no peeking....

I'm on my way to Shanghai this weekend to finalize a bunch of new furniture products for a new line to be unveiled later this year. This is THE exciting time for me.

Will it be groans or greatness? Will the assumptions on paper translate to a three dimensional piece of furniture?

When my butt hits the cushion, will it smile or snarl? Will it be electric or ordinary, or will it just plain suck? This is the apprehension I feel each time, and each time it seems to work itself out.

But, this time is special. This time the stakes are higher. This time will change the game. No pictures you ask?? You'll just have to wait.

Golden Agers

I eat breakfast at McD0nald's, two breakfast burritos, hash browns, and milk or coke. I don't know how this started, but this is how I start my day.

I travel all over the world and one thing is constant, McDonald's. And another thing that is constant with McDonald's is older, retired people getting together at McDonald's each morning.

Sometimes I eavesdrop a little to hear what they're saying. Sometimes it's about their kids, or grandkids, or the game, or politics, or this person or that person. But, it's always something.

These people have raised their families, sometimes their grandchildren, fought in wars, worked on assembly lines, typed memos, volunteered, ran companies, stayed married or got divorced, planted gardens, sold appliances, paid taxes, partied hard or not at all. Some are rich and some are not. In a way, they represent all of us.

So, each time I walk into a McDonald's I wonder about these people. They all sort of look the same to me now, but they arrived at this location from many different walks of life. There isn't one more important than the other. They aren't defined by their jobs or their money. They're just a group of people talking.

commitment

About 35 years ago, I found out the real meaning of commitment. I was a junior on my high school football team. I played a little, but wasn't any kind of a star, just a body to put out there when the real players weren't available.

And then, in practice one day, I just decided to go for it. You see, when I went to make a tackle, I used to come up to the play, break down (that means getting your butt down in a prepared position), and get run over. And, everytime it hurt, a lot.

This time, I decided the way I was doing it wasn't working and I just ran as fast as I could. I was going to be a missile, well at least in my mind. So, the play came my way, two blockers and a running back. Uh Oh! Well, here it goes. Run through it, I thought. I did. They went down. It didn't hurt. I made a tackle and everyone went nuts and the lights went on.

I learned about commitment that day, on the football field, not the classroom. I was put in a position to do something now and do it right. That day changed my life. It changed the way I look at things. It made me an attacker, not a passive person broken down ready to be run over.

As we look at our economy and school budgets, there are going to be calls for cuts to extra curricular activities, things often described as not being part of the core curriculum, and not really necessary. That would be a mistake.

Kids learn in school, but they find themselves in these "unnecessary" activities. Sometimes it's music, sometimes it's sports, sometimes it's acting, sometimes in forensics, but it's always something. They find their leadership abilities. They find their courage. They find their conviction. They find themselves.

So, as our school boards attempt to balance the budget, like some quarter-to-quarter CEOs trying to create the best balance sheet, let's find something else to cut, or find the commitment to get the funding, like those kids.

I'm investing with this guy...

To many of us, this man represents what is worst in the world of investing, a shark who preyed on his own doing something called affinity scamming, taking advantage of those who are like you, those who are most likely going to trust, most likely not to investigate. He is one of you.

To me, he might be the shrewdest investor, creating returns far greater than many Wall Street lions. Bob Ruben, the guy whose name is on the currency of the United States, former Treasury Secretary of The United States, former chairman of Citibank, ran a company that could return a whopping 2% of your total principle if you invested five years ago. Why isn't he doing a "perp walk" along with Bernie Madoff? Based on today's stock quote, he'll return less than Uncle Bernie will.

AIG, the giant insurance company that is bringing the financial world to its knees, has a stock price that will return less than a penny on a dollar invested. And, instead of them all dodging cameras on the way to the courthouse, they're getting billions on top of billions of bailout.

And good old WaMu (Washington Mutual), those friendly investors who managed to take all of your money and throw it away, has a stock value of exactly zero, nada, zip, bupkus (did I spell that right?). Good job WaMu.

So, you see, if I invested my money with good old Uncle Bernie, I at least have a shot. With the others, the ones that are walking free today, I've got none. Bernie, you bring me hope.

excuses, excuses.....

I can't tell you how many homework assignments the average dog has eaten as an excuse for homework not being done, or how many grandparents have died in the line of duty as a student's excuse for not being being in school (I always used a real dead grandparent in case someone knew the real live grandparent).

Over the years, I got a lot more creative killing off friends of my parents (it made me look more sensitive), cousins, great aunts (they're always good because they're hard to confirm or deny), and second cousins, once removed (nobody really knows what that is, but it sounds good). The key is to keep track of who you killed off for whom. You never wanted to kill off the same person to the same teacher.

Speaking of dogs and homework; If my dog ate enough of my homework growing up, could he have gotten lead poisoning from all of the papers he ate? Now, that would be cool, combining two excuses into one. My dog died because he got lead poisoning from eating my homework assignment.

And then my fat, great aunt tripped over my dead dog breaking her leg, landing on my second cousin crushing him on the spot. That could be good for a week!

There isn't any lead in pencils? OK, my dog choked while eating my homework assignment.... We'll call this the Ferris Bueller defense. Research for some of these excuses is harder than homework.

things that make me laugh

Mel Brooks makes me laugh. I just finished watching "Blazing Saddles". I laughed out loud and often. I've seen this movie in bits and pieces over the years, over and over. Each time, I know what's coming and I find myself laughing even before the gag happens.

I like to think of myself as a relatively sophisticated guy. And then, I find myself laughing as Alex Karras punches a horse, or when Clevon Little rides into town as the new sheriff in matching Gucci attire on a color coordinated horse. I wonder who thinks of this stuff.

McLovin is my hero. The complete teenage geek who goes out and gets a fake ID and gives himself a name like McLovin with a straight face, like he's Prince or something, cracks me up.

Gary Larsen, the guy who did Far Side has my number. Dinosaurs smoking?? Didn't the Surgeon General post warnings on the packages. The Surgeon General has determined that cigarette smoking will cause you to go extinct.

Harvey Korman and Tim Conway looking at each other and trying to stay in character, never achieving that goal; Now that's funny.

I don't know why one thing is dumb and the next is funny. It just is. Getting hit in the crotch is shocking, but not really funny. Barbara Billingsley (Mrs. Cleaver) speaking jive is funny. Mr. Bill being destroyed each week on Saturday Night Live, or John Belushi as anything, or Land Shark saying "candy gram" are really funny, and they stand the test of time.

There are times when I want my humor to be socially responsible, mocking our leaders as they bumble their way through the day. Rod Blagojovich does make me laugh.

Mostly, I just like to laugh.

this ain't your mother's radio

Recently, I was introduced to something called Pandora. It's an internet radio station.

I like music. I just don't know what I like. I don't know the names of bands, or songs, or song writers. When it comes to music, I'm an idiot. Well, no more.

This Pandora thing asks me to name a style of music I like, or musician, or song. So, I just put in one I like and they take care of the rest. Through something called the Music Genome Project, they've been able to figure out other music I'll like based on my request and they mix it for me. I don't have to know anything.

And, as I hear a song I really like, I can identify the artist and then enter that name to add more music I'll like. It's hard to explain, but easy to like. Try it, you'll like it. http://www.pandora.com/. You'll thank me later.