Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Just Trying To Do the Right Thing!!


Well this job search thing sure has its ups and downs as for what I do it is not easy trying to get my foot in the door with the companies that do what I do and if I did it would most likely mean relocation. However, that does not mean I am giving up as that is not my nature. I postponed my unemployment until yesterday thinking I would have found something by now. I had applied to several opportunities in Monster and Career Builder and yes I have had no responses as with the economy being what it is employers are looking local due to relocation fees even if it means someone less qualified.

So a couple of weeks ago I started looking into something’s for a possible career change that has a future and will grow. With the new administration allocating money for renewable energy projects, I felt this is the time to make that career change. So I put in for a few jobs in the solar energy field but as I did my research I am finding out that even though solar energy is the way to go the cost of a system is outrageous, sure in 10 -15 years after the $40,000 investment it will pay for itself. But again the economy is keeping people from doing the right thing. And trying to sell someone something like that today wouldn’t be a good career choice.

So as I was doing my research on solar power I came across this site and as I watched the videos and read more and more, I began to think “wow this is the future of solar energy” See with me I am able to see the big picture, I have vision and when we look at history of how things we use every day now once had its revolution and changed the way we do things but when it first started out there were repercussions from the powers at be.

Some examples – Before most of us can remember (I am sure) people use to have Ice Boxes and the Ice Man would deliver ice and people would pay for the ice so they can keep their food cold. Then a man came along and invented the refrigerator and they were quite expensive and had to use electricity to run it. (of course at the time electric was very cheap and no one cared about that). But what people could not do was pay for them outright due to the depression. So this man with vision came along and gave his refrigerators away for no upfront cost, only that they pay him each week what they were paying for the ice from the Ice Man. Well this sure didn’t make the Ice Man happy now did it. But more and more houses began to have refrigerators because people will do what is best for them.

Another example – Now most of us can remember someone who paid thousands of dollars for a satellite dish and had it installed in their yard making their house look like something from SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent). Well they still had to maintain it, pay for the converter box and all for just a few strange channels. Now a lot of people have a dish and it’s not huge and ugly and it did not cost anything but a down payment and a monthly charge and you event get the DVR’s at no extra cost for up to 4 rooms. Again this pissed of the satellite guy the installer and the retail store but such is life. Things change and in most cases change is good.

Alarm Systems - Not to long ago an alarm system coat thousands of dollars and had istallation costs and the monthly monitoring charge. Now they are free as long as you pay for the monthly monitoring charge.

How about your cell phone – Remember when cell phones were as big as your shoe and it cost a lot. Now cell phones are free (in most cases) with a two year contract and they are small, they play music, take pictures and even videos. You can go on the internet, text and receive email, what a deal…

Now with that all being said what if someone could rent solar power, the whole PV system for what it cost now each month for electric form their local utilities? Not only that but let’s say the rate wouldn’t go up for 25 years guaranteed with no upfront costs, no system purchase, no installation charges, no maintenance fees, no permit hassles and no performance worries. One might begin to think “this is too good to be true” well it’s not that it’s too good, its because it has been so bad for so long. Power companies keep raising rates due to foreign oil dependency, they have to keep up long power lines and keep nasty generators running polluting our planet and we the consumer have to pay for all that. Well solar energy is free the sun is free (until our government figures out away to tax that too) that is why this can be done with a locked in rate for as long as the contract (rental agreement) up to 25 years. With the way utility costs rise how much can one save in 25 years not only that but not contributing to the pollution and being a part of the solution not the problem.

Now let me explain something, I am the skeptic of all skeptics, and even so this opportunity is not for everyone. One must see the big picture; have vision into the future and willing to wait. One must want to make a difference in the world, help do their part to curb global warming. One must be willing to take risks and push the envelope but the best thing is there is no cost to get involved that is the absolute truth or I wouldn’t be doing it because I am unemployed at the moment. When I said wait that is also the truth, as I am not here to blow smoke up anyone’s ass.

This is a Start Up Company and this is as ground floor as anyone right now can get. Hard work is ahead for anyone with the vision. Now is the time to lay your foundation for the future, your future, the future of the people you help and the future of our planet. Someday when most everyone has solar energy in the future on the roof tops or in their yards my grandchildren can say “yep my grandfather was a big part of this solar energy revolution” While I bask in the sun in the Bahamas.

The people who are doing this now are called Ecopreneurs and I am an Ecopreneur and some of them have been laying down their foundation for a couple of years now without making a dime as of yet. And when if does happen their hard work will pay them two fold. The object is getting people to sign up for the service with no cost until the engineer comes out and designs the system for that house and only then after the owners agree or approve the system do they pay their deposit. The advantage is these people who ever signed up and registered have locked in their rate for 25 years from the time of registering. And it shows investors who are putting up a lot of money to make this happen see that people are interested in this program. I could go on and on but I won’t if you are interested in what I am talking about please email me and I will send you some links of interest per your permission.

