Et Tu Toys R Us?

As seen here, Toys R Us has hopped on the bandwagon as a nefarious abuser of HB1 visas by displacing fully functional American workers with far cheaper Asian workers. 

I especially liked a comment from one of the article's readers:

"You would think it would make more sense to ship all of those executive jobs overseas. Sure, sending accounting and IT jobs overseas saves some money, but think how much money you could save hiring an Indian CEO for 1% of what an American CEO would make! Tremendous value could be returned to the shareholders. Not to mention if you fired all the overpaid, lazy American shareholders and hired Chinese shareholders in their place, who would be too afraid of losing their stock to agitate for higher dividends. Then you could just stack up all the money the company has saved, toss it up in the air, and yell, "I'm rich, I'm rich!" like Scrooge McDuck!"

I guess this outfit joins Disney as suitable to boycott!

It's a Two-Way Street--Comments Welcome

My total lack of sophistication when it comes to digital expression and social media cannot be understated. For example, I just got my first smart phone about two weeks ago, which has introduced untold anxiety and confusion in my life.

But about this blog. I guess when I set it up, I did it all wrong. It seems I made it almost impossible for readers to post comments. It would've provided me great joy to receive comments and spark conversations and I was wondering why I wasn't getting any after 100-plus posts. It's possible that these posts are so unbearably boring that readers are left dumbfounded afterwards. But, nah, a bunch of you seem to like them and I'm sure you have stuff to contribute--if only you could.

So I did some research and juggled the settings the other day and, shazzam! now you can comment. But still, Blogger doesn't make it easy. In order to comment, you must:

1. Click on "No Comment" link at the end of the post (Poor choice of words IMO)
2. A text box pops up in which you enter your pearls of wisdom
3. Under "Comment as", click on the drop down menu and choose "Anonymous" (I don't know why! As Google.)
4. Hit "Publish"

As a test, I urge you all to give this a shot, even if you don't have anything special to say--maybe give me a weather update in your part of the world to make sure the comment link is working. Please make me not feel like I'm baying at a cold and indifferent moon.

More Housekeeping

While we're taking care of some household items, let me remind you that if you like what you're reading here, there's more of that here in my highly rated novel that's become too much of a secret. Yes, I'm shilling for my book, but that's what you do when you're a one-man writin' and promotin' operation.

I also have this one and it's free!!! (and well worth the price.)

Statistics That Could Restore My Faith in Mankind

Time, experience, and temperament cause me to conclude that some of our species are rude, wasteful, tasteless, and dumb. You see evidence all around you in the news, on the streets, in overheard conversations, and, most pervasively, on the Internet.

That is not to say that I am necessarily a pessimist or a misanthrope. In fact, I hope most of my observations and conclusions are based on hard evidence, even though hard evidence is often hard to come by. Many abide by the saying "One bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch (girl)". And I hope they're right. But give me the data, please. I would love to see statistical evidence that shows the following to be the thoughts and work of a very small minority of miscreants. In other words, show me the:

• Percentage of smokers who toss their consumed butts out the window of moving vehicles.
• Percentage of car occupants who dispose of their used candy wrappers, hamburger holders, super-sized drink cups, and other trash out the window of moving vehicles.
• Percentage of gym patrons who leave their wet towels on the floor and benches in locker rooms.
• Percentage of people who shout into cell phones on commuter trains.
• Percentage of people who miss the trash can and don't pick bother picking it up.
• Percentage of people who tip less than 10% in restaurants.
• Percentage of people who truly care about anything Kardashian.
• Percentage of people who actually believe if everyone carried loaded guns there would be fewer shooting deaths.
• Percentage of guys who actually like wearing ties to work.
• Percentage of women who actually like wearing dresses and pantyhose to work.
• Percentage of restaurant patrons who don't mind waiters who do not divulge the prices of today's specials.
• Percentage of people who leave their trash on the table at self-serve restaurants.
• Percentage of people who go to the movies so that they can text in the dark.
• Percentage of people who actually like the taste of Bud Light.
• Percentage of slow runners who start races at the front and make faster runners go around them.
• Percentage of dog owners who don't scoop Fido's poop.
• Percentage of dog owners who let their mutts run free and then reassure people who are cornered by the beast that "Fido's really friendly."
• Percentage of weekend bicyclists who wear spandex outfits with European logos who actually think they look cool.
• Percentage of congressmen who actually have a clue.
• Percentage of towns that don't allow right turn on red at any of their intersections.
• Percentage of of NJ shore towns that don't have any streets above 25 mph.
• Percentage of guys with shaved heads who think they actually look good.
• Percentage of people who ask "How are you?" and don't wait for an answer.
• Percentage of people who watch Fox News for, you know, the news.
• Percentage of females who talk like valley girls and don't think they sound stupid.
• Percentage of guys my age who actually listen to hip hop.
• Percentage of people who own SUVs and actually need a vehicle that large.
• Percentage of people who enjoy commercial air flight.
• Percentage of people in corporations who truly believe that anything productive comes out of brainstorming sessions.
• Percentage of executives who think team-building exercises have anything but the opposite effect.
• Percentage of consumers who prefer plain yogurt.

This is my short list. Feel free to add your own thoughts.

Wine: I Just Don't Get It

I just had a very good glass of wine--always a good idea prior to writing fiction or a blog post. (Not so good an idea before doing taxes.) It was a white wine from the Bordeaux region and very reasonably priced at around $15. 

The thing is, I'm not really sure why I liked it. I never really know why I like a particular wine. It was a little fruity--but I don't know if the fruit was raspberry, currant, citrus or celery. It had a nice after-taste, what is known as "finish," but I don't know if the finish was mineral, tannic, or oak. 

