What Would Jimmy Do?

A few days ago I was headed out for our “winter golf” meeting at a friend’s house. Since we had just gotten a foot or so of snow, I called another friend and told him I’d pick him up since there was no sense in making a mess of both our cars. I told Claire that I was going to pick up Bill on the way to golf and she said, “oh good, give these to Mary” and handed me a bag. Well, here’s the problem — both the guy I was picking up and the guy whose house we were going to, both have wives named Mary. And of course I gave the bag to the wrong Mary.

Well, that got me to thinking about Mary. I know a lot of people named Mary, but I can’t think of any young people I know named Mary. Naturally my extensive research mode kicked in and I discovered that if you check the most popular names for girls in the years 1914 to 2013, Mary is number one in 42 of those years. But — here’s the interesting part — since 1961 Mary has never been in the top ten and has been falling in popularity consistently. In 2011, Mary had fallen to 112th place in popular names for girls. If you like statistics, the number of girls named Mary at birth has fallen 94 percent since 1961.

If you look up “Mary,” the definition is usually just a feminine name or a reference to the Virgin Mary, or Mary Magdalene, or some other Mary of note. In Hebrew the meaning of the name Mary is: wished-for child; rebellion; bitter. The name Mary has always been a popular name for girls and when you hear it, besides being a nice name, a lot of people associate it with religion. The name Mary appears 61 time in the New Testament in 53 different verses.

I can think of quite a few Marys off the top of my head — not counting the obvious Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Mary Queen of Scotts, there’s Mary Tyler Moore and Mary Poppins. Merrill Streep has a daughter named Mary Willa and I’ve read books by Mary Higgins Clark and books about Mary — Mary, Mary Quite Contrary and Mary that had a little lamb. Mary Katherine Gallagher was the name of a character on Saturday Night Live and I remember a movie, There’s Something About Mary. Mary Todd Lincoln was Abe’s wife and a famous silent movie stare was named Mary Pickford. I used to like Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary and I still like Bloody Marys and who could forget Typhoid Mary and Mary Anne from Gilligan’s Island, the song Proud Mary and the RMS Queen Mary.
With all those Marys rattling around in my head, no wonder I gave the bag to the wrong Mary.
Maybe there really is something about Mary….
— 30 —

A couple of months ago I read an article from an Amsterdam newspaper about the Dutch Cycling Federation conducting a study showing that 60 lives could be saved a year if air bags were installed on the hoods of cars, where cyclists are typically hit in accidents. Then a few days ago, I ran across an article indicating that a research team drawn from Hiroshima University and a municipal technical high school are mounting airbags on the exterior body panels of automobiles.
The panels, called “iSave” (really) are going to be installed on 50 to 100 cars and tested in real-world driving situations later this year. The iSave panels are integrated with interior airbags so that once an exterior bag registers an impact, the air inside it is transferred to a corresponding interior airbag to protect drivers and passengers inside the vehicle.

I can’t say this is necessarily a bad idea, but I can see a lot issues before or if it becomes practical. The scary thing is that some congressman (one that can read) will pick up on this and pass a law requiring all cars to have external air bags by a certain date — like the price of cars isn’t high enough already. I guess the idea is to make being hit by a car feel like being hit in a pillow fight, but somehow I think the car is always going to win. Maybe we’re going about this the wrong way — why not just require clothing manufacturers to make clothes with airbags in their pants and shirts….
— 30 —

My last update to this blog, talked about the use of the number 30 to indicate the end of the story. Over the years that I’ve been doing this blog, I’ve discussed a lot of numbers while covering a number of subjects. Things may have just worked out that way, but I am often fascinated by numbers — I find them interesting. I have some favorite numbers, but I think pretty much all numbers are interesting for different reasons — just like people, they’re all interesting, some more so than others, but they’re all interesting — for different reasons.

