Santa and crew will hit the high road tonight. My good bud, Jim "ZOOM" Campbell, has included my late father's FLYING Magazine column from December of 1962, RED RAIDER, as his lead item. I can't thank him enough for that.
The story in Aero-News.net is self-explanatory. If you go into the website, you may have to specify the date (December 24) and the "Top News" category.
Here's hoping hat Santa brings you everything you asked for (and some things you hadn't put on the list.)
Fly safe.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Blue Angels... Thunderbirds... WHA!!??
For those who know me, you are not surprised that I blog (occasionally) on many subjects other than promotional products. In addition to promotional products our business, Showline Promotional Products, started out as commercial embroidery in 1994. I spent 29 years in local radio and TV, three of those in network radio. I still perform voice-over work for radio and TV, occasionally movie trailers. I have been a pilot since 1967, and I have been fortunate enough to perform in major airshows as an announcer since 1977. I am a member of the National Rifle Association, and I support the armed citizen. Those three areas of interest right there are plenty of reason for me to have lost a majority of my hearing ["What?"] I am also a railroading nut, or a "railfan." Not so much model railroading but full-size… TRAINS.
I have written pieces for TRAINS Magazine and for the Wall Street Journal. So when you read things in here that seem far afield from promotional products, maybe now you can understand.
Back to the subject at hand. I was just at Costco picking up a few items, and I came upon a beautiful display of Citizen Wristwatches. Perhaps you have sen this same display. The particular display is touting "The Official Watch of the Blue Angels." There is a beautiful Blue Angels logo on the BACK of the watch. And the photograph on the front of the display shows the diamond formation swooping toward you. It's the Thunderbirds! The USAF Thunderbirds. Even a glance at the backlighted photo is enough to see that you are looking at a formation of F-16 Vipers, most certainly NOT F/A-18 Hornets.
I took a photo with my old fashioned dumb-cell-phone, and it is terrible. I will leave this to you to see for yourself. And maybe for Consumers Union to see.
Some creative person's fanny will be chewed for that.
I have written pieces for TRAINS Magazine and for the Wall Street Journal. So when you read things in here that seem far afield from promotional products, maybe now you can understand.
Back to the subject at hand. I was just at Costco picking up a few items, and I came upon a beautiful display of Citizen Wristwatches. Perhaps you have sen this same display. The particular display is touting "The Official Watch of the Blue Angels." There is a beautiful Blue Angels logo on the BACK of the watch. And the photograph on the front of the display shows the diamond formation swooping toward you. It's the Thunderbirds! The USAF Thunderbirds. Even a glance at the backlighted photo is enough to see that you are looking at a formation of F-16 Vipers, most certainly NOT F/A-18 Hornets.
I took a photo with my old fashioned dumb-cell-phone, and it is terrible. I will leave this to you to see for yourself. And maybe for Consumers Union to see.
Some creative person's fanny will be chewed for that.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
TSA - Thousands Standing Around
The Transportation Security Administration is probably my least favorite bunch in the United State Government. Actually, them and their parent Organization, the Department of Homeland Security, along with their head honcho, the former governess of Arizona, Janet Napolitano.
The TSA is the most badge-heavy bunch I have ever met. Please take the time, if you will, to peruse the following two video pieces. The FIRST is a collection of TV news stories about how the TSA abuses the power it has. The SECOND happened at the beginning of December. A doctor in Oklahoma City who had enough of being frisked. So she arrived at the airport "Frisk-proof." Yes? Wrong.
The TSA is the most badge-heavy bunch I have ever met. Please take the time, if you will, to peruse the following two video pieces. The FIRST is a collection of TV news stories about how the TSA abuses the power it has. The SECOND happened at the beginning of December. A doctor in Oklahoma City who had enough of being frisked. So she arrived at the airport "Frisk-proof." Yes? Wrong.
Monday, September 6, 2010
An Early Christmas Present
My late father, Frank Kingston Smith SENIOR, was an internationally known author and speaker on behalf of private aviation. In 1962 following the publication of his third book, "I'd Rather Be Flying", he began writing a monthly column for FLYING magazine. The December 1962 column, entitled "Red Raider", became one of FLYING readers' five favorite columns of all time.
A friend from Walt Disney Imagineering called me and asked me to read the narrative as a scratch track (a timing track) for an "animatic" he was putting together. (An animatic is the use of stills with motion added to simulate a completed story line.) I was asked to read it "flat" for timing with no emphasis or inflection. So I did.
The link here connects you to the completed animatic, used with permission. Before you play it, it is important that you understand that it was written in 1962 from the point of view of a private pilot; the animatic is produced from the point of view of an airline pilot (creative license.) There are mentions of things which no longer exist, such as a [low frequency] fan marker, a SCATER order (which by the way was pronounced SCAY-tur, not "scatter"), and airlines such as Eastern and Pan Am. The ATC conversations were added by the producer. And you may notice that airspeeds and altitudes are somewhat odd for an airliner.
All this having been duly noted, please CLICK HERE, and enjoy the show:
A friend from Walt Disney Imagineering called me and asked me to read the narrative as a scratch track (a timing track) for an "animatic" he was putting together. (An animatic is the use of stills with motion added to simulate a completed story line.) I was asked to read it "flat" for timing with no emphasis or inflection. So I did.
The link here connects you to the completed animatic, used with permission. Before you play it, it is important that you understand that it was written in 1962 from the point of view of a private pilot; the animatic is produced from the point of view of an airline pilot (creative license.) There are mentions of things which no longer exist, such as a [low frequency] fan marker, a SCATER order (which by the way was pronounced SCAY-tur, not "scatter"), and airlines such as Eastern and Pan Am. The ATC conversations were added by the producer. And you may notice that airspeeds and altitudes are somewhat odd for an airliner.
All this having been duly noted, please CLICK HERE, and enjoy the show:
Thursday, August 26, 2010
At least I didn't vote for him....
If you enjoyed the previous day's BLOG entry, showing the trailer for the new motion picture, I Want Your Money, this will be a real gut punch. It's a piece written by Joan Pryde, senior tax editor for the Kiplinger letters. This is an excerpt from an article about 13 tax changes that could affect you. Of those 13 items, this is Number 3. It is very important that you read all the way to the end, the part about how insurance will now be considered income on your W-2s:
On January 1, 2011, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves. On January 1, 2011, here’s what happens... (PLEASE read it to the end, so you see all three waves AND the special little surprise):
First Wave:
Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief -- In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011.
Personal income tax rates will rise -- The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.
The full list of marginal rate hikes (you are in here somewhere):
• The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
• The 25% bracket rises to 28%
• The 28% bracket rises to 31%
• The 33% bracket rises to 36%
• The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family -- The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax -- This year only, there is no death tax. (It’s a quirk!) For those dying on or after January 1, 2011 , there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes, a business, a retirement account, could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones. Think of the farmers who don’t make much money, but their land, which they purchased years ago with after-tax dollars, is now worth a lot of money. Their children will have to sell the farm, which may be their livelihood, just to pay the estate tax if they don’t have the cash sitting around to pay the tax. Think about your own family’s assets. Maybe your family owns real estate, or a business that doesn’t make much money, but the building and equipment are worth $1 million. Upon their death, you can inherit the $1 million business tax free, but if they own a home, stock, cash worth $500K on top of the $1 million business, then you will owe the government $275,000 cash! That’s 55% of the value of the assets over $1 million! Do you have that kind of cash sitting around waiting to pay the estate tax?
Higher tax rates on savers and investors -- The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
Second Wave:
Obamacare -- There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:
The "Medicine Cabinet Tax" -- Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines....
The "Special Needs Kids Tax" -- This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States , and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. ( National Child Research Center ) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can not be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike -- This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave:
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes -- When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise-the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.
The major items include -- The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center , Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs:
1. Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.
2. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.
3. Tax credits for education will be limited.
4. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.
5. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.
6. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.
7. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
8. Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there.
Want to read more? CLICK HERE for the PDF file.
And worse yet (here is the REALLY GOOD part):
Now, your insurance will be INCOME on your W2's!
One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . those who backed this administration will be astonished!
Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort. If you're retired? So what... your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get. You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.
