in the mailbox on Monday to send to someone uptown, they would usually get it by Tuesday, maybe Wednesday at the latest.  The theorhetical work flow is that mail is picked up from the mail box, brought to the post office, sorted and then put in them mail truck for delivery.  How would it work if "next-day" delivery was eliminated?  Would that mean that pick up from mail boxes would not occur on a daily basis?  Or would that mean mail would be sorted slower than usual?  Or would the mail truck skip a building or two every day?  How is money saved?

Cutting back on services or innovation will not save anyone any money.  Cutting back on this type of service will only prove a disincentive to use the services. This is almost like flushing the toilet every third time instead of every time.  (If you worked in my office place, every third time would be nice for the men's bathroom, since it doesn't look like anyone flushes at all...nor does anyone else seem to wash their hands, let alone use soap, but I digress.)  Flushing the toilet on every third use would save water, energy and be good for the environment (nature and such, not the bathroom environment).  But water conservation via the reduction of flushing only annoys people. 

In order to save water (and also for hygiene) someone invented automatic flushers.  I do not know exactly how auto-flushers work, some tell me it is the change in water pressure evidenced by the deposit of wastes into the "receptacle".  Others tell me it's the change in the light pattern presented to that little red "laser" sensor.  Still others say it is a combination of both.  Regardless, I like it and it works.  The toilets are flushed in a timely fashion and everyone is happy...except for the guy who dropped his phone into the bowl, but then again, auto-flush or not, he would still lose his phone. 

Auto-flushing is where innovation and technology have come in to save the day.  Although I doubt that people would stop using the bathroom because they would have to flush manually, this type of automation has improved the experience of bathroom usage.  How would this apply to the post office? 

The post office would have to innovate to make it relevant.  How will it do that?  Let us consider the post office alternatives, Federal Express and United Parcel Service.  These two companies acutally come and pick up your parcels and letters.  And if you need it to be somewhere in the next day, all you have to do is to pay a little extra and the delivery is practically guarantted.  The post office does have some services where mail is picked up.  In our office, mail is only picked up when other mail is delivered, which is once a day at about noon time.  Allah help the person who does not have their letter ready when the poastman comes by.  FedEx will pick up when you are ready.  It is true that FedEx and UPS charge a bit more than the United States Post Office, but they are giving us a service.  Instead of cutting back service, the post office can actually provide more service and make it more competitive with companies liked FedEx and UPS. 

FedEx and UPS are a bit more entrepreneurial as well, I think they pay by the number packages delivered and picked up.  The USPS also has more resources than the two private companies, it even has it's own police force.  There are so manything that they can do besides cutting service where it does not seem lke it will save any money, rather, it will just be viewed as an inconvienence for everyone.  Even if service remains the same, it is a bad public relations move, because everyone will think they are even slower, when they may be operating well within their time frame.  They should focus on improving their service, not necessarily delivery time, but flexibility, unlike the other private delivery services who only deliver when the recipient is not home and then force the consumer to trek all the way to the warehouse during work hours to pick up the package. 

The MTA...that is another organization that has wasted alot of goodwill from it's riders.  That discussion will have to wait until another time.

Occupy....

The Occupy Wall Street movement has spurred some interesting sister movements around the country.  Note that all of the other occupy movements name the city, not a specific street.  For example, there is Occupy Boston, shouldn't that be Occupy Beacon Street or Occupy Milk Street?  There's Occupy Philadelphia, shouldn't that be Occupy Market Street?

The protestors of Occupy Wall Street have emphasized that this is a leaderless movement and it's by the people, for the people.  But it also shows that New York City is a very different city than any other city in the world.  People in Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston seem to be angry at the city whereas, the people involved with Occupy Wall Street seem to be angry at policy makers in Washington DC and bankers who worked on Wall Street.  There is a basic financial and economic injustice that just bothers them.  Their anger may be misdirected at the bankers, but it's palpable. 

Another hallmark of this movement is that if you place a city behind Occupy, you will have a protest.  This morning I saw someone with an "Occupy Detroit" logo on their bag.  If I have ever agreed with any of the protests, it is with Occupy Detroit, because that is a very good idea.  With people leaving Detroit, the best thing that can happen to that city is for it to be occupied.  It's a good thing that  their baseball and football teams are doing well, but they certainly do need more people in that city to spur some economic development, so yes, please, everyone OCCUPY DETROIT!!!!!!

It gets stranger....

Let us consider this....
I suggest that we go out to dinner at a nice out-of-the-way-for-everybody, Japanese restaurant that is known for it's sushi.  So, everyone gets there and we start to order.  I order ..... STEAK?!?!?!?!?!?  And you order..... STEAK!?!??!?!?! Going around the table, no one orders sushi.  For drinks...... no SAKE!?!?!?? 

I think that if everyone wanted a non-sushi item, then a non-sushi restaurant would be more appropriate, unless the non-sushi items at this place were considerably cheaper than at steak-servoing restaurants.  Yet, the steak at a Japanese restaurant is much different.  There are many places where one can overpay for Kobe or Waygu beef and there are lots of places where Kobe and Waygu are prepared better without enduring the trip to an out of the way place....that is unless you do not want to run into anyone you may know. 

If one had something to hide, going into a neighborhood where the probability of seeing someone who may know is lower than staying in the neighborhood where you work is the better choice.  Yes, this is just me stirring the pot.

Roasted Whole Bean - Detailed item view - Cafe de la Esperanza

Roasted Whole Bean - Detailed item view - Cafe de la Esperanza

Christmas

Christmas used to be a very nice holiday or at least I thought it was when I was a child.  It was a lot of fun getting toys from everyone.  As I got older, I started to enjoy how nice everything looked during Christmas.  Everything had lights and streamers on them.  People were more polite and when the snow covered everything, it was a great time to be outdoors.

