What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

The last few years of uncertainy around my job once led Terri and I into a conversation about what I would like to do if I needed a new job. My first choice would be one where I spend the mornings surfing the Internet, checking facebook and reading personal emails. I would then be required to monitor the quality of lunch menus at local BBQ joints before returning to the office for an afternoon nap and maybe some time with a good book. We both realized fairly quickly this job did not exist, so started to focus on what I know, enjoy and would be best at. I have expanded my acceptable job selection to 2 additional choices.

1. Rock Star - I know music and would be really good at it. Since I would first need to buy a guitar and then learn to play it, I don't really have time to start playing bars and work my way up. My stategy is to play Arrowhead as my first concert venue, and based on that success, start booking other stadiums across the country. The music industry would owe it to me since I am committed to putting forth extraordinary effort.
2. Major League Baseball Player - Baseball has always been my sport. Ever since the time I tripled during a practice game when substituting on an older team, I knew I was good at it. Being voted as captain on the Junior High student All Star softball team only served to validate that knowledge. We creamed the facilty team that year, based in large part on my skill at managing the team. I won't recount my stellar statistics at slow pitch softball (>.750 batting average, nearly error free 3rd baseman). Since fielding is my strength, I am thinking I am qualified to replace Jeter.

Let me know if you see any suitable job postings.

Presidential Legacies

I find it someone interesting to see how a president's legacy change over time. It never turns out to be what we thought it would when the president left office. The best example is Richard Nixon. Many will remember the Watergate fiasco which ultimately led to his resignation in dishonor. Most would have bet the farm that would be his legacy. Many still remember him as being a "crook", mainly because of his quote "I am not a crook". But his legacy is much different. He is remembered as the president that opened up China to the United States. The rest has been reduced to trivia.

Jimmy Carter left office during a dark time in our history. Interest rates and inflation was at all time highs in our history. Iran had captured and held hostage over 100 American citizens who were released as he turned the office over the Ronald Reagan. At the time, Carter was seen as a timid president who never left the White House Rose Garden. There were no great accomplishments during his administration, so his legacy was assumed to be one of a very weak presidency. Since leaving office, Carter has been rather successful in changing that perception to that of a humanitarian and statesman, all based on his actions after being president.

I wonder how our last 2 president's legacies will be formed. Many will believe Bush's legacy will be either the 2 wars he left office without finishing, or the deficit spending. I think he will be remembered for neither. Instead, his legacy will be the Middle East for better or worse. If our pursuit of Osama bin Laden only serves to kindle the hatred of Muslims, leading to jihad after jihad, 20 years from now we will blame Bush. If by chance, there is a democratic fire spreading throughout the Middle East, that will be to Bush's credit.

Obama's legacy is far harder to predict since his administration is still in the first year. Yet, his legacy may already be written, we just don't know what it will be yet. It could be one of the following:

• National Health Care - If his initiative works and health care costs are under control with no rationing, his legacy will be that. If on the other hand, national health care becomes another underfunded entitlement on top of the others, Obama's legacy could be that he bankrupted America.
• Energy Policy - If alternate energy becomes a booming industry creating millions of jobs, Obama will be seen as wise having great foresight. Otherwise, he will be remembered for his pandering to the tree huggers that result in Cap and Trade legislation, increasing the cost of all forms of energy production.
• Inflation - The rapid increase in deficit spending will eventually cause inflation to return to America's economy. Inflation benefits no one, and is the most egregious hidden tax on the poor and fixed income elderly.
• Unemployment - Most analysts that are not tied to the administration are now conceding that unemployment will not improve much if any in 2010. Without job creation, any positive economic recovery movement will be tenuous at best, and could quickly reverse sending us into a new recession. Obama's job killing policies make the chance of unemployment improvement very remote.

To me, a negative legacy associated to inflation or unemployment are far more likely than a positive legacy related to either alternate energy or health care. It is just too difficult to imagine energy or health care legislation being well crafted or executed by the federal government. In terms of legacies, Obama's downside is far greater that his upside.

Long Range Weather Forecasting

Kansas City is known for highly variable weather. One saying is that if you don't like today's weather, just wait until tomorrow. Forecasting Kansas City's weather is a challenge. Storms usually don't form until they come onto the California coast, or pass over the Rockies. They can be on us in the Midwest the very next day. Many of the local weathermen will only forecast the next couple of days because their error rate is so high when looking 3 days or farther out. There is one exception. Gary Lezac, a local TV meteorologist, goes where no other local meteorologist will go. Not only does he regularly forecast out to 7 days, he also forecast seasonal weather using his Lezac Recurring Cycle (LRC) theory.

Last week he issued his Kansas City forecast using the LRC, and provided a summary of his theory. His current winter forecast also provides insight into what other parts of the country can expect this coming season. I started following his long range forecasting last winter and was surprised by his uncanny accuracy. What is most surprising is how he uses his theory to predict when the next storm or arctic air mass will arrive. He was very successful last year when predicting a winter weather changes out 21 days or more.

His current prediction has Kansas City set for a snowy, wet winter. Later this month or early next month, Gary will start to time out his cycle and predict future dates when winter storms will arrive. I find his approach logical and more accurate than anything anyone else doing. We will just see how he does with this winter pattern. You can follow him on his daily blog and see his explanation of the LRC theory.

Giving Thanks

No politics today. It is Thanksgiving and I am a fortunate man with so many things for which to be thankful.

I am thankful for a strong family, for a caring loving wife, two spectacular daughters and three entertaining grandchildren.

I am thankful for my job, that is often overwhelming at times, but funds a lifestyle that only the top 1% of the world can enjoy.

I am thankful for my health.

