Dear Clinton Administration and McCain, Deregulate Me

In a recent interview on 60 Minutes (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/21/60minutes/main4463340.shtml), Scott Pelley asked McCain if he regretted that he was one of the senators that helped pass deregulation in 1999. McCain replied, "No, I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy." I was not only surprised by his answer but also surprised by his short response.

In 1999, the Clinton administration, along with key architects like McCain, repealed or deregulated part of the Glass-Steagall Act by enacting the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The Glass-Steagall Act, which was part of the Banking Act of 1933, was designed to prevent banking activities that lead to the Great Depression. This Act was designed to "(1) maintain the integrity of the banking system; (2) prevent self-dealing on other financial abuses; and (3) limit stock market speculation" (http://digital.library.unt.edu/govdocs/crs/permalink/meta-crs-9065:1).
Yes, deregulation or minimal oversight is good for the economy but historically only pays dividends in the short term. The long-term impact has historically been disastrous. The Great Depression is an example of what can happen without regulation. We forget so soon that history repeats itself. Only 50 years later, those protections were effectively deregulated.

Other examples of deregulation that lead to disastrous outcomes include the energy industry (Enron), the savings and loan industry (The Keating Five) and financial industry (Leahman, Fannie, Freddie and Bear Stearns). All of these are powerful examples of deregulation gone horribly wrong.

I don't only believe that McCain is out of touch, I also believe that he does not have the best interests of the United States in mind. At this point, I can only speculate why he, to this day, after seeing what "his" deregulation has resulted in, still, not only supports deregulation but also believes that his decision in 1999 was prudent.

I'd like to end with an article that discusses McCain's plans to deregulate the health insurance industry (http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/7442/).

Gluten for Punishment

We received surprising but fantastic news and the office today and I'm happy to report that we'll be able to finally tear down and replace our rickety and potentially dangerous back deck and stairs. Seriously, this thing should have been torn down five years ago. In fact, my house inspector said that it should be condemned. Yeah, we still use it today.



Nice step huh? It's on par with the rest of the deck.

I'm gluten for punishment because I won't be doing the work. This means that I have to hire a contractor. I HATE CONTRACTORS! As with lawyers and politicians, they do their best work lying still at 72 inches below the surface.

We just happened to come across a killer deal on composite planks through friends of ours. The manufacturer shipped the wrong color and didn't want to deal with shipping them back (thanks fuel prices). We can get thirty-five, 20' planks for $15 a piece. The best part is the planks are exactly the right color for our home.

Here we go ...

Leaving All Torn Up

I'm off to Montreal in the morning and am feeling a little uneasy at what I'm leaving behind. We're right in the middle of a couple of outside projects and both will more-than-likely be completed while I'm gone. I'm not a control freak but I know how things go and I feel more comfortable when I'm in the vicinity of a project that has a price tag greater than a thousand bucks.

The two projects that are currently in progress are ProjectShed and ProjectCementStepHell.

Here's a peek at where we are with ProjectShed. Overall it's looking great and we're right on schedule for a July 30th installation. I'm actually feeling pretty good about this project and don't mind being gone for this one.




And then there's ProjectCementStepHell. This project was supposed to be completed on June 26. Today is July 28 and we're basically staring down the barrel of a pile of cement rubble in our driveway. Poor little cement railing never had a chance.




Here's a pic of our front steps. Inviting, no? I'm actually considering a third project called ProjectRockWall. Bring it sales dudes.




And while we're on the subject of projects, why not start a fourth. This here is ProjectGoneFishing. At least I can park a boat in the driveway.



I love contract work. See you next week yard!

Wall-E Anniversary

Sunday marks our second wedding anniversary. It seriously feels longer (in a good way). Kara's parents came by early on Saturday to pickup Ashton so that we could have a couple of days to ourselves. We kicked it off by going to a movie matinee at the Gateway. We both had been wanting to see Wall-E forever.

The next showing was at 4:20. We left the house at 4:00, got the Gateway at about 4:10 and spent about 30 minutes trying to find an open parking spot in the underground parking. We ended up 40 feet underground on the very last level. Apparently everyone had the same idea--get out of the hellish weather and go to a movie.

Wall-E was fantastic and had a couple of light underlying political messages that I happen to agree with. Messaging or not, it was still a killer movie and totally worth the price of admission.

