Industrial Hemp

Backyard Economics Is Backward Economics

Scare tactics. How about the BILLIONS spent each year by out-of-state folks visiting Disneyland, Universal Studios, Sea World, and the ocean in general?

Florida is a "vacation getaway" so I see it as a joke to get upset over lost sales tax revenue for Floridians who purchase products online, ... or have purchased products via mail order for several decades.

New Microsoft Ad Targets High Cost of Macs

I have both: a WindowsXP PC that is 5 years old and a 3 year old iMac G5.

I do all web design on a Mac and use PC for business since FedEx Shipping Manager does not work on Mac.

In short, both are fine. However, the PC requires security software. I've had AVG and Kaspersky. Those cost around $70-100/yr for the full suite. I downloaded software and ended up with a rootkit virus that replicated itself each time the lower-end software would get rid of it, so I had to get the full-fledged anti-this, anti-that to get rid of it. This also took my time to set-up, and run. The iMac does not need this.

I also defrag my hard drive once each week, run a full virus check each week and use Little Registry Cleaner to keep the Windows XP computer in top-condition.

The PC and iMac both boot-up in decent times, the iMac is faster. However, since I login to each computer, the PC takes a LONG time before its really usable, before you can launch and use an application. The iMac is ready much sooner.

The only downside to my iMac is that its a G5 processor. I wish I had purchased it a few months later when the Intel move was announced -- and implemented. The #1 downside to Mac's are that Apple makes software run on the newest hardware and does not care much about hardware they made a few years prior. Once more, my PC is over 5 years old.

The PC is annoying to use a lot of times. When you launch an application and move to another, you will be switched to the recently launched app. It you are working in an app and another app needs your attention, you will be switched over. If Windows has downloaded and update and asks to reboot, you will be asked every 10 minutes. If you walk away or leave for lunch, the PC will decide it knows best and will reboot for you. This is not user friendly.

As for the Mac, the biggest issue I have is that PC's have "adult sized" keyboards and mice that have "real" scroll wheels. Apple has junky keyboard and mouse. Most "power users" of Macs will agree as they usually purchase a Logitech set. If you perform any sort of data input, the PC is better. Filling out web forms are better on a PC than Mac. You can tab to all fields. The Mac still can not figure out how to tab to a drop-down menu (e.g., choose your state from a list). The Mac also does not allow for hitting the "end" key to go to end of sentence, etc. So, PC is better for people who like to use keyboard and avoid using mouse -- to be faster and more productive.

So, I use both Mac and PC. I like the PC more for the most part. It certainly is cooler, easier to use, etc. However, the PC is reliable -- if you maintain it. Most PC's are maintained by an IT department. Home users of PCs do NOT have this "luxury." Most people who use and promote PCs do NOT take this into consideration. That is where the TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP comes to mind. Yes, the Mac is less expensive when you consider anti-this and anti-that software that is NECESSARY due to PC's lackluster security and need for maintenance (e.g., a good 5-10 registry errors per day on my well maintained PC).
The downside to Mac is the iMac is the best price-point for most people, but the monitor is tied-into the computer. So, if you go with a mini, you have less powerful hardware and are better off with the iMac. Otherwise, if you go with tower (Pro) you pay a lot for computer and monitor.

PCs are "less expensive" but that means you get a Pentium processor and no graphics card. So beware of $500 computer. Its not the same. Its not a Core 2 Duo at that price! If so, there is no graphics card, rather "integrated graphics" which are performed on processor. Really, it comes down to daily / weekly maintenance of PCs. That's what makes them more expensive in the long run ... unless you have an IT department.

Obama's Economic Revival Plan

One must understand what wealth is and how its created. A simple example is when you plant a kernal of corn, you receive an ear or two of corn back. Each ear of corn has several kernals of corn, each with the ability to grow another plant the following growing season.

Of course, this all requires labor, land, etc. However, true wealth is created by the abundance of what is returned. NOT all of the investment (land, labor, etc) are required by the grower. That is, the sunlight is "free" as well as most if not all the water from rainfall, etc. So, otherwise "useless" land is developed and producing an abundance of corn.

This corn will feed the grower, as well as plenty more which can be used to trade for more items, such as bricks to build a house, metal for a roof, etc. The wealth is all the "extra" corn not consumed simply by the direct effort that goes into growing it (land, labor, etc).

This corn can also have value added to it by being processed into flour, oil, and starch. Then, can also be processed into whiskey, cornbread, or meat (chicken, hogs). All of these value-added products are worth more than corn alone.

This is how wealth is created. However, in the United States we have become a nation of consumers, not producers.

If Obama plans to stimulate the economy, he needs to invest in WEALTH CREATION. While many roads need to be fixed and so on, this does not create wealth. It does help facilitate industry so wealth can be facilitated, but its a road to nowhere so long as factories are shut down. Its a road to import Chinese goods for us to consume, but not produce. Wealth Creation should be "Job #1."

Toyota vs. Ford: A Modern Manufacturing Parable

In business school at the University of Washington, I read the MIT book "The Machine That Changed the World" which compares Toyota to GM with a huge emphasis on lean manufacturing. AWESOME book!

Federal Reserve, What Do You Have to Hide?

Greenspan was on C-SPAN a few weeks ago to explain it quite bluntly: the Fed is ABOVE the US government, its people; the laws and most important of all -- answers to NO ONE!

Don't take my word for it ... see for yourself:

www.youtube.com/watch?...

Or Google the phrase "greenspan above the law" and view YouTube clip.

Apple Analysts Reality Check: Bear Rally Is Over

Apple took a hit and dropped below $100 (again) due to Sony's announcement to layoff 16,000 employees worldwide. Sony and Apple are both consumer brands.

However, once more, this certainly is not to say that Apple is not identical to Sony, but you can not tell that to most on Wall Street who are cold blooded number crunchers on one hand, and go with the flow Joe on the other.

In the past, when several tech companies were laying off employees, making cuts, etc ... Apple was busy coming up with the next great thing. Jobs mentioned this point on at least two occasions. So, one can only imagine that Apple is currently working on reformulation the business model for Apple TV. So far, the Apple TV has not taken the world by storm. A lot of the issues that complicate the matter are not hardware / software, but the business model.

Several people mention the obvious: include DVR features to Apple TV. Yes, technically that certainly is possible. However, Apple's business model has held back. Should Apple only sell content for TV, or allow people a options such as iTunes allows you to "Rip, Mix, Burn" from your physical CD collection, as well as purchase music from Apple.

Currently, Apple TV is more revenue driven. DVR not included. Then again, what a lot of people do not realize is that since Apple is a large company, they are an easy target for lawsuits. So, there may be legal issues for recording content from cable and satellite providers, etc.

To make Apple TV a success, Apple will have to include a whole lot more and in true High Def -- 1080p. Include RSS feeds for your widgets to be on your bedroom television so you can see your stocks, weather, etc before your get out of bed, etc.

More Layoffs: AT&T, DuPont, Credit Suisse, Belden, Viacom, Adobe

Re: So where are all these people going to find work?

The majority of the US economy is ... [drumbroll please] ... small business! Of course, Fortune 1000-, 500-, 100 gets all the media attention.

The upside to the economy taking a hit is the potential than innovation will come forward. I forget who the technology executive was who used to say it, but they said that they worried little about their biggest competitor as much as they did someone working in their garage on the next big thing.

The downside to the economy taking a hit -- and hoping for innovation -- is that these types of companies need capital. Perhaps people will be able to get funding the old fashioned way, borrowing from outside the major financial industry. Look at the microloan industry in developing nations, for example.

Economies Improve in Three States - How Can We Copy Them?

A good way to do well in these states is most likely the fact that their taxes are low. I am familiar with Arkansas having very low property taxes, whereas Illinois is high.

A $100,000 house in Peoria, Illinois will pay around $2,000/yr in property taxes whereas the same tax bill in Tacoma, Washington will be on a $225-250,000 house! In Arkansas, its more like $200 for the $100,000 house!

A $450,000 house in Naperville, IL will pay $8,000/yr in property taxes!

So, how come property taxes are so high in Illinois? Because politicians have far too many pet projects. In Seattle, the Kingdom was not quite paid for, and was demolished -- only to be replaced by TWO stadiums. One for Seattle Mariners baseball and Seattle Seahawks football. The Mariners insisted on a retractable roof, while it actually rains less in Seattle than Chicago during the baseball season. Voters, voted AGAINST the new stadium, but the governor and his cronies had an "Emergency Session" to OVERTURN the vote, the voice of the people. So, Seattle has just received $1 billion in sports arena projects and the UW had a little rehab work done as part of this figure.

All the while, the city of Tacoma, WA did not have a hospital with an ER. A police officer was shot, and had to be flown to Seattle for treatment. I believe he died as a result of the time it took to pick him up and fly him a good 20-30 miles. So, this shows you where the priorities are for politicians. They are not worried or interested in the "boring" things that they should manage and take care of, like snow removal, fixing pot holes, etc. Instead, its sports stadiums, museums, etc. All of these pet projects are funded by tax dollars. So, perhaps Arkansas does not have several large sports stadiums, etc, they also do not have to pay for them. On the flip-side, its the "Natural State" so there is plenty of recreational activities, especially fishing and water sports. You can drink plenty of beer doing that and its much less expensive that drinking, parking, tickets at a sports arena that taxpayers usually don't visit, but pay for.

How Much Does the Bailout Really Cost?

AP article:

Neel Kashkari — his first name can be translated as "blue" but is also an ancient Indian mathematical term for the number 10 trillion — was born in Akron, Ohio, and grew up in Stow, south of Cleveland.

==

So, there you have it folks. Neal is in charge of "cash-and-carrying" a good $10 trillion to private bankers. The US should stop outsourcing its banking system to the privately owned and ran Federal Reserve. The US government couldn't run it any worse ... and best of all would NOT have to pay interest to a third-party!

In Search of the Next Reserve Currency

Plant a kernel of corn, receive an ear of corn with approximately 300-500 kernels of corn back. What's this? Its how wealth is created. No manipulation of painting a wall of corn and saying its corn, no building of corn silos and telling the public they are full, no BS. This is a simple example of how wealth is CREATED.

You can take that ear of corn, eat all of it but 1-2 kernels, and save those kernels for next year's planting. The remaining kernels can be consumed by the farmer and used to pay for expenses, but there will still be plenty left to be sold, and that's where the real wealth comes from.

The US used to have a manufacturing economy, which made it several levels above simply growing corn as in the simplified example above. However, the promise of a "knowledge economy" to replace manufacturing never happened, and in addition is not the way to go anyhow. A knowledge based business is great, but is actually just another layer above manufacturing. Manufacturing does not and should not be replaced. Perfect example of a nation that gets this? Japan!

So, what has become of the US? Well, rather than create wealth as in the simplified example above, we've become a nation of consumers. So, that's like importing all the corn and eating it. All the while relying on someone else to produce the corn. Consumption does not create wealth, unless of course you are a pig and are getting fat off the corn to be slaughtered! Then, yes, consuming corn is just fine, the wealth created is in the production of pork, which is more valuable than corn. Same for producing whiskey, rather than corn alone.

An iPhone With Satellite Radio - Gasp! Really?

Actually, Apple will most likely bypass satellite radio and embrace HD Radio, which is slowly being implemented, ... ironically (radio following tv) after HD TV.

HD Radio requires an HD receiver, however, unlike satellite radio, HD Radio is free over-the-air broadcasting.

Personally, I would place more success on "free" vs paid business model if you look at the financial mess we are in and will continue to struggle with for quite some time to come.

Locate your local HD Radio Stations at the following URL:

www.hdradio.com/find_a...

Why GM Should Embrace Bankruptcy

One of my favorite business books of all time, "The Machine That Changed the World" by MIT which depicted GM vs Toyota on lean production ... still applies to this day. Well, its been around 20 years since the book was published, so how about dusting off a copy and learn that a lot of what was pointed out in this book still apply to GM today. In short: GM needs to stop looking for an easy out and go for the long-term ... as Toyota has done and is prosperous for doing. As for brands, ... let's see, Toyota has their namesake and Lexus. GM should more or less follow suite and consider their line-up with Chevy and Cadillac and leave it at that.

Why Microsoft Will Never Win (Again)

Re: Yohoho on MS Exchange
Oh yeah, that's right. Gates wants to reduce spam by charging a penny for each email sent. Yeah, that'll fix the problem of spam! Come on...

Microsoft is a very successful business. Their approach to everything is "all business." I recall having Entourage (mail client for Mac), but in order to have spell checking, you need to have the Office Suite.

Microsoft has this same approach to most everything else. He's one piece of software, but if you want this feature, you'll need to purchase another product, ... and so on.

I recall Windows Server having an "add-on" for managing memory! Hello? The most basic function on an operating system is to manage memory! However, if you want it to do an ever better job, purchase this add-on, etc.

MS does not want to license anything from anyone, ... which is understandable, ... but at the same time they rush to reinvent the wheel each type a new technology comes out so they can be the "me to" of the tech industry. Well, a lot of the time their competing product just doesn't stack up against the others due to their resources being used to always rush to stomp out any particular competitor.
Google is better for search; Oracle is better for databases, iPod is better than Zune, etc.

Why Microsoft Will Never Win (Again)

Microsoft has Windows and Office. Those are their cash cows. They've tried with MSN, but Google and Yahoo! are much more widely used. They've tried with Zune, but iPod kills them. Microsoft loves to say how innovative they are, but history proves the point that they have yet to take a page from 3M's book.

Yes, 3M, the "Post-It Note" folks are known to have to produce new products every few years -- and those new products will be their cash cow. I think there is a saying something along the lines that "80% of 3M's revenue will be from new products!"
So, look as Microsoft's business. Their cash cow dates back from DOS and Office. That's pretty much what the company was founded on and has been doing for over 25 years. Seems to me that the Internet is STILL not on their radar! All the while, if you look at Apple, the Macintosh is what their baby has always been, but now the iPod and its iTunes music sales have been the biggest part of their growth. They are looking to do it again with the iPhone.

When I lived in Seattle, most people focused far too much on marketshare. The thing is that while Apple had 3% marketshare, they could double to 6% and still have plenty room to go. However, people fail to think about a 30+ year old business that can easily double and still have plenty of room to grow! On the flipside, Microsoft has 93% or so marketshare today -- and let me tell you -- you can't double that! So, marketshare can help show you the OPPORTUNITY for growth. Microsoft has been holding on far too long to its baby. Speaking of which, MS asked Apple to "knife the baby" and get rid of QuickTime. Can you imagine the world w/o QuickTime? Its only the basis for MPEG4 and what the iPod / iTunes is built upon.

The Oil Pricing Debate: Dollars or Euros?

The "world currency" for trading oil has been in dollars. So, of course the US has paid for its oil in US dollars, but it also used to hold true for Germany and Japan to purchase oil. Germany and Japan had to pay in US dollars. Part of the reason why US dollars were the "world currency" was due to the fact that the US dollar was stable.

However, in the past 7 years, the US dollar has lost 67% of its value to the Euro. In the past month, the US dollar is worth less than the Canadian dollar. All the while, Condoleezza Rice stated that the US dollars needs to loose another third of its value. The US dollar is being devalued by design.

Back to the US dollar and oil trading... The US dollar is debt. So, with all the US dollars being used by Germany and Japan to purchase oil, its like a bunch of checks -- written by the US Federal Reserve -- never being cashed. So, now that nations are switching to trading oil in Euros, those "checks" are being cashed.

So, imagine your personal checking account. OK, now let's say that you write a bunch of checks and your creditors love you so much, they never cash your checks. Instead, they frame your check and place it on their wall and tell others, "wow, look at this check, its from such and such a celebrity and look at their signature" and so on. Well, now those "checks" are being cashed in. So, recall that we're talking about your personal checking account, you've written all these checks, but most of them have never been cashed. Now, all of a sudden, your personal checking account balance is not looking so great because people are now beginning to cash in all those checks. OK, this is a simplified explanation and yes, we all know that checks can not be cashed after 90 days or so, etc. Once again, this is just a simplification for people to comprehend what's happening when other nations stop trading oil in US dollars. So, in other words, your personal checking account balance doesn't look so great now that all your uncashed checks are being cashed in. That's in part of what's happening to the US dollar.