It's about time

France steps up rhetoric on Iran


We can't be the only dog in this hunt. Maybe this will be the issue that brings our countries back together on the same American-European front.

Iran has the second largest reserves of oil in the world. They have 30% unemployment. Their economy is a disaster. Why would they spend billions of dollars on nuclear energy when clearly, they don't need it? They are up to no good, plain and simple.

Ronald Reagan, Ronald Reagan Airport, Etc.

I flew into Reagan National today. What a great tribute to the nation's 40th president.. Flying into Reagan airport is a real treat, because you fly right over the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall at the White House, and you can see the Pentagon, and Georgetown University. Lots of sights to behold.

I could not help but think about Reagan's influence on my life and this country. He was such a positive influence on my life--having been President at a time when the country had been in a major negative funk. Everyone was pretty much convinced that Japan was going to be the next economic superpower, we were fighting with Iran over the hostages, inflation was at 21%, and I was just at the age where I was paying attention to all of these things. All I wanted to do was to be a small businessman, get out of college and get on with life. This is no BS--Reagan gave me the confidence to go out into the world and to have faith in America. No other President in my lifetime has come close to reaching out and touching me personally with his speeches, dialect, policies, or personality. I hereby salute Ronald Wilson Reagan.

I was Downtown Rotary President on February 11th 2004 when ole' Ronnie moved into the great unknown, and left us here on earth for his journey to Heaven. There were about 300 people at Rotary that day, and I had the task of paying tribute to Reagan, and announcing his death, and holding a moment of silence. I pretty much choked up but got through it okay. He was just simply an inspiration and for some reason, and to this day, I don't really know why I feel so strongly about the man.

Reagan single handedly pulled the country out of the doldrums through his unique blend of wisdom, humor, and leadership with principles. Incredible. And I felt like I knew him, and only met the guy once in a long line of thousands of supporters. Take Care Ronnie. I miss you.

You Be the Judge--Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's is arguably one of the worst diseases known to mankind, as the disease just totally robs someone of their life long personality and reduces them to mental mush. It scares me more than cancer. Recently, I ran across these 2 articles. Which one do you suppose is more accurate?


Education Reduces Alzheimer's Effects

Or this one

Alzheimer's disease progresses more rapidly in highly educated people


Here is key quote from the second article:

"A key question remains whether these effects are truly due to years of schooling or due to other factors related to education, such as wealth, occupation or lifestyle".

The "face" of Alzheimer's for me will always be Ronald Reagan. It pained me to watch his decline and I'll never ever forget that letter he wrote to the country before he slipped away to his ranch. Here it is--

I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
Upon learning this news, Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way.

In the past, Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had my cancer surgeries. We found through our open disclosures we were able to raise public awareness. We were happy that as a result many more people underwent testing.

They were treated in early stages and we were able to return to normal, healthy lives.

So now, we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.

At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life's journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.

Unfortunately, as Alzheimer's disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. When the time comes, I am confident that with your help she will face it with faith and courage.

In closing let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.

Sincerely, Ronald Reagan

Reader Alert--BLOG Light plus Writer's Block

Now that I have updated the comments section (see below) I find myself traveling the next couple of days and so, I'l be away from the laptop for a while--good timing, huh? That's probably a good thing, because I've been a little challenged lately with figuring out interesting stuff to post. Truthfully, I've been forcing it lately. That's not good. It has to come naturally. I think they call this a writer's block. I'm in one right now. It just hasn't been hitting me lately. it could be the winter funk. I'll work it out--stay tuned.

Reader Alert--Comment Section Updated

Thanks to my brother, Peter, I have updated the comments section to allow people to more freely post comments, without the hassle of seemingly having to sign up for your own blog, amongst other things. Now, the hassle is gone, and it's easy to post comments on this blog. Not that I am expecting any. Just thought you would want to know dear readers.

How did the Media get this way?

Now, the media is upset with the Bush administration for not telling them about the Cheney hunting accident in a more timely manner.

There could probably be an entire branch of the media that could look "behind" each and every story coming from Washington to fill up an entire web site or newspaper. I mean, instead of running "first run stories", or instead of making the "headlines", they could start a publication or internet site and just run the "story behind the story", or question every facet of every "first run" story.

Here are some examples of articles we are missing:

1. More coverage on how Cheney's press people came to the decision about how and when to release details of the hunting accident, and who was involved with the strategy. Focus more on the precise time line of events-

2. More coverage on the quails in south Texas, their breeding grounds, and their mating habits-

3. Get a local hunting angle by interviewing a local guide. Compare and contrast prices of buckshot in south Texas with other areas of the country. Show graphs and charts depicting the sales data relative to the time of year, and the different hunting seasons.

4. Research other Vice Presidents and their respective hunting interests. Discuss which Vice President became President and show which ones were hunters and which ones were not hunters. Play the hunting angle but extend into fishing. Before guns, determine research into trapping to cover the 19th century Vice Presidents as well.

5. Interview other people who have hunted at the Armstrong Ranch in South Texas. Get a tour of the ranch. Re-create the hunting accident with artistic intepretations. Do a time line and determine how many quails were killed during this hunt. Find out what happened to the quails. Work in a Dan Quayle angle.

And so, here we are in 2005 media coverage!

Sharks

Peter Benchley died, the author of Jaws, which was made into a movie three or four times. Here is a quote from his daughter:

"Spielberg certainly made the most superb movie; Peter was very pleased," Wendy Benchley told The Associated Press.

"But Peter kept telling people the book was fiction, it was a novel, and that he no more took responsibility for the fear of sharks than Mario Puzo took responsibility for the Mafia."

Okay, I blame it on Spielberg then.. By the way, I'm sorry Mr. Benchley passed away.

Here is another article from today, Shark frenzy closes Australian Beaches:

Blame it on human instinct, or blame it on the glorious great white shark from Jaws? Richard Dreyfus was never the same after that movie anyway.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this--other than, it was interesting seeing both of these articles in the same news day, a mere few posts apart on most major news wires.

I hope they had a "bug" in the room

They don't mention it in this article, but one would think that Sheriff Daren Hall and company would have some sort of listening device planted in the room when allowing Perry March to meet with his father at the county jail. Or, am I giving our local law enforcement officials too much credit? It would be easy to "rip-em" here, so let's see what develops.

Exit Wound for Team USA--Michelle Kwan

Michelle Kwan has always had a competitive spirit, an incredible smile, and wonderful grace on the ice. Add to her list of descriptive talents---maturity beyond her years. She has always been one of my favorite women athletes. Here is what she had to say about pulling the plug on her final attempt to compete in the 2006 Olympics:

"I've learned it's not about gold," she continued. "It's about the spirit of it. I have no regrets. I tried my hardest and if I don't win gold, it's OK. I've had a great career. I've been lucky. This is a sport and it is beautiful."

For Kwan, the ultimate dream will never come true. She'll never win Olympic gold, but her impact on the sport will last forever. Good bye and farewell to a great, great lady who ironically, has achieved so much more than Olympic Gold in her short life. She has achieved maturity beyond her years, a maturity about which most professional athletes have no clue.

Winter Bummer Land

Looks like a surge of warm air pushed up into Middle Tennessee right after sunset on Friday, which raised the surface temps from 33 degrees to 36 degrees. We were looking great around 5 pm and then POOF, all the early snow turned to rain and snow mix. Par for the course for Nashville. It's about 11 pm on Friday, and all we have is a wet, nasty, mix of rain and some snow. We had all snow at 5:30 pm. We have digressed snow fans. Once again, we were on the border, and the border turned to the "dark side". We were bracing for a fabulous concentration of a winter wonder land, and well, we ended up with a winter bummer land.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon

...HEAVY SNOW WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM
CST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NASHVILLE HAS ISSUED A HEAVY SNOW
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM CST
SATURDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

Best Part of Bredesen's Budget

You read it here first--check out this appropriation:

$23 million for renovation of UT-Knoxville’s Ayers Hall

Thank you Governor. This building was a rat hole when I was up there in the early 80's. It looks nice from the road, but up close, it's in desperate need of updating and repair. I hope the legislature passes this part of the budget.

Their Day Is Coming

Zillow is aimed at generating profit from advertising and is not intended to put real estate agents out of work by letting home shoppers and sellers do their own research, according to Barton.

This quote was taken from an article about the new web site, Zillow.com
which launched this week. It's a new web site aimed towards the residential real estate market.

What they are trying to do is to create a site that gives people an idea of what a particular home is worth in markets all across the country.

The title of this post is--"their day is coming". That is in reference to real estate agents and the entire process of consumers paying 6% of the purchase price of a home to real estate agents, which, as the reader should know, is split 3% and 3% to the buying and selling agent.

Here is my question--Why is the commission still 6% when home prices have quintupled in the past 10 years? Has the work load of the real estate quintupled? Doubtful. It could be argued that their work load has decreased because of the internet. Oh sure, the advertising costs have increased for the agents to run a print ad in the newspaper---probably from $100 to $300, but the prices of homes have absolutely skyrocketed, so the commission of 6% is completely whacko in my opinion.

I do think the point of Zillow is to slowly erode the "worth" of real estate agents, and I do think there will be more sites in the future that chip away at the "tools" that previously were only known to agents. This will result in real estate agents, at the minimum, to decrease their commission rates to consumers.

Slowly but surely, consumers see the non commission based competitors creeping up--Red Rocket Realty is the only one that comes to mind right now. Most consumers can buy and/or sell a house now with the help of the internet.

Much in the same way discount brokers have taken over the buying and selling of equities in the stock market, I predict the same will happen in real estate in the next 10 years.

Just as full service stock brokers still have a place in the world of stock market trading, there will always be a place for full service real estate brokers as well. But, there is going to be a major shake out one day , and Zillow.com is just the beginning.

This is not original thinking, as I'm sure you've been exposed to this thought before. Why hasn't this happened sooner, might be the best "topic" to be posted.

Not Too Fast--on the Snow

With temps in the 40's on Friday afternoon, I have a hard time believing Nashville will see much snow.

Special Weather Statement from the National Weather Service:
AFTER A VERY WARM JANUARY...FEBRUARY IS TURNING OUT TO BE MUCH MORE WINTER-LIKE. A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE GULF COAST AND MOVE NORTHEAST FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL...UP TO 4 INCHES OR MORE...OVER THE MID STATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

Now, read this post from Jason, at nashvillewx.com, the news 2 weather blog:

For Nashville and points south, I think our surface temperatures will be stubborn and have a tough time falling below the freezing mark before midnight. Bear in mind, it can be above freezing and still snow (like Wednesday evening) but it's tough for the snow to stick when temperatures are in the middle 30s. In the higher elevations north and east of town, the change to snow should occur more quickly...and I expect slightly higher accumulations in those areas as a result. For the snow lovers, I do think just about everyone sees snow by early Saturday morning. My gut tells me that 4" is probably too high for Nashville, but possible in the higher elevations. For Music City and points south...at this point in time...let's shoot for around an inch or two, and see what happens over the next 24 hours.

Makes Total Sense to Me

QALAT, Afghanistan - Police killed four people Wednesday as Afghans enraged over drawings of the Prophet Muhammad marched on a U.S. military base in a volatile southern province, directing their anger not against Europe but America.

The U.S. base was targeted because the United States "is the leader of Europe and the leading infidel in the world," said Sher Mohammed, a 40-year-old farmer who suffered a gunshot wound while taking part in the demonstration in the city of Qalat.

It may take 200 years for the Middle East to come around

Here is quote from President Bush today-

"We believe in a free press," the president said. "We also recognize that with freedom comes responsibilities. With freedom comes the responsibility to be thoughtful about others."

I agree. Let's talk about Al Jazeera here and other press sources of Middle East populist anger. Why do they air comments, video, and audio from Al Quaeda? Do they not realize that this behavior is insensitive to Us(a)? Why do they ridicule and conduct violence over the Danish press for doing nothing more than airing their views (and cartoons) via freedom of the press? Oh, because of the sacred Koran? Is the Koran more sacred than human life? These people are imbedded in a culture thrown back to the Dark Ages. Their behavior is incredulous.

We are heading for a war between the 21st century and the 15th Century. I hope it is a cold war and not a nuclear war. I am an optimist by nature believe it or not. The only hope is for moderate Islamists to step up to the plate and lead. That is not happening. This is a slow burning fuse.

Add another team to the list--2005/6 UT VOLS basketball team

From John Pennington--I'd link you to the site, but it's a paid site--

The seasons that are the most special are the ones that no one sees coming. (I'm speaking of positives here, not of #3 football rankings that lead to 5-6 seasons.)

I remember the 1985 Tennessee football team that slugged it's way to UT's first SEC Championship in 16 years. The year before, the Vols had finished with 8 wins, but there were no high expectations for '85. No one saw the championship, the blowout of Miami, and a #4 national ranking coming. That's why the '85 team, that didn't even win 10 games, is in most circles more beloved than the undefeated National Championship team of 1998.

I remember the 1991 Atlanta Braves. "From worst to first," Skip Caray screamed. A team of ne'er-do-wells that won and won and won... nip and tucking their way past the Dodgers for their first division title in nearly a decade. No Braves fans (were there Braves fans in '91?) saw that coming before the season.

I remember the 1995 baseball Vols. Helton, Trammell, Dickey. "The team of destiny is going to the field of dreams," Mike Keith yelled. It was a feel-good moment for the entire area... especially Knoxville, which had provided many of Rod Delmonico's stars.

Not only were those teams and their seasons unexpected successes, but they all had something else in common, too... they all served notice of more success to follow.

Tennessee's greatest football era in history has covered the 20 years since 1985. The Atlanta Braves still haven't lost a division title since 1991. The baseball Vols have now been to 3 College World Series in 10 seasons.

Add another team to the list: The 2005-2006 UT men's basketball team.

(note --in case you missed it--The Vols slammed KY last night at Rupp Arena--if you are keeping up, they are in sole possession of first place in the eastern division, with an 8-1 SEC record and a 17-3 overall record)

Apple Geek Update

Most of us don't care how the things work, as long as they work. But there is a rabid local Mac community that watches every move that the (now fabled again) company makes, both with their new world of digital music players, and with their traditional hardware computers. No one I know is jumping up and down (with joy) about the switch to Intel chips (and they certainly are not buying the new laptop), despite the reveling in the traditional media and the praising by the analysts.

Here is yet another article that points to the possibility that they jumped the gun with the switch to Intel, which, in case you missed the post last week, can't even run the Adobe software yet.

I still say he is Guilty, Guilty, Guilty

But, this article shows how much I know about solving a crime at least when it comes to the Perry March/Janet Levine case.

Chris Matthews of MSNBC--Bloggers Can Cause Riots?

Here is quote from last night's "Hardball"--Chris Matthews posing a question to correspondent David Shuster--

"Let me ask you this. We have a blogging situation out in this country where people basically through their own ingenuity and their own wit are able to develop messages based on their own personal reporting and editing that they can send anywhere. They are their own editors. What happens when bloggers sending stuff out without even the institution of a newspaper or TV station behind them and that incites a riot? How do we avoid this?”


Chris, get a grip. Bloggers aren’t going to start riots unless all you mainstream media representatives get together to demonstrate against the truth.-- --Noel Sheppard from NewsBusters.com