Why Fran and Fred Make Me Nervous

I'm one of those people that looks at their 401K account on a daily basis. I realize that this is a bad idea and am told that I shouldn't but I can't help myself. I guess you could say that I've created a competition with myself and the game is to see if my portfolio sucks less the following day. I have also suckered in a couple of my associates to play the game. Sometimes it turns into a who-in-the-group-sucks-less match. What fun!

Over the past 12 months, I have literally watched tens of thousands of dollars fly out of my account. I contemplate parking my stash in a guaranteed portfolio but I know better. I guess that's why I shouldn't look at it as often as I do. My portfolio is light in real estate and heavy in energies but it is still taking a pounding. But I'm supposed to be OK with that because I'm buying more at a lower price and it will eventually rebound, right? Of course!

What prompted me to write this was the news I just read regarding Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These two companies combined guarantee or own $12 trillion (that's with a T, not a B) in U.S. mortgages. Both companies are facing failure and possible government takeover and control. This is horrible news no matter the outcome. If both are allowed to fail, the housing market as we know it will face total and complete annihilation. The real estate pains we have faced over the past couple of years will seem like a walk in the park. But if the fed steps in and takes control, the dollar will be completely and totally worthless.

Bye bye American market and economy. Bye bye 401K. I'll miss you both! XOXOXO

On a slightly unrelated topic, I wanted to share the following video. I love the facial expressions on everyone's face as Matt Simmons tells it how it is. It happens 4 to 5 minutes into the clip:

Apple iPhone 3G

A small group of us from my office have been counting down the days to the launch of the second generation Apple iPhone 3G. The eve of the launch had arrived and we decided that we would meet in the lobby of our office at 7:00 a.m. and head over to the Apple store as a group. We arrived on the scene at about 7:20. A line had already formed in the front of the store and it was obvious, based on the gear that they had, that they had been there for awhile and had more-than-likely spent the night. We walked over to what we thought was the end of the line but low-and-behold it was only a break in the line to allow mall patrons to pass through. We followed the remaining line down the side of the building, around the back side of the building and, after a small hike, passed about 350 line waiters and arrived at the end. Our end-of-the-line status lasted only a second. People were coming out of the woodwork from every direction and quickly piled up behind us.

The store opened promptly at 8:00 and the first people moved in. The line moved forward in chunks as groups of people cycled in and out of the store. Apple employees made their way through the line offering coffee and bottled water. Other employees came through with 3G pamplets outlining the different service plans and prices. The line was making great progress since the store opened. At this point it was about 8:40 and we were certain that, at the current rate, we would have our hands on an iPhone within the next hour. From about 8:45 to 9:30, the line didn't budge. In 45 minutes, we advanced three feet. Bummer! As we were discussing whether or not we should stay, a guy came through and was counting the number of people waiting in line. Danette was number 193 and I was 194. With zero movement in 45 minutes and with 194 people in front of us, we decided to call it quits and make our way back to the parking garage. What a downer!

As we walked toward the parking garage, we passed the front of the store. Two apple employees were guarding the doors and applauding as people passed through with their shiny Apple bags holding their precious new 3G iPhones. Lucky bastards!

We'll try again later today for sure.

Fetal Foto Tummy Scan

Kara and I finally made it to Fetal Foto tonight. The ultrasound quickly revealed the baby's legs, face, arms and fingernails but was hiding the cash and prizes. After about 40 minutes of Kara drinking cold water, shifting her body and being prodded with the ultrasound wand, the baby finally stretched it's legs and revealed it's plumbing. We're having another boy!

Mac Commercials

Every year for our annual conference, we produce commercials that we show throughout the 3-day event. The commercials are also used in digital advertisements and often in the lobbys of our centers. This year, we decided to do a parity of Apple's Mac vs. PC commercials. Danny played the roll of the PC (Mom and Pop Printshop) and I played the roll of the Mac (Marketing And Communications Company).

We arrived at the studio at about 10:15 a.m and started rehearsing the first of four scenes. After a couple of tweaks to the teleprompter, we moved to the stage and started recording. We did about eight wide takes (which felt like 80), a couple of close takes and a couple of individual takes. We finished the second scene by about 12:30, ate Jason's Deli for lunch, and finished up the remaining scenes by about 3:30.

The directors were great and we had a great time but the studio was like a sauna. The ambient temperature was about 80 degrees and that was without the stage lights. There was a moment, shortly after we got our faces powdered, when I looked over at Danny and saw a bead of sweet roll down his left temple.