For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the15% that don't have insurance? And this is only part of the tax increases.
Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....
On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."
HOLY COW!
I hope you forward this blog entry to every single person in your address book. Everyone has the right to know the truth, because an election is coming in November! In the "Axis of Taxes" it would be nice to be rid of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for a start.
On January 1, 2011, the largest tax hikes in the history of America will take effect. They will hit families and small businesses in three great waves. On January 1, 2011, here’s what happens... (PLEASE read it to the end, so you see all three waves AND the special little surprise):
First Wave:
Expiration of 2001 and 2003 Tax Relief -- In 2001 and 2003, the GOP Congress enacted several tax cuts for investors, small business owners, and families. These will all expire on January 1, 2011.
Personal income tax rates will rise -- The top income tax rate will rise from 35 to 39.6 percent (this is also the rate at which two-thirds of small business profits are taxed). The lowest rate will rise from 10 to 15 percent. All the rates in between will also rise. Itemized deductions and personal exemptions will again phase out, which has the same mathematical effect as higher marginal tax rates.
The full list of marginal rate hikes (you are in here somewhere):
• The 10% bracket rises to an expanded 15%
• The 25% bracket rises to 28%
• The 28% bracket rises to 31%
• The 33% bracket rises to 36%
• The 35% bracket rises to 39.6%
Higher taxes on marriage and family -- The "marriage penalty" (narrower tax brackets for married couples) will return from the first dollar of income. The child tax credit will be cut in half from $1000 to $500 per child. The standard deduction will no longer be doubled for married couples relative to the single level. The dependent care and adoption tax credits will be cut.
The return of the Death Tax -- This year only, there is no death tax. (It’s a quirk!) For those dying on or after January 1, 2011 , there is a 55 percent top death tax rate on estates over $1 million. A person leaving behind two homes, a business, a retirement account, could easily pass along a death tax bill to their loved ones. Think of the farmers who don’t make much money, but their land, which they purchased years ago with after-tax dollars, is now worth a lot of money. Their children will have to sell the farm, which may be their livelihood, just to pay the estate tax if they don’t have the cash sitting around to pay the tax. Think about your own family’s assets. Maybe your family owns real estate, or a business that doesn’t make much money, but the building and equipment are worth $1 million. Upon their death, you can inherit the $1 million business tax free, but if they own a home, stock, cash worth $500K on top of the $1 million business, then you will owe the government $275,000 cash! That’s 55% of the value of the assets over $1 million! Do you have that kind of cash sitting around waiting to pay the estate tax?
Higher tax rates on savers and investors -- The capital gains tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 20 percent in 2011. The dividends tax will rise from 15 percent this year to 39.6 percent in 2011. These rates will rise another 3.8 percent in 2013.
Second Wave:
Obamacare -- There are over twenty new or higher taxes in Obamacare. Several will first go into effect on January 1, 2011. They include:
The "Medicine Cabinet Tax" -- Thanks to Obamacare, Americans will no longer be able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines....
The "Special Needs Kids Tax" -- This provision of Obamacare imposes a cap on flexible spending accounts (FSAs) of $2500 (Currently, there is no federal government limit). There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States , and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington , D.C. ( National Child Research Center ) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can not be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
The HSA (Health Savings Account) Withdrawal Tax Hike -- This provision of Obamacare increases the additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Third Wave:
The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and Employer Tax Hikes -- When Americans prepare to file their tax returns in January of 2011, they'll be in for a nasty surprise-the AMT won't be held harmless, and many tax relief provisions will have expired.
The major items include -- The AMT will ensnare over 28 million families, up from 4 million last year. According to the left-leaning Tax Policy Center , Congress' failure to index the AMT will lead to an explosion of AMT taxpaying families-rising from 4 million last year to 28.5 million. These families will have to calculate their tax burdens twice, and pay taxes at the higher level. The AMT was created in 1969 to ensnare a handful of taxpayers.
Small business expensing will be slashed and 50% expensing will disappear. Small businesses can normally expense (rather than slowly-deduct, or "depreciate") equipment purchases up to $250,000. This will be cut all the way down to $25,000. Larger businesses can currently expense half of their purchases of equipment. In January of 2011, all of it will have to be "depreciated."
Taxes will be raised on all types of businesses. There are literally scores of tax hikes on business that will take place. The biggest is the loss of the "research and experimentation tax credit," but there are many, many others. Combining high marginal tax rates with the loss of this tax relief will cost jobs:
1. Tax Benefits for Education and Teaching Reduced.
2. The deduction for tuition and fees will not be available.
3. Tax credits for education will be limited.
4. Teachers will no longer be able to deduct classroom expenses.
5. Coverdell Education Savings Accounts will be cut.
6. Employer-provided educational assistance is curtailed.
7. The student loan interest deduction will be disallowed for hundreds of thousands of families.
8. Charitable Contributions from IRAs no longer allowed. Under current law, a retired person with an IRA can contribute up to $100,000 per year directly to a charity from their IRA. This contribution also counts toward an annual "required minimum distribution." This ability will no longer be there.
Want to read more? CLICK HERE for the PDF file.
And worse yet (here is the REALLY GOOD part):
Now, your insurance will be INCOME on your W2's!
One of the surprises we'll find come next year, is what follows - - a little "surprise" that 99% of us had no idea was included in the "new and improved" healthcare legislation . . . those who backed this administration will be astonished!
Starting in 2011, (next year folks), your W-2 tax form sent by your employer will be increased to show the value of whatever health insurance you are given by the company. It does not matter if that's a private concern or governmental body of some sort. If you're retired? So what... your gross will go up by the amount of insurance you get. You will be required to pay taxes on a large sum of money that you have never seen. Take your tax form you just finished and see what $15,000 or $20,000 additional gross does to your tax debt. That's what you'll pay next year.
For many, it also puts you into a new higher bracket so it's even worse. This is how the government is going to buy insurance for the15% that don't have insurance? And this is only part of the tax increases.
Not believing this??? Here is a research of the summaries.....
On page 25 of 29: TITLE IX REVENUE PROVISIONS- SUBTITLE A: REVENUE OFFSET PROVISIONS-(sec. 9001, as modified by sec. 10901) Sec.9002 "requires employers to include in the W-2 form of each employee the aggregate cost of applicable employer sponsored group health coverage that is excludable from the employees gross income."
HOLY COW!
I hope you forward this blog entry to every single person in your address book. Everyone has the right to know the truth, because an election is coming in November! In the "Axis of Taxes" it would be nice to be rid of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid for a start.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Not a big fan of the adminstration
I recall several months ago that I heard, I think it was Glenn Beck quote Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as saying: "We have to pass the bill [Obamacare] so you can find out what is in it." Quite honestly, I didn't believe that anything that STUPID could be uttered by someone in elective office. Well, it turns out I was wrong, doesn't it.
In July, our President appointed (during a congressional recess) Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This governmental office ... there are a LOT of them now, aren't there ... has a larger budget than the Pentagon. And Dr. Berwick is a firm believer in "redistribution of wealth."
After Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, it's about time that there is a movie about how utterly out of touch the current administration is with anything approaching reality. So here is the trailer for the motion picture, "I Want Your Money."
Watch it and weep.
In July, our President appointed (during a congressional recess) Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This governmental office ... there are a LOT of them now, aren't there ... has a larger budget than the Pentagon. And Dr. Berwick is a firm believer in "redistribution of wealth."
After Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, it's about time that there is a movie about how utterly out of touch the current administration is with anything approaching reality. So here is the trailer for the motion picture, "I Want Your Money."
Watch it and weep.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
My (current) greatest (silly) fear
I have this one nagging fear, and for some reason, it has really come after me in the past three or four months:
I am deathly afraid of my eventual obituary being listed in a local newspaper under "Other Deaths."
Pretty silly, eh? But after 29 years in radio and TV [I retired in 1993], 34 years in the airshow industry [I have not retired just yet] and 45 years of performing voice-over work in radio and TV, I just don't want to be listed as, "oh, yeah, and this guy died, too."