In my mind, there is no perfect number, but in number theory there is such a thing: “A perfect number is a whole number, an integer greater than zero; and when you add up all the factors less than that number, you get that number.” Well, ok — but I just find real-world numbers more interesting. For instance, there’s a five second rule — we’ve all used it — we drop a cookie or something on the floor and if we pick it up within 5 seconds, it’s ok to eat. Why is it 5 seconds? Why not 6? Or 10 Or 20?
Back in the 1980s, the Pentagon became (more) famous for spending $435 for a hammer. It grabbed a lot of headlines for government excess — I wonder if the number had been $295 it would have gotten the same attention? Was $435 the actual cost or was that just what the press reported?
Had any 100 proof alcohol lately? Alcohol “proofs” have lots of numbers, all the way up to 200. What the heck is “proof” and what do the numbers mean? Putting proof labels on alcohol was brought about by British Sailors. In the 1700s members of the British Royal Navy were given an alcohol ration of half a pint of rum a day. The sailors often became suspicious that their superiors were watering down their supply. To test the rum’s potency, they doused a small pile of gunpowder with the rum and set it on fire. If the powder lit instantly, the sailors took it as “proof” that the rum was strong enough. If the gunpowder lit right away, it was deemed “100 percent proof” that it was ok. (Today we define proof as twice the percentage of alcohol by volume, although I kind of like the gunpowder method better.)
One number I’ve never completely understood is the nine-tenths of a cent tacked to the price of a gallon of gas. Why do they end in 0.9 cents? I’ve heard that it started in the 1920s when the gasoline tax was nine-tenths of a cent. That amount was just added to the price the gas station was charging. Anyhow, it just seems to be — I don’t know why.

Numbers play an interesting, and important, role in our lives. In keeping with the educational value of this blog, did you know that the Google name came from a number? The web site was named Google because of a misspelling of the word “googol.” Googol is a very large number (the number one followed by on hundred zeros.)
Once again, that’s “thirty.”
— 30 —

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked why all my blog entries ended with “thirty.” Given the age of my friend, I was surprised at the question.
— 30 — has traditionally been used by journalists to indicate the end of a story. Of course this all started before the computer age and has pretty much gone away in today’s journalistic world. The symbol even made its way into Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, that indicates that 30 is a sign of completion. When typewriters were used to write stories for newspapers and the paper or “copy” was carried to the printing room to be typeset, 30 was used to indicate that the story had ended and there wasn’t more of the story on another piece of paper floating around.

So where did the term originate? Like a lot of things, no one is really sure and there are a lot of interesting “theories.” Most people agree that it somehow originated with the telegraph. Most news stories were sent to newspaper offices via telegraph, back in the days of yore. Much like the “texting” language we use today, those 19th century telegraphers had their own codes to communicate, referred to as the telegraphers’ code. (You can look this up on the Signal Corps Association’s web site.) The web site contains the 1859 Western Union Code and “Woods Telegraphic Numerals” published in 1864. 73, for instance, means regards and 88 means “love and kisses.” And you guessed it, 30 means end of message.

One really plausible explanation is that the end-of-story symbol was an instruction to printers to set a 30-em dash (I use em-dashes on either side of my “30”) The 30 told the typesetters to make it very long. That chunk of lead was like a rule — a solid line that could be as long as 30 “M” letters so it filled, or nearly filled, the full width of a column. You still often see these lines as separators in newspapers.
Other theories claim that the first telegraphed news story had 30 words. Some say the mark comes from the fact that press offices closed at 3 o’clock. And then there’s the theory that 30 was the code for a telegraph operator who stayed at his post during a breaking news story until his death 30 hours later.

I use — 30 — to indicate that I’m finished with a blog entry. Some writers often use “xxx” to signify the end of their stories, and that’s ok. In roman numerals, xxx is — yep, 30….
So if any of you have been looking at that 30 and trying to find the first 29 pages of my blog entries — sorry.
That’s “30” for this edition.
— 30 —

We watched the Academy Awards, or Oscars, on Sunday night — we actually watched the entire thing to the finish. I didn’t know a lot of the “famous” people and hadn’t seen any of the movies nominated for best picture. I could have probably made the same statement about last year’s telecast, and the year before…..