Just to let you know I am still looking for a day job, like I said with this I am only doing this because it is the right thing to do!!

I am not using this blog to advertise but to share a vision, one that will revolutionize solar energy and how it is distributed to the masses as an affordable commodity.

Just trying to do the right thing!!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Hell Has Frozen Over!!!

When my son was born on July 15,1992 he was eight weeks early and was no bigger than my hand, I have big hands. he reached from my finger tips to the middle of my wrist. He weight a whopping 3.2 lbs. He had major surgery for a TE Fistula and had complications with his heart and lungs.

This being one of the happiest days of my life was also the worst day of my life. He stayed in the hospital for 2 months and I by his side every hour that I could. I remember the nurses trying to insert IVs into him as his veins were so tiny and they had a hard time, as he cried I felt so helpless.

When he came home not a week went by before he stopped breathing on us, we pulled the car over, I got out and his mother ran into the store called 911 and I had him breathing and crying in my arms by the time the paramedics got there. He was rushed back to the hospital and had another surgery this time for a Tracheotomy

The doctors at that time informed us that Michael may be deaf or hearing impaired due to all the surgical procedures and that complications in the ear, nose and throat as they all tie together. It was sometime before we or by this time me could tell due to the fact his speech was delayed due to the tracheotomy. (it was during this period my kids mother left us alone and I was now on my own, no family, truly on my own).

Keeping that in mind the hearing thing, I would once in a while clap my hands to no response so as soon as the trac was removed I started his hearing tests and he was fitted for hearing aids before he was 2 years old.

By now you are probably wondering where does the "Hell Has Frozen Over" or what the hell does that have to do with this blog so far...I'm getting to that.

Michael was always small, very small for his age and I for one had hope that he would grow up to be of normal size but when he would ask me all the time if he would ever be taller than me, I told him "maybe who knows" but to myself would say "When Hell Freezes Over".

Well dammit that day has come and I am 5'6" and three quarters he is now almost
5'9". The last two years he has grown two and a half feet, easy. I can't keep the little bugger in cloths or shoes, I gave up so when he grows out of his shoes he can wear the boxes now until I can get him another pair. and I make shorts out of his high water pants. He is a bean pole, he has grown so fast his weight has not caught up to him yet. He eats us out of house and home when he comes home on the weekends.(he goes to school during the week at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, CA and stays in the dorm) He towers over his sister now.



I am glad I never told him he would never be taller then me. I never tell my kids they can't do anything. I do tell them if they think it (postulate)and dream it they can do it... He always told me he would be taller than me and well he is and "Hell Has Frozen Over!!!

Monday, March 2, 2009

New York, NY (Queens)


Well as you know from a previous blog I am looking for work as a food and beverage manager in the sports and entertainment field and I posted online with a very reputable company at two locations hoping that one works out. The fact of the matter is that I really don't know what I am going to do if one of them actually come through.

One is a minor league baseball stadium in Lexington KY and the other is CitiField in Queens,NY the new stadium where the Mets will be playing this year.

The cost of living in KY is so much better than here in California as my fiancee and I were looking at houses in the Lexington area just for shits and giggles and found some nice HOMES for...well let me put it this way, we live in a two bedroom, one bath house now with 3 children for $1000.00 a month. Houses in Lexington range from $1,125 to $1,750.00 for 4-5 bedrooms with lots of land. Very do able.

On the other hand New York is a much different story...This is a bridge I don't event want to cross until I know I have too. Like I said we were looking at houses for shits and giggles but when we looked in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area the giggles turned to "HOLY SHIT" I knew it was high but, OMG!!!

How does someone of middle class afford such domiciles, I mean a one bedroom is almost $2000.00 a month. I am sure there are some what affordable housing there but we couldn't find any.

Does anyone know anyone in the New York Metropolitan area that can email me some links to rentals within 30 miles of Queens. Thirty miles during commute hours will seem like a life time of being in the car I am sure.

I am in a catch 22 here and I be damned if I do and damned if I don't at this point in my search for employment. Murphy's law tells me...Oh well don't want to count my chickens before they hatch and all I can do is keep my fingers crossed for KY. and postulate this happening.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Earth to America

As our country seems to now be moving in the right direction...going green, I thought this...Well see for yourself.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

WHAT WAS I THINKING

Well this is a subject I was really trying to shy away from (Me) but with the economy the way it is I must tell you I myself, now a number in the ranks of the unemployed.