I still get calls and email from people referring to me as a "radio living legend". That's nice, but although I was honored to have worked at some pretty good radio stations with some pretty heavy talents, I view it as guilt by association. In Philadelphia in 1966-67, I was one of the original "Super Six" bringing to life the Pop Oldies Explosion. Chuck Browning, Jay Cook, Jim Nettleton, "King" George Michael, Dave Parks and me. Dave and I are the only survivors of that crew, and neither of us are in radio any more.
In Providence, RI, on WICE I worked with Bob DeCarlo, a fine air talent and PD. In Boston at WRKO, I was re-named "Bobby Mitchell" (not my idea), and I worked under the direction of Mel Phillips. I was the first hire after Bill Drake took over the consultancy of the RKO General stations. What a great place! The what used to be WIBG Philadelphia with Joey Reynolds, John Records Landecker, and Bill Gardner. At WABC New York I struck gold working next to, and sometimes for, Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram, Cuzzin Bruce Morrow, Chuck Leonard, and Jay Reynolds. Back in Boston I worked with Jess Caine, The Magic Christian, EVERYBODY on WBZ, Charlie Van Dyke, and the list continues. THESE are (were) living legends. I just got lucky enough to have the mike, the station and the signal.
The airshow industry? An interesting business where nobody knows your name except those on 1,000 acres in one town for one weekend. Three of my friends in airshows are HUGE names: Bob Hoover, Patty Wagstaff and Sean D. Tucker. But as much as we'd like it to be, airshows will never be like NASCAR. Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, Snowbirds, sure. Most people have at least heard of them, but the rest of us… I don't think so.
In the world of radio and TV voice-overs, there are some real stars, but not that many. I was fortunate to have earned quite a bit over the years, standing behind a mike in an air-conditioned studio. But I was never a "star". I'm proud to say I have been union all the way; Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Radio and Television Artists. On a couple of occasions they were solidly behind me when someone tried to screw with me, and I thank them for that.
So I don't really know what an obit writer could say, other than: "He had a fear of being listed in here alphabetically."
I am deathly afraid of my eventual obituary being listed in a local newspaper under "Other Deaths."
Pretty silly, eh? But after 29 years in radio and TV [I retired in 1993], 34 years in the airshow industry [I have not retired just yet] and 45 years of performing voice-over work in radio and TV, I just don't want to be listed as, "oh, yeah, and this guy died, too."
I still get calls and email from people referring to me as a "radio living legend". That's nice, but although I was honored to have worked at some pretty good radio stations with some pretty heavy talents, I view it as guilt by association. In Philadelphia in 1966-67, I was one of the original "Super Six" bringing to life the Pop Oldies Explosion. Chuck Browning, Jay Cook, Jim Nettleton, "King" George Michael, Dave Parks and me. Dave and I are the only survivors of that crew, and neither of us are in radio any more.
In Providence, RI, on WICE I worked with Bob DeCarlo, a fine air talent and PD. In Boston at WRKO, I was re-named "Bobby Mitchell" (not my idea), and I worked under the direction of Mel Phillips. I was the first hire after Bill Drake took over the consultancy of the RKO General stations. What a great place! The what used to be WIBG Philadelphia with Joey Reynolds, John Records Landecker, and Bill Gardner. At WABC New York I struck gold working next to, and sometimes for, Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Dan Ingram, Cuzzin Bruce Morrow, Chuck Leonard, and Jay Reynolds. Back in Boston I worked with Jess Caine, The Magic Christian, EVERYBODY on WBZ, Charlie Van Dyke, and the list continues. THESE are (were) living legends. I just got lucky enough to have the mike, the station and the signal.
The airshow industry? An interesting business where nobody knows your name except those on 1,000 acres in one town for one weekend. Three of my friends in airshows are HUGE names: Bob Hoover, Patty Wagstaff and Sean D. Tucker. But as much as we'd like it to be, airshows will never be like NASCAR. Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, Snowbirds, sure. Most people have at least heard of them, but the rest of us… I don't think so.
In the world of radio and TV voice-overs, there are some real stars, but not that many. I was fortunate to have earned quite a bit over the years, standing behind a mike in an air-conditioned studio. But I was never a "star". I'm proud to say I have been union all the way; Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Radio and Television Artists. On a couple of occasions they were solidly behind me when someone tried to screw with me, and I thank them for that.
So I don't really know what an obit writer could say, other than: "He had a fear of being listed in here alphabetically."
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Make a Trade Show Exhibit worth the Time and Money
We attend a bunch of trade shows each year, not only for promotional products, but for embroidery and for clothing apparel of all descriptions. We also attend and exhibit at the International Council of Air Shows in Las Vegas each December. I have been a performing member since 1978, and recently we have begun devoting our time to promotional gifts and giveaways.
In the 400-odd pieces of email we receive each workday, I came upon a valuable, informative piece from Skyline Exhibits. May I urge you to take few minutes and read it:
"10 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Exhibiting At Trade Shows"
September 20, 2009 | by Mike Thimmesch, Skyline Exhibits' Director of Lead Generation and Industry Relations: Skyline Trade Show Tips
1. You won’t succeed at trade shows if you just show up. A trade show first-timer may think that because they’ve paid a couple of grand to rent a 10 x 10 space for a few days, they automatically will reap the whirlwind of leads and sales from the show’s attendees. If only. Surprise: you’ve actually only paid for access to this great audience of buyers. Now you have to do your part, such as train your staffers, create a promotion that attracts qualified prospects, and design your trade show display to entice the right visitors to your booth.
2. Trade shows are not as glamorous as they looked from the outside. To the uninitiated, this is what trade show marketing looks like from the ouside: Flying around the country to sunny or metropolitan locations, staying in top-tier hotels and meals on the company dime, and access to top-level company execs. But seen from the inside, trade shows are not so glamorous. Trade shows themselves are very hard work with a lot of stressful moments before, during, and after exhibit hours. There are so many details to master, and so many vendors you are depending on. You can sweat more during exhibit set-up than a month of work outs. And while travel can be exciting, it gets old fast when you are repeatedly away from home and your family.
3. Inertia determined much of your company’s show schedule. In the many years before you were handed the reins to your company’s trade show marketing, your company cobbled together quite a list of shows. But are they all still worth it? Were some trade shows chosen because your target market was there, or because your competitors were? Has your client base evolved away from the demographics of some of the shows you exhibit at? Have some shows eroded their attendee base by not reinvesting in strong marketing and educational content? Are there new vertical markets that you have yet to find good shows to market to? It’s up to you to break the inertia — and create some new momentum
4. Trade show labor is way more expensive than you think, and sometimes it’s even worth it. It’s a eye-opener to find out how much you will pay someone else to set up your booth, hook up your lights, or rig that hanging sign, especially if it’s on a weekend, or God forbid, on a Sunday. The union rules in most venues require that you pay labor a wage that adds up in a hurry, even if they don’t. You can minimize labor costs by getting easier to set up trade show displays, trying to schedule your set up for straight-time labor, and by lining up dependable contractors. I’ve found some Exhibitor Appointed Contractors are worth it, as they work hard to earn you business, show after show.
5. You will blow your trade show budget if you don’t plan well. You can never plan too far ahead, especially for overseas shows. Your budget was likely set with the best-case scenario for your trade show expenses, without room to pay for late fees and rush charges. That’s powerful incentive to quickly master the show book. Fortunately, after several shows you learn what you really need to order (electrical, leads machine, carpet) and what form pages you will likely skip (plumbing, signage, security). A pad of Post-It Notes or a good electronic scheduling software helps you flag your most pressing deadlines.
6. Everybody wants to help you pick the trade show exhibit color. No one wants to help you track the leads. When it comes to exhibit design, everyone has an opinion. And in the time leading up to the show, they will all clamor to offer their ideas, making it harder to get the booth built on time without rush charges. Yet after the show, you will have a harder time getting similar participation in tracking the leads from the show – ostensibly the reason you designed your exhibit in the first place. Remind your colleagues that if you can’t prove the results from this year’s show, you won’t be exhibiting at the show next year.