If you didn’t already know, you’ve probably figured out by now that I don’t go to the movies very often anymore. There are a number of reasons — one reason is people. People in the movie theater don’t go to watch the movie anymore, it’s a social event. I don’t like people all around me talking while I’m trying to watch the movie. Then of course, there’s cell phones — I know that people are asked to turn them off, but people talk and text constantly during the movie. Apparently, most theater chains don’t care how the audience acts — I’ve never seen anyone called down for disturbing others in the theater. Another reason — the commercials. You pay money to see a movie, you shouldn’t have to sit through 20 minutes of commercials in addition.
I’ve read a lot lately about the movie industry bemoaning the fact that people aren’t going to the movies because they’re at home downloading movies. I think maybe they’re missing the point — there are a lot of entertainment options available and it’s not so much the movie, but the experience of going to the movie that people miss. Remember when a date used to be to go to the movies? I’m pretty sure the movies aren’t the first thing dating kids think of nowadays. I haven’t even talked about the cost. Movie tickets are expensive and add in a bag of popcorn and a drink and it becomes outrageous. One last thing — the movies themselves. Maybe it’s age, but neither myself or Claire get particularly excited to see a movie when its announced.

The last movie I watched was downstairs. It was on a 60-inch screen, had stereo sound, I sat in a comfortable chair, the food was good and I had a glass of wine — and — if Claire decided to talk on the phone, I had a Pause Button. The downside? I could have seen the movie sooner if I’d gone to the theater. Seems to me that the theater business has a lot to figure out — but I did enjoy the Oscars, even if I didn’t know anyone….
— 30 —

If you’ve read this blog for very long, you know that I periodically go off about insurance and specifically insurance companies. Seems like there isn’t a week goes by that we don’t have some issue with some kind of insurance. I have been of the opinion since about the time I turned 16 and eligible to drive, that insurance is basically a scam or rip-off. I understand that insurance (rates) are supposedly based somewhat on statistics, but it has never made sense that I had to pay the highest rates for car insurance solely because I was under 26 years old, a male and not married. When I was 26 years and 1 day old, according to my insurance company I was such a much better driver that my rates were reduced by 40%. Just like that — in one 24 hour period, I was no longer a high risk to the insurance company.

A lot of people seem to think because you pay your monthly insurance premium, you don’t have to worry about accidents, unforeseen circumstances or just plain bad luck — after all, that’s what your insurance is for, to protect you from all that stuff. The truth is insurance companies will do whatever they can to squirm out of their responsibilities and use all sorts of stonewalling tactics to take your money without giving you any of theirs.
Insurance is an instrument used by individuals and organizations to protect themselves against a risk. The idea is that you pay a (relatively) small amount of money over time to protect yourself from a possible catastrophic financial loss. The insurance companies do extensive research to determine the likely amount and frequency of payouts, then add their (fair/unfair) profit margin, and come up with the premium to the policyholder. Of course you have to take into account they also add pay for agents and account for insurance fraud. You will almost always pay more into insurance than than you will get back. I have heard that occasionally someone does experience a catastrophic loss that the insurance actually covers. I believe that is a rare case, indeed.
My grandfather paid health insurance premiums for well over 50 years and never filed a claim. After 50 plus years of premiums, he got sick — twice. The second time he got sick, the insurance company walked away, leaving him with no insurance. If you say, “I’m unlucky,” or “I’m a careless person,” so I will buy good insurance, I can assure you the insurance company will figure this out and cut you off before long.

So I’ve accomplished nothing except venting a bit. Insurance companies aren’t going away, and they’re not going to become any more accommodating. They’re still at top of my dislike list, way above used car salesmen and aluminum siding salesmen. As they say, there are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?
— 30 —

There was an article in one of the local papers a few days ago that discussed a problem the author was having with a utility company over some billing charges. I expect this sounds all too familiar to everyone old enough to remember when the customer was “always right.” Today it seems that the customer is always presumed to be wrong.