I am thankful for our military who lay everything on the line for their fellow citizens back home.

I am thankful to live in the United States of America, where everyone has an opportunity to succeed.

I am most thankful for a God that has given me this and much more even though I deserved none of it.

Rise and Fall of a Roaming Empire part 3

Yeesterday, the story counted how a flawed system was implemented to meet a schedule with little visibility to the impacts of the company's operations. Today I pick up the story with how leadership responded.

So how did leadership respond? In a word, slowly. Customer Care leadership, at first, did not believe they were allowed to say the plan isn’t working. After all, this was a plan dictated by the CEO and CIO. If they communicated the catastrophe underway in their domain, would they be held responsible? As time passed and the awaited miracle did not occur, the scope and nature of the problem were finally communicated upward. Tiger Teams were created to quickly resolve the previously unknown bugs. It soon became evident that a quick turnaround was not in the cards, so a massive effort to restock the Call Centers with human talent was begun.

As staffing increased, the problems did also. New representatives were put on the frontlines before they were trained properly. While the calls were answered faster, customer satisfaction remained low. Customers sometimes resorted to calling in repeatedly for the same problem, each time getting a different answer. The strategy was to call until they spoke to someone who provided the result they wanted. Call volume was now 40% higher than normal.

Addition of representatives led to issue with call center logistics which simply did not keep up with the growth. Call abandon rates remained high and even increased at certain locations. When investigated, it was found that increased human capacity at one center would cause additional call volume to be routed to them; however without the telecommunications capacity to handle those calls, the calls would be dropped.

Fast forward many months. Staffing level at the call centers remain high, Customer Care representative abilities improved with training, triage tools were developed, and issues with the billing system was substantially fixed. Call Center statistics began to trend to, and eventually meet objectives. Problem is over, right? Not even close.

Customers continue to leave in droves. Instead of adding millions of net customers each quarter, as the competition does, this once prospering company began losing over a million per quarter. The company brand, once a proudly protected asset, is now seen as a symbol of poor customer service. Revenues are in decline, forcing draconian expense and capital budget cuts. Employee morale has dropped to unprecedented levels. Layoffs and rumors of lay offs are continuous. Billions in goodwill have been written off. Many Wall Street analysts wonder if the company can even survive. The CEO and CIO are long gone.

How could this dramatic turn about happen within a matter of months? Never underestimate the power of poor leadership. It can affect change faster that good leadership. So what are the lessons from this real life story?

1) Leaders must create an environment that encourages candid conversations. Subordinates must never feel that delivering bad news might be seen as rebellion or poor teamwork.

2) You can’t trade the Customer experience for Shareholder value. Leadership had prioritized synergy targets over everything else. Basic customer service was compromised in an attempt to please Wall Street and the shareholders. It failed miserably. Customer loyalty suffers. Company shares have been reduced to junk. Stock price is now a small fraction of what it once was, and customers continue to vote with their feet.

3) Projects must never meet arbitrary dates AT ANY COST. To set a tone of inflexibility encourages bad behavior from the top down.

4) A company brand is directly linked to the quality of customer service. Customers will never think positively of a brand that is not backed up with quality service. If leaders recognize this linkage, they might quantify the impact to customer service (or brand) as a cost or benefit of every project. Some abandon business cases would then rise to the top of a list while others might fail before they could do damage.

5) Never take your benefit before it is realized. The leadership in this story did not consider the high cost of believing in synergy. When it was not realized, they had zero chance of recovery.

6) It will require years to develop a reputation for good customer service, but a good reputation can be destroyed in just weeks.

This company is still at risk. Revenues continues to fall and layoffs to reduce expense is now a regular occurrence. While the quality of Retail and Customer Care experiences are improving dramatically, the damage was already done. Customer perception has not caught up with the current reality of good customer support.

In an effort to balance the budget, a large technical organization was recently “gifted” to another company to run at a lower cost. This gift can not be reclaimed. If the experiment fails, however unlikely, the company will no longer have the technical skills in place to operate the state of the art network they deployed. It is a roll of the dice. The result of which may be years in discovering.

Rise and Fall of a Roaming Empire part 2

Yesterday, the story began by describing the meteoric rise of a wireless telecommunications company that merged with another in the hopes of attaining economy of scale and synergy savings. I pick up the story as a large CIO-led IT project is started.

As the CIO started this herculean project, expected synergies were quantified and budgets set accordingly. The new billing system was expected to reduce the time required by Customer Care representatives to triage and resolve the customer’s billing and provisioning problems. Savings were attributed to the elimination of the legacy tools owned by each of the merger partners. Maintenance and development of a single system would require fewer resources and a more reliable application would reduce the number of errors from that of current systems.

As the delivery of the first phases of the new billing platform approached, Customer Care call centers were leaned down in expectation of more efficient process. With less time needed per call, fewer Customer Care representatives would be needed. So with staff reductions underway and delivery of the billing platform at hand, synergy savings were about to be delivered. Or so was the thought.

Unknown to the CEO and probably the CIO, functionality was regularly de-scoped from each release in order to meet the expected timeline. As with many projects, triage tools were common functions de-scoped. A scenario for disaster was now in place.

The first release was introduced. Issues with the system began to surface. Many were minor and could be fixed with an overnight code drop. Others were more serious and would require a subsequent release to resolve. As the customer bills were received, calls into the Customer Care call centers began to increase. Some were simply questions to the new bill format, while others were more serious errors related to charges.

The Customer Care representatives struggled to meet their internal metrics with the higher call volume and lower staffing levels. Hold time for customers began to creep up. Soon, virtually all call centers failed to meet their 30 second goal for average hold time. Yet, the release and migration schedule continued and each release only added more calls to the call center queues. As average handle time increased, so did abandon rates. Customers were simply giving up and hanging up.