7. The 10 minutes after the show closes is when most damage happens to your trade show exhibit. The show ends with a voice booming over the loudspeakers saying, “The show is closed, see you next year.” But to impatient booth staffers, it’s as if they had actually shouted, “Drivers, start your engines!” Booth staffers hurry to win the race to the taxi stand, hotel, bar, restaurant, or parking lot. And if you have a portable trade show display that your booth staffers pack up, this is when they break it, by shoving it in its case as fast as they can. Close that expensive window of time by getting a more durable display, getting better packaging, or just by having a frank conversation with your staffers before the closing bell. Or, if you’re the one who wants to win the race, take a deep breath and slow down before you make a costly mistake.
8. Drayage is the most expensive way to move your exhibit the shortest distance. As a trade show newbie, one of the biggest surprises is that you have to pay to have your exhibit moved from the shipping dock to your booth space. Even more shocking is just how much you’ll have to pay — about the same to move something across a convention center as it does to ship it across country. Drayage rates have risen by double-digit percentages in some of the last few years, probably because more exhibitors switched to lighter weight trade show booths like Skyline’s. To offset the lower weight of exhibit properties, drayage charges per pound have increased. If your exhibit is still made the old-fashioned way, it’s a double-whammy.
9. It’s hard for booth staffers to take their very first lead at a trade show. In our lives we go though various, potentially scary rites of passage: learning to ride a bike, going to your first day of school, asking for a date to the prom. While all of these have been immortalized in film, no movie has yet to bring to the silver screen the epic tale of a first-time booth staffer engaging and writing up their first trade show lead. What would yours have been, a horror film? A comedy? A tragedy? Whatever kind of movie it would be, it would also be a drama, because it’s you’re likely filled with nervous energy as you go out and ask a perfect stranger face to face if they’d like to do business with your company. Just remember that your booth visitors actually paid to visit the show, and many are shopping for solutions to their problems that your products can solve. Practice the process of engage, qualify, present, and close, and you’ll be more comfortable taking your first lead.
10. Trade shows can be addictive. With the hard work, long hours, and time away from home, some people can’t wait to return from their trade show. But for others, trade shows are a calling. They get jazzed by the performance aspect, the blitz of direct client contact, and the relationships built before and during the show. They like the ability to create a successful marketing program in a medium built upon the value of face-to-face interactions. And that’s when trade shows really become addictive: when you master the medium and drive serious revenue to your company’s bottom line.
Before you begin your planning as an exhibitor, determine your purpose for exhibiting. Is it to give flyers away? Or to collect email addresses?
Immediately after the show, follow up by email, that night if possible, just to say, "Hi, thanks for stopping by." It is surprising how few business do this after putting all the effort and money into their exhibit!
We put our names in for 30 to 40 prize drawings when we go to tradeshows and hear back from four or five, and perhaps one within 48 hours of the show. The iron gets cold very quickly.
By the way, at a terrific trade show two years ago, we won an Apple iPod, a $300 AmEx gift card and a high-end Garmin GPS. Entering those booth contests can be very worthwhile.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Identity Theft: "Surprise! I'm You!"
It doesn't take much smarts for someone to become you, to swipe your identity either with a credit card or a check or both. That ought to scare you. It certainly scares me.
You know all those credit card bills you pay off, then tear the bill up and throw away? Or the credit card offers you get in the mail which you toss without opening? Or ANY old checks which you don't need any more which go into the trash can next to your desk? Any one of those thing can lead to some unscrupulous person cleaning your financial clock.
I am leading up to a link to my friend Kim Komando's website. Kim, known worldwide in print and in broadcasting as "The Digital Goddess", sends out three newsletters each day, plus an extra on the weekend. In one newsletter from Labor Day, she has a link to a service which she hosts called "Protect My ID."
We got involved with identity theft through contact with Frank Abignale, who most people know as "The Great Imposter." Two things which he suggests anyone do to help prevent identity theft are (1) buy and use a shredder for ANYTHING with your name and/or any information on it, and (2) only write checks with a gel pen rather than with a typical ballpoint; the gel ink imbeds itself into the paper on a check so what you write cannot be removed.
We actually became involved with the art of "check washing", and we were amazed at how easy it is to do. Using a simple household chemical, all ballpoint information on a check can be lifted, removed and dissolved in a matter of minutes. The check can then be dried and it ready for reuse. The person(s) who steal the check and wash it may not be the ones who reuse it, either. "Clean" checks are sold for a lot of money to others who can write themselves enormous amounts, even above what's available in the account.
For that reason never leave outgoing checks in your mailbox. Post them in a big blue iron box which notes that it is property of the USPS. And write all those checks with a gel pen; if someone DOES get ahold of a check, unless his name is City of Scottsdale - Water and Sewer it will do him no good.
Yes, SHOWLINE does handle gel pens as well as some of the newer pens with non-erasable ink. But that is for another time.
You know all those credit card bills you pay off, then tear the bill up and throw away? Or the credit card offers you get in the mail which you toss without opening? Or ANY old checks which you don't need any more which go into the trash can next to your desk? Any one of those thing can lead to some unscrupulous person cleaning your financial clock.
I am leading up to a link to my friend Kim Komando's website. Kim, known worldwide in print and in broadcasting as "The Digital Goddess", sends out three newsletters each day, plus an extra on the weekend. In one newsletter from Labor Day, she has a link to a service which she hosts called "Protect My ID."
We got involved with identity theft through contact with Frank Abignale, who most people know as "The Great Imposter." Two things which he suggests anyone do to help prevent identity theft are (1) buy and use a shredder for ANYTHING with your name and/or any information on it, and (2) only write checks with a gel pen rather than with a typical ballpoint; the gel ink imbeds itself into the paper on a check so what you write cannot be removed.
We actually became involved with the art of "check washing", and we were amazed at how easy it is to do. Using a simple household chemical, all ballpoint information on a check can be lifted, removed and dissolved in a matter of minutes. The check can then be dried and it ready for reuse. The person(s) who steal the check and wash it may not be the ones who reuse it, either. "Clean" checks are sold for a lot of money to others who can write themselves enormous amounts, even above what's available in the account.
For that reason never leave outgoing checks in your mailbox. Post them in a big blue iron box which notes that it is property of the USPS. And write all those checks with a gel pen; if someone DOES get ahold of a check, unless his name is City of Scottsdale - Water and Sewer it will do him no good.
Yes, SHOWLINE does handle gel pens as well as some of the newer pens with non-erasable ink. But that is for another time.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Those Special Deals Just Keep On Comin'
There are times when I wish I were traveling more. Since cutting back on announcing airshows [see an earlier blog entry] to Spring and Autumn, I am seeing MANY special travel deals I just can't use. JET BLUE has a special flash-sale Fall fare of $29 and up (each way) via Travelzoo. I read about Jet Blue and Airtrans specials, but from Phoenix, most are red-eyes and are not real appealing to me.
In Las Vegas the 4-Diamond hotel, Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is currently running a special at $40 - $49 per night. Not bad.
Another special from Travelzoo is $137 for a Paris 4-Star hotel with breakfast and Seine Boat Tour. The Hotel Concorde La Fayette. Yes, the "Paris" in France, not Las Vegas.
I just this moment received an outstanding offer from the Harrah's Hotels. This has to be one of the best offers I have found if you want to get away from everything this summer and return in the cooler weather for more riotous fun. Book a quickie vacation NOW and get a free night or two from November through January. The hotels include Bally's and Rio from $49 a night, Harrah's from $39 a night, the Flamingo from $45 a night, Caesar's from $110 a night, Imperial Palace from $25 a night, and Paris [Las Vegas] from $69 a night. The deal is book two nights summer, get one free winter; book three nights summer, get two free winter. If you deserve a few days off, you can't beat this deal with a large stick!
In Las Vegas the 4-Diamond hotel, Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is currently running a special at $40 - $49 per night. Not bad.
Another special from Travelzoo is $137 for a Paris 4-Star hotel with breakfast and Seine Boat Tour. The Hotel Concorde La Fayette. Yes, the "Paris" in France, not Las Vegas.
I just this moment received an outstanding offer from the Harrah's Hotels. This has to be one of the best offers I have found if you want to get away from everything this summer and return in the cooler weather for more riotous fun. Book a quickie vacation NOW and get a free night or two from November through January. The hotels include Bally's and Rio from $49 a night, Harrah's from $39 a night, the Flamingo from $45 a night, Caesar's
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Flash Sales on Cotton
It's the time of the season when cotton growers and cotton clothing manufacturers want to move a bunch of product out, quickly.
