Monster Noodle

Americans have spent the past two and a half decades on the biggest shopping spree in world history. Ranging from new houses, to new cars and everything in between, Americans now have undisputed claim on the title of the most prolific shoppers in the world. Unfortunately, as with any shopping spree, there comes a time to pay the bills. Yes, it’s true that what goes up must come down.

For several weeks now one of the most popular debates has been about the definition of a recession and if we are currently in one. The question is irrelevant. What matters is that we as Americans realize that we have some self destructive practices and that we take this time as an opportunity to fix them.

Here are a few random thoughts from the soap box that may identify some of our pitfalls and how to avoid them in the future.

Anything that does not provide value will not survive.

From the tech boom and bust in the late 90’s to the housing crunch that we’re in now, things that live on self generated hype don’t last. It’s a simple equation, if supply exceeds demand watch out. Continue reading »

written by Lochshen \\ tags: blog, political commentary, rant

WARNING!!! Jargonistic Technobable Ahead…

If you have been in or around the Information Technology industry for more than a few years you are certainly aware of how the industry has changed. In essence, the IT community has gone from being the answer to the problem to the problem without a good answer. It’s really amazing to me how closely the development of IT from one generation to the next has matched the different generations of Star Trek.

V1.0: The first generation of IT folks were a little scary. This was a generation of wildly talented free spirits that truly did go “where no man has gone before. Ok, so they were generally a little socially backward for their day. Now everyone’s a geek. It’s hard to miss the parallels between the first gen. IT group and initial Star Trek seasons. Lots of genius level non-conformists doing things that had never been done. Kirk was running around challenging the gods much in the same way that this generation challenged the suits. Kirk always won, and so did they. Ahhh…the glory days.

V2.0: The second generation of IT folks were a little more mainstream. Hey, isn’t that a lot like the Second Generation of Star Trek? During this time, IT began to be taken seriously by the suits and applied to business functions. Even though the suits were still afraid of the crew, they began to realize that they could wow their bosses with new shiny toys. Everyone was happy.

V3.0: Anyone home? Hello?!?!. Now you’re in syndication. After years of Jr. suits selling impossible projects to their big suit bosses, the great big suits now believe that IT is a cost that must be managed. After the second generation of IT flourished, so many “would be” techies rushed to get into this field that this generation has become a commodity. Oh sure, you have a few tricks up your sleeve and a lot of content to pull from but you’re stuck on Deep Sleep Nine. There are a million other shows just like you so you’re pretty much nothing special. Sorry you missed the bus.

Does this mean that the great voyage “to boldly go where no man has gone before” is over? Hardly. There will always be dreamers that are pushing the envelope. What it does mean is that the IT profession as a whole has become domesticated. It’s tame, safe and about as exciting as a priceline.com commercial.  

So, what’s next for IT? I found an extremely good article about the nature of the changing IT scene. It’s not brand new and it will require you to control your ADD for a few minutes but this is great reading material if you find yourself in the minefield of modern IT. 

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise are all registered trademarks of CBS Paramount Television. No copyright infringement is intended through the display of content on this site. All copyrighted material is included under “fair use” principles. This site is also in no way affiliated with or endorsed by CBS Paramount Television.

written by Lochshen \\ tags: Information, it, Star Trek

Over the course of the past decade or so I have noticed a trend while driving. I spend a lot of time at traffic lights. There seems to be a new one every few months at places that simply don’t need them.

New traffic lights are often implemented as a way to reduce congestion and increase safety. In the majority of cases this is probably true but in many cases, an additional traffic light only serves as a new source of “fine revenue” for the local government. When coupled with a camera system, the amount of revenue generated can be substantial over time.

Excessive traffic lights often have several negative effects that are not well considered.

Excessive traffic lights cost money that can be better utilized elsewhere. Each one of these little annoyances represents a cost that is ultimately passed on to the tax payer. A traffic study, light system, programming and control mechanism can quickly turn into a bundle of cash. It is not unheard of for the entire process of adding new lights to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, that’s before considering maintenance and continual electrical costs.

Excessive traffic lights cost more in fuel. An excellent article was written by the Telegraph that explains some of the hidden costs of waiting in traffic for a light to change. As the cost of fuel continues upward, the placement and timing of traffic lights will have a greater impact on dollars wasted in traffic.

Excessive traffic lights cause more wear and tear on a vehicle. Stop and go traffic wreaks havoc on an automobile. Virtually every moving part of the car is adversely affected by constant stopping and accelerating. There is a reason that “highway miles” are prominently listed when a used vehicle is sold.