Many would then travel to the nearest retail store for help. Stores were overwhelmed and could not serve their purpose – to sell the companies product and services. Dissatisfaction with the retail store experience plummeted. Soon, the acquisition of new customers began a precipitous fall.

But the situation continued to worsen. Not only were customer calls over billing issues increasing, the frontline Customer Care and retail store representative did not have the tools needed to accurately triage and resolve the problem. As a result, customers who attempted to get a billing issue with their current bill resolved would find that the problem recurred the following month. Repeat calls skyrocketed into an already overwhelmed support system. The Customer Care organization was in a death spiral.

Tomorrow, the conclusion - how a company's reputation can vanish.

Rise and Fall of a Roaming Empire part 1

This is the first of 3 blogs that will describe my observations over the course of 5 years. During this time I have seen the decline of a great company from inustry leader to one struggling to survive in an increasingly difficult market.

First, I apologize for a horrible pun. This story is about the meteoric rise and sudden fall of a Fortune 100 telecommunication company – a company that was once voted into the top 50 American companies to work for. The company name will go unsaid, but if the facts of the story don’t give the name away, then a few seconds with Google will.

The story begins in the 90’s when a well established and highly regarded telecommunications company decides to expand into the cell phone business. They correctly see that wireless communications is the wave of the future. In order to evolve their business, spectrum is purchased, technology is trialed, vendors and architectures are selected, equipment is procured, talent is reorganized and a state of the art network is built. Things go extremely well for the new business. Revenue hits $10 billion faster than any company in history. Customers are acquired at a rate greater than a million customers each quarter. The company’s wireless service is well respected in the industry and by its customer base. The company’s brand is seen as a corporate asset that must be protected at any cost. The new wireless entity is ready to become the cash cow for the parent corporation.

But, this is not to be. What happens next is a series of errors in leadership, judgment and execution. While the mistakes span the organization chart from top to bottom, a few of the errors made by leadership were so egregious as to seal the fate of the company.

The first error comes after a well intentioned acquisition. The CEO felt that to compete effectively with his larger competitors, the company would need a larger customer-base and a larger economy of scale. So discussions were started with a competitor that was roughly equivalent in size, and with lightening quickness a merger is formed. The merger is approved by the FCC, and shareholders vote positive based on the savings expected from “synergies”. Delivery of the synergy savings become the prime focus of the CEO and his staff.

The merger starts out rough, as most probably do. Obstacles to a smooth merger soon become insurmountable. The two company’s technologies are different, so little synergy is realized from combining and leaning out technology groups. Manufacturers do not see the new merged company as a new larger company, but only as 2 divisions that happen to belong to the same parent company. Duplicative common functions, such as Finance, Human Resources and Retail stores, take the brunt of the “right sizing”.

Pressure mounts to produce the “synergy savings” expected of the merger. Information Technology systems become the focus for finding savings in the new company. Systems become the primary key to meeting synergy expectations. So, a very large project is started to convert activation, account changes and billing for all customers to a single billing platform to be used by both pre-merger companies. The project is huge with many moving parts. Not only does the system need to draw from customer account information, it also needs to change network hardware settings for both technologies and the customer’s handset configuration. The changes will be complex and mistakes will carry a significant risk to the wireless experience of the company’s customer base.

The project is deemed so important that it is assigned to an officer, the CIO, of the corporation who forms a dedicated project management office to coordinate end to end. The project is kicked off with hundreds of vendor contractors and company employees participating. Implementation of the new billing system is segmented across multiple phases, each requiring a migration of customers from old to new billing systems. Dates for each phase and migration were set and the expectation was communicated that slippage of those dates would not be tolerated. There was only one possibility; MEET THE DATES.

Tomorrow, the impact of treating a project schedule as the primary objective to meet at all costs.

Don't Bet Your Pride

Youth is the time we all learn hard lesson. I learned one by taking a sucker bet in high school. The story begins with my new car, a 1974 Chevrolet Vega GT like the one pictured below.



My Vega GT was actually faster than the one in the picture because it had a racing stripe - a big wide black one right down the center of the hood and tailgate. I was very proud of my new car. The only cars I had driven in the past were my father's station wagon and an old Ford Maverick. He did let me drive the Pontiac Catalina a couple times, but not very often, probably because so much tire tread was missing when I returned it. So my Vega GT was the coolest car I had ever driven. Little did I know that it would one day be voted one of the 10 worst cars ever built. I got rid if the car before learning that hard lesson.

One day during my senior year, I was probably bragging about how fast my Vega was off the line, so a friend of mine offered to bet me that he could beat my car in a 20 yard dash. I would drive my car and he would run. It thought I could take him, so I accepted. We then negotiated the terms of the bet. He opened at $100 which was far too much for me. We eventually agreed to bet no money, but instead, bet our prides. The winner would take the pride of the other. Sounded like a no lose bet to me.

After school that day, we gathered in the parking lot for the race. After measuring off 20 yards, we got set at the start line. My buddy was in a sprinters stance, while I rev'ed the powerful 140 cubic inch Vega engine. The starter gave us the signal and I dumped the clutch while my buddy sprinted the short 20 yards. Funny thing about the Vega was that it's rear end was extremely light. Instead of surging forward, I experienced a quirk of the model called "wheel hop". The rear tires would start hopping instead of providing smooth acceleration. The race wasn't even close. A person will win that race every time because no car (not even a Vega) can accelerate that faster than a human in the first 20 yards.