In the past two weeks, we have received short notice of three day sales from seven different T-shirt and fleece manufacturers. WHITE T-shirt blanks (unimprinted) are selling for as little as $2.25 for the 5.3 ounce promotional weight and two dollars more for the 6.1 ounce heavyweight, in white. Gildan, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom. It's hard to think about fleece in mid-July but special offers are coming through for shorts, pants, long and short sleeve jackets, pullovers, hoods, caps and BLANKETS. Most of these are available in a variety of colors; last year in the colder climes, high schools and colleges were buying these things for football games and other outdoor activities.
We got this one special offer for large quantity Ts, 5.4 ounce (promotional weight), sizes Large and Extra-Large, WITH 4-color imprints. $2.78 each, a one-time setup of $185, and a minimum of 2,000 pieces. And this is FULL COLOR! This is ideal for a mob! One of our suppliers is offering free freight on orders over $200; that's like seven dozen T-shirts.
If your group, school, college, fraternity, sorority, civic organization or club is planning anything in the cooler weather, now would be a good time to consider fleece. As for T-shirts, they can be stored until next spring, if you don't have an immediate need for them. But like airfares, these flash sales happen with little notice and are gone in the blink of an eye.
In the past two weeks, we have received short notice of three day sales from seven different T-shirt and fleece manufacturers. WHITE T-shirt blanks (unimprinted) are selling for as little as $2.25 for the 5.3 ounce promotional weight and two dollars more for the 6.1 ounce heavyweight, in white. Gildan, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom. It's hard to think about fleece in mid-July but special offers are coming through for shorts, pants, long and short sleeve jackets, pullovers, hoods, caps and BLANKETS. Most of these are available in a variety of colors; last year in the colder climes, high schools and colleges were buying these things for football games and other outdoor activities.
We got this one special offer for large quantity Ts, 5.4 ounce (promotional weight), sizes Large and Extra-Large, WITH 4-color imprints. $2.78 each, a one-time setup of $185, and a minimum of 2,000 pieces. And this is FULL COLOR! This is ideal for a mob! One of our suppliers is offering free freight on orders over $200; that's like seven dozen T-shirts.
If your group, school, college, fraternity, sorority, civic organization or club is planning anything in the cooler weather, now would be a good time to consider fleece. As for T-shirts, they can be stored until next spring, if you don't have an immediate need for them. But like airfares, these flash sales happen with little notice and are gone in the blink of an eye.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
School Starts WHEN!?
When did school begin fall classes in August? EARLY August? It used to start the day after Labor Day and run until about 5th of June. Beginning about Memorial Day weekend, kids would start to pound the pavement to look for summer jobs. Growing up in Philadelphia, most kids would head "down the shore" anywhere from Cape May to Long Beach Island, NJ. New York area kids would hit everything from Tom's River and Seaside Heights, northward. You just knew if you landed a job (and most did) that you would have a good ten weeks of paychecks to get you into the following school year.
I was big for my age, so I could pass for older. I had a job working the kitchen and pulling the dumbwaiters in a summer residential hotel, I cooked and beat fudge (starting at 4:30 AM each day), I crewed as a first or second mate on a charter fishing boat, and my last three summers before Penn State, I worked as a line boy at the Ocean City, New Jersey, municipal airport. In each case, I knew I could work from mid-June until Labor Day. In some cases I was asked back for several weekends, as my family commuted between Ocean City and Philadelphia on the weekends, not wanting to give up the great south Jersey weather.
Point is, now kids barely have 5 weeks off, if that. Who is going to hire summer help for five weeks? They are barely trained in a job, and they have to leave to go back to school. It's like military pilots who do their contract time, then leave the service to look for airline work. [Not so much TODAY, but the airline jobs will come back. Really they will.]
I bring this all up because we (Showline Promotional Products) are being swamped with back-to-school promotional specials. Every time one arrives, I shake my head. For a kid, summer vacation was part of growing up. Now there is very little summer vacation. In my opinion kids are being robbed, at least short-changed, of part of their youth. At Penn State, I elected to go through summer terms to get my BA in June of 1965. I had spent ten months on the road performing with a hot band, and I wanted to get my degree on time. In college, you grow up pretty quickly. But come on, NOT in school.
I was big for my age, so I could pass for older. I had a job working the kitchen and pulling the dumbwaiters in a summer residential hotel, I cooked and beat fudge (starting at 4:30 AM each day), I crewed as a first or second mate on a charter fishing boat, and my last three summers before Penn State, I worked as a line boy at the Ocean City, New Jersey, municipal airport. In each case, I knew I could work from mid-June until Labor Day. In some cases I was asked back for several weekends, as my family commuted between Ocean City and Philadelphia on the weekends, not wanting to give up the great south Jersey weather.
Point is, now kids barely have 5 weeks off, if that. Who is going to hire summer help for five weeks? They are barely trained in a job, and they have to leave to go back to school. It's like military pilots who do their contract time, then leave the service to look for airline work. [Not so much TODAY, but the airline jobs will come back. Really they will.]
I bring this all up because we (Showline Promotional Products) are being swamped with back-to-school promotional specials. Every time one arrives, I shake my head. For a kid, summer vacation was part of growing up. Now there is very little summer vacation. In my opinion kids are being robbed, at least short-changed, of part of their youth. At Penn State, I elected to go through summer terms to get my BA in June of 1965. I had spent ten months on the road performing with a hot band, and I wanted to get my degree on time. In college, you grow up pretty quickly. But come on, NOT in school.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
What was it I said yesterday?
You KNOW merchants are in trouble when they are running WINTER sales in the midst of summer.
Toys 'R Us is running a "Christmas in July" Sale beginning this weekend (July 19) and running for a week. This is not unlike hotels offering deep discounts (with a deposit) now for bookings in winter. The hotels are REALLY different in that many of them are offering SUMMER prices for Fall and WINTER stays when their prices are higher.
Last evening (July 15), well after my last post, Southwest Airlines announced a flash sale. Purchase travel by July 30th for travel August 16th through November 18th, '09. Travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Southwest has to put bodies in the seats, and according to good ol' Yield Marketing (which is something you learn about when you study for an MBA), if you have a product and it doesn't sell at the MSRP, let us say n dollars, then see how it sells if the price is adjusted to n dollars minus r dollars. If demand increases, the price may be increased to just below the point of diminishing returns, let's say r dollars plus ten.
Basically if you have a plane with 136 seats and 50 of them are empty, it costs almost as much to fly with the empty seats as with them full. So FILL THEM UP. And if you are looking for deals, watch very carefully for other airlines to follow suit on the same dates with the same restrictions.
Good hunting.
Toys 'R Us is running a "Christmas in July" Sale beginning this weekend (July 19) and running for a week. This is not unlike hotels offering deep discounts (with a deposit) now for bookings in winter. The hotels are REALLY different in that many of them are offering SUMMER prices for Fall and WINTER stays when their prices are higher.
Last evening (July 15), well after my last post, Southwest Airlines announced a flash sale. Purchase travel by July 30th for travel August 16th through November 18th, '09. Travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Southwest has to put bodies in the seats, and according to good ol' Yield Marketing (which is something you learn about when you study for an MBA), if you have a product and it doesn't sell at the MSRP, let us say n dollars, then see how it sells if the price is adjusted to n dollars minus r dollars. If demand increases, the price may be increased to just below the point of diminishing returns, let's say r dollars plus ten.
Basically if you have a plane with 136 seats and 50 of them are empty, it costs almost as much to fly with the empty seats as with them full. So FILL THEM UP. And if you are looking for deals, watch very carefully for other airlines to follow suit on the same dates with the same restrictions.
Good hunting.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Where there ARE airline travel deals
You just have to BE there when they happen!
With my reduced summertime travel schedule I have been simply watching the travel industry from the sidelines. The "flashdeals" come and go everywhere, especially in Las Vegas. Some hotels in Reno, NV, namely the Grand Sierra (which used to be the Reno Hilton) have some outstanding deals... really hard to believe. I am most familiar with the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino; that's where many of us stay during the Reno Championship Air Races in September.
