So, last Friday Lynne and I crossed that Rubicon of life into grandparenthood. While we join many of our friends we still have many who are not in this elite category.
Of course, the dreaded question is: Do you feel old? I will answer that question, by saying, I feel proud and complete. We've now raised two children. They are both happily married. Both bought homes on the cusp of the housing implosion and now one has brought a new daughter into the world. Officially, Claire Elizabeth was born Friday in St. Louis, MO. Daughter of Tyson and Jana.
It is one of those significant reminders that life moves on and tomorrow will be different from today and nothing stays the same. If I can speak for my better half, Lynne is downright giddy over the newest addition to the family. We feel blessed and are thankful that all has gone well and Claire is looking and acting like a vigorous young lady ready to take on the world. She's alert, eating, sleeping, doing all the right things.
To Claire, we say, We are so happy you've decided to join our family. We can be somewhat wacky at times, but we are a loving, caring, loyal bunch of folks, somewhat like the Herrmanns, but still different. You are very cute and we really like the name your parents chose for you. You make an excellent addition to the family tree. We love you and can't wait to come visit you in your new home.
24 February 2009
18 February 2009
Gadget time
I can't resist the lure of the latest gadget and that's why most of my friends think of me as Gadget Guy. So, the latest in the collection is the Logitech Harmony One universal remote control. Not sure why I inflicted this on myself, especially at the price, but I couldn't resist after one of my gadgetry friends at work told me he'd gotten one.
My love/hate relationship with universal remotes goes back a long ways. I've certainly poured hundreds of dollars down the drain trying to find one I could actually use. There was the one in London that never worked at all and all attempts to send it back and get a refund proved futile. Thanks Amazon UK!
Then there was the very cool touch device. I think it was called the chameleon. There were no buttons, just a skin that would light up and morph to what you wanted to do. Only problem is it didn't work, was hard to read and whenever you picked it up, it'd do something you didn't want.
The Harmony One has something none of the others have had -- a connection to the internet. This is for setup purposes only, but it assures that it knows about all the gear you're trying to set up. Its data base is constantly current. Also, you set it up on your computer (PC or Mac), so no more fiddling with buttons on the remote itself. Whenever you need to make a change, just plug it back into the computer and make the update.
I only had one problem (so far). I couldn't figure out how to turn everything off. Turns out there's actually a button for this. Duh! Since timing is a key thing with universal remotes, the Harmony has a nifty way of fine tuning that after you've done your initial setup. There is a help button which you can push if things don't work quite right. It will make those adjustments and ask you to test it again until you get it right. Their customer support, which is offered via the phone for only 60 days after purchase, was excellent.
So far, I think I'm going to like this and it'll hopefully allow me to put the other half dozen remotes I have in a box. Now, if I can just convince Lynne that newer is better.
My love/hate relationship with universal remotes goes back a long ways. I've certainly poured hundreds of dollars down the drain trying to find one I could actually use. There was the one in London that never worked at all and all attempts to send it back and get a refund proved futile. Thanks Amazon UK!
Then there was the very cool touch device. I think it was called the chameleon. There were no buttons, just a skin that would light up and morph to what you wanted to do. Only problem is it didn't work, was hard to read and whenever you picked it up, it'd do something you didn't want.
The Harmony One has something none of the others have had -- a connection to the internet. This is for setup purposes only, but it assures that it knows about all the gear you're trying to set up. Its data base is constantly current. Also, you set it up on your computer (PC or Mac), so no more fiddling with buttons on the remote itself. Whenever you need to make a change, just plug it back into the computer and make the update.
I only had one problem (so far). I couldn't figure out how to turn everything off. Turns out there's actually a button for this. Duh! Since timing is a key thing with universal remotes, the Harmony has a nifty way of fine tuning that after you've done your initial setup. There is a help button which you can push if things don't work quite right. It will make those adjustments and ask you to test it again until you get it right. Their customer support, which is offered via the phone for only 60 days after purchase, was excellent.
So far, I think I'm going to like this and it'll hopefully allow me to put the other half dozen remotes I have in a box. Now, if I can just convince Lynne that newer is better.
13 February 2009
Commuter Cuvee
We all need to be watching our pennies in today's treacherous economic environment. My contribution is a decent pinot noir we stumbled across at last weekend's regular tasting at Haggan's grocery store on SW Murray Boulevard in Beaverton. It's called Commuter Cuvee and is from Grochau Cellars using fruit harvested from the Gypsy Dancer vineyard near Scholls. It's not going to knock your socks off, but it's a decent everyday pinot and at $12 a bottle (plus 10% case discount), it's pretty hard to beat. I suspect this going to go fast.