Excessive traffic lights cost time. Like there are not enough things to get done in a day without spending more time sitting in front of a red light. Time spent in traffic is lost time.  

Excessive traffic lights are frustrating as !#$%. Often what used to be a pleasant drive has turned into a game of jockeying for position at a traffic light. In some cases, another traffic light only serves to cause more accidents by promoting competition. No one likes to be stuck behind a traffic light that is only a few hundred feet away from the last one.

Of course it would be irresponsible to advocate removing every traffic light on the road. Many serve a necessary purpose in keeping the bad driver from making irrational decisions while driving. However, the reality is that the negative impacts of excessive or poorly timed systems are often higher than traffic planners consider. 

In the end, traffic lights serve the same purpose that laws serve, to serve you. Just like laws, when one no longer serves the common interests of it’s people it’s time to reconsider it’s value.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

written by Lochshen \\ tags: cars, driving, political commentary

Stephen Hawking just hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head. Hawking’s recent statements regarding the need to dedicate more resources to space travel and exploration could not have come at a more relevant time.

Global warming, dwindling oil supplies, economic turmoil and practically every other popular world problem have their roots solidly in one single issue, explosive population growth. The world has gone from an estimated 2.5 billion in 1950 to 6.6 billion today. Amazingly, there were less than 1 billion in 1800.

There are plenty of counter arguments but there is one simple truth. When population exceeds carrying capacity a system will collapse. We are not close to reaching the planets carrying capacity but this kind of growth is not sustainable. The world is only now beginning to see the results of increased competition for resources and that trend will only continue to intensify.

Mr. Hawking’s answer to this problem is the only viable long term solution. We as a planet must dedicate more resources to finding more resources. There’s only one way and that’s up. Carl Sagan often espoused the same views as have countless other progressive thinkers. 

There has never been a better time for humanity to look to the stars. We are in an age that can still afford to spend “venture capital”. It will not be this way forever. There will come a time that every patch of ground that we have must be used to feed us. That train is coming.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

written by Lochshen \\ tags: green, NASA, space

WARNING!!! Strongly undiplomatic opinions ahead. If you’re easily offended, you likely will be.

We may be in a correction, recession or whatever you want to call it but we’re definitely in the process of paying for some long-term debts owed. For the past several years the US economy has been artificially inflated by loose lending and overly ambitious development. We’ve ignored a trade deficit that has robbed us of our fortunes and instead fueled our economy by building more of what we didn’t need and purchasing it for more than we could afford. These are the things that I see that have really crippled our economy:

1. The automotive industry: If you don’t understand that this was one of the backbones of our economy you need to really get in touch with what has been happening in Detroit. When the Japanese manufacturers decided to enter into the larger consumer truck market, we lost the backbone of our industry. For years Japanese manufacturers have avoided this market to ensure that American consumers had plenty of money to pump back into Japan. When Toyota made the decision to climb to the top at any price, it killed the goose that laid the golden egg. Bad for the US you say? Maybe, but the kamikaze tactic will ultimately cost Japan it’s place in the world economy. Toyota will finally achieve its dream of being number one. Good luck selling cars in China.
2. The housing industry: For two decades or more contractors have been building houses as fast as they could grab the land and put them up. For the most part, these houses are vastly inferior to the construction of a half century ago. In many cases, the land may be worth more in ten years without a structure at all. At the same time, the consumer has cut his own throat by leveraging as much of his pay check as possible to buy the biggest house that a bank would finance. If you paid more than three times your annual salary for a house and you didnt’ have significant financial reserves, you’re part of the problem.
3. The banking industry: Keep on loaning to people that can’t afford it, for things that are not worth it. Enough said.
4. Commodity prices: We have been in a relatively calm area for commodities for the past couple of decades. However, a little pressure in this area can cause mass devastation. All it really took was for oil prices to surpass current cost of living standards. Guess what, it happened in the 70’s too. I guess that we forgot. 
5. Fiat Currency: I hate to jump on this bandwagon but for all that is holy, you can’t print money without something of value to back it up. It used to be enough that the US government backed it and the world believed it but terrible lacks of judgement in how we print money in the past few years have damaged our credibility. Sure, it may help to keep our business back here in the US but there is a fine line between manipulating a currency and destroying it.

In the end, the US has a lot of work to do to reclaim it’s dominance in the world economy. At some point, we must create something real value and sell it. Wow, what a concept.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

written by Lochshen \\ tags: banking, credit, economy, ford, gm

If you haven’t heard the term before, give it a little time. You will. Mandatory wellness is the concept that your employer has the right to modify your behavior if your lifestyle choices adversely affect their bottom lines by adversely affecting your health. With ever increasing insurance premiums this is a trend that many companies will consider if they have not already.