Customer service is not what it used to be and certainly not what it should be. I see it every single day and, in fact, experienced it a couple of nights ago in a brand-new, just opened restaurant. If they don’t have good customer service/relations the first few days of being in business, imagine what it’s going to be in a few months. Currently the number of companies we deal with that I consider to have good customer service can be counted on one hand. I’m satisfied with the Credit Union we use, the car dealer and Costco. All the rest are marginal at best and most are unacceptable.
People seem to blame poor customer service on the newer generation, or just another example of the decline of civilization. I think the solution is simple, but often I tend to over simplify problems, Actually, we’ve gotten to where we are over a period of time and a number of things have caused it.

Due to the high cost of providing employee benefits, many companies/stores have reduced their full-time staffs and a lot of the employees work less than 40 hours and are considered part time. Obviously these employees often don’t have the incentive or desire to provide the service customers expect. Another trend has contributed to the problem — the rise of the “big-box” stores and the resulting decline of the privately owned businesses. Managers today are focusing on ways to “save” money and most do it by cutting back on things that the customers “won’t notice.”  The fact is, that at some point, customers do notice and business drops off. Of course it’s easy to blame the decline on the economy or brutal competition — it’s never poor customer service that causes business to decline.

Now to try to keep things in proper perspective, part of it may be our (the customers) fault. We all claim we want good customer service, but in the end we often end up going to Walmart, or Sears or some other large volume retailer rather than a local merchant, because we save a few bucks. Good customer service is expensive to deliver; we all say we’d be willing to pay more for good service, but I’m not sure that’s true.

Today when I tell someone about a horrible experience I’ve had with a company, their response is usually, “same thing happened to me” or worse yet, “you should have known better.” What? I should have known not to trust what they told me? That’s where we are? I should not trust anything a company tells me, and if I do, it’s my fault for believing them? What kind of a message does this send to the company? They think a big part of the problem is me and its permissible to continue on the current track because I have developed a coping mechanism and will continue to put up with the level or lack of customer support being provided.

As I said earlier, I tend to overly simplify some problems, but here’s my view.
Companies are in business to make money. They will trim and cut costs (by head count, employee skills, salary, etc.) as far as they can and customer service is an easy target for cost cutting. As long as its not stopping you from doing business with them, they’ve got no incentive or motivation to change.
The obvious solution is to stop giving them money. Take your business elsewhere. If we insist on better service and don’t patronize those that don’t provide it, eventually someone else will. That’s what free enterprise is all about.
Someone once said that customers are like teeth. Ignore them and they’ll go away. Maybe corporate America should take note of that….
— 30 —

Today is Chinese New Years, but it also happens to be Tet — the Vietnamese New Year. A lot of Americans never heard of Tet before the Vietnam War, and the Viet Cong offensive in 1968. Tet is often associated with the Vietnam War, but it’s an ancient festival that, unfortunately, only became widely known in the west, due to the war.

Tet Nguyen Dan — Tet, for short — is the biggest and most popular holiday of the year in Vietnam. It is celebrated on the first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar, but lasts for several days. This year, Tet is February 19 (today) but the actual holiday will last 1 day before and about 3-5 days after today. In fact, a new Vietnamese restaurant that just opened here, started their celebration yesterday. This year Tet and the Chinese New Year fall on the same day — that’s not always the case, but they are always close because they’re both based on the Lunar Calendar. Referring to our calendar, the (Lunar) new year usually starts in late January or the beginning of February.

Tet is the occasion when Vietnamese express their respect and remembrance for their ancestors as well as ringing in the new year with their family members. In the past, Tet provided one of the few long breaks during the agricultural year — it fell between the harvesting of the crops and the sowing of the next ones. Tet is like a combination of our Christmas and New Year; families get together to have big meals, decorate Tet trees and eat Tet food to welcome the New Year. There isn’t the direct religious association with Tet that we have with Christmas, although the holiday does play an important role in the Vietnamese’s religious beliefs.
Vietnamese begin preparations for Tet well in advance — in an effort to get rid of any bad luck of the old year, people spend a few days cleaning their homes, and even repaint their houses. They decorate the house with kumquat trees, branches of peach blossom and other colorful flowers. Almost all the homes have an ancestral altar; that is decorated especially carefully and colorfully. Everyone, including the children, buy or make new clothes and shoes to wear on the first days of the New Year. People also try to pay all their debts and resolve all arguments among colleagues, friends and family members.
Vietnamese believe that the colors of red and yellow will bring good fortune, so you find those colors almost everywhere during the New Year celebration. People consider what they do on the dawn of Tet will determine their fate for the whole year, so everyone always smiles and behaves as nice as they can in the hope of a better year. Gifts are exchanged, much as we do on Christmas, and children receive lucky money — always in a red envelope.