12 February 2009
The winter of our discontent
Never before has the criteria for presidential success or failure been quite so stark. At the same time, never has it been quite so complex and unpredictable. With today's passage of the massive stimulus package by Congress, the die is cast and Barack Obama's presidential scorecard has been carved in stone. We are in the winter of our discontent, doubt and uncertainty.
His presidency and very likely his hopes for a second term will be determined by his ability to lead the country back to economic prosperity or at least close enough that he has the wind at his back when he hits the campaign trail in about three years. From this vantage point, there is hardly a shred of certainty and in fact quite a bit of doubt and pessimism that this will happen. After all, the Republicans have decided to sit this one out and are quietly if not vocally rooting for the recovery to fail. This is politics and frankly, right now they're desperate and it's their only chance. If the country goes into a prolonged economic malaise or even a depression, they win. Any other scenario, they lose. It's a huge gamble, but probably the only hand they have to play.
The next few months in particular, but the next year or so are going to test the mettle of our new president. He's already learned a lot about "changing the tenor" in Washington. The old ways of doing things don't disappear overnight. And the extreme partisanship that has marked the nation's capitol over the past two decades isn't going away anytime soon. Obama extended a hand on the stimulus legislation and they gave him the back of theirs. So much for Mr. Nice Guy.
This is going to be hardball and Nancy Pelosi probably has a better grasp on how this is going to play out than Obama does. Does he want to change the tenor in Washington? Absolutely. Can he afford politically to get kicked and spit on? Absolutely not. I expect him to improve his act over the coming months as we move into a phase where the PR surrounding the recovery will be every bit as important as the data -- at least for awhile. He needs to find his pace on this. Get a little more sophisticated about "reaching out." And crips up those answers at his new press Q&A. (I expect him to have lots of those because he's good at it. Did you know that George Bush II didn't have his first press conference until 11 months into his presidency?)
I expect to see the president basically hitting the campaign trail and highlighting every success he can find almost daily. To some extent, this is now going to become a big PR campaign. And, campaigning is something that Obama does well. It will now be up to him to lift the spirits of the nation. The Republicans have already said this is a bad bill that won't work and they hope it fails, so you can expect the leadership of the party to continue to highlight and celebrate failure and obstruction. Obama can't afford to let the negative and the detractors dominate the news. This ain't going to be easy, either, because the press loves negative news and it's going to keep coming in buckets full for some time.
Obama has a huge opportunity, not only to raise the spirits of the American people and help us soldier through this. But, he can also influence the perceptions of how things are going over the next several months. Early perceptions will be lasting percpetions and that's going to make all the spinning by both parties really interesting to watch.
It will be interesting to see what the Republicans do now. You can expect they will wallow in the gloom and doom and daily remind us that things aren't getting better, aided and abetted by a press focused on every negative statistic. But, what if things get better? Can they claim it's the tax cuts that are making it happen? They have really boxed themselves into a corner and for them success is a simple formula. Success=failure for the rest of us. Think about that. Who loves ya baby?
So, I, the realist, will choose to be the optimist in this one and of course be rooting for our president and for the American people. Is there any other choice? We've all felt the hurt either directly or indirectly. Why would anyone besides a sadist want the hurt and fear to continue? Much good will come out of this trial we are all facing despite the hurt it is and will inflict. Barack Obama has a huge job and there's more at stake than just his political career and reputation. Just as we all rooted for America and our leaders in the aftermath of 9/11, I'm rooting for America on this one.
His presidency and very likely his hopes for a second term will be determined by his ability to lead the country back to economic prosperity or at least close enough that he has the wind at his back when he hits the campaign trail in about three years. From this vantage point, there is hardly a shred of certainty and in fact quite a bit of doubt and pessimism that this will happen. After all, the Republicans have decided to sit this one out and are quietly if not vocally rooting for the recovery to fail. This is politics and frankly, right now they're desperate and it's their only chance. If the country goes into a prolonged economic malaise or even a depression, they win. Any other scenario, they lose. It's a huge gamble, but probably the only hand they have to play.
The next few months in particular, but the next year or so are going to test the mettle of our new president. He's already learned a lot about "changing the tenor" in Washington. The old ways of doing things don't disappear overnight. And the extreme partisanship that has marked the nation's capitol over the past two decades isn't going away anytime soon. Obama extended a hand on the stimulus legislation and they gave him the back of theirs. So much for Mr. Nice Guy.