I had a really good job working as a Concessions Manager at a arena that from the day it opened in December of 2005 has lost almost 7 million dollars all due to poor management. I can go on about reasons why but the fact of the matter is the city built a multi-million dollar facility and didn’t know how to utilize it. There were very few concerts and a facility like that cannot survive on just hockey.


The company I worked for was contracted through the management of the facility which was contracted through the city. The company I worked for was in the red this year due to the snowball effect by $300.000 or so. Because of this in the last year I had 4 General Managers I had to work for and the last one was, well…not a nice guy, he had a job to do and that was to cut back costs and all costs.


I not being blind to my surroundings and always in present time (well I try to be) hear and see what’s going on started a job search and had a few coals in the fire before the demise of my position.


I knew I was expendable. However, the working conditions got so bad, with my employees on my case because they were no longer on the schedule. The building management on my case because concession stands were not properly staffed for the events we did have. Employees that were working were pissed off and did everything in their power to try to make me look bad as I am not one to throw anyone under the bus and took the blame for my manager’s decisions. All this crap for what and knowing I would be out the door myself real soon.


Now I put up with this for a lot longer than one should as the working conditions were unbearable, my family was suffering because I would come home and vent on them when I made it a rule to never bring my work home or my home to work. I use to be good at the separation. So on February 5th of this year I turned in my keys and badge and never looked back.


Let me say this and let me make this very clear “I am not a quitter and I never ever quit a job before in my life.” But I did have some pretty good prospects for future employment and was not worried. Looking back now I can’t say that was the smartest decision of my life. And for the coals I had in the fire, well…all but one has burnt out, mmmmm.


The point of this blog is that after the fact I then read a book (yesterday in fact) titled “The Problems of Work” one of the books in the series of what is called “The Basics” in the Scientology library written by L. Ron. Hubbard. And a lot began to make sense. I saw my role and what was actually going on around me and now, have a better understanding. If I had read this book before I quit maybe I could have reversed some of the actions taking place. But again I think it was so far gone at the time, maybe not. However, I now know how I can apply this science to my next job.


I know! I know what you’re thinking, oh no another nut, a scientologist. I aspire to be a scientologist; I have read some books and taken some courses all to improve myself. The science does work when applied properly, that’s a fact.


I guess what I am trying to say is that all that went on at this arena with bad management from day one (building management) caused CONFUSION and this can be summed up in a very short excerpt from the book.


"CONFUSION COULD BE CALLED AN “UNCONTROLLED RANDOMNESS”. ONLY THOSE WHO CAN EXERT SOME CONTROL OVER THAT RANDOMNESS CAN HANDLE CONFUSIONS. THOSE WHO CANNOT EXERT CONTROL ACTUALLY BREED CONFUSIONS."


Not to say this is it in a nut shell but it was the root of the problem and without going into detail of the book it all comes back to CONFUSION.


Not only in the work place but this works for life in general.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

CALIFORNIA MAY LEGALIZE MARIJUANA?

CALIFORNIA MAY LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

To be honest I have indulged once in a while and probably would more if it was legal but the fact is that weed, pot, ganja, and tree whatever you may call it is California’s biggest cash crop and has been for years. If this was done right it could work…

The San Francisco Chronicle Reports

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/23/BAO416354C.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1

California would become the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use under a bill introduced Monday by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco.
The proposal would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which is barred by federal law.

Ammiano, a Democrat in his third month as a state lawmaker, said taxes and other fees associated with regulation could put more than a billion dollars a year into state coffers at a time when revenues continue to decline.

He said he thinks the federal government could soften its stance on marijuana under the Obama administration.
"We could in fact have the political will to do something, and certainly in the meantime this is a public policy call and I think it's worth the discussion," Ammiano said. "I think the outcome would be very healthy for California and California's economy."

A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the proposal. A White House spokesman referred to a statement on a question-and-answer section of an Obama transition team blog that says the president "is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana."

While Californians have shown some tolerance for marijuana, such as use for medical conditions with voters' passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, the proposal will face tough opposition in Sacramento.

A lobbyist for key police associations in the state called it "a bad idea whose time has not come."
"The last thing our society needs is yet more legal intoxicants," said John Lovell, who represents the California Peace Officers' Association, California Police Chiefs Association and California Narcotic Officers' Association. "We've got enough social problems now when people aren't in charge of all five of their senses."

But Ammiano's proposal has the support of San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who said the idea "should be the subject of legislative and public debate."

It also has the backing of Betty Yee, who chairs the state Board of Equalization, which collects taxes in California. An analysis by the agency concluded the state would collect $1.3 billion a year from tax revenues and a $50-an-ounce levy on retail sales if marijuana were legal.