Yet, I was not giving up. My buddy, knowing that I had no chance, offered best 2 out of 3, then 3 out of 5 and so on. Each time he crossed the finish line long before I and my powerhouse Vega. At some point, I handed over my pride and gave up. For months after that day, my buddy would remind me that he held my pride. In the end, I would have been better off losing a $100.

Centrists are running the show

Sometimes I can be a little slow, but I have recently realized that the liberals did not get Obama elected, and conservatives will not get him removed. The group of people who control America's fate are those that call themselves Centrists. The percentage of die hard liberals or conservatives, (those who have claimed either side for more than a few days), is less than 50% for both. So whoever get elected, do so by retaining their base and winning over more Centrists than their opponent does. Realizing this fact is both encouraging and alarming.

I am encouraged by knowing that "this too shall pass". The pendulum is swinging away from radical liberalism as more citizens self describe as conservative. I am convinced the 2010 elections will be a massacre for liberals with a fairly decent chance that either the House or Senate will return to Republican control. I am also convinced that Obama will be a one term president.

I am alarmed that our country is now controlled by Centrists. How a majority of Centrist vote in any election, national or local, determines who will represent us. This is a great concern to me. Centrists may believe they are simply fair minded people who will listen to both sides before making a decision, but I believe they are largely unprincipled and/or unaware. When a candidate says they are going to grow government programs, support abortion rights, and side with unions over small businesses, conservatives and liberals immediately know whether they can support the candidate. Centrist don't, which proves they do not believe strongly in core principals, or are unaware of the consequences.

During the next election cycle or two, the Centrists will vote for conservative candidates and return them to power. This will help clean up Obama's mess, but the pendulum continues to swing and Centrists will again return a Marxist to power sometime in the future.

You Cannot Teach Instinct

The thought of a sex education requirement in elementary school is laughable. Does anyone really believe that we need to be taught what comes natural. I suppose that education on sexual health is reasonable, but current curriculum spend as much time legitimizing deviant behaviors as giving students what they really need to know. Mankind has been fruitfully populating the earth for thousands of years before there was sex education. The mechanics just come natural.

It's called instinct. Some people cannot fathom the thought that humans can know how to do things without being taught. The instinct goes much deeper than the sex act. The instinct also includes the male's pitiful attempt to win special favor from his woman. In my in-laws family, it is called chore play. I define it as the male's attempt to make his wife feel he deserves sex because he isn't so much of a slob as she once thought. I suspect that behavior has also been part of the male's instinct for eons.

I would wager that neanderthal men thousands of years ago kicked a few bear turds and the bones from last night's dinner out of the cave just to please his mate. That guy might also have tried to create an ambiance by lighting woolly mammoth blubber so the lighting would be just right. Some might have even wasted their opportunity by accidentally slinging the burning fat over the walls of the cave. I am sure it happened often in ancient times, but probably not so much anymore thanks to natural selection.

Even though it is instinctual, a more practical sex education curriculum might be one that instructs the male on how to be that guy with minimal effort, select household chores that are easiest to complete, or light candles without setting the house on fire. After all, a home is the first requirement of a happy woman.

Liberal Thinking

Another oxymoron. Liberals don't think, they feel.

The current liberal thinking on how to pay for national health care is incredibly stupid. We must first understand their logic is only intended to sound good and make other liberals feel good. The current version of nationalized health care is supposed to be paid for by cutting medicare and increasing taxes on the ultra wealthy. Simple stupidity at it's finest.

It's only a sound byte meant to make the shallow thinkers smile. Why? First, our Congress always suggests, but never actually cut medicare. To do so would be political suicide. The current health care funding requires a future Congress to cut medicare by $500b! To believe a future congress will have the stones this one obviously does not is ludicrous on it's face. Ultimately they will just add the $500b to our children's debt.

The rest of the money they need to make nationalized health care appear budget neutral is to raise taxes on the rich (earners of over $500k annually). This aspect of the bill is pure class envy/warfare intended to make a socialist feel good - stick it to the rich. This funding mechanism never works either.

The wealthy are smart folks - that is how they got wealthy. Smart people find ways to protect their wealth - that is how they stay wealthy. When government raises taxes on the wealthy, the wealthy respond by protecting their wealth. That protection results in less capital for businesses to invest and grow. Less capital means fewer jobs are created and middle class incomes become stagnate. The weathy don't suffer, the lower and middle classes do.

At >$500k income per year, the wealthy people targeted by this nationalized health care bill are largely corporate executives and business owners. Corporate executives and business owners have an ace in the hole for times like these. If they cannot find a way to protect their wealth and businesses, they pass the increased taxes on to their customers or freeze the wages of their employees (the poorer people).

As much as they try, liberals cannot pay for health care with medicare cuts and new taxes. Instead, they will pay for it by increasing our children's debt and inflating the cost of goods and services that we all consume (a hidden tax increase).

Mayo the Incredible

Yesterday I posted my thoughts of the Mayo Clinic and how it may be at risk if/when a version of Obama care is passed. Today I wanted to detail our Friday experience at the Mayo. It was incredible and goes to show how health care can operate in a capitalistic system, and what we risk as we move toward national health care.

The set up to Friday starts with our Thursday experience. We had brought Mary (my mother in law) to Mayo for treatment of thyroid cancer that had spread to her lungs and breastbone. The treatment performed on Wednesday was administering radioactive iodine. Thursday was supposed to be a quiet day with no appointments or treatments. Friday would be the culmination of 2 weeks diagnosis and treatment, ending with a full body scan and appointment with the endocrinologist who would reveiw all results and recommend a course of treatment.