This is going to be hardball and Nancy Pelosi probably has a better grasp on how this is going to play out than Obama does. Does he want to change the tenor in Washington? Absolutely. Can he afford politically to get kicked and spit on? Absolutely not. I expect him to improve his act over the coming months as we move into a phase where the PR surrounding the recovery will be every bit as important as the data -- at least for awhile. He needs to find his pace on this. Get a little more sophisticated about "reaching out." And crips up those answers at his new press Q&A. (I expect him to have lots of those because he's good at it. Did you know that George Bush II didn't have his first press conference until 11 months into his presidency?)
I expect to see the president basically hitting the campaign trail and highlighting every success he can find almost daily. To some extent, this is now going to become a big PR campaign. And, campaigning is something that Obama does well. It will now be up to him to lift the spirits of the nation. The Republicans have already said this is a bad bill that won't work and they hope it fails, so you can expect the leadership of the party to continue to highlight and celebrate failure and obstruction. Obama can't afford to let the negative and the detractors dominate the news. This ain't going to be easy, either, because the press loves negative news and it's going to keep coming in buckets full for some time.
Obama has a huge opportunity, not only to raise the spirits of the American people and help us soldier through this. But, he can also influence the perceptions of how things are going over the next several months. Early perceptions will be lasting percpetions and that's going to make all the spinning by both parties really interesting to watch.
It will be interesting to see what the Republicans do now. You can expect they will wallow in the gloom and doom and daily remind us that things aren't getting better, aided and abetted by a press focused on every negative statistic. But, what if things get better? Can they claim it's the tax cuts that are making it happen? They have really boxed themselves into a corner and for them success is a simple formula. Success=failure for the rest of us. Think about that. Who loves ya baby?
So, I, the realist, will choose to be the optimist in this one and of course be rooting for our president and for the American people. Is there any other choice? We've all felt the hurt either directly or indirectly. Why would anyone besides a sadist want the hurt and fear to continue? Much good will come out of this trial we are all facing despite the hurt it is and will inflict. Barack Obama has a huge job and there's more at stake than just his political career and reputation. Just as we all rooted for America and our leaders in the aftermath of 9/11, I'm rooting for America on this one.
03 February 2009
Will the mall survive?
Sunday's New York Times business section has a major story on America's love affair with the mall and how it's faring in today's dicey economy. While retail in general has been whacked pretty hard by the steep downturn, malls are apparently faring worse than some other retailers.
I've noticed that they don't seem to be building these big mega-malls around here anymore. The last one was built more than 20 years ago. And, the oldest urban shopping mall in the country -- Lloyd Center -- is still chugging along in NE Portland. The new retail clusters are called shopping villages. They're kind of like miniature town centers with streets, lampposts, outdoor cafes, piped in musik, etc. No roof over the sidewalks though they do put out propane warmers when it's cold. They are smaller than malls and therefore less crowded.
Ultimately, depending somewhat on where we go with this economic situation, these may be a halfway move back to good old neighborhood stores -- the kind you can actually walk to. What a concept. Between high energy costs, crowded freeways and cocooning, I do believe we're entering a time when the neighborhood retailer will become important again. People will care more about relationships than driving 50 miles to save a buck. The quality of the shopping experience may become more important than the mall experience.
I was always amazed during our stint in the UK how all the small shop owners stayed in business. They did because they had local customers, people they often knew and had done business with for many years. Will this era return here? I, for one, am hoping it does.
I've noticed that they don't seem to be building these big mega-malls around here anymore. The last one was built more than 20 years ago. And, the oldest urban shopping mall in the country -- Lloyd Center -- is still chugging along in NE Portland. The new retail clusters are called shopping villages. They're kind of like miniature town centers with streets, lampposts, outdoor cafes, piped in musik, etc. No roof over the sidewalks though they do put out propane warmers when it's cold. They are smaller than malls and therefore less crowded.
Ultimately, depending somewhat on where we go with this economic situation, these may be a halfway move back to good old neighborhood stores -- the kind you can actually walk to. What a concept. Between high energy costs, crowded freeways and cocooning, I do believe we're entering a time when the neighborhood retailer will become important again. People will care more about relationships than driving 50 miles to save a buck. The quality of the shopping experience may become more important than the mall experience.
I was always amazed during our stint in the UK how all the small shop owners stayed in business. They did because they had local customers, people they often knew and had done business with for many years. Will this era return here? I, for one, am hoping it does.
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