A lot of these traditions may sound like a description of the Chinese New Year celebrations, but as they say, “same — not same.” Anyhow, Happy Tet, everyone. Yet another chance to get those resolutions back on track….
— 30 —

Tomorrow we start another new (Chinese) year. This year, Chinese New Year begins on February 19 and it’s the Year of the Goat/Sheep. Some people refer to it as the Year of the Ram.
As both the faithful readers of this blog know, Chinese New Year is one of the holidays that I celebrate and usually every year in this space I discuss what lies in wait for me during the coming year. This information is based on Chinese Astrology of the purest tradition. Chinese Astrology doesn’t just predict the future, it gives you pertinent advice to help you live a richer and more satisfactory life.
In order to use Chinese Astrology, you must know the Chinese year in which you were born. I was born in the Year of the Tiger. So here we go — let’s see what us Tiger people can look forward to in the year of the Sheep.

But — before I get to that, let’s look at the Year of the Goat (Sheep) itself. The Sheep, or Goat is a Yin energy, a symbol of Peace, Harmonious co-existence and Tranquility. That is the primary and fundamental mood for the year. This is a year to use mental abilities over brute force. Those who wish to be aggressive, can expect to be out-maneuvered by strategy and common sense. Sounds like it’s gonna be a pretty good year to me.

But back to us Tigers — At first glance, the energies of the Tiger and the Goat do not combine. The Goat is related to the peaceful development of life, in which extremes are avoided, whereas the Tiger has a predisposition for great challenges and a radical approach to life, so it seems to Tigers that in the Year of the Goat, everything is too slow, dragging and uninteresting. Nothing ever runs smoothly in a Tiger’s life, but there will be fewer surprises this year.
So the magic word for Tiger natives during this year will be “concentration.” People born in the Year of the Tiger will achieve almost everything they yearn for through a correct mental attitude and activation of creativity. But they cannot get to the extreme of letting themselves go blind because of their own ambition of success — that would be destroying the magic.
The best months of the year 2015 for Tigers: February, March, June and November
What Tigers should strive for in 2015: being serious and truthfulness
And our lucky numbers for 2015 are: 4, 17, 23, 30, 33, 41.

All in all, it’s looking good for us in this the Year of the Goat, but Tigers are very unpredictable and there is no off switch on a Tiger. Mao Tse-Tung is quoted as saying, “In walking a Tiger, use a long stick.” So keep checking back here to see how us Tigers are doing during the year….
— 30 —

Tomorrow is Presidents Day — a fairly recent holiday when the banks and post office, government, usually schools and a few other establishments close and the remainder of the population sell stuff, or buy stuff. Presidents Day is mostly known for Presidents Day Sales.
When I first came to Washington, there was no Presidents Day, but the Washington area celebrated Washington’s Birthday in a big way. When I was living in Oklahoma, Washington’s Birthday came and went every year without much notice. But in Washington, they had huge sales on Washington’s Birthday. You could often buy a typewriter (if you don’t know what a typewriter is, go back to playing your X-box) for three cents and some dealers offered a car for about $100.00. This was all before stores stayed open 24 hours and had a sale for any actual, or made-up, event.

Of course that’s all changed, Washington has been pushed aside; some people don’t even know when his real birthday is and believe this or not, don’t even know who George Washington is.
I think it’s a shame, but it is what it is. A few days ago, Emily told her mom that she heard there was a holiday coming up — Presents Day. I guess even the four year olds have figured out what Presidents Day has really evolved to….
— 30 —