It's the "Getting There" part which is usually what hurts. Most of the major airlines have had "flashdeals" of their own, beginning with one airline and spreading to most major lines within less that a day. There was a spectacular deal the week of July 6th which lasted just THREE DAYS for travel through most of the autumn months. Fares most people could afford out of pocket... that cheap.
The airlines have their own bills to pay. LARGE bills for fuel, maintenance, all those people, loans for the airplanes, rent for airport facilities, taxes, etc. Revenue, money coming in, is really really important.
The WALL STREET JOURNAL always has an interesting spin on travel. Earlier this week, there was a piece about the U.S. airlines flying into a credit squeeze. They all need cash. (duh.) the WSJ simplifies it this way:
Think "Money I don't have to spend." That will get you motivated.
With my reduced summertime travel schedule I have been simply watching the travel industry from the sidelines. The "flashdeals" come and go everywhere, especially in Las Vegas. Some hotels in Reno, NV, namely the Grand Sierra (which used to be the Reno Hilton) have some outstanding deals... really hard to believe. I am most familiar with the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino; that's where many of us stay during the Reno Championship Air Races in September.
It's the "Getting There" part which is usually what hurts. Most of the major airlines have had "flashdeals" of their own, beginning with one airline and spreading to most major lines within less that a day. There was a spectacular deal the week of July 6th which lasted just THREE DAYS for travel through most of the autumn months. Fares most people could afford out of pocket... that cheap.
The airlines have their own bills to pay. LARGE bills for fuel, maintenance, all those people, loans for the airplanes, rent for airport facilities, taxes, etc. Revenue, money coming in, is really really important.
The WALL STREET JOURNAL always has an interesting spin on travel. Earlier this week, there was a piece about the U.S. airlines flying into a credit squeeze. They all need cash. (duh.) the WSJ simplifies it this way:
- The country is in a terrible economic slowdown.
- Businesses are cutting back trips and the number of people taking trips.
- Airlines count on business travelers for the big bucks, like, buy a ticket this morning to travel this afternoon.
- Business travelers just aren't there.
- When this happens, the airlines try to attract vacation travelers.
- If people are not making money, they certainly don't have a load of jack to spend on airline tickets to fly the family to Six Flags.
- Therefore, marketing departments will try lowering fares on select routes. If other airlines follow and lower fares on other routes, pretty soon you have a "flashsale", and you HAVE to be right there when one starts.
Think "Money I don't have to spend." That will get you motivated.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I am NOT abandoning Airshows!
There has been loose talk floating around that Ol' Frank has left the business of announcing airshows. But having announced shows since 1977, there comes a time when a line has to be drawn. Linda and I have a thriving Promotional Products business, and I still lease my voice to various businesses for commercial voice-over work and narrations. There are only so many hours in a week.
Summer in the southwest is always a challenge, especially when the electric bills come. Here in the Scottsdale-Phoenix metro area, Arizona Public Service changes electric rates in late May for six months; the daytime rate (9 AM to 9 PM Monday through Friday) increases by about 45%. This happens just as the need for air conditioning becomes painfully obvious. When is it hottest here? In the daylight hours! Running the A/C in the house and in the separate office building is a necessity and becomes painful when the bill from APS arrives.
After having announced airshows since 1977, standing out there on the announcing stand or on the ramp for what has become six hours or so each show day, I decided a couple of years ago that I just didn't want to stand there in the heat through the months of June, July and August. So with very few exceptions, I decided to announce only in the spring and the autumn. The exceptions? I will go to New England at any time of year to announce a show, having lived there for 23 years and missing it terribly. The other exception is a show which really is a product demonstration as in a trade show. I am under cover with fans, or inside a glass-walled air-conditioned studio with all the cold water I could ever want.
Of course I continue to function as lead race announcer at the Reno Championship Air Races. Although the races are in mid-September, I have so much help in the form of spotters, timers, the local "99s" putting my spotting boards together, my "Pit Bull Pit Boss", and representatives for each class of racing plus Steve Stavrakakis to help with the unlimiteds and Danny Clisham to announce the civilian aerobatics, I don't mind it still being summer, technically. I say "technically" because we have worked the races in perfect beach weather, in dreadful heat, in wind so bad that dust obscured the course, and four years ago, we flew the final race of the week, the Breitling Unlimited Gold Race, in fairly heavy snow. So that week is always a challenge.
Yes, I am still announcing airshows in spring and fall. Just do not think that I have turned my back on the business of airshows. Too much fun, too many friends, too many memories.
Summer in the southwest is always a challenge, especially when the electric bills come. Here in the Scottsdale-Phoenix metro area, Arizona Public Service changes electric rates in late May for six months; the daytime rate (9 AM to 9 PM Monday through Friday) increases by about 45%. This happens just as the need for air conditioning becomes painfully obvious. When is it hottest here? In the daylight hours! Running the A/C in the house and in the separate office building is a necessity and becomes painful when the bill from APS arrives.
After having announced airshows since 1977, standing out there on the announcing stand or on the ramp for what has become six hours or so each show day, I decided a couple of years ago that I just didn't want to stand there in the heat through the months of June, July and August. So with very few exceptions, I decided to announce only in the spring and the autumn. The exceptions? I will go to New England at any time of year to announce a show, having lived there for 23 years and missing it terribly. The other exception is a show which really is a product demonstration as in a trade show. I am under cover with fans, or inside a glass-walled air-conditioned studio with all the cold water I could ever want.
Of course I continue to function as lead race announcer at the Reno Championship Air Races. Although the races are in mid-September, I have so much help in the form of spotters, timers, the local "99s" putting my spotting boards together, my "Pit Bull Pit Boss", and representatives for each class of racing plus Steve Stavrakakis to help with the unlimiteds and Danny Clisham to announce the civilian aerobatics, I don't mind it still being summer, technically. I say "technically" because we have worked the races in perfect beach weather, in dreadful heat, in wind so bad that dust obscured the course, and four years ago, we flew the final race of the week, the Breitling Unlimited Gold Race, in fairly heavy snow. So that week is always a challenge.
Yes, I am still announcing airshows in spring and fall. Just do not think that I have turned my back on the business of airshows. Too much fun, too many friends, too many memories.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Happy Independence Day
Just a link to something which is timeless. The boss at GoDaddy.com is a former US Marine. Please click here, and watch this.
Friday, May 29, 2009
What kinds of Cars DO Americans want?
I tend to store things up, then get to the keyboard and rant. This is one of those times.
Earlier I was listening to the NPR station in Phoenix. The lady was repeating the oft asked question, "Why don't the American carmakers build cars Americans WANT?"
That's about the thousandth time I have heard that. The fact is, American carmakers seldom do more than react to what they see as a possible trend. When "Ahnold" was presented with the first HUMMER off the line, people with too much spare money wanted one. Then other folk wanted the same thing, but with a little styling. Thus was born the SUV rage. That was 1996. When gas prices went through the roof last year, NO one bought SUVs; they all demanded fuel-efficient smaller cars. Oh, that was until gas prices collapsed, and the small fuel-efficient cars were left wanting on the lot. The main reason SUV sales didn't shoot up was there wasn't much bank-owned money to lend to people.
Go back to 1972 and to 1979 when the Arabs reset the pumps. Both times, people whined that they needed more mileage out of their cars. Jimmy Carter (remember 13% inflation?) coined the term "gas-guzzler" and created a fine, although he called it a tax, for cars which didn't deliver - I can't remember - 16 miles per gallon? Is that close? Both times the industry began offering VERY small cars, many foreign-built and imported under a domestic nameplate. However the domestic manufacturers continued to make their muscle cars, hedging the bet that the fuel-efficient car market would be temporary both times. it was.
In 1979 I was working at a radio station in Boston, and we expressed a certain indignation that a gas station down in Charles Circle had the gall to charge a dollar a gallon. But if you think about it, every time, with the exception of summer of '08, when fuel prices have spiked, if they leveled at something reasonable, we got used to it and accepted it. Humorous sidebar: I had a Cadillac, and people accused me of driving a "gas-guzzler." So with 13,000 miles and 11 months on it, I traded for a smaller Pontiac something. The Cad gave me 19 mpg; the Pontiac gave me 17 mpg. But people stopped calling me names.
Manufacturers, in order to meet the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards, imported more and more cars. My wife's ex-truck, a Mitsubishi, was imported as a Dodge Ram 50. The carmakers could continue to build the big ones as long as they met the CAFE mandate by selling enough of the little ones. That's called "eyewash"; as long as it looks good on paper....
So now the government is going to mandate a much higher average mileage. If the American public really wanted little cars, we would be awash in Smart4Twos. That, as far as the American public stands, is a true novelty. The Prius, which in its fifth year last summer was such a hot item, could be found in rows on lots this past winter. "Gotta have a hybrid!" The US manufacturers answered the problem by bringing out its own versions of hybrids, including the VOLT, a plug-in car. Do you see the continuing trend? React; don't innovate.
My Mercedes 300D is 24 years old. It has been serviced regularly, had things replaced as needed [I have now spent more on maintenance than the car cost new] and driven carefully. I get 28 mpg. I own it. There are now diesel cars which are cleaner and get even better mileage than the hybrids. There are gasoline cars which get even better mileage than the hybrids.
In 1957 (for those of us who can remember 1957) the Chrysler Corporation unveiled its new car lines by saying, "Chrysler is three years ahead!" Remember that? Seeing the doldrums which were settling in in the auto industry, they threw out three years of design changes and mods and brought out the 1960 lines as 1957. Ahhh, yes. TAILFINS. Within two years GM was lousy with... TAILFINS. And lotsa chrome.
Personally I do not want a little lightweight car which I can plug in and get 40 miles on a charge. (Oh, THAT'S convenient.) I want a car I can get into and drive to the mountains up toward Flagstaff, or drive over to Vegas, or drive to the foot of Santa Monica Pier. If it requires hydrogen fuel cells, let's develop those. If a solar array on the roof of my car can help it, let's get going. If I could have a gas turbine which I could light off once on the freeway, one which would power electric motors for the front and rear axles [gas turbines are most efficient if operated at a constant vehicular speed and RPM], then why not?
This country has been based on the internal combustion engine forEVER. No amount of legislative demands is going to change that.
Earlier I was listening to the NPR station in Phoenix. The lady was repeating the oft asked question, "Why don't the American carmakers build cars Americans WANT?"
That's about the thousandth time I have heard that. The fact is, American carmakers seldom do more than react to what they see as a possible trend. When "Ahnold" was presented with the first HUMMER off the line, people with too much spare money wanted one. Then other folk wanted the same thing, but with a little styling. Thus was born the SUV rage. That was 1996. When gas prices went through the roof last year, NO one bought SUVs; they all demanded fuel-efficient smaller cars. Oh, that was until gas prices collapsed, and the small fuel-efficient cars were left wanting on the lot. The main reason SUV sales didn't shoot up was there wasn't much bank-owned money to lend to people.
Go back to 1972 and to 1979 when the Arabs reset the pumps. Both times, people whined that they needed more mileage out of their cars. Jimmy Carter (remember 13% inflation?) coined the term "gas-guzzler" and created a fine, although he called it a tax, for cars which didn't deliver - I can't remember - 16 miles per gallon? Is that close? Both times the industry began offering VERY small cars, many foreign-built and imported under a domestic nameplate. However the domestic manufacturers continued to make their muscle cars, hedging the bet that the fuel-efficient car market would be temporary both times. it was.
In 1979 I was working at a radio station in Boston, and we expressed a certain indignation that a gas station down in Charles Circle had the gall to charge a dollar a gallon. But if you think about it, every time, with the exception of summer of '08, when fuel prices have spiked, if they leveled at something reasonable, we got used to it and accepted it. Humorous sidebar: I had a Cadillac, and people accused me of driving a "gas-guzzler." So with 13,000 miles and 11 months on it, I traded for a smaller Pontiac something. The Cad gave me 19 mpg; the Pontiac gave me 17 mpg. But people stopped calling me names.
Manufacturers, in order to meet the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards, imported more and more cars. My wife's ex-truck, a Mitsubishi, was imported as a Dodge Ram 50. The carmakers could continue to build the big ones as long as they met the CAFE mandate by selling enough of the little ones. That's called "eyewash"; as long as it looks good on paper....
So now the government is going to mandate a much higher average mileage. If the American public really wanted little cars, we would be awash in Smart4Twos. That, as far as the American public stands, is a true novelty. The Prius, which in its fifth year last summer was such a hot item, could be found in rows on lots this past winter. "Gotta have a hybrid!" The US manufacturers answered the problem by bringing out its own versions of hybrids, including the VOLT, a plug-in car. Do you see the continuing trend? React; don't innovate.
My Mercedes 300D is 24 years old. It has been serviced regularly, had things replaced as needed [I have now spent more on maintenance than the car cost new] and driven carefully. I get 28 mpg. I own it. There are now diesel cars which are cleaner and get even better mileage than the hybrids. There are gasoline cars which get even better mileage than the hybrids.
In 1957 (for those of us who can remember 1957) the Chrysler Corporation unveiled its new car lines by saying, "Chrysler is three years ahead!" Remember that? Seeing the doldrums which were settling in in the auto industry, they threw out three years of design changes and mods and brought out the 1960 lines as 1957. Ahhh, yes. TAILFINS. Within two years GM was lousy with... TAILFINS. And lotsa chrome.
Personally I do not want a little lightweight car which I can plug in and get 40 miles on a charge. (Oh, THAT'S convenient.) I want a car I can get into and drive to the mountains up toward Flagstaff, or drive over to Vegas, or drive to the foot of Santa Monica Pier. If it requires hydrogen fuel cells, let's develop those. If a solar array on the roof of my car can help it, let's get going. If I could have a gas turbine which I could light off once on the freeway, one which would power electric motors for the front and rear axles [gas turbines are most efficient if operated at a constant vehicular speed and RPM], then why not?
This country has been based on the internal combustion engine forEVER. No amount of legislative demands is going to change that.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Las Vegas in the News, AGAIN
Las Vegas is hurting. You knew that.
In an effort to get ANYONE new to come to Vegas, marketing had gone to an image of "Las Vegas is for everyone," meaning that as long as someone had a few bucks for fun, Las Vegas doesn't care if you are a hog farmer from Montana. Just come to Vegas, and bring money.
Someone smart decided that was the wrong approach, so now, they are going back to the "What Happens Here, Stays Here" thing. If you haven't seen the TV spot yet, watch for a "TV news reporter" walking along the edge of an abandoned swimming pool, saying no one is coming to Vegas, and you can have the place to yourself. When her "take" is complete, she rips off her TV reporter suit to reveal a swimsuit, as people who have been hiding all dash out to the tables, chairs and the pool. Vegas is still kinda "hip", and the spot seems to be saying "If we can convince the world that nobody comes here any more, then we (who know better) can have more of the place to ourselves."
For folks who would like to TRY las Vegas on for size, TravelZoo, one of my favorite newsletters, notes that The Palms (speaking of hip) has a special deal through June of $79 a night Sunday through Thursday including a $50 dining credit plus other goodies. This is not the lowest price in town, but if you want to see how "the other half" lives, this place is a killer. The Malloof brothers, owners of the Sacramento Kings, didn't want any beds that were too short for any of their basketball players. Just gives you an idea.
I recall observing, while staying across the street from the Palms at the Gold Coast for $25 a night, that I could be staying at the Palms for another couple hundred a night. It IS a beautiful place, and at the special price, it is well worht it. Even if you DON'T stay there, go to one of the bars and drink in the atmosphere. Even try the PLAYBOY Club.
In an effort to get ANYONE new to come to Vegas, marketing had gone to an image of "Las Vegas is for everyone," meaning that as long as someone had a few bucks for fun, Las Vegas doesn't care if you are a hog farmer from Montana. Just come to Vegas, and bring money.
Someone smart decided that was the wrong approach, so now, they are going back to the "What Happens Here, Stays Here" thing. If you haven't seen the TV spot yet, watch for a "TV news reporter" walking along the edge of an abandoned swimming pool, saying no one is coming to Vegas, and you can have the place to yourself. When her "take" is complete, she rips off her TV reporter suit to reveal a swimsuit, as people who have been hiding all dash out to the tables, chairs and the pool. Vegas is still kinda "hip", and the spot seems to be saying "If we can convince the world that nobody comes here any more, then we (who know better) can have more of the place to ourselves."
For folks who would like to TRY las Vegas on for size, TravelZoo, one of my favorite newsletters, notes that The Palms (speaking of hip) has a special deal through June of $79 a night Sunday through Thursday including a $50 dining credit plus other goodies. This is not the lowest price in town, but if you want to see how "the other half" lives, this place is a killer. The Malloof brothers, owners of the Sacramento Kings, didn't want any beds that were too short for any of their basketball players. Just gives you an idea.
I recall observing, while staying across the street from the Palms at the Gold Coast for $25 a night, that I could be staying at the Palms for another couple hundred a night. It IS a beautiful place, and at the special price, it is well worht it. Even if you DON'T stay there, go to one of the bars and drink in the atmosphere. Even try the PLAYBOY Club.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
So, why are we blaming the pigs?
"Swine Flu" is so misnamed. The H1M1 influenza is not the fault of pigs, nor do pigs carry it. You won't catch it from eating pork or bacon. It could have been as easily named "Bovine Flu", and people would avoid beef and milk.
A lot of years ago, maybe 20 or 25 years, there was developed a technique for preparing food for long term storage without refrigeration -- food which would otherwise spoil in a day without refrigeration. Beef, chicken, pork and dairy products among others could be rapidly heated to a very high temperature, but not "cooked" in the classic sense of the word, then vacuum sealed for later meal preparation. The unfortunate term given this process was "Irradiation."
At the time this term came to be, I was living in Massachusetts, where anything which included the word "radiation" was feared as being somehow related to nuclear reactions. When a nuclear power generating facility was proposed, then designed and built in Seabrook, New Hampshire, a very noisy group calling themselves "The Clamshell Alliance", whose apparent motto was "Our minds are already made up; don't try to confuse us with facts!" picketed every day for YEARS. At any opportunity one of their number would get onto television and say: "Newkewluhr power is no f**king good; we're gonna shut it down." When this group heard "irradiation" in terms of food, they went ballistic. Once again, "...don't try to confuse us...." I had eaten irradiated meat and milk in 1990; it was very tasty and I am still reasonably healthy.
In the early 80s, I caught what was called "Russian" flu. We blamed an entire country for the outbreak in terms which suggested that it was some kind of plot.
The H1M1 flu seems to have started in Mexico -- not the cleanest, healthiest place on earth. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta says that the H1M1 flu is transmitted person to person or through an intermediary, such as by handling money, touching a door handle or knob, or pushing the push bar on a shopping cart. More directly, shaking hands can help transmit H1M1. These thing can help transmit ANY flu. So the doctors all suggest you wash your hands frequently and perhaps use an antiseptic spray or wash on your hands. And what do they suggest you take if you thing you are coming down with something? TAMIFLU! That's stuff you can buy over the counter.
Our resident loose cannon, Vice President Joe Biden, managed to scare a lot of people when he gave his opinion about the flu outbreak on NBC, saying he didn't want his family to fly or take a subway. (?) Remember sheets of plastic film and duct tape in 2005? Oh, right... then an airliner enroute to New York from Europe diverted to Boston because one of the passengers complained of "flu-like symptoms." If anyone is on an airliner for six hours, you will develop "flu-like symptoms."
Meanwhile people, even entire cruise lines, are avoiding Mexico in droves. This is "Cinco de Mayo" in Mexico which approximates our Fourth of July. Mexico City was called "a ghost town" by ABC News. There are reports of many deaths in Mexico, but upon further reading, one finds that many of these deaths have other root causes -- a bad traffic accident, for instance -- wherein one of the victims had earlier reported "flu-like symptoms".
So let's stop blaming the pigs. Wash your hands, use a sanitizer, and if you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose, and wash your hands again!
We as a people have become masters of creating irrational fears. We really do have to knock it off!
A lot of years ago, maybe 20 or 25 years, there was developed a technique for preparing food for long term storage without refrigeration -- food which would otherwise spoil in a day without refrigeration. Beef, chicken, pork and dairy products among others could be rapidly heated to a very high temperature, but not "cooked" in the classic sense of the word, then vacuum sealed for later meal preparation. The unfortunate term given this process was "Irradiation."
At the time this term came to be, I was living in Massachusetts, where anything which included the word "radiation" was feared as being somehow related to nuclear reactions. When a nuclear power generating facility was proposed, then designed and built in Seabrook, New Hampshire, a very noisy group calling themselves "The Clamshell Alliance", whose apparent motto was "Our minds are already made up; don't try to confuse us with facts!" picketed every day for YEARS. At any opportunity one of their number would get onto television and say: "Newkewluhr power is no f**king good; we're gonna shut it down." When this group heard "irradiation" in terms of food, they went ballistic. Once again, "...don't try to confuse us...." I had eaten irradiated meat and milk in 1990; it was very tasty and I am still reasonably healthy.
In the early 80s, I caught what was called "Russian" flu. We blamed an entire country for the outbreak in terms which suggested that it was some kind of plot.
The H1M1 flu seems to have started in Mexico -- not the cleanest, healthiest place on earth. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta says that the H1M1 flu is transmitted person to person or through an intermediary, such as by handling money, touching a door handle or knob, or pushing the push bar on a shopping cart. More directly, shaking hands can help transmit H1M1. These thing can help transmit ANY flu. So the doctors all suggest you wash your hands frequently and perhaps use an antiseptic spray or wash on your hands. And what do they suggest you take if you thing you are coming down with something? TAMIFLU! That's stuff you can buy over the counter.
Our resident loose cannon, Vice President Joe Biden, managed to scare a lot of people when he gave his opinion about the flu outbreak on NBC, saying he didn't want his family to fly or take a subway. (?) Remember sheets of plastic film and duct tape in 2005? Oh, right... then an airliner enroute to New York from Europe diverted to Boston because one of the passengers complained of "flu-like symptoms." If anyone is on an airliner for six hours, you will develop "flu-like symptoms."
Meanwhile people, even entire cruise lines, are avoiding Mexico in droves. This is "Cinco de Mayo" in Mexico which approximates our Fourth of July. Mexico City was called "a ghost town" by ABC News. There are reports of many deaths in Mexico, but upon further reading, one finds that many of these deaths have other root causes -- a bad traffic accident, for instance -- wherein one of the victims had earlier reported "flu-like symptoms".
So let's stop blaming the pigs. Wash your hands, use a sanitizer, and if you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose, and wash your hands again!
We as a people have become masters of creating irrational fears. We really do have to knock it off!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Challenge Coins on a Budget. (REALLY?)
We have been fielding inquiries about challenge coins, and with the current cost of brass, we have been going deaf from the sound of peoples' jaws hitting the floor. The usual question is: "What do brass challenge coins cost?" That's like asking, "How long is a piece of wire?" The more appropriate questions to ask is: "I am not a close friend of Paris Hilton, so can you help me out with challenge coins on a budget?"
Challenge coins do not HAVE to be brass (which, yes, has become very costly.) My friend Dan Arakawa, with whom we do our majority of coin and pin business, suggests zinc alloy coins.
Zinc alloy is not aluminum; it does not make a namby-pamby "tink" sound when it hits a table. As a substitue for brass, instead of using the traditional spin-casting technique with cheap lead-based metal, Dan uses a super high-grade zinc alloy material in a rubber injection mold. This technique creates the same high quality look of traditional brass coins, but the cost is lower. The only difference is a barely perceptible difference in weight between a zinc and a brass coin.
And if you want a cutout inside your design, with the zinc coin they are free; with brass the charge for a cutout is $40.
Included in pricing are two-dimensional molds for both sides, a high polish or antique finish, and FREE artwork from your sketches. (If you have artwork already, Dan is happy to create the coin from that.)
500 of the 1 1/2" diameter coins at 3 mm thickness (about an eighth of an inch) are $2