The analysis also concluded that legalizing marijuana would drop its street value by 50 percent and increase consumption of the substance by 40 percent.

A spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates for reform in marijuana laws and is backing Ammiano's proposal, said any expected increase in consumption is a "false notion."
"They are making an intuitive assumption that a lot of people make that really does not have that much evidence behind it," said Bruce Mirken, the group's spokesman, who predicted it could take up to two years before the idea wins legislative approval.

"Don't tell me that doing something like (this) proposal is going to introduce another drug into society. That's a load of bull."

E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

My Thoughts:


Two issues.

1. I'm not sure of the specifics that will determine the marijuana market price but I assume it should be at most $50-$100 an oz, assuming that prosecution by the Feds and gang violence are neutralized, and not the $400/Oz sold on the streets now. A $50 tax is quite exorbitant here. In reality the tax should be tagged on the market price which should be regulated by the state.

2. If there is a $50 tax, god knows the black market is going to take advantage of that. If California wants this plan to work they need to either create legal distribution outlets, or they need to let the free market run its course, but then they need to crack down on tax evaders. I doubt California can track down many of the small time dealers who will fly under the radar, creating the black market. These dealers are going to reap the benefit by not paying taxes thus not charging the tax, or charge the tax and still not pay it. Just like any business there will be the legit and then there will be the scammers. I am a free market guy but if we are going to tax something so heavily, we need license the sellers or have legal distribution outlets just like we use selling alcohol and tobacco. Otherwise, legitimate sales get swallowed by the black market thus defeating the purpose.

Time will tell as history shows us that after the prohibition it took some time before it worked as alcohol was still sold on the black market for some time.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Our Children are our future and yet they keep falling through the cracks in our school systems

As a parent and someone who cares about the future of the human race, why is it that any cuts due to government spending, do our schools suffer the most? Teachers spend their own money for school supplies (well the ones who care)and never get any of that back. I am on a good subject here but where the hell do I really start...

This is nothing new as this has been snowballing for years and it is just getting worse. Teachers are leaving for better paying jobs, teachers are getting laid off due to budgets and class room sizes are getting bigger. My daughter is a prime example of our schools today. In fact just to make her story short I pulled her out of school as she is now 18 and would not have graduated anyway because she was short on credits all due to faculty not following up and her repeating classes that she did not need to repeat. She is now enrolled for her GED and working on her Associates degree at the same time. Sure she is to blame somewhat but the fact remains that if her counselors were on top of the situation this would not have happened. And sure do to budget cuts there are fewer counselors for the number of students and their plates are quite full.

Let's see... if our state reps were to take a cut in pay or get paid for what they actually do instead of what they don't do there would be some extra money there for the schools. If the lottery system was used for what it was actually attended for then the money would be there as well. If our government didn't spend 8 billion dollars on a war that...Well don't get me started on that one. The money is there but our state and federal reps don't know how to be creative. Here in California as I am sure most of you see the news our elected officials have not been able to balance the budget in the last 8 months and just the other day California laid off over 20,000 state workers and stopped thousands of construction projects that will affect many more people and yet our officials are still getting paid. For What? They all took their holiday break in December during the crisis as if everything is just fine. Our Governor should have TERMINATED all pay months ago until they came up with a budget plan. I mean he was the TERMINATOR after all...

Back to the schools something has to be done here. I mean this is the future of our country, the world, the human race. This besides police and fire should be at the top of the list.

I know I am not a writer and my grammar sucks and my punctuation needs work but these are my words and if anyone has any input on how we should take this problem in our own hands and make things happen, well let's hear it. We need to make sure our future, our children's future is a bright and fulfilling one and an education is the utmost important gift we can give them.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Multiple Stab Wounds Found To Be Harmful

I found this very enlightening as I have often wondered about stab wounds and their affect on living creatures.




Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Monday, February 16, 2009

Things That Make You Go... mmmm

First off I want to thank all of you who ever you are for checking out my very first blog. So to began with one of my thougts, some of those things that make you go...mmmm.



I have always wondered why a certain flooring outlet is named what is is named as I often go to a flooring store to buy new carpet or hardwood flooring but I have never been asked if I would like it to GO!! I mean how would one answer that one..."No I would like it for here please", mmmm. Floors To Go now that's a good one.



I have always wondered why the doctor tells you to watch your weight and when you get it out to where you can see it real good, he than tells you that you need to loose the weight, mmmm.



I have always wondered what the hell does "It is what it is" means as of course it is and it is what it is but don't we know that? mmmmm

As I said this is my first post and I will have more and this is really just a launcher for my new Website and a test.