I also don't know if the wine was supposed be drunk now or several years in the future.  I never know. And I don't know if the wine would taste better with a savory veal dish or a simple pan-fried snapper. 

All I know is that I liked the wine. I'm pretty good a telling whether a wine costs $5 or $50, but not so good about $30 vs. $100. Words are my vocation, but words fail me when it comes to describing wine, a topic in which experts never seem to run out of words to describe. Usually I'm left with--"really tasty," or "disgusting swill."

This is weird and frustrating. When it comes to food, I'm pretty good at deconstructing ingredients, flavors and textures and can readily tell the difference between excellence in the kitchen and what you usually get.

So as a semi-serious cook, I'll just have to live with the fact that I will never be a critical judge of wines, but at least I'll always know what I like.

Dirty Cup Part II

Seems like I'm not the only one who believes in crusty tea cups. Julian, a follower of this blog, says disgusting habits like mine are traditional in Asia--and here reprinted with his permission is his own "dirty cup" story: 

About your "dirty" cup: it happens that the tea residue on teapots is traditional in Asia, and supposedly adds to the flavor. So, once upon a time, in my rolling stone years, I carried with me a little green porcelain teapot that I stole from my mother and that I never washed. It got nice and brown on the inside. I brewed tea very strong and drank a lot and had my little rituals. 

When I left England to start a new job at Oakland University, my little pot, broken and mended several times, but still nicely brown on the inside, made its second trans-Atlantic voyage and sat on my new office's bookshelf. And then I came in to work one day and the sweet mid-Western woman who was the department secretary had taken pity on the new twenty-something male instructor with the beard and odd habits, and scrubbed his filthy teapot!! It's never been the same since. In fact, I disposed of it a few years ago after yet another break. It never acquired the same patina. 

As for the secretary, we became good friends. She was about 10 years older than I. The former department head, who had hired me en passant, so to speak, as he left, had been a bit irascible and she missed him. So when I started writing very biting letters to various people, she really enjoyed typing them up. Then we would keep them for a day, and write something a bit more more subtle (and polite). She was the one I miss most there when I left. I even forgave the clean teapot, although for the rest of my life, I have never had one as good. 

This cup hasn't been washed in 8 years

Every afternoon at work I have a cup of green tea after lunch to help avert a mid-day stupor. This is the cup I have been using for nearly the past decade. It has never been washed!

I got the inspiration for not washing this cup from an old Ironside TV show in the late 1960s starring Raymond Burr (aka Perry Mason) as the crippled Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside. Though a brilliant crime-solver, he had a nasty temperament and very strong opinions about most things. He was notorious for making his coffee in a beat-up tin pot and insisting that the pot never be rinsed or washed between makings.

Of course this grossed out his fellow detectives and became a running joke thoughout the series and you could count on Ironside's explosive temper getting the better of him if anyone came near the pot with soap and water.

Yes, my cup has gotten the stink eye from several co-workers and some suggeset that it could be harboring all kinds of nasty microbes. I counter with the fact that I seldom get sick, which may be attributable to the resistance I've built up against nasty microbes in general based on drinking from a filthy cup.

But here's the news. I have retired the cup. Recently my group moved to a new building--a brand new building in Newark. A spanking clean, pristine high rise with ultra modern conveniences and state-of-the-art amenities. As the most veteran member of my department, I'm not sure that his dog quite fits in at our new digs. But I do know that my cup doesn't.

I guess its time to make changes. I have a new cup for my daily tea, and I'm not sure if I'll wash this one either. If I don't, it might be a little charming to have a grungy little fixture in my current antiseptic environment. Or maybe I should get on the stick and make it as sparkling clean as everything else around me.

I'm torn.

As for the old cup, I was thinking of a ritual smashing. But it has served me well and it still doesn't leak. At this point it is unclean-able. Maybe I should plant something in it. A mini tea-tree?

My new cup

Our Kids are Being Left Behind

As made clear in this article in the NY Times, the millennial generation, those between the ages of 18 and 34, are on track to endure less prosperity and more insecurity in their lives than preceding generations.

As the writer points out, despite being better educated, more socially connected, and just as energetic as previous generations, millennials have lower earnings, higher debt, higher unemployment, and fewer career opportunities.

As the article states, this generation is "faced with a slow economy, high unemployment, stagnant wages and student loans that constrict their ability both to maintain a reasonable lifestyle and save for the future." The days of paying for college with part-time jobs and summer work that many in my baby boomer population were able to depend on are long over. Also, jobs out of college pay less on an inflation-adjusted basis compared to prior generations.

So what can be done? First, the economy needs real growth, which isn't happening now. There must be more investment--in infrastructure, education, and research--all of which could lead to jobs, and higher paying jobs--especially for this generation. And with interest rates as low as they are, there's never been a better time to spend.

What the article gets wrong is its focus on the national debt "problem," which is not really a problem. The solutions mentioned above will help grow the economy and will pay for themselves through a broadened tax base, especially from better-employed millennials.

But taxes will have to go up (mostly on the wealthy) given the level of government participation needed to jumpstart the economy. As it is, Americans pay much less per capita than other first world countries, despite what the Grover Norquists of the world say, and much less than what we paid during the glory years of President Reagan.

And, once again, there is no need to make cuts in Social Security and Medicare, which are on reasonably sound financial footing (except for SSI disability) and require only minor tweaks over the next 15 years to remain so for the next 50 years. The article's author, of course, is a Wall Street guy and Wall Street guys just hate so-called entitlement programs--especially those like Social Security and Medicare, which are self-funding.

I have two kids in the millennial generation, and like any dad, I want to see my kids to better than me, at least from a financial standpoint. The situation they face today is unfair and not of their doing. But there are clear-cut answers at hand.