But Thursday did not start well. Terri, her father Neil, and I met for breakfast in the hotel lobby and returned to our rooms to plan the day's activities. Mary had to stay in the room all day due to the radioactive iodine in her system. When we returned to our rooms, Mary was extremely confused and would not respond to questions. This was an obvious downturn in her condition, so an ambulance was called. The paramedics agreed that something was going on and transported her to the St. Mary's emergency room.

My first concern was bringing in a new set of doctors and specialist, and the time required to get them up to speed on her condition and treatment. To my surprise, St. Mary's is affiliated to Mayo and had access to all doctor's reports, test results and future appointments. The general doctor assigned to Mary required only a few hours to get completely up to speed and align his treatment with the ongoing Mayo treatment.

By evening, Mary had undergone a cranial MRI that found her cancer had spread to the brain and was the cause of her confusion. Steroids were administered to reduce the inflammation in her brain, and we retired for the evening hoping for improvement by the next day. The plans for Friday appeared to be over. Her 10 AM body scan and 1PM appointment with the endocrinologists would be missed. Our hope was to see her improve enough to be able to leave the hospital.

Friday morning found a marked improvement in Mary's condition. We arrived at the hospital in time to speak with the doctors as they made their rounds. The general medical doctor arrived around 9AM with some surprising news. He was willing to release Mary in time for the 1PM appointment at Mayo. Mary's release was completed by noon (light speed by hospital standards). We made the 1PM appointment with her primary Mayo doctor. The original plan was that he would review all test results and recommend a treatment plan, but all of that had changed with the discovery of brain cancer and the lack of full body scan results.

Now the amazing part starts. The endocrinologists first set up an immediate consult with an oncologist that specializing in thyroid cancer. He then set up the full body scan to be performed that same afternoon. From his office we went immediately to the oncologist for a brief consult. From there we went to an appointment for the body scan. All of this was completed by 4PM. With the test results in the Mayo system, we went back to the new oncologist who spent the next 2 hours reviewing results and talking to Mary, Neil and Terri. We had just accomplished in 5 hours what might take 4-6 weeks in Kansas City where each visit would lead to serial scheduling of the next with several days in between.

The results of the afternoon at Mayo were the radio iodine treatment from Wednesday seemed to be effectively fighting the brain cancer, and would continue to be the course of treatment. Mary was allowed to return to KC where she will work with her local doctor directed by the Mayo thyroid cancer specialist. The final surprise came with the Mayo specialist provided the family with his home telephone number, with instructions to call if there were any problems or concerns.

I didn't think that happened anymore. But I guess it can when a highly trained specialist is empowered with the tools and support he needs to to be effective. This entire operation was delivered by a capitalistic environment - the very one threatened by Obama.

Mayo

Spending a week at this world renown medical center has increased my concerns over what American health care will morph into with Obama care. My first impression of this facility is the incredible complexity used to schedule and move patients from one medical discipline to another along with their medical history. What can take weeks in other cities can be done in days here. It seems almost like there must be an orchestra conductor overseeing the entire operation to ensure that no patient falls through the cracks.

My second impression was with the Mayo staff. There seems to be adequate staffing in every area we visited, and each staff member seems to genuinely care about their patient. I contrast that to local doctor's offices and hospitals in Kansas City. They never seem to have the number of people needed to fill all needs of their practice. Unless you are in an ICU ward, there are never enough nurses to tend to patients, and each nurse appears to be completely overwhelmed with their duties. This probably leads to burn out, which is translated to a lack of caring by the patient.

Does anyone believe this situation will become better with government health care? I can not imagine so. It is more likely to become much worse when there are fewer dollars paid for every procedure. I can see a day when a world class facility like the Mayo Clinic could become just another government funded hospital. People would not travel from across the globe to receive treatment. Those that do would see the same long lines and wait times they do at their local medical facilities.

That is the risk of Obama care. The greatest medical system the world has ever seen will not be sustainable when the federal government dictates the payment received for services rendered. Capitalism will be removed from the industry, as will innovation and quality. All so that we can be more fair to those who cannot afford or choose not to pay for insurance. If the Senate passes a bill remotely similar to the Obamination passed by the house, it will be a sad day for America.

I Like to go to Church

For 45 years, I regularly attended a traditional Baptist church near the home I grew up in. I saw the church grow from a weekly attendance of 100 per week to over 800. I then saw the church torn apart by dissent and turmoil with attendance reduced back to 200 per week. I saw great pastoral leadership and not so great, but after the 45 years in nearly the same back row pew, Terri and I left that church. We left to spite no one. We were just tired of the continuous in-fighting among the congregation that resulted in the resignation of a head pastor, the calling of a new pastor, and eventually a second resignation. Search committees can take months if not years to make a call, and we were not ready to spend that much time with yet another interim pastor. So we began our search for a new church home.

Our first stop was Colonial Presbyterian church. We were instantly attracted to the less formal worship and the friendliness of the congregation. The church was less than 15 minutes from our home, so we thought that this could be our new church home. The largest concern was the denomination. Presbyterians can be very liberal, so investigation of the local doctrine was needed. Terri and I went through their new member class and all of our questions were answered, so we joined. The pastor at that time was very direct in answering our liberal concern. His response was that a conservative voice within the denomination was far more effective that one on the outside. He had a point.

Almost immediately after joining, the head pastor announced that he was leaving so we were back to the same predicament. Did we want to wait for a new pastor, or should be continue our search? The decision was made for us when we decided to move from Overland Park to Basehor. Colonial was too far from our new home to be considered a home church, so our search was on again. We visited Methodist Churches, non-denominational churches, and Baptist churches. None seemed to feel right.

We have always avoided mega-churches. A few years before we had visited a particularly large mega-church in Overland Park and found the services to be dramatically orchestrated, and the pastor to be a stereotypical TV Evangelist personality - saving souls and raising money. His message could be summed up each week as "I need more money to save more souls". Financial governance in that church rested solely with the Pastor. Rumors started in the local newspaper surrounding how the money was being handled. The Pastor did not open up the books for scrutiny, so we stopped visiting. The Mega-church is still a Mega-church, however the reputation of the leadership has become somewhat soiled for their lack of transparency.

So Terri and I were reluctant to expand our search to other local mega-churches. Westside Family Church is definitely a mega-church with 3 locations in our area, a fourth in the Lansing Correctional Center (prison) and a presence in 3 countries - Thailand, South Africa and India. The closest services to our home was held in the Legends 14 movie theatre just a few minutes away. We started attending even though the church did not have a lead pastor. In fact, they were in recovery over an incident involving the last lead pastor and a woman at the church. At first, this church did not seem to be a great fit for us.

The setting was ... well ... comfortable. The high back leather seating of a movie theatre beats any church pew. The dress code for services was whatever you had on. Shorts, t-shirts, flip flops, or business casual - someone in attendance was wearing it. The music is what surprised us the most. At all locations, a live band led the worship. Electric guitar is featured, and decibel level is high. What a culture shock for a traditional Baptist. Services on some morning seems more like a concert atmosphere than church.

Well, this Baptist is converted. I fully believe that worship is an attitude and not a habitual routine. Suits, ties and dresses are simply tradition and not requirements. The church has since called a lead teaching pastor and he is the best I have ever listened to. His messages are not new to me. I have heard them scores of times. What is different is his delivery and tips. He does not use guilt to make points and he does not have weekly altar calls.

We all know our behaviors we want to change. The messages I hear each week provide very helpful tips on how to spot the behaviors, and how to change them. The tips are usually associating events or occurrences to behaviors. Once you recognize the bad behavior, you can immediately attempt to change it. This is the first church I have attended that has broken the mold for worship and teaching in a way that is truly effective for me. Interested? Check Westside out. Past sermons also are available online. Let me know what you think.

I Like to Eat - John Hardy's BBQ in Rochester, Minnesota

I love local flavor when dining out of town, so when I saw a local BBQ joint just up the street from my hotel, the decision was made. I would try it at least once early in the trip so that I could return one or two more times if warranted. I was expecting this local joint to be a Famous Dave's wanna-be since this is the area of the country that Famous Dave's BBQ started.

The atmosphere is what you would expect in a local BBQ joint - tables, chairs and a hole in the wall back to the kitchen that your food comes out of - definitely nothing fancy. The first thing that caught my eye was on the menu. It said "The Home of Real Southern BBQ". Okay that takes some stones since last time I checked, I'm in Minnesota. The claim set the bar high and in itself deserves some credit. The menu also points you to their shredded (not pulled) pork as a speciality.

I had the shredded pork plate that comes with 2 sides items from a large range of choices that include fried okra. I selected Cole slaw and french fries. The pork plate came out as a mound of fries with shredded pork piled on top. It was different, but not bad. I started with the medium sauce from a selection of 6 ranging from mild to fire. The medium was good, with just enough kick to get your attention but not enough to overwhelm the meat.

The meat was different. I tasted a hint of North Carolina vinegar-based flavor, but it was quickly (and thankfully) masked when I added sauce. Hardy's smokes their meat over apple or cherry wood which creates a distinctive and pleasurable smoke flavor. The pork was very tender and juicy and reminded me of BBQ I had while in the south.

The Cole slaw was the way I like it - a creamy mayonnaise-based creation. The meal also came with garlic bread (not toast). It was a little soggy and looked like it should have been toasted. Overall, John Handy's BBQ was a pleasurable surprise in an otherwise sad town. If you find yourself hungry in Rochester Minnesota, John Hardy can satisfy a BBQ craving.

Size Matters

Obama apologists are very quick to use George Bush and the Republican's behavior when apologizing for their guy. I hear it every time a conservative points out the problem with the country's current deficit spending. The Obama support will say "Where were you when George Bush doubled the deficit"? Another approach they will use is "we could afford it if we were not paying for George Bush's wars".

Both only point out the average Obama supporters ignorance of the facts. Yes, George Bush did increase the deficit, and yes he did involve us in 2 wars. But the facts are these:

• While Bush doubled the deficit over his 8 years, Obama has tripled Bush deficits during his first year. The fact is Bush/Republicans acted badly, Obama is six time worse. And Obama can't be held blameless on Bush's TARP 1 since he was an avid supporter. I suspect he sends regular thanks you notes to Bush for the $750b left for Obama to spend.
• The total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is just under $1 trillion dollars. It has taken the America military 9 years to spend that total, which is still less than Obama's year #1 deficit. Obama spent more that $1 trillion during his first 100 days in office.

I will not apologize for George Bush's or the Republican's spending pattern. I want our government to spend only what they take in. Rebublicans and Democrats seem unable to grasp the concept. But when you compare the amount of deficit spending by both parties, it is not even close. Obama and the democrats deficit spend far faster than any past group of politicians. And when you are talking about deficits, size does matter.

Basil Borkwin

My childhood neighborhood was filled with the most common names of the era. My friends names were Mark, Steve, Gary, Dale, Kirk, Dave, John, Jerry and Ken. You couldn't find a more common set of names. I guess our neighbors did not put a lot of effort into unique naming of their children.

Then there was Basil (pronounced baz-uhl). Everyone called him Bazzy for short. Bazzy was severely retarded. His nickname led to the obvious "Bazzy the spazzy" ridicule, but never in his presence. Bazzy was also a aggressive and a physical specimen. If Bazzy asked to use your baseball glove and you declined, he would take it away from you. If caught, he would destroy it. Everyone feared the combination of strength and retardation. Not only was he big enough to kick your butt, he was far enough away from reality to not know it was wrong.