I’ll skip the obvious problems with this concept in a free society and instead focus on the facts. Your company has the right to ask anything from you that is within the confines of the legal system. The real question is “Are mandatory wellness programs legal?”.

Companies are on a slippery legal slope when it comes to “mandatory” wellness and they realize it. There are a few cases that are in the process of setting precedence regarding what is and is not considered legal (Rodrigues v. The Scotts Co; Anderson v. City of Taylor). These cases show that companies are increasingly finding that employees are reluctant to accept this kind of infringement into personal space and that the courts may not uphold the companies decision to do so. If you find yourself in the position of being forced to accept a mandatory wellness program, an excellent article was composed by hronline.com that will help you to understand the reasons why your company wants this kind of policy and what rights you have as an employee.

In the end, it’s up to you to set the boundaries of what you are willing to accept. Chances are, if you’re serious about not complying with this kind of policy, it is highly likely that your company would rather hear out your concerns than argue them in a court of law. Just make sure that you seek the advice of legal council before you start burning bridges.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

written by Lochshen \\ tags: employment law, employment rights, HR, legal

It’s easy to hate bankers. With the recent headlines showing that many financial institutions are shamelessly taking advantage of those in financially weak positions, it is an easy sentiment to have.

There are a few out there however, that have taken the time and effort to truly give back. I was encouraged to read a recent article posted in Newsweek by Mr. Peter Peterson of the Blackstone group. Mr. Peterson’s views of social responsibility go beyond those of many of his peers. In a follow up interview with internet readers earlier in April, Mr. Peterson outlined many of his ideas and presented a solid foundation for the kind of social responsibility that many of our top financial institutions could only hope to emulate.

So, if you’re interested in hearing a banker say something other than “How does this benefit me?”, take a few minutes to get to know Peter Peterson. You may find that decency can transcend the boundries of monetary gain.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

written by Lochshen

 Recently, this kind of rant has been rampant on the Internet. It seems to be one of the most popular themes in recent history. For all of the Americans who keep propagating this myth I have an idea, stop. Oh, there will always be doomsayers and malcontents but for the rest of us, let’s not drop the oars and jump ship just yet. If you have been fortunate enough to be born in the USA you have quite a few things going for you. Let’s take a look at just the top few.

1. You’re wealthy: You have the top economy in the world. Period. The closest single economy in the world is barely half that of the United States. The EU as a whole is larger but by a damn small margin. Give that a moment of reflection. It takes 27 independent countries with thousands of collective years in business to come together to rival the US economy. You’ve been in business for a little over 200 years. 2006 Statistics.

2. You’re healthy: The average life expectancy in the world has nearly doubled in less than a century. Recently the US has taken some shots for not living up to the averages of some of our European neighbors but let’s be realistic. How many more years do you want to be around to have to have your bed pan changed? This is the best time in the world to be alive. You can expect to live on average 78 years in the US. Not too shabby. The highest average is 81.   

3. You’re happy: A vast majority of America’s population is happy with their life. Even considering the most recent economic and political turmoil in the country,  as a rule Americans enjoy their lives. America’s not perfect and there are nations that score higher on the index but there is a cost associate with being the at the top. How many of us wouldn’t be happy to work a 30 hour work week?

4. You’re smart: Ooops…Honestly, the US could use a little humble pie on this one. America is losing ground with basic education. If the US intends to compete in the world market it must address this failure. The US ranks poorly on the world stage for basic education, not even making the top 25 in 2007. On the bright side, the US still lead the world in institutes of higher education. America also fair quite nicely in the amount of our population that utilize higher education opportunities.

5. You’re generous: Over the course of it’s short history, America has been a fairly good neighbor. Sure there have been times that stand out as clear lapses in judgement. There have even been times when America has made wrong choices, but when weighing the bad against the good the US has given far more than it has taken. There’s no real way to calculate the immense amount of charitable contributions that the US has made over the years.  However, it is safe to say that America has given mammoth amounts of wealth to help out other nations. Most of the people in the US genuinely like the rest of the world and are willing to show it in a very real way (heck, we even like Canada).  

So, what’s the point? Simply this. Dissent is one of the greatest things about America. People are free to like or dislike what ever they choose. The unfortunate reality is, however, that some of the folks who really don’t like the US convince those of us that do that the “American way” is on the way out. Once that is repeated over and over again more people believe it and the prophecy takes on a life of it’s own. In truth, America is exactly where we put it and it will be exactly where we take it tomorrow. The old maxim is as true as it has ever been. We will reap exactly what we sew. 

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Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen