Notes From The Gene Pool

A Schwipple Family Christmas

2009-12-23T17:25:00.003-06:00

The tree lights shone in the Schwipple house.

Once again Winston had done his job well. Perfectly spaced bulbs twinkled on the freshly cut balsam tree. Beatrice and the kids, Billy, Tiffany and little Joey, nicknamed "Band-Aid" because of his ability to always hurt himself, had spent the last three hours decorating the tree with the family-treasured ornaments.

"Look Mom. Here's the one from our trip to Tennessee", exclaimed Tiffany. "Remember that trip?", she asked.

That was one of their last family vacations. The economy had hit them hard. Winston's company, Schwipple, Inc., had faced unheard of losses this year. People just weren't buying Schwipps the way they used to.

"Yes, Tiffany, that was a wonderful time", said Beatrice, looking at all the empty space beneath the tree. How are going to get presents for the kids this year, she mused to herself. There just isn't enough money to go around.

Jingle Bells was finishing on the radio and a commercial began.

"Yes, we believe in Christmas and want you to also. Now you can help Samta Claus bring joy to your family. Stop in at your local Wal-Mart and watch your dollars stretch to brighten your holidays."

Samta Claus, thought Winston. Boy, things had changed since Wal-Mart had replaced the old Santa Claus with their new character. Samta Claus was dressed in a 3-piece, pin-striped suit instead of the traditional red suit that Santa had worn and now sat in a huge executive's chair behind a big desk. No more lap time for the kids. Just step up to the desk and leave your list in the "In" box.

"Mom? What do you think Samta will bring this year? I really want a 10 speed bike," said Billy.

Well, dear, don't get your hopes up. It's been a pretty bad year for his elves," replied Beatrice.

Once more the radio blared, "And we have a special gift for all of you. Samta has decided to give everyone a special 3.5% discount this year!"

Winston and Beatrice exchanged glances. They both had the same thought. "We could get Billy a 10 speed bicycle hot wheel now."

"Beatrice, did you see the letter I got from my brother, Chadsworth? His company closed last week and I guess they didn't offer any kind of retirement or severance package to their employees. Apparently they had lowered their prices as far as they could to compete with Wal-Mart and just ended up losing the whole company. All the employees were let go," said Winston.

"So what's he going to do?"

"He's coming to live with us for a while"

"With his 7 kids?"

"And Francine and the 3 German Shepherds."

"For how long?"

"Until the economy turns around. The Dow is still at 400 pts. The only place making money is Wal-Mart and the Walton family. And, of course, they're privately held so they aren't traded on Wall Street. That means they get to keep all the profits."

"Well, thank goodness people are still buying Schwipps," said Beatrice.

"But for how long?" finished Winston

(To be continued)

Religious Prejudice

2009-11-12T16:34:00.003-06:00

The mid-year elections will get into high gear in a couple of months. And, as usual, everyone has their own criteria on who to vote for.

Was the stimulus good and has it worked? Are we getting out of Afghanistan or Iraq soon? What are states like Michigan and California going to do when they run out of money? Tax the non-working citizens? Raise property taxes on homes that are in foreclosure?

There's a lot to think about this year.

But what did some of our past Americans have to deal with?

How about a sitting president who added close to 10 states to the Union? He also broke up close to 90 trusts although the previous president has the nickname of the great "Trust Buster".

He initiated the Civil Service, eliminating the spoils system that had been in place since the beginning of the Republic. He strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission and worked on improving the postal service.

He searched for peace by establishing the League to Enforce Peace. After leaving the White House, he was named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and wrote many decisions still being used today.

Upon his death, he was buried in Arlington Cemetary. During his campaign, he fought against religious prejudice from those who felt he was unfit to serve as President due to his religious beliefs.

John Kennedy? No, William Howard Taft, the heaviest President in American history, weighing in at over 300 pounds, reaching just 6 feet tall. His estimated BMI was about 40.7. No shrinking violet.

And the religious problem? He was a Unitarian. When asked about his beliefs, he replied "I believe in God, but I don't believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ."

Think about the upcoming elections. Could anyone be successful if they were an avowed non-Christian? How the times have changed.

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A Diamond Day

2009-10-31T12:10:00.005-05:00

John Denver sang it best, "Some Days Are Diamonds, Some Days Are Dogs".

Today was a diamond day.

TAKE ONE:

Wal-Mart announced today that it will begin selling caskets, effectively reducing the price by about $1,000 from funeral home pricing. Another consumer win. Under consideration is the offer of 100 free prayer cards with a detachable coupon for 20% off the price of graveyard Styrofoam crosses with attached plastic flowers. Only 10% on plain crosses.

TAKE TWO:

Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker, announced his budget for next year which included the layoff of up to 200 workers. County Supervisors revolted and said money could be saved in other areas, protecting those jobs. One of their ideas was taking $2,000 out of each of their office budgets for newsletters. Remember, the taxpayer is paying for this "benefit" which "keeps us in touch with our elected officials".

Anyone thinking that these should be considered campaign material is wrong. Because we wouldn't want our tax dollars to go for that.

TAKE THREE:

We've all seen those ubiquitous little markers in the middle of the street reminding drivers that pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks. In other words, stop your car so they can cross safely.

This driver apparently didn't get the message. Let's hope the pedestrian made it across in time.

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News I'd Like To See

2009-10-29T18:28:00.003-05:00

News Item ----

"The Legislature should remove the markup law --- also called the Unfair Sales Act --- from state statutes. This law, enacted in 1939 to protect mom and pop outfits, ultimately harms consumers by denying them bargains that people in other states can enjoy" - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.

NEWS FLASH --------

Milwaukee, WI - Today Wal-Mart announced their entry into the wonderful world of broadcasting. Having secured approval from the FCC, Wal-Mart will be broadcasting on WWAL-TV in high def. The channel will primarily feature their signature, low priced items. However, in a stunning development, Wal-Mart stated that any company can advertise for free on their channel. No more high priced TV ads.

Reaction from local station, WTMJ, Channel 4, a wholly owned subsidiary of Journal Communications (which also owns the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), was somewhat reserved.

"We're not sure how this will work out. Our survival as a viable television station relies on our advertising dollars. We may have to cut back on some of our programming. We're thinking of dumping the local news (those anchors are pretty expensive when there's no money coming in).

Asked what other steps they might make to respond to the Wal-Mart challenge, a WTMJ spokesman said that station management is looking into paying advertisers to be on their station. "If we give each advertiser $2,000 for being on WTMJ, we feel that it could put Wal-Mart out of the market".

Unfortunately, WTMJ has only enough money to give to advertisers through Saturday of this week.

In a related story, Wal-Mart says that they are having great success with their new printed classified newspaper being delivered free to citizens in the city.

They've successfully put the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel into a frenzy to survive. Asked about the loss of their main source of income, now that the classified section has disappeared from the paper, a Journal Sentinel spokesperson stated, "We still have the obituaries. And we now put the logos of the funeral homes in the listings, driving our income upwards".

The editorial board has announced that it is re-thinking their stand on removing the Unfair Sales Act. In the meantime, their printing presses are scheduled to be available on Craig's List early next week.

(If only it were true.)

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Wal-Mart Uber Alles

2009-10-26T11:22:00.005-05:00

Well, they're one step closer to taking over our lives.

Wal-Mart has started the "Great Book War" by offering six soon-to-be-released books on their online store for just $10, taking on Amazon. Amazon responded by lowering their price to $9.00. Quickly, Target offered the books at $8.99.

These low priced books will affect all the small book retailers in your town who are paying the same wholesale price from the distributors but can't afford to sell below their cost. But that's what Wal-Mart pretty much does. Takes out the competition.

Once touted as the "Great American Company" (remember them showing all those American workers holding hands in front of a store?), Wal-Mart has morphed into a retail monster that features products made overseas. Some manufacturers are "forced" to make their products in other countries so they can gain entrance into this monolith.

So they've done their best to destroy many American jobs and stores. Go into a Wal-Mart and check out the children's clothes' racks. Taiwan, Bolivia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Vietnam, China, Thailand, India, you name it. Block out a 40 square foot are in their store and see how many countries you can find. Each one of those countries is now producing items instead of the U.S. So put the US in the middle of your Bingo card. You can use it as a free space.

Taking on Amazon and Target moves Wal-Mart into a new area. No longer content with closing local grocery stores, toy stores, bakeries, butcher shops and hardware stores, they now want it all.

As an owner of a small company selling school supplies, it's difficult to compete with the low prices they offer. We have to place our orders with manufacturers in January and February based on our projections. We pay the full wholesale price and have to set our selling price for the year. Then Wal-Mart comes out with pricing way below their costs, just to pull people into the store to buy all those other items like underwear and socks.

Over the years we've positioned School-Pak as a company that focuses on brand name quality, convenience and customer service. We've been successful at that. You can see Wal-Mart's model any time you get in line in their store. 12 checkouts available but only 4 being used. Customers aren't their focus.

Wisconsin is one of a few states that has the Unfair Sales Act which prohibits stores from selling below their costs. That's the only protection we have here.

Most upsetting about the Wal-Mart phenomenon is that it's a privately held company. The Walton family can take a few million dollar "hits" if it puts other companies, those with stocks that fuel our economy, out of business, opening the door to monopolizing retail sales. No wonder the family has a number of billionaires!

Soon you'll see them expand to other "sacred" areas. How about "Blue Cross, Blue Wal-Mart"? Have your gallbladder removed at a reduced rate providing you use Wal-Mart surgeons. Need a hip replacement? Great price for that with a special discount on walkers and canes. They'll take care of everyone from womb to tomb.

And the bouncing, smiling yellow face may someday roll down "tithing" (from 10% to 7%) at your local C.O.G.I.W. (Church of God in Wal-Mart).

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Fall In Wisconsin

2009-10-21T12:17:00.004-05:00

Been keeping pretty busy the last few weeks.

Terri & I took a ride to the Green Bay area to look at the fall colors. The newscasts had said that the colors were peaking around Fond Du Lac, so up we went. But the leaves hadn't changed at all. It was pretty bleak up there, rain, clouds and cold temperatures. What happened to the weather this year?

We tried to go to Door County but couldn't find a place to stay in Sturgeon Bay or anyplace else near there so we headed back to Green Bay. It turned out to be a good choice.

Having never been there before, we went to Lambeau Field and the Packer Hall Of Fame. Pretty cool. They have 4-5 minute videos showing the Packers from the 1920's to 2008. By now everyone knows about the special place they have in pro sports history, being the only professional sports team that is owned by the fans.

The first franchise fee the Packers paid was $250.00. The Houston Texans paid $750 million for their franchise fee. And I though gas prices went up.

Their very first year the players shared in the "profits" (the hat was passed at every game), each getting $16.75 for playing in 11 games, a little less than Rodgers is getting. Of course, after checking out the Packer Fan Shop, and seeing that buying a retro jersey cost $285.00, those old players would have to play for 17 years just to buy one of their jerseys!

Took the tour of Lambeau and got into one of the private suites. Probably the only way we'll ever be there. They then took us down to the basement and we got to go onto the field through "the tunnel". They played a tape of the crowd noise so we could "feel the excitement the players have" running onto the field. Cool.

They say that defense wins games. How about those 1929 Packers that allowed just 22 points in 13 games? They won 12 of those and tied the other.

Now if this year's squad could only do the same thing.

On the business side, things are starting to ramp up. We've received more request for quotes than we've ever had at this time of the year. I think the new options we're offering schools this year are getting a lot of attention.

2009 is turning out to be a pretty good year and 2010 looks even better.

It Had To Happen

2009-10-05T14:29:00.006-05:00

By now you're familiar with the Enron problem a few years ago. You might also have been taken by Bernie Madoff. It seems if there's a way to get taken, someone will do it.

Well, after 18 years in business, it finally happened to us.

In the middle of January, 2008, we received a commitment form, signed by the President of the PTO at Godley Elementary, Patty Dickey, committing to our Basic program for the 2008-2009 school year.

They sent us the orders and we made the packs, but made a mistake. We produced the wrong packs. We sent all the correct items to complete the packs and told them to just keep the items we had sent in error.

We then re-billed them and that's when the problems started. They didn't pay. Since school was out, we contacted the alternate contact for the school but she had moved, left no forwarding address, did not respond to telephone calls or emails. We knew we were in trouble. The school still owed us $1700.

We finally wrote to the Patricia (see the attached letter, Godley Letter) asking for payment. At first she didn't respond. She knew that there was money due and eventually sent a check for $700 but marked it for "Final Payment". Obviously, we couldn't accept that and write off $1000. We're not that big and we were owed the money.

To make a long story short, the school refused to pay saying that neither the school district, the school or the PTA was responsible for the actions that Patricia took. Wow! You would think that someone signing for the group would make the group responsible.

Our mistake was not taking the $700. Godley has now sent us a Cease and Desist letter stopping us from collecting our money. While told that we had a strong case, the fact was that we would end up spending more to get our money than we could collect.

It kind of makes us afraid to trust anyone out there. They not only received all those products but also kept the items we sent in error. I believe an overwhelming number of people are honest and pay their bills and we'll keep doing our thing the way we should.

So move over Bernie. There's a whole group of people out there that won't do the right thing.

Reply cards

2009-09-23T09:17:00.002-05:00

We came back from Dallas last week and picked up our mail from the post office.

It's amazing when a week's worth of mail has accumulated. Lots of "junk" mail from credit card offers to car dealerships to free vacations.

Most disturbing were the magazines we received. I subscribe to Wired and still get renewal notices to keep my subscription going. My subscription ends in 2011. Yet, now is the time to renew so I don't have a disruption of service.

Hello. I think I have plenty of time to renew. The same thing happens with TV Guide, who not only sends constant renewal forms but also took the time to "wrap" my issue with a warning that my subscription will end in the next month. I know it will.

Did you ever try to read a magazine while eating a sandwich? Notice how the pages fall gracefully to the side only to have a postcard sticking straight into the air? Try turning the page and it goes back to the prior page with that damn card sticking up.

And what is the card for? Just a reminder that I can renew my subscription or give the magazine as a gift. But that's just the start. Located in the magazine are up to 4 or 5 more cards doing the exact same thing. So if you want to flip through the pages, these keep showing up.

Here's how we can make a difference. Take all of those cards out, leave them blank and send them back to the magazine. They pay for each one. Somewhere, somehow, someone will see a stack of 5000 cards being returned to them blank and say, "maybe we shouldn't put so many into our magazine". I don't think the marketing people at the magazine are sharp enough to understand what's happening but maybe the person who gets all the cards might catch on.

This also has a positive effect on the economy. Each returned card has to be paid for so the Post Office will start collecting more money. If they collect enough, we might be able to keep the price of postage down to 99¢ per envelope by 2011.

Time to start fighting back.

Chalk

2009-09-13T17:28:00.002-05:00

Watched an interesting movie the other night on the Sundance Channel.

Called "Chalk", the movie follows three high school teachers and an assistant principal through a school year.

The first teacher, from the world of "business", is now teaching history, with very little response from his students. They sit stonily on the first day of class, the teacher's frustrations pretty evident.

As time goes by he finally goes to the school library to see how to teach a class. He checks with other teachers and eventually begins to feel comfortable. It takes him most of the year.

The next teacher is vying for teacher of the year, competing with a teacher who has more experience. He gets his students to start "campaigning" for him but ultimately loses both the election and his cool in the classroom, knocking a desk to the floor and breaking down.

The third teacher is a female phy ed teacher who wants to know why, because she has short hair and is a physical education leader, is considered to be gay. She actually has a thing for the history teacher but can't seem to get his attention.

Finally, the assistant principal is a former teacher who has been elevated to the new position. She quickly regrets all the hours she has to put in plus the loss of friendships from her former colleagues.

The movie points to all the horrible things that teachers have to deal with and kind of got me thinking about what a rough job this can be. It was done in a documentary style.

However, at the end of the film, as the credits rolled, it showed that the film was not a documentary but that the teachers were cast for their roles. That was disappointing. It made me feel a little used.

I'm sure that teachers have a really difficult time. But the movie was offset by a series that's showing up on MTV, "The World's Strictest Parents". A couple of students, unknown to each other, are thrust into a family where mom and dad don't allow smoking, cussing, no body piercing and very little privacy.

Watching the two try to deal with these new rules, I started wondering how they got to where they were already. When seeing their backgrounds, it appeared that their parents saw themselves more as "friends" than parents. It's not surprising that teachers are having a hard time with their students.

Both shows worth a watch. And then, what do you think?

The Ice Cream Maker

2009-09-10T14:41:00.003-05:00

Just read a really incredible book, "The Ice Cream Maker" by Subir Chowdhury.

A pretty short book, 113 pages, it deals with the owner of an ice cream company trying to sell the local grocery store his brand of ice cream.

Even though he came up with new flavors (copied by competitors, something I know a lot about) and great promotions, he just couldn't get his product into the store.

The gist of the story is simple. Companies that exist for the company's sake are doomed to failure. Those that look at how they can meet the customer's needs will succeed. The problem for most companies is deciding who their customer is.

We have whole sets of customers at School-Pak. We have the girls who sometimes would rather go shopping for school supplies than have it all delivered. Our focus for them is to keep the packs looking fresh, a difficult thing to do for products like crayons and binders.

We also have boys that would rather be home playing on the computer or TV or, hopefully, in some type of outside physical activity. They love the packs because they don't have to be bothered being away from their games.

We then step up to moms who are fighting to balance a budget along with balancing their time, taking the kids to all the various practices and events, cooking, cleaning, etc. Add to that the need to help provide an income to the house and you can see why moms like the service.

Then come the coordinators who have to choose a company. They may have their own ideas on how many services theyir parents might want and how much they should cost. They have to balance their feelings with the feelings of the parents in the school. Should everything be brand name? Should there be generic products? I believe that they stay nervous throughout the summer until all the packs are delivered and no one complains. They might make the final decision and worry that they'll make the wrong one.

Finally come the teachers who are under pressure from school administrations to ask parents to replace those items the school can't afford any longer. Items like tissues, paper towels, Clorox wipes, etc. The list goes on and on. I can't believe that teachers feel comfortable asking parents to spend $60 or more dollars just for school supplies, especially when possible half that cost comes from those grocery store items.

So our goal is to determine who our customers are, their priority to each other and how to serve all of them. It seems like a daunting task, but we've been doing it since 1991.

And now we're looking forwrd to the future. Lots of great ideas out there from parents. Just need to get them thought out enough for the upcoming year.

By the way, "The Ice Cream Maker" is worth the read. It makes you thing about your personal lives and who all your "customers" are. They could be everyone you come in contact with.

Taxes Everywhere

2009-09-02T18:18:00.002-05:00

The State of Wisconsin announced that sales tax collections for the Miller Park Stadium District were down in August by 29% compared to last year. So we'll be paying that extra stadium tax past the 2014 deadline.

Why would sales taxes drop. Oh yeah. People aren't spending as much. How come? Oh yeah. They either lost their jobs or are afraid to lose their jobs. So that means the rest of us have to keep paying.

Of course not all of us. Former president of the city council, John Kalwitz, who just loved Milwaukee and gave his entire elected career to the city, now lives in Nevada. He's a part of an investigation of the former president of the policeman's union. Kalwitz, like so many other elected officials, made sure that he earned all of his retirement benefits and then, rather than staying here and investing in the city, leaves.

The other side of the story is Mercury Marine, who offered a long term contract to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 1947, is planning on leaving the state and taking a possible 1800 jobs with them. The union rejected the company offer last week. When the company said they weren't open to further negotiations, some union workers petitioned for a second vote. After enough pressure, the union agreed on Saturday to have a vote. Too late for Mercury Marine.

Finally, after some meetings, the company and the union agreed to a final vote this week. As one union worker put it, "A yes vote means you keep your job. A no vote means you lose it." Whatta ya think? My guess is that the vote will keep the company in Fond Du Lac.

There is a lesson to be learned from that. When a company (or maybe government) says it's the final offer, the union will understand what that means.

On another note, I'm currently working on our new School-Pak programs for the upcoming year. Pretty exciting. I just need to reach all those coordinators before they commit to another company. They get pressured to commit now to protect their discounts. We've got some better ideas. Just need to get in contact with them. It's going to offer some really industry-changing options. Can't wait to get it all set up.

Finally, what about Favre? He played yesterday and did pretty well. Except for his cheap shot block, now being looked at by the NFL. Would they really fine him? Suspend him. Probably not.

Big Weekend, Plenty of Peanuts

2009-08-24T20:32:00.004-05:00

Really had a busy weekend.

First it was off to Detroit to spend time with Jason for his big 40th birthday. (Actually it doesn't happen for a few days but...). We were the extra guests for the weekend.

Kasias' parents are here from Poland and will be staying for a couple of weeks. It gave us a chance to see them again. We really couldn't say much to them since they only speak Polish and we only speak English. But we survive.

Really disappointed to get on the airplane and find that Delta doesn't even offer peanuts on this short flight. How long would it take to hand out peanuts? It's sad the way things have changed on flights. It took over 20,000 frequent flier miles plus a couple of hundred dollars for the tickets. I remember when 20,000 miles would get you a free trip anywhere in the US. It's not nice when they change the rules in the middle.

Gratefully, Jason had a 50 lb can of peanuts at his house. (It was probably smaller but, after not eating supper, it looked pretty big.)

Spent Saturday morning watching Adam (our oldest grandson) try out for the hockey draft in Canton. There are a whole gaggle of levels for kids, from mini-mites to mites to ???. They looked pretty cute skating for the coaches.

Lots of falls but lots of smiles. That's really what it's about.

The afternoon took us to Holly, MI to visit the Renaissance Festival. Lots of visitors dressed like the medieval times, from squires to knights to lords and ladies. Spent a couple of hours there, watched the joust (our guy lost) and walked around enjoying the grounds.

Haven't been to one of these in about 10 years, but still lots of fun.

We came back to Jason & Kasia's house and played Elfenland with her parents. With Kasia translating, they did well and seemed to have fun. Of course, we had peanuts.

6 Feet of Separation

2009-08-21T14:34:00.002-05:00

Just about everyone knows about the Kevin Bacon six degrees of separation.

Very few actors / actresses have not been in a movie with him. And since everyone has friends, suddenly an old high school friend of Meryl Streep feels that they are in that coveted group of Kevin Bacon attachees.

I can go one a little better. Recently one of our best friends retired from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Dave Tianen was the main pop music critic for the last 17 years and had a chance to interview every major music star over those years.

So I feel confident in saying that I'm only 1 degree of separation from Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Gene Simmons, Bono, etc. That's pretty cool.

Of course, I can even better that. I've been six feet away from JFK, Winston Churchill, John Adams (actually less than two feet away), John Quincy Adams, Benjamin Franklin, James Monroe, etc. Get it? I've visited so many graves of famous people. Usually that's the closest you can get next to them. They've got to be gone.

By the way, John Adams and John Quincy Adams have above ground crypts. Could really get close.

Anyone for Health Care?

2009-08-19T16:25:00.004-05:00

Yeah, I know. Everyone's got an opinion about health care in the United States, Canada, England, Poland, France, Chine, Japan, etc.

I only have one question: Does anyone know what's going on?

According to some sources, there isn't an Obama health care plan, just talk.

According to others, we're about to start death camps for the elderly.

And, finally, some say that the cost to cover all citizens might actually be more than a) the Iraq War; b) stimulus package #1; stimulus package #2; tobacco subsidies; whatever.

How come no one has come out and printed what is really being proposed by either side? All we get is yelling and shouting about things that may or may not happen. No facts. Just opinions. But where are the facts? Probably buried in the bill everyone is an expert about but hasn't read.

This year our health insurance premiums (there are 3 full time employees covered) will top $24,000. Add to this a deductible of $5,000 (and hidden language in our policy that states that preventative care will not be covered, just diagnostic care) and you can see where we're leaning.

Just think, as a diabetic, none of my routine blood and lab tests are covered by our insurance policy. You see, they will cover diagnostic tests, but since I'm already a certified diabetic, the lab tests are diagnostic. They just show that I'm following my diet and pill regimen and am healthy. So I have to pay for all those tests out of pocket, until I reach the $5,000 deductible. (Of course, with the high prices, that might not take too long.)

Here's two ways we can get reasonably priced health care for all of us:

OPTION 1: Change the compensation of House and Senate members to be the average income of their constituents. Sure, there'll be some fairly well-off legislators, but can you imagine Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-MILW) giving up her $175,000 plus income to live on $30,000 per year. And have her pay for her own insurance since the government shouldn't provide that coverage. It's too expensive for tax payers.

OPTION 2: Give every American citizen the same coverage we give to our federal representatives. Of course, in this case, the government (actually us) would be paying for it so taxes would go up.

Change is needed and soon. As more people lose their insurance due to layoffs, and as companies take away benefits so they can compete with foreign companies, we're heading for more than a crisis. We're heading for disaster.

By the way, smile. It's nice outside.

It Just Doesn't Go As Far As It Used To

2009-08-18T20:32:00.004-05:00

I remember growing up in the 50's and 60's, watching the Milwaukee Braves, one of the greatest teams of all times. Aaron, Matthews, Adcock, Spahn, Burdette, etc. I would go to the Veteran's Home in Woods, Wisconsin, and sit in the bleachers they had that gave a great view of home plate and right field.

As I got older, I began to go in the regular way, taking part in the "knothole" gang, where kids could get into the game for 50 cents.

The players didn't make a whole lot of money back then. Probably most of them had off-season jobs as real estate salesmen, car salesmen, etc. They played the game because they loved it. As they look back at what they accomplished: home run records, rbi records, pitching records, etc., they must wonder at the amount of money being paid today to players who would have probably sat on the bench back then.

Which brings me to compensation.

Recently, AIG (remember them? I think we own part of them now) announced that their new CEO will be paid a yearly salary worth $7 million and could earn more in performance-based incentives. A former insurance salesman, Robert Benmosche rose to be CEO of Metropolitan Life, a position he held for 8 years. Under him, the company successfully went from a mutual company to a publicly traded firm. With that experience, he's getting paid a lot of money to lead AIG into the future.

Then along comes BJ Raji, the Green Bay Packers first round draft choice, who's given a 5 year, $28.5 million dollar contract, with close to $18 million guaranteed. And he hasn't taken a snap in the NFL yet.

Hello. There's supposed to be a recession goin on. People are losing jobs, homes and families as they try to cope in this economy. But football wants to be sure that a 337 lb, 6 ft 1 in, football player gets $18 million dollars guaranteed for not having played a game.

Then add Brett Favre, America's biggest sports story, to the mix. $10 million dollars for a 1 year contract. He'll definitely bring in the crowds for the Vikings who stand to make a lot of money this year. But with his ability to change his mind, how will he adjust if the Vikings tell him, "Sorry, but we can only pay you $30,000 this year. We changed our mind."

Actually, the biggest loser is Deanna Favre. When Brett whispers in her ear, "I love you", are his fingers crossed?

Unfortunately, I'm from that old school that says that your word is your bond. Favre is, by far, one of the greatest football players of all time, but he's not much of a role model. I thought you had to be much younger to be a spoiled millennial kid.

"It Isn't Easy Being Green" - Kermit

2009-08-17T16:34:00.004-05:00

Poor Kermit. He tried to warn us it wasn't easy being green. But we didn't listen.

As I wrote a short while ago, schools lists have exploded with what we refer to as "grocery items", paper lunch bags, tissues, paper towels, ziploc bags, hand sanitizers, paper plates, etc. The school I noted had over $45 worth of these items in their $65 pack. Unreal.

Yet some of these schools have jumped on the "green" bandwagon. "Don't send us the supplies in those boxes", wrote one coordinator. "We're very environmentally conscious and need to protect trees".

So we sent them in non-biodegradable plastic bags. ???? Go figure.

2-3 boxes of tissues is becoming the norm for some classrooms. These tissues are apparently not coming as a a byproduct of trees. Rocks, maybe?

Of course we now know that we are saving thousands of trees by not writing letters. We just email. On our computers. On our cell phones. On our blackberries. On all those things that we have to plug in to re-charge. We save by using re-chargeable batteries. Of course our home electric bills have gone up as we leave our computers, dvrs, cable boxes, air conditioners (when we're gone) and clocks on our microwaves and dvd players running.

It isn't easy being green. Makes you wonder what other thoughts those Muppets had that have come true.

Time to go. My cell phone just rang.

Another weekend gone by

2009-08-16T22:48:00.002-05:00

Well, another weekend just went by. Sure goes fast.

Terri & I spent Saturday at the Wisconsin State Fair. It was our third time there this year. We found a special promotion that got us some reduced tickets so we took advantage of them. It really turned out to be better than in the past.

We used to go there and try to cram everything into one day. Now we could take our time checking out the vendors, the food and the animals.

Tried the, now famous, chocolate covered bacon on a stick. It really wasn't very good. I'm a meat person and the chocolate masked the flavor of the bacon. Too much chocolate for me. We were amazed at all the weird things now available on a stick: crab cakes, reubens, deep fried oreo cookies to name a few. All nicely deeply fried and smelling like grease. We're getting too old to eat these kinds of things. We don't have that much time to allow our arteries to plug up any more than they are.

But seeing all these great foods gave me the inspiration to get back home and head to the grill Saturday night and Sunday. First, some of the best ribs I've made in a long time. We found this little store in Greenfield, Wi., Cherie's Savor the Flavor, specializing in different spice blends for meats and cheese / vegetable dips. We bought their special St. Louis Rub mix and it was excellent. Of course I added some freshly ground pepper and paprika to the blend to add a little more spice.

Sunday I made my first attempt at smoking a beef brisket. I've had a smoker for about 10 years and pull it out every few years with the idea of making something special. And the brisket was. Used the same blend as for the ribs and let it sit in the smoker for about 4 hours. Turned out great.

To finish our culinary weekend, we went to see Julie & Julia, the true story of a woman who successfully followed Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) recipes for a year. Meryl Streep was perfect in the role. A fun movie.

But tell me, why there are so many commercials before the movie starts. The paper said it started at 7:00. At 6:55 they began the first of 12 commercials. Not previews. Commercials. The previews followed. The movie didn't actually start until about 7:20. What a waste of time. And, naturally, we had to pay to sit through them.

Remember when the promise of cable was that it would be commercial free? So much for promises.

Tomorrow it's back to work. Things are quieting down somewhat but still a lot to do. We'll see how the day goes.

Happy Mustard Day

2009-08-07T12:36:00.006-05:00

Pretty big weekend last week. It all started with a short trip to Mt. Horeb, WI., current home of the Mustard Museum.

After witnessing the ceremonial Mustard Bottle toss to start the day's festivities, and listening to the Poupon U Accordion Band, we had a chance to hook up with Colonel Mustard's favorite cousin, French's Yellow.

Watched the kids doing Mustard Bowling and playing Hoops for Koops, we got in line for the best part: Free Hot Dogs!

The line moved quickly, I was handed my hot dog and I headed for the mustard table. What? No French's Yellow? I knew I should have squeezed the big guy when I had a chance. But what wonderful surprised they had on the table. I'd never tried wasabi mustard, or Jack Daniel's Mustard. I ended up putting 4 different mustards, separated by about an eighth of an inch, on my little dog. Tasted great.

Walked around a little (Mt. Horeb is really a great little town. The only town I know of with 4, count them, 4 roundabouts to go through to get into town.) and went over to the museum. Thousands of different mustards from around the country. Names I had forgotten (of course, they still might be made, just not sold in our area) like Gulden's.

After watching a short video on the history of mustard and how it's made, it was time to get in line again. The second one was even better than the first!

Finally it was time to take off for the next stop, Belmont, Wisconsin, the site of the first capitol.
I had seen photos of the historic buildings in the past and thought how cool it was that they were preserved rather than torn down for redevelopment. But was I in for a shock. After being declared the capitol, it was quickly decided to move it to Madison. So the town started to die.

The railroad coming through a few miles away became the end of the town. But rather than just close down, they moved the buildings, stores, homes, etc., to the railroad. They probably never thought that a town could grow that big to be over 2 miles wide! (Guess that didn't happen in Milwaukee, Chicago, Denver or Los Angeles.

So here sat these two buildings, one the capitol and the other the boarding house where those early legislators slept and ate. In the middle of corn fields, right across the road from a working farm. Weird.

Coming up next: A Taste of Dubuque. See you then.

I thought it was the dog days of summer

2009-07-30T21:09:00.005-05:00

Here it is, the end of the month of July. We haven't had a lot of great weather in Milwaukee and now we're actually closer to Christmas 2009 than Christmas 2008.

So now we prepare for the dog days of summer, whatever that means. But wait. We discovered this last week that it's not really the dog days of summer. It's the Llama days of summer.

That's right. The Llama days of summer.

We went to the Washington County fair last weekend and were stunned to see something we've never seen at a fair, or anywhere else.

We got there in time to see the Washington County Llama Project. Apparently the local kids have a competition where they dress in costumes and dress their llamas in matching costumes.

So we saw a nurse with a patient(llama); a wizard with a unicorn(llama)and lots of other costumed kids with costumed llamas. It was a lot of fun and you could tell the kids had spent plenty of time planning and dressing their pets. Way to go kids. Have fun.

Of course we're planning fun for the weekend. Going to the Mt Horeb Mustard Museum for their annual Mustard Day on Saturday. I'll let you know the highlights next wee.

Higher Wal-Mart prices in Wisconsin

2009-07-27T10:19:00.007-05:00

Well, the word is out. Wisconsin is one of 4 states that has a law against selling below cost at retail stores.

It seems that Wal-Mart is offering all these great deals across the nation to help people that have lost jobs, etc. Prices have been slashed to unbelievable low prices for backpacks, calculators and other school supply items.

I understand the challenge of having to get those supplies for the upcoming year and looking for deals. But why can Wal-Mart do this?

When they first went into full scale expansion their motto was all about "America". I'll paraphrase from memory: "American products by Americans for Americans", so something like that.

Of course they found that products were cheaper overseas so those "by Americans" changed and people lost their jobs. Now more people have lost or are in jeopardy of losing their jobs. Wouldn't it be nice if Wal-Mart went back to their roots and supported American workers by purchasing American made products? It's pretty hard to do in today's world.

We're always asked how we compare to Wal-Mart. Here's the best answer:

Go into a Wal-Mart with your supply list and give it to the store manager. Ask him to send one of his workers to go through the store and get everything on the list, exactly as listed. If the school is asking for a specific brand or item that Wal-Mart doesn't carry, have that person go to other stores until they find it. Then put everything together into an easy to carry-to-school package and send it to the school without a shipping charge. And, oh, by the way, give the school up to a 9% commission on everything. And don't charge more for the products or the service.

You'll hear the laughter throughout the store. So how do we compare? We don't because they can't do what we do. If you're a price shopper, Wal-Mart might be a good choice if you have the time to spend walking through the store, and please, don't buy anything else. Just go there to get that 25¢ box of crayons. Come back next week for the colored pencils. Maybe the third week you can get the cheap notebooks.

But you know what really happens. You get that box of crayons and spend another $30-50 on socks, underwear, shoes, and other items at the store. And you'll still need to go to another store to get the rest of what you need.

Since we can't stay in business selling below our cost, they really shouldn't be allowed to either. Sorry, but there should be some fair trade practices for all of us.

Try matching some products with their country of origin. You may be surprised.

Product matching

Backyard Barbecuing

2009-07-17T16:19:00.002-05:00

Boy! Who can believe that summer is going by so fast? The weather here in Milwaukee was pretty sad in spring, picked up a little towards the end of June and now... now it's 64 degrees.

Still going to head out to a church festival or two over the weekend. But the barbecue will be getting used pretty often this week. I need to because of a great coupon bonus I received in the mail from Omaha Steaks.

They opened a store in Wauwatosa some time ago and I've been throwing out all their mailings. This time I decided to try it. How's this for a deal?

4 top sirloins, 4 pork chops, 2 stuffed sole, 8 franks, 4 filet mignon, a box of potato au gratin, 6 hamburgers, all for $49.99. And you also get 6 free burgers, a set of cutlery and a cutting board. Pretty cool. They also have a "1st Time Customer" special: buy 1 selected package and get 2 free.

Tried the hamburgers the other day and the filets. Really great.

It's sad when the highlight of the week is a meat sale. Of course we're going to see "Food" tomorrow night. I think I'll eat first.

4th of July weekend

2009-07-06T20:53:00.002-05:00

Well, the 4th of July is past us. And so is Summerfest. These were always the mid-point of summer growing up. Actually just the 4th of July. Summerfest didn't show up until I was a little older.

Went to the Wauwatosa parade with friends, like we have for about the last 30 years. Always sit in the same place and enjoy the parade and the people around us.

This year a contingent of students from the Wisconsin Medical College were seated next to us with their families. Apparently one of the doctors from the college lives on the block and prepared this great breakfast for everyone. Of course, turning on the sad eyes, the young fellow next to me took pity and brought me a plate of food. Pretty good. I may not eat breakfast at home next year if I knew they'd be back. Oh well.

They had the usual units in the parade but everyone stood and clapped when the veterans marched by. That's what the holiday is really about. People who are willing to put their lives on the line so that we can keep our freedoms.

I mentioned to Terri that all this respect was great, but, unfortunately, someone was probably dying right then in Iraq. The next day the paper said that two soldiers died in Afghanistan. What a difficult memory for those parents.

The kids were probably the most fun to watch, collecting tootsie rolls and caramels that were being tossed by the parade marchers. I couldn't help but remember the story in the paper that morning about 7 year old Leo Nienas.

Five years ago the doctors told his parents to make him comfortable and prepare themselves for his "imminent" passing. He was diagnosed with leukodystrophy, a rare disease that attacks the protective shield around the never fibers in the brain. Leo's dad, Tony, was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, saying "Our approach has always been ... let's put a smile on his face, do the best we can today and tackle tomorrow when it comes."

That attitude, according to the paper, has kept Leo smiling. I thought about that and wondered how often I just tried to put a smile on my sons' faces. Probably I put frowns on them as they grew up. It was after they were gone that I began to realize how much fun it was to be a dad. Not sure if they'll concentrate on keeping their kids smiling. I hope so. I hope you do too.

What's A School Supply?

2009-06-30T16:14:00.006-05:00

Back when Terri started School-Pak, in 1991, it seemed that it was an easier time. We took the teachers' lists, put together an order blank and filled the orders. It didn't take long to do them back then. A few notebooks, folders, some pencils, crayons, a box of markers. We were a little worried that moms would run away from the program since the kits cost somewhere between $20 and $30.

Then the schools were told by their districts that the items always provided by the district just couldn't be handled anymore. With all the increased costs, from teacher salaries and benefits, to the cost of new textbooks, desks, copier paper, administration salary increases, all being met with a decrease in tax revenue, something had to change.

Taxes had to go up to cover the needed expenses. So... how about asking your parents to bring a box of tissues? If every kid in the classroom, say 25, brought a box of $1.50 tissues, the school district could save $37.50 for each classroom. So if there were 4 classrooms per grade and 8 grades per school, there would be a $1,200 savings per school.

So tissues ended up on the list. Next came paper towels. Then baby wipes, hand sanitizer, antibacterial soap, Clorox wipes, ziploc bags (gallon, quart, sandwich, snack), and on and on.
Eventually the costs of the packs started to creep up. That $20 pack became $30 to $35. The $30 pack went to $40-$45 per pack.

Of course, moms that didn't buy packs didn't necessarily go out and buy these grocery store items, so the teachers asked for a little more. Then, knowing that parents might not send more during the year, the lists began to add more quantity for each one.

All this to get to the point. I just received a kindergarten list from a school looking for a quote. It contained 3 Kleenex boxes, 3 rolls of paper towels, 5 containers of baby wipes, a box of freezer ziploc bags, 2 boxes of sandwich ziploc bags and 4 containers of Clorox.

All this works out to $46.55 at our discount prices. So, back to that classroom of 25 kids. Total savings: $1,163.75, and they'll have to find place to store 75 boxes of Kleenex, 75 rolls of paper towels, 125 containers of baby wipes, 25 boxes of freezer bags, 50 boxes of sandwich bags and 100 containers of Clorox.

Bad news for moms of twins!

I read in the paper this past week that Kimberly-Clark will be laying off 1500 workers as sales are down. Not to schools.

By the way, they still need a rest mat, backpack and a whole lot of school supplies.

Don't get me wrong. We don't mind selling all this stuff, but someone ought to do a reality check. This is coming out of family pockets at a time when the economy is in trouble.

Festivals & Food

2009-06-28T18:36:00.005-05:00

We've always have kind of been festival freaks. Every Friday in the summer we're off looking for BBC, Beer, Brats and Corn. We keep a listing in the car of church festivals and try to get to as many as possible over a weekend.

This weekend gave us two festivals to choose from. But before we even got started, it was off to the West Bend farmer's market. Flowers, cheese, onions, radishes, lettuce, baby rice popcorn, specialty potato chips, the West Bend farmer's market had them all. And to kick things off, a German Band played for the crowd. Ended up buying some fresh fennel. Going to try and barbecue it. Not quite sure how but I'll give it a try.

In the evening it was off to Summerfest to see Felix Cavaliere, the founder of 6o's group, the Rascals. The Rascals were inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame the same year as Michael Jackson and had numerous hits like "Groovin'", "It's a Beautiful Morning", "How Can I Be Sure" and lots more.

The evening brought us back to the Briggs and Stratton stage for Barenaked Ladies. Unfortunately, we just couldn't stand on those bench seat for too long and left about half way through their set. Walked over and finished the night with one of our all time favorite bands, Cowboy Mouth.

Summerfest food was great, as usual, but it didn't stop us from going to the Cedarburg Strawberry Festival. All kinds of strawberry treats, shortcake, sundaes, pies, muffins, bratwurst (that's right, strawberry flavored bratwurst), plus a lot of artwork, including watercolors, photography, wood crafted items, iron artwork for the garden.

After all this food, it was interesting to note that it all seemed safe. The food vendors were local merchants, the Lions Club (great barbecued, smoked turkey leg) and non-profits like the Cub Scouts.

No one was selling Toll House cookies. I wonder why? Nestles is going through a huge recall of their product since some of it has come up tainted. They aren't real sure where it was made. Here's a hint if they recall their "Pure Life" purified water. It says right on the label "Source: Public Water Supply, Greenwood, IN." Just think. No special Alpine spring water for them. Just tap water. And we buy it!

New week starting. Have fun

Summerfest Kickoff

2009-06-26T13:09:00.003-05:00

Summerfest kicked off it's 11 day run with Bon Jovi last night. Not being Bon Jovi fans, Terri and I opted to go for the "Big Bang" fireworks show at the lakefront.

I have to admit that the most fun of being in the crowd is people watching. It's entertaining watching the little kids run aroud, waiting expectantly for the show to begin. One of the vendors, selling those flashing bunny ears, glow in the dark sticks, etc., didn't have to move for a half hour once it got semi-dark out. His little pushcart, all shining brightly, attracted the kids like moths to a light bulb.

The crowd was pretty well mixed with parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, kids, cousins, you name it. And everyone was having a great time.

I recently finished "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon professor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and decided to write a book reflecting on his life.

Randy writes that he wanted to leave some history for his young children to read about in hopes they remember him. Throughout the book he explains how it's important to live the life you have rather than feel sorry for yourself. His perspective on death in eye opening.

I thought about him while I watched the families at the lakefront. So many of them were totally engaged with each other, enjoying the outing. Sometimes we forget how these little adventures are remembered by the kids. As adults we take a lot for granted, enjoy ourselves at something, and then quickly forget the moment. We need to take the time to remember those times when we were at peace and happy and try to make those moments an everyday occurance.

Did miss not having the grandkids along. Adam enjoys the fireworks as long as he has his headphones on. Noah? Not sure yet. He's usually sleeping somewhere when they're going off. Alexis? At 4 months, I'm not sure she'd have full appreciation.

It's a good week to look forward to. Planning on a farmer's market during the morning, a little nap in the afternoon and an evening at Summerfest. Have to share time at two different stages, one with Cowboy Mouth and the other with Barenaked Ladies. The lineup for the main stage looks great, with No Doubt, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Chesny, Keith Urban. And the side stages are just as packed with great acts.

Follow that up with the 4th of July. We might just have one or two around for the 4th of July parade in Wauwatosa (been there every years for the last 30+ years) and fireworks.

Enjoy the weekend!

Wine trip

2009-06-25T11:17:00.009-05:00

Well, Terri hasn't written about our recent wine tour, so here goes.

After a great experience in the Napa/Sonoma Valleys a couple of years ago, we got hooked on different wines. We thought the only difference in wines was red or white. Wow! Did we learn.

Our Wisconsin wine tour (there are 42 wineries listed in the wine association booklet, but probably over 70 in the state) in Elkhorn, WI at the Apple Barn Orchard and Winery. Tasting their fruit wines, we found we liked the Apple Crisp and Blueberry Wines. Our first venture into non-grape wines. Pretty good.

We stopped in Delavan (Staller Vineyard, recent Gold Medal winners in New York competition), Milton (Newleaf Winery), New Glarus (New Glarus Primrose Winery, we landed in the middle of the annual PolkaFest), Highland (Spurgeon Vineyards and Winery, situated in one of the most beautiful areas of Wisconsin) and spent the night in Viroqua after a visit to the Vernon Winery just outside of town.

Each of the wineries offered free tastings. It's a good thing they were about an hour apart. Traveling through the soutwest corner of Wisconsin is wonderful. The hills near the Wisconsin River and the bluffs near the Mississippi River are awesome. Even if you don't care to do wine tastings, it's one of the most beautiful areas we've gone through, and we've traveled a lot.

The next day, after a great breakfast at the Heritage House Bed & Breakfast, found us on the way to Muscoda (Weggy Winery) and continued our Sunday afternoon in New Lisbon at the Burr Ridge Winery, whose new retail store is in the Napa Valley tradition. They also seemed to have the largest selection of wines. The Baca Noir became a quick favorite.

Finally we stopped at one of the most famous wineries in Wisconsin, the Wollersheim Winery in Praire Du Sac, WI. Beautiful vineyards surround their retail store, built in 2007, with a greeter at the door and a contingent of helpful clerks ready to answer any questions. Just a little northwest of Madison, Wollersheim is a Wisconsin gem.

It was a great getaway and a fun way to celebrate our anniversary. Looking forward to enjoying our purchases.

See you soon! Gene