Bazzy was the only retarded person I have ever met that was physically strong and aggressive. Most retarded people seem to be quiet and timid - possibly because of the ridicule they receive growing up. I think we all would treat them better if they were more like Bazzy.

LJ, Goodbye

The Chefs will be no worse off without Larry Johnson who was released yesterday. The good news is that when you are at the bottom, there isn't far to fall. As I predicted a couple weeks ago, Larry crossed the line this time by calling out his coach and twittering derogatory insults, calling members of the press "fags". Larry was within 76 yards of getting the Chef's career rushing record from a class act named Priest Holmes. Chefs fans are smiling everywhere knowing that Larry won't get that record.

Sunday's game was more of the same. The Chefs looked hopeless for most of 4 quarters, but scored 2 touchdowns surging to within 3 points when Jacksonville began playing prevent defense. The game was not as close as the 3 point margin of defeat. Jacksonville, who handed Tennessee their first win of the year a week before, thoroughly dominated the Chefs on Sunday. Tampa Bay also won Sunday bringing the Chefs back into contention for the #1 pick of thte draft. The Chefs can again say that "nobody is worse than we are".

As most games this season have gone, the Chefs have a special ability to make anyone they play look like a Super Bowl contender. The only bright spot was the running back by committee that averaged 5 yards per carry as compared to Larry Johnson's 2 yards per carry for the season. I still believe Larry will catch on somewhere, probably in Oakland. He will do well and extend his career by at least 2 years.

A Cartoon Worth 1,000 Words

The title is true if you can find the political cartoon. Recently, I saw a political cartoon that would save me from typing a thousand words. The recent Obama administration attacks on FOX news had me thinking of how I might reduce my thoughts to a blog. Then, I saw it in the Kansas City Star. I believe it was on Saturday, 10/31. In the Opinion section, a political cartoon summed up my thoughts into a single drawing.



Barrack was in bed smoking a cigarette. In bed with him were 4 ugly women named CBS, NBC, ABC and MSNBC. The caption said (paraphrased) " He is mad because he can't get a FOX in bed with him". Perfect. Obama takes on FOX news when he controls every other network's news department. I would love to link it in here, but after several minutes searching the KC Star web site and Google, I can't find it. Let me know if you have seen it, and if you find it on the iInternet, a link would be appreciated.

What Are They Hiding?

On September 24, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was "absolutely" committed to putting the text of the final House health care bill online for 72 hours before the House votes:

Question: Madam Speaker, do you support the measure to put the final House bill online for 72 hours before it's voted on at the very end?
PELOSI: Absolutely. Without question.

Is there any interpretation needed on her answer? I think not. So how can anyone justify her latest answer to the same question? Pelosi's office now says that the speaker will not allow the final language of the health care to be posted online for 72 hours before bringing the bill to a vote on the House floor, despite her September 24 statement.

The House of Representatives are still negotiating specific issues in the bill, such as whether it will provide taxpayer-funding for abortions. Pelosi is pushing for a House vote today, and a number of big changes will be introduced.

Abortion and coverage for illegal aliens is not yet known, and will not be until after the bill is voted on. The only hope for Americans who are opposed to the bill, or certain aspects of the bill is the impact of last Tuesday's repudiation of the Democrats. Will the so called blue dogs sacrifice their office to get this bill passed? With the amount of arm twisting going on, maybe so since the threat of not voting for the bill is virtually the same as voting for it. The only difference is that if they vote for the bill, the electorate will vote them out of office. If they do not vote for the bill, their democratic leadership will abandon them during the next election.

We are sure of only two things - the Democrats are lying. Joe Wilson was 100% correct.

CCR

In my youth, CCR was the way we referred to one of the most legendary and iconic bands of the 1970's, Creedence Clearwather Revivial. I was a CCR fan then and I am now, but different band. Today's CCR refers to Cross Canadian Ragweed. It is a strange name that combines each band member's name - Cody Canada, Grady Cross and Randy Ragsdale. CCR is a garage band that graduated to bar band in the late 90's, and have released 10 CD's over the past 10 years.

CCR is billed as a country band and their CD's are found in the country section at your local Best Buy. I hear a faint country flavor in a few of their songs, but they are not country. Calling them country is like saying The Eagles are a country band. Instead, CCR plays the rock and roll of my youth. The majority of their songs feature the electric guitar played at high volume with a high level of skill. The lead guitar is melodic, and the rhythm guitar work is flawless. If you enjoy the clean, crisp, driving guitar work popular in the 70's rock era, you will love CCR.

Vocals are shared by all the band, but Cody Canada is the dominate voice and the lead singer. He is a vocalist that can carry a tune with an testosterone driven edge. Something many of the 70's rock bands could not claim vocal talent.

But there is a second side to this band. Each of their 7 studio recordings features a few acoustic gems. The band's recent release, Happiness and All Other Things, features some of CCR's better acoustic work as well as some of their more intense electric guitar. I find that their tenth CD to be the best. My personal favorite is a cut titled "Confident" that features Cody play on lead on a baritone acoustic.

If you haven't heard of CCR, and many music lovers have not since they get zero air play, check them out on YouTube. I think you will be surprised such talent could fly under the radar for so many years.

51 Pieces
Burn Like the Sun

Bang, You're Dead Bambi II

In a prior post I described a deer over population situation at a local park and the county's action to bring it under control. As described in that post, the news has brought out wackos from every corner of Kansas City. Last week in the Kansas City Star, a Letter to the Editor illustrated the superficial intellect of these wackos. It read:


Deer aren’t the only overpopulated species

While the ongoing debate over what to do with all the deer at Shawnee Mission Park is long overdue, it has only served to further divert our attention from the one problem that underlies most of the other problems we are encountering these days: too many people.

Yes, the command was given in the Bible to “be fruitful and multiply,” but it should be readily apparent to everyone by now that since the very beginning there has been too much begetting going on and that conditions in the world will only deteriorate as the population explodes like a bomb. Hey, we were warned.

And when we continue to adhere to the Great White Hunter mentality and insist that critter numbers be kept at a certain level simply for our benefit when we can’t even keep our own numbers in check, well, two words quickly come to mind: “hypocrites” and “fools.”

Rick xxxxxxx
Leavenworth

Wow. I guess Rick is asking that we adopt China's policies of restricting the number of children each couple can conceive. Or maybe he believes it better to abort children that kill deer.

This is the best example I have found illustrating how these types of wackos think. I doubt Rick has a feasible solution to the deer problem, he just wants to sound enlightened to his fellow wacko brethren. I am embarrassed to share the same county with him.

Less Civility

A few weeks ago, I blogged on the M&M’s talking points claiming politicians have lost their civility. Living up to their well-deserved double standard, they focused on Joe Wilson’s “You Lie” comment during Obama’s national press conference. They said little when Alan Grayson claimed the Republican health care plan was for you to die, quickly. As the healthcare proposals in Congress see the light of day, Joe Wilson is proving to be accurate. Coverage for abortion and illegal aliens are still being debated and stands a chance at making it into the final bill. Obama did lie.

My blog was intended to compare the uncivilized comments from both parties. The obvious difference was that Wilson was accurate, but contrite. Since the comment he has remained well behaved. Grayson was not apologetic, and continues his uncivilized commentary. During a radio interview last month, he said:

"Here I am, the only member of Congress who actually worked as an economist. And she's, this lobbyist, this K Street whore, is trying to teach me about economics."

Grayson was referring to an adviser to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The double-standard M&M press has not given this breach of civility much air time. It should be noted that Grayson has apologized, however his apology is filled with excuses on what he really meant. I was not overly impressed with his level of contrition.

The only reason he apologized was the personal nature of the comment, and that it was directed at a female. I would also like him to expand on his knowledge of K-Street whores. Is it first hand knowledge?

On the exact day this story about Grayson broke, President Obama mentioned Grayson during a fundraiser in Miami. While introducing members of Congress in attendance, Obama included Grayson as “outstanding member of Congress.” And Vice President Biden told Grayson: “We owe you one buddy…This is a guy who doesn't back away from a fight, and doesn't back down from what he believes in." Sounds like the Obama administration is not that concerned with civility either.

Sam's vs. Costco

It is that time of year again when I must decide whether to renew my Sam's and Costco memberships. Every year I vow to select only one, but each year I renew them both. Each has their strengths.

Costco has the absolute best meat in town. Every cut is noticeably better than grocery store quality. I suspect Sam's has good meat, but why change if you are completely happy with what you are getting?

Costco also has the most quantity and best quality of free samples. This is an important modern phenomenon has rapidly expanded to other stores, but Costco still does it best. It started out as 5-6 sample booths on weekends. Now Costco is giving away product samples every day. On weekends you can taste 10 or more different things. I can delay a meal after trying the Costco samples. My grand kids can fill up on them, and I do admit that on occasion, I have taken them to Costco for a free lunch. Sam's has decent sampling too, but they lack the quantity.

Sam's wins when I consider buying American. If everything else is equal, I will select the American made product. But even that principal goes out the window when there is a significant price difference. I always go cheap. I recently heard that Sam's and Costco sell at break even cost. They make their profit on the membership fees. I don't know if that is true. It sure sounds like a lot of effort for $40 a year profit per customer.

Cost is a toss up. Both have their better values and I cannot predict who will have the best deal on any specific item. I have bought small and large ticket items from both stores and felt I got a great deal. Sam's is the clear winner in the areas of cat litter and aluminum foil. They sell a non-clumping cat litter that Costco does not carry. We have tried other brands available at Costco, but Terri demands that our cat only use the non-clumping formula. Terri also buys aluminium foil in bulk for use in her business. Sam's is the only place that carries it.

So the decision is made. I will renew my Costco membership because of the meat and free samples. I will also renew my Sam's membership for aluminum foil and non-clumping cat litter.

My 3-D Time

Every morning, whether a work day or not, I get out of bed, shower, shave, dress and complete a few chores. Then it is my 3-D time. 3-D time begins with a trip outside to get the only requirement of the 3-D time - the newspaper. If it is a work day, I then sit at the kitchen bar. Off days 3-D time is spent in the sun room. Either way, I start to work through my 3-D's.

The first D is Deaths. For some strange reason, I read the obituaries. I guess I believe that any day you don't see your name in the obituary section is a day that starts out well. Another reason is that since I have lived my entire live in KC, I occasionally see the death of someone that has crossed my path. It sound morbid, but it is a habit.

The second D is Dorks. I next read the opinion pages, especially the letters to the newspaper. I am always interested in how people with opposing views think. Their letters to the editor can be entertaining or maddening. I get blog ideas from some of the more dorkish letters.

The third D is my favorite. The last D of my 3-D time is Dilbert. Scott Adams is my favorite cartoonist. He has a telecom background and great insight into corporate America. I also think he has moles in many American corporations that feed him ideas for cartoons. I am always amazed when an event at my company is followed by a cartoon on the same subject. If you have a job, read Dilbert. I guarantee you will see your work life parodied.