Eggplant And Asperger’s August 31, 2007March 8, 2017 FOOD PHOBIAE Nick: ‘Regarding John Seiffer’s friend who wouldn’t eat eggplant, because he didn’t think eggs and plants should go together? He should just call it aubergine and enjoy!’ John Conwell: ‘My daughter had a phobia about food touching. It went so far as our having to serve her dinner on 3 or 4 plates. Meat, Veg1 and Veg2, followed by dessert. She would eat one then another plate clean. My wife and I decided to break her of this habit. We took her to a nice restaurant and we ordered our dinner. She ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ‘ON THREE SEPARATE PLATES PLEASE.’ We gave up and she grew out of it mostly.’ ASPERGER’S If you’ve been watching Boston Legal, you know the lawyer with Asperger’s Disorder. Of course, that’s a drama, and he’s an actor. Here is a beautifully written and fascinating account by a 52-year-old man, Tim Page, who grew up with Asperger’s and who – if he did not exactly grow out of it – might be said to have grown into it. I think you will like him. I think you would like my Scrabble-playing friend who gets freaked out by condiments. I think we would probably like John Conwell’s daughter, however she chooses to arrange her food. My point? A bit clichéd, a bit corny . . . a bit Rodney King (‘can’t we all just get along?’) . . . but try to find time to read the Tim Page piece. To me, it says that ‘it takes all kinds,’ and that the quilt of humanity is enhanced by its variety. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
Eggplant And Asperger’s August 30, 2007March 8, 2017 But first, this: . . . The median household income last year was still about $1,000 less than in 2000, before the onset of the last recession. In 2006, 36.5 million Americans were living in poverty – 5 million more than six years before . . . And what is perhaps most disturbing is that it appears this is as good as it’s going to get. Sputtering under the weight of the credit crisis and the associated drop in the housing market, the economic expansion that started in 2001 looks like it might enter history books with the dubious distinction of being the only sustained expansion on record in which the incomes of typical American households never reached the peak of the previous cycle. Oh, sure. But what the New York Times fails to acknowledge is that it’s been a positively grand time to be rich and powerful in America. And now this: Should it be legal to fire someone just because he’s thought to be gay?* Most Democrats think the answer to that is ‘no.’ Republican Senator Larry Craig of Idaho disagrees. He voted against protecting people from being fired this way. And he’s against letting gays serve in the military. Some people think the Senator himself is gay. (Research suggests homophobes often are**.) He says he’s not***, and wants to keep his job. So let him keep his job (unless he’s lying**** – lying’s not good) . . . but wouldn’t this be a good time for him to change his position on the law that allows people to lose their jobs just because they’re gay – or, like Senator Craig, are rumored to be gay? My own view is that what consenting adults do in private is none of the government’s business. Republicans, from President Bush on down, disagree. They generally believe the government does have a legitimate role in your bedroom. Governor Bush supported the Texas law by which two boyfriends, in bed in the privacy of their home, were convicted of sodomy. As President a few years later, he joined most Republicans in decrying the Supreme Court for striking down this law. I know you hate it when I get all partisan this way. But on these issues, it really is almost entirely partisan. In the House, for example, Democrats voted overwhelmingly in favor of allowing a ‘Hate Crimes’ bill onto the floor for a vote. Not a single Republican voted to allow this. They hate gays so much they won’t even include us in the hate crimes law!***** And, once the bill did come to a floor vote, only a handful of Republicans voted for it. (It passed, but now faces the hurdles of the Senate and the White House.) * In most of America it is. (By contrast, it’s not legal to fire someone on account of his race, color, religion, gender, age, or disability.) ** Click, for example, here. *** And of course he’s not gay in the sense of living an honest life with – or seeking – a gay partner, surrounded by gay and straight friends. **** Was he lying when he took an oath and pled ‘Guilty’ before the judge? Is he lying now in denying guilt? ***** Most Republicans don’t hate gay people. (A frisson of distaste, perhaps, but not hatred, certainly.) But what does it say that not a single Republican House member voted to allow this bill to come to the floor? If it’s hate crimes generally they oppose, and not just extending the existing law to apply to gays, why didn’t they work, when they had a strong majority in Congress, to repeal the existing hate crimes law? Oops. We’ve run out of time. Tomorrow: Eggplant And Asperger’s
Worst Hotel — Part Deux August 29, 2007March 8, 2017 For the prudent, frugal readership that you are, an awful lot of you seem to frequent Las Vegas. Ed: ‘I had a similar experience at the Venetian. I arrived for a convention (for which I had to book and pay a full night’s room charge as a deposit months in advance) at 9pm. The front desk clerk told me that housekeeping had not completed cleaning the rooms because so many people HAD arrived that day, but he could upgrade me to a nicer room for $500 extra a night. He offered me several other ‘solutions’ which all involved me paying more money. I told him that I’d like the room for which I’d already paid and that I assumed that as they were a hotel, they should be prepared for large numbers of people checking in and out. They promised to send housekeeping up to get me a room right away. After keeping me waiting two hours, my room was finally ready at 11pm, only a mere eight hours after published check in time. When I checked out, I ask for a late check out. The front desk offered that they could accommodate me – for an extra half-day room charge. It took me three moves up the ladder in front desk management seniority telling the story of my check-in before they agreed to offer me a late check-out. After the conference, I was planning to stay on for a little vacation. I booked a nice room at a Candlewood Suites just a few blocks away for $99. The staff there was extremely pleasant, courteous and helpful. The room was ready when promised. I could make a cup of coffee in my room (and get extra coffee packs for a mere $1), unlike the Venetian where if I wanted coffee while I got ready for the day, I had to order a half pot from room service for $15.99. All in all, the Candlewood Suite offered a smaller room but a much more pleasant and satisfying travel experience and if I ever traveled to Las Vegas again, I would stay there before one of the Casino hotels.’ Daryle: ‘To say no to a hotel guest is a deal breaker. My wife works at the best hotel in our city. I asked her what she would do in a situation like yours. She said the Internet charge would be removed, the hour you asked for would be extended to two hours, and she would ask if you would like to have a soft check-out now. (Meaning the bill is cleared, you have access to the room until you depart.) Customer service is not so difficult: give the people what they want.‘ ☞ It’s not as though I was asking for the moon. The TV and Internet had not worked; I asked for a one-hour-later checkout or else to remove the $39 in Internet charges from my $882 bill. Ron: ‘The Paris is quite a bargain (I doubt you paid much if anything for your room) with great amenities (wonderful spa) and a great location on the strip. On a recent trip, I forgot my phone charger but was sent to the business center where they have every charger imaginable and they gladly charged my phone for free. If you are not satisfied with your room (or the T.V. in it), they are glad to move you to another. Sorry they didn’t comp your Internet service. Since it is for 24 hours service, I usually pay for it every other day (using it in the afternoon on the odd day and in the morning on the even day). The hotel is especially gay friendly and even has a special GLBT website.’ Emerson Schwartzkopf: ‘As someone who goes there at least once a year on business for trade shows, I’d really have to nominate all the hotels on The Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard) as ‘the worst,’ for finding numerous ways to extract large fees for substandard service in all sectors. I’ve become partial to the city’s supply of Residence Inns. OK, they aren’t flashy and plush, but you generally get a decent room and high-speed internet for free. The one by the Convention Center is surprisingly quiet and includes a campus of real trees and grass. BTW, I recommend going to The Peppermill restaurant for breakfast. The restaurant is a blender-mix of hot 70s colors, paper-leaf trees, and exceedingly friendly waitresses in short-skirt floral outfits. It’s the last holdover from the old Vegas and the highlight of any of my visits.’ Peter Baum: ‘I’m a frequent visitor to Vegas. Once I was arriving a day before my brother and sister-in-law and, perverse individual that I am, actively sought the worst hotel room in Las Vegas. Not wishing to devote tremendous resources to this task, the question became: how can one find such a place based solely on signage? The two answers (naturally): (1) in-room porn; (2) hourly rates. The hotel lived down to its billing. In addition to the expected flaking paint and cigarette-burned blanket, it had the following novel feature: the TV was programmed to turn on to the porn channel no matter what channel you’d left it on when you turned it off. It was revolting/amusing – everything I’d hoped it would be.’ Steve: ‘Call your credit card company and complain, explaining the situation and that the service did not work and that you complained to the merchant at the time and they refused to adjust the bill. The credit card company will reverse the charges. At least they did for me at the MGM Grand in Vegas two years ago for me, when I had the same complaint.’ Tomorrow: Eggplant and Asperger’s
Fear of Cheesecake August 28, 2007March 8, 2017 FMD We may get another opportunity when and if the next shot of panic pulses through the financial markets – I’m not persuaded the mortgage / housing / potential recession / potential vicious cycle scenario is entirely behind us – in which case FMD could drop back down to $29 as it did a couple of weeks ago, or to $19 or to $9. Or – whatever course the market takes – FMD may prove to be the disaster-in-waiting its large contingent of not-stupid short-sellers have long bet it is. But all that said, here’s a company with a unique level of expertise in its field, growing at 30% a year, selling at 9 times trailing twelve-month earnings. It even pays a $1 dividend, which may continue to grow. So I’ve bought back the partial sale I made last month (reasoning thus at the time). It’s been a painless out-and-in because these shares sit in my retirement fund (so no tax on the gain) and I got $38 for them last month, bought them back for $35 yesterday. (We first bought FMD in March of ’06 at $24 or so, adjusted for the subsequent split.) I keep challenging my guru with disaster scenarios, and he keeps graciously running through his logic (most recently here). So while you don’t want to bet the farm on this or any other single investment, I continue to think it’s worth your consideration. Here‘s what the Motley Fool’s Hidden Gems newsletter thinks of FMD. (Hint: it’s the pick of the month.) They charge $199 for a subscription, but click here for a free trial. LOOSE ENDS AND CORRECTIONS: Magic Last Thursday’s magic is explained this way by Vince DeHart: ‘I’m guessing, but I think he’s a contortionist – his legs are tucked up tightly in front of him. (Look at his girth – particularly in comparison to how thin his face and arms are.) Still, a great trick, I think.’ Frank Morgan adds: ‘the person starts out folded up into the top half of the body. The foot is not his and moves by some artificial means.’ Nausea Comment on last Wednesday’s condiment phobia drew fire from Bill Andrews and others who cited Merriam-Webster: ‘Those who insist that nauseous can properly be used only in sense 1 [‘causing nausea or disgust’] . . . are mistaken. Current evidence shows these facts: nauseous is most frequently used to mean physically affected with nausea . . .’ Phobiae John Seiffer: ‘I don’t know if this qualifies as an official phobia, but I had a friend who wouldn’t eat certain foods because their names were composed of two other nouns that didn’t go together. I became aware of it when he refused an offer of cheesecake. He said he likes cheese and he likes cake but the idea of them together repulses him. This is also the reason he won’t eat eggplant and a couple others which I’ve forgotten.’ ☞ And he won’t walk into an IHOP – only hop. He’s a culinary literalist.* * I made that part up.
The Worst! August 27, 2007March 8, 2017 HE WORST HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS Okay, so I can’t say for sure it’s really the worst, but you will want to avoid the Paris Hotel if you possibly can. And not just because the fake French accents why-ell yuh air ahn old, monsieur, are so grating. And it’s not just because the $12.99 ‘high-speed Internet’ connection is day-wreckingly slow and the television requires daily calls to ‘engineering’ if you’d like to see movies or exotic channels like NBC. No, it’s because when you present yourself cheerfully to the front desk on the day of departure to ask either to have the Internet charge taken off your bill or else to have your check-out time extended an hour (your true first choice, you hint), a manager is summoned to tell you, quite simply: no. BARNEY FRANK When I was in college, Barney Frank was the most popular tutor in our dorm, with dozens of undergraduates hoping to sit at his table for lunch or dinner each day. Not that those who’d ultimately make it would stand much of a chance with him when the discussion turned contentious, as within moments, and to everyone’s great amusement, it invariably did. Well, 40 years later, Barney occasionally holds the gavel as Acting Speaker of the House, and little has changed. Here‘s a snippet of his jousting with Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina. (Take one more minute to see Keith Olbermann singling out McHenry as ‘The Worst Person in the World.’)
A TSA Screener Responds Also: Lipobibliophobics August 24, 2007March 8, 2017 TSA TIP Mike Maughan: ‘If only they made solid, non-liquid, shampoos and toothpaste! Oh, wait, they do. A bar of this stuff washes your hair well, and since it washes your body also, it replaces the bar soap in your carry-on. You can even shave with it so you can toss out your mini-can of shaving cream. In place of toothpaste, try this. Old-fashioned toothpowder was abrasive for teeth and this stuff probably is also, but it should be OK for occasional travelers. With just these two things, I no longer need a Ziplock baggie to get liquids through the security checkpoint. Now, if only they made a knifeless Leatherman pocket tool I can take on a plane … oh, wait, they make one of those also. But since it looks exactly like a Leatherman that does have a knife, I think taking one of those to the checkpoint is asking for trouble.’ TSA QUIPS Bob Fyfe: ‘My own TSA experience was with a can of shaving cream, the only liquid or gel that I was trying to carry on board. It was small enough, the TSA official told me, but it needed to be in a quart-sized plastic bag. I didn’t bother trying to argue that the purpose of the quart-sized plastic bag was to limit the number of three-ounce containers that a traveler could bring on board. I just shook my head and threw it in the garbage.’ Greg: ‘I’ve heard that pumpkin pie (not a liquid) is allowed through airport security, so guacamole must be right on the border line. Bruce Schneier (security expert) interviewed Kip Hawley (TSA head) a few months ago. Their exchange touches on your experience, as well as other aspects of airport security. ‘Schneier: By today’s rules, I can carry on liquids in quantities of three ounces or less, unless they’re in larger bottles. But I can carry on multiple three-ounce bottles. Or a single larger bottle with a non-prescription medicine label, like contact lens fluid. It all has to fit inside a one-quart plastic bag, except for that large bottle of contact lens fluid. And if you confiscate my liquids, you’re going to toss them into a large pile right next to the screening station – which you would never do if anyone thought they were actually dangerous.’ ‘ ☞ There’s an exception for contact lens solution? Who knew? (Another of you wrote in to describe his mother’s experience with frozen marinara sauce – not a liquid but, in the words of a thoughtful TSA supervisor, ‘it soon will be.’ They took pity on her when she begged them not to take away her dinner.) Here’s the TSA site. Victor Kava: ‘I am a TSA screener in Massachusetts. This message is my own opinion; I do not represent the TSA in any way. First, realize that what was pint of ‘really good guacamole’ to you was a pint of ‘an unknown substance that the passenger states is guacamole’ to the screener. In the context of last year’s plot to smuggle liquid explosives aboard aircraft in Britain, banning anything that could be an explosive is, sadly, necessary. (As far as tasting it goes, might not a suicide-bent person be willing to taste some explosive?) The TSA screens millions of passengers, and we really cannot make snap judgments about the volume of contents in partly-empty containers. So we do go by container size, which is a policy that is unambiguous and quickly enforceable. Allowing 3.4 ounce (100 milliliter) containers is deemed safe. The one quart bag is to limit the total volume of all liquids and gels carried. The policy is not directed at your almost-used-up tube of toothpaste, but is an attempt to allow some convenience to passengers, while still preventing dangers to air travel. Speed limits apply to all drivers, in all vehicles, in all road conditions. Certainly, they sometimes appear wrong. But the problem is to have a simple, easily enforced traffic rule, which both limits damage form accidents, and also permits travel. TSA policies must be implemented by more than 40,000 screeners every day; writing a policy that is precise and exact in all cases is not a real possibility. Policies should be judged by the overall cost and benefit to all travelers, not by single cases. Also, it is a common error to say that the TSA ‘confiscated’ your 6-ounce tube of toothpaste. You were always free to leave the checkpoint with it, and put it into a checked bag, give it to a friend, leave it in your car, or mail it to yourself. Yes, abandoning the item at the checkpoint may be the easiest from the time-pressed traveler’s point of view, but it is the traveler’s choice. I repeat, we do not ‘confiscate’ prohibited items. We simply do not allow them to proceed past the checkpoint. The passenger decides what to do with the item. Best wishes for many safe and happy trips.’ ☞ Best wishes back. I have terrific readers. Joey: ‘I never understood why lighters and matches are allowed on planes. Aren’t they more dangerous than toothpaste? Answer: The tobacco cartel requested the exception.’ PHOBIAE Kevin: ‘I’m sure your Ketchup phobia story will open up a whole new discussion. My particular (unusual) thing is that I get nauseous whenever I hear the Michael Jackson tune ‘Beat It.’ This is not an anti-pedophile, anti-anything, but when I hear the song, I start feeling ill. My wife first thought I was making it up, but I think now she might believe me.’ Mike Lynott: ‘My personal phobia is lipobibliophobia, literally the fear of being without a book. I made up the term. It reflects my fear of being somewhere where I could be reading, but have nothing to read – waiting for a ride, for example. I doubt that it will appear in the next edition of the DSM, but you never know. And yes, the prefix lipo-, usually meaning ‘fat,’ also means ‘without.’ See here.’ ☞ So liposuction is a procedure to make you without fat? Maybe they should just call it lipolipo. But back to your main point: Lipobibliophobics are the perfect candidates for audible.com. Waiting for a ride, walking around the supermarket – you’ll even be able to read in the dark. John Kasley: ‘Your Scrabble partner says, ‘The sight of condiments makes me nauseous.’ Actually, nauseous things make him nauseated. Something one touches, smells, or sees is nauseous. People become nauseated.’ ☞ As for those rare individuals who are themselves nauseous – well, they do not visit this page, LOWER INTEREST RATES Why am I talking about ketchup and guacamole when the markets are in turmoil? (Or, now, eerily calm?) Let me end the week as I began it: The Fed cut its discount rate last Friday to begin dealing with the subprime mortgage morass – as you knew it would. Other measures will be taken to mitigate a very difficult situation. Smart people at high levels of the Administration and Congress are working for the softest possible landing. But my guess is that the softest possible landing will be, at best, rough. Do not expect a quick, painless resolution to our unfolding economic problems. It’s generally a bad idea to try to ‘time the market.’ But as always, if you have money in the market you can’t afford to risk, it shouldn’t be there. Sell. And if you’d be one of those people who, if the market kept dropping, would finally throw in the towel and sell just when, with hindsight, it will turn out you should have been buying – you shouldn’t be in the market either. You should sell, too. If, on the other hand, you’re in it for the long haul – perhaps in domestic and international index funds, with a few speculations on the side to keep it interesting (and to give you tax control, selling your losers to lower your taxable income by $3,000 a year and gifting some of your long-term winners to fund your charitable giving) – then, well, you are in it for the long haul. Hang tight. And if you have the income to buy more shares every year – dollar cost averaging – you should be pleased when stocks decline. The bigger the bargains, the more shares you can buy.
Magically Making Crest Disappear August 23, 2007March 8, 2017 OH, MY! It’s magic! And all Uri Geller could do was bend spoons. (Anybody know how this was done?) Thanks, John. MY RUN-IN WITH THE TSA I once tried to go through security with a pint of guacamole. It’s not exactly a liquid or a gel, and I offered to eat some of it as they watched, but they said I had to eat it all before I attempted to pass through security. There were too many people behind me – and my shoes were off and my computer bag had already gone into the machine – so I sadly offered it up to the TSA, hoping that they would at least enjoy it and not throw it out. It was really good guacamole. Yesterday, at JFK, I had my gels and liquids in a quart plastic bag out in the tray, and my toothpaste was confiscated in the interest of national security. ‘It’s too big,’ I was told. Yes, it was a six-ounce tube – ‘But it’s almost empty!’ I explained. From the way the bottom two-thirds of the tube was flattened and folded over, it was evident I was telling the truth. There were, at most, two ounces of Crest remaining. ‘I can see that,’ explained the Transportation Safety Authority. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ They confiscated it and all was well. (Charles pointed out that if it’s the size of the container, not its contents, that are determinative, why was not the quart bag itself – which could have held a full quart of toothpaste – confiscated? Just because it did not contain more than three ounces of toothpaste? Well, neither, all agreed, did my Crest tube.) I don’t want to make too much of this. There was no ill will. No pique. No sarcasm. (With me, pique and sarcasm do not kick in until more than $10 is involved.) And when I landed and unpacked, planning to visit the hotel gift shop to pick up some mini-Crest, I discovered a different quart-bag of toiletries in one of the compartments of my bag . . . a bag I had forgotten was there and thus had failed to put out in one of the trays . . . so I had toothpaste after all. The skies were safe, my smile, bright.
View from Boots on the Ground August 22, 2007March 8, 2017 But first . . . FEAR OF KETCHUP How could anyone fear ketchup? This strikes me as impossible – to me, ketchup, not bread, is the staff of life. Almost anything goes better with ketchup. But I was playing Scrabble with a dear friend (and, yes, ‘slangier’ is a word; let’s just say it was a very good day for the Democrats) and he asked me whether I was finished with the ketchup . . . I was . . . and whether, therefore, I might take it out of his sight (well, uh, sure) . . . because, he said, it was upsetting him. Now, this is a manly, sports-section kinda guy – a guy who had just broken a bone playing water volleyball in our pool the day before (okay, his little finger, but still) and kept on playing to the end of the game – and yet, he explained, he has a strong aversion to condiments. Mayonnaise, ketchup, relish . . . they disturb him greatly. ‘You’re joking,’ I said. ‘No, really,’ he said. I cocked my head and squinted. ‘The sight of condiments makes me nauseous. I know it sounds weird but a lot of people actually suffer from this.’ Still down a few points in the game (SLANGIER was several turns off), I waved the Heinz in front of his face a few times, happy for whatever advantage I could muster (mustard?). ‘Take it away!’ he said, making urgent brushing-aside motions with his splinted hand. I put the ketchup away (but could not resist reappearing briefly with some relish), won the game with 467 points (ADAPTIVE was my other good word), and immediately ran to Google condiment phobia. Ketchup phobia, it turns out, is real. Four admissions among many: I am 18 years old and i have developed in the last few years a fear of tomato ketchup. i become nautious and frustrated whenever someone around me eats tomato ketchup or talks about eating it. ketchup spills on tables terrify me . . . My father has . . . a full blown anxiety attack when we use it and the house goes into Hazmat alert if it spills on the floor. Same goes for 1000 island dressing. His eyes get wide and real crazy looking and he backs away and tells everyone to freeze. Once my friend put ketchup all over her hand and then smeared it in my face. I screamed and ran to the bathroom and scrubbed my face for like an hour. Then I sprayed perfume all over so I wouldn’t smell it. If people put ketchup on my skin I scrub it until it gets red and hurts. I HATE KETCHUP! My younger brother has a raging fear of ketchup…if there’s squished tomatoes anywhere near him or his food he goes completely PSYCHO And it doesn’t stop with ketchup. Click here for mayo. CARPOOLING Lisa Strong: “I’m all in favor of carpooling, but for most of us it won’t work. Few of us are actually able to leave work at the official quitting time, so, that would leave all members of the carpool waiting for the latest member each day. But at this time, I am fortunate to be a full-time telecommuter. My employer saves over $1000 per month by allowing me to telecommute. This is in the Midwest – bet it would save more on the coasts. I save money and time. And for every telecommuter, there’s one less car on the road clogging up rush hour. We use phone, instant message, email, conference calls, and a software tool that allows us to ‘share’ our computer screen with others on the call. This is practical for many people (not most), but still very few employers permit it. Dr Leveen was correct that carpooling is a great idea. Saves money for all parties, less stress for drivers, and even less traffic congestion for those who cannot carpool. However, I take great exception to the statement, ‘The federal government should give corporations a tax credit for a gRide type program.’ Dr. Leveen noted that this is already a “win-win” situation. The participants and corporations already derive financial and other benefits. By waiving the toll in his case, the local government is already subsidizing his carpool. Why should the federal government take dollars from the people who earned them, transfer them through a government that’s more than broke, and distribute those dollars to other people and organizations who will benefit from the situation without the appropriation of someone else’s dollars? My apologies to Dr. Leveen, who wrote an otherwise thoughtful commentary.” ☞ Perhaps a compromise would be a five-year incentive, to draw attention to the possibilities and speed their adoption? Or maybe just a good front-page Wall Street Journalstory recounting Genentech’s success? A VIEW FROM BOOTS ON THE GROUND From the 82nd Airborne via the New York Times: VIEWED from Iraq at the tail end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest we see every day. (Obviously, these are our personal views and should not be seen as official within our chain of command.) . . . ☞ Well worth the whole read. (Surely we owe the authors that much.)
Carpooligans August 21, 2007March 8, 2017 GENENTECH’S CARPOOLIGANS Dr. Lindsay Leveen spends $29 instead of $363 a month commuting to work, saving $4,000 a year after tax (and freeing up time, when he’s not the one driving, to snooze or read the paper). Obviously, this would not apply so dramatically in, say, rural Georgia. But still: Ever since I joined Genentech in 2005, I have carpooled with several other employees who live in southern Marin County. Genentech has its main campus in South San Francisco some 25 miles from my home in Tiburon. My commute is certainly scenic. I cross Sausalito, the Marin headlands, the Golden Gate Bridge, The San Francisco Marina, San Francisco Civic Center, and then a dreary drive down the 101 south to near SFO. If I drive alone I have a $5 toll southbound on the Golden Gate Bridge, there is no toll northbound on my return trip. My 1990 C280 Mercedes has an average fuel efficiency of 23 miles to the gallon combined city and freeway that is representative of my commute to work. Therefore, if I drive alone each day I would consume slightly more than 2 gallons of premium gasoline. The Bay Area has perhaps the highest gasoline prices in the US so gasoline would cost me approximately $7 per day. My car is paid for and pretty close to fully depreciated so I will only account for out of pocket maintenance and repair expenses. The car costs $500 to service every 10,000 miles (5 cents a mile), needs a new set of tires costing $600 every 30,000 miles (2 cents a mile),and needs brakes costing $600 every 30,000 miles(2 cents a mile). This totals 9 cents a mile, therefore the 50 mile round trip commute equals a cash maintenance and repair cost of $4.50 each day I drive to and from work. The total cost for tolls, gasoline, and cash maintenance costs is therefore $16.50 per day. A new car that is not fully depreciated would cost substantially more than the $16.50 per day. Carpooling to work, I only have to drive about one quarter of the time. We have 6 members but it is a casual carpool and sometimes we have only 2 or three in the car but mostly we have 4 or 5 in the car. Let’s assume I drive 6 times a month to work and that there are at least 3 people in total in my car when I drive. I save the Golden Gate Bridge toll because a car with 3 people or more can travel toll free. My monthly out of pocket cash costs for the 6 days I drive total 6 times $11.50 or $69 per month. Had I driven alone, my monthly out of pocket cash cost would equal 22 (workdays in a month) times $16.50 or $363 per month. There is still another offset to my commuting cost. Genentech for commercial and societal reasons wants to limit the number of vehicles that are parked on the main campus. They have instituted a reward program titled gRide. For every day that an employee does not bring a car on campus the company pays the employee $4. Therefore for the 16 days that I was in another member of my carpool’s vehicles, I get $64 added to my paycheck. After taxes this equals $40. My $69 out of pocket monthly commute expense is therefore reduced to only $29 a month. The gRide reward program also saves Genentech a bunch of money. To build a seismically braced parking structure in the Bay Area requires an investment of some $15,000 to $20,000 per parking space exclusive of land acquisition cost. Genentech pays less than $1,000 per year to the employees for the elimination of a parking space under the gRide program. The money that would have been spent on a parking structure is better invested in research for a life saving drug and the company has motivated the employee with an added reward. This is the perfect example of a “win-win” situation. The gRide program is very successful. 10 months after its inception we now have over 2,000 employees participating and over $1 million in rewards will be paid out this year. Each month the gRide program saves over 50,000 gallons of gasoline and eliminates a million pounds of CO2 emissions. This example shows the benefit of carpooling to employees, corporations, and society. We call our carpool participants “Carpooligans” but we are a tight knit group who enjoy our companionship during the commute, we all care about the environment, and we definitely appreciate saving money. The federal government should give corporations a tax credit for a gRide type program. The money would be far better spent and provide immediate fuel savings compared with all the nonsense about fuel cells, hydrogen, clean coal, carbon sequestration, ethanol and the myriad programs that simply line some special interest’s pocket. SHOULD DEMS ESPOUSE MARRIAGE EQUALITY? Evan Wolfson argues that they should. See if you agree with his reasoning. Tomorrow: Ketchup (and Other Scary Condiments)
Lower, Less, Less August 20, 2007January 6, 2017 LOWER INTEREST RATES The Fed cut its discount rate Friday to begin dealing with the subprime mortgage morass – as you knew it would. Other measures will be taken to mitigate a very difficult situation. Smart people at high levels of the Administration and Congress are working for the softest possible landing. But my guess is that the softest possible landing will be, at best, rough. Do not expect a quick, painless resolution to our unfolding economic problems. LESS FEAR OVER LOVING COUPLES According to the latest Zogby poll, 63% of New Jersey voters said they wouldn’t mind if their legislature upgraded the ‘civil unions’ that gay couples are currently permitted to civil ‘marriage.’ (As before, and quite properly, the government would not presume to tell religious institutions whom they could or could not marry.) One state legislator who’s now willing to go with that flow recently wrote: ‘To paraphrase John Lennon, let’s give love a chance. We might just find it works.’ LESS OPPRESSIVE WAGES If you missed Saturday’s Democratic radio address, it was delivered by a waitress from North Carolina: Good morning. My name is Fawn Townsend and I am proud to deliver the Democratic radio address this week. I am a waitress working the night shift at a restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina and – like millions of other Americans – I have tried to make ends meet on the minimum wage. And as anyone in my position knows, that is a very tough job. You can’t pay all your bills. You struggle every day, but still find yourself falling behind. Despite the fact that more Americans are working harder while earning less, it took ten years for our representatives in Washington to raise the minimum wage, with Republicans in Congress blocking it along the way. But during the last election, the people spoke out loud and clear. We elected Democrats across the country who took the lead in passing several minimum wage increases at the state level and improving the lives of America’s working families. Because the new Democratic Congress kept their word and increased the federal minimum wage last month, many more of us today have a better shot at achieving the American Dream. Millions of Americans now have a little more in their paychecks to help pay for basic necessities like food and clothing. And now more Americans can save to build a better future for themselves and their families. While the pay increase may not seem like much, it will create ripples in the lives of so many people. More than six million children whose parents earn the minimum wage will benefit with the earnings increase. When you add it all up, the resulting pay raise of $4,400 per year will help families pay for child care, housing and food. In recognition of their brave service to our country, Democrats in Congress passed a pay raise for our brave men and women in the military, helping them and their families make ends meet. With the money I earn, I hope to buy a used car. With a car, I might then be able to pick up more work so I have enough income to live independently – and no longer rely on my good friends who I live with now. And that is only the beginning. In order to truly get ahead and reach my life-long goal of becoming a nurse, I hope to attend college in the next couple of years. And thankfully, Democrats have made education a top priority and passed legislation that makes higher education more affordable, which helps make my goal no longer insurmountable. This year, Democrats in Congress provided aid and helped make the student loan system work for students rather than the banks. Democrats also passed a child tax credit to help parents put money away for college for their children. I believe that if you work hard and play by the rules, you should be able to earn a decent living in our country. Democrats agree with that thinking and they have shown that raising the minimum wage is just the first step. Our Democrats in Congress are dedicated to getting millions of low-income children the health care they need by recently passing the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Unfortunately, President Bush has threatened to veto it. On important issues like health care, we can’t afford to put politics ahead of the well being of our children. Everyone should contact their members of Congress and urge them to support the children’s health program and stop any veto, like I have. I’m grateful that our Democratic leaders in Congress are taking our country in a new direction. They have accomplished more this year than Republicans accomplished in the past six years combined – including giving people like me a long overdue raise. I’m Fawn Townsend from Raleigh, North Carolina and this has been the Democratic Radio Address. Thank you for listening and enjoy your weekend. ☞ As we face a possible recession, the Republican leadership would like to further cut taxes for billionheirs and – if only it were possible! – repeal that increase in the minimum wage the Democratic majority forced through. It’s what Jesus would have done.