Recently, it seems that everyone is all twisted up on the word"Christmas".  All of a sudden, no one is allowed to say the word.  It's been replaced by the world "holiday".  And it's because everyone is a afraid that if the "word" is uttered, wars will start, people will start crying and the world will end.

What happened?  No one is forced to celebrate or observe Christmas, but everyone wants a day off from work, get gifts, eat a lot of food and sleep late.  Most holidays should not be observed with sloth and debauchery, rather they should be spent remembering the signficance of the day. 

It is true that the 25th day of December is not the actual birthday of Jesus Christ and that the basis of this winter holiday was based on some pagan ritual where naked druids danced around a tree.  Many elements of the modern observance of Christmas are not related in the Biblical account of the birth of the Christ, such as a Christmas tree, a big jolly man in a fur trimmed red suit, reindeer, crafty elves, nor the exchange of gifts.  Does it make it any less Christmas?

I think this whole "war on Christmas" is just payback by the heathen, pagans and aetheists to take Christmas away from the Christians.  After all, it was the Christians who had absconded their winter solistice observance.  And now, everyone is so uptight about who owns the observance.  For those who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas.  For those who do not, well, Merry Christmas to you also.  Kindness is kindness, just accept it.  If you get a stack of money in an envelope as a present, but it's all wrapped up in "Christmas" decorations, are you going to go and burn it?  So, don't be so uptight.

For those that do celebrate Christmas, remember it is a time to be nice to everyone.  Be sensitive that not everyone wants to see your ugly sweater and if someone says 'Happy Holidays', do not reprimand them or accuse them for waging a war on Christmas.  They are also trying to be nice. 

Let's just all try to get along.
 

Dear John

Public bathrooms are very difficult to find.  In NYC,  there is a program to install self-cleaning public bathrooms.  So far, only three have been installed because it is very difficult to find locations where plumbing is esaily accessible to install these public toilets.  Even then, the program plans to install 20 in 20 years.  That is not going to help anyone. So what do people do when they need to "go" and they are not at home.  They go to the nearest establishment where there is a toilet and it is usually a privately owned establishement that provides tolilets for their customers.  Places such as hotels or restaurants. 

So the private establishments have to pick up where the public sector cannot even provide for the basic needs for their citizens to relieve themselves.  The owners of private establishments must then maintain the very public use of these toilets and with very little thanks from the government.  Instead, the government then goes into these places and rate them on their cleanliness.  A good deed never goes unpunished. 

Private establishments are stuck between a rock and a hard place.  They bear the scorn of the general public when they do not allow non-paying customers to use their toilets, but if they do, they have to spend the time and money to maintain the facilities that the government cannot provide for its own public.  One of  the few injustices that business owners must bear...but do they really have to?

The Bill of Rights has turned us in to a country of whiners.

I like the Bill of Rights, I do not have anything against it.  I enjoy exercising my first amendment rights and also my second amendment rights.  The third and the fourth are pretty cool.  Always nice to acknowledge the fifth.  Sixth, seventh and eighth are quite useful.  Ninth and tenth are nice catchalls.  So, how have we become a country of whiners because we have this Bill of Rights?

In a previous post, I had pointed out that the protesters involved with the Occupy Wall Street movement had compared the Mayor of NYC to various world leaders who have violently suppressed the rights of his people.  By violent, I mean they have shot and killed their own people.  Also some protestors have likened bankers and other members of the 1% to that of the Nazis in Germany or even Adolf Hitler.  I had called for more thorough research before public figures are inappropriately compared to violent despots (or even semi-benevolent despots).  It would really do a lot for the freedom of speech that all of us cherish.

Recently in the news, some students had at a university had formed a human chain by interlocking their arms and kneeling on the ground to block access to a part of the university.  A video shows that a police officer used pepper spray on these students who were protesting peacefully.  The majority of the viewers expressed outrage at this action by the police officer.  I do not know the circumstances surrounding the incident, but as it appears on the video on the internet, it does not bode well for the police.

When interviewed on television, a well-known documentary film maker compared this incident to that of Tiananmen Square.  Although I have not subjected to pepper spray (other than biting into a vicious habenero and having its juices squirt on the the back of my hand), I am pretty sure the being run over by a military tank or armored personnel carrier is probably much more painful (and probably fatal) then being hit with pepper spray.  Can we stop with comparisons of the events of truly tragic outcomes of protests in other parts of the world with those of the Occupy Wall Street movement?

So far, the rapes, attempted rapes, grand larceny, the majority of the assaults and some deaths that have occurred at these protests were not a result of "military action".  Most, if not all, of these incidents have been inflicted on the protesters by OTHER protestors.  Sure, during a march the police have swung a baton or two, they have tear gassed, pepper sprayed, or even treated some of the protestors a bit roughly.  How many were run over by tanks?  Did the police open fire on any of the crowds?

To compare the rough treatment of these protestors to the even at Tiananmen Square truly insults all Chinese people and those who have really sacrificed for the cause of freedom in their countries under violent, repressive and despotic regimes.  How many protestors in Tahir Square, Tiananmen Square, in Libya, or Syria, received free organic food prepared by a Michelin starred chef?  How many had the protection of the police when they occupied a public square?  They do not even have the Bill of Rights in those countries.

Please avoid comparing the OWS movement and the treatment of them by the police to those in other countries where the military has killed their own people.  In fact, if the police had treated OWS as the military had treated protesters in Tiananmen Square, this whole movement would have ended at 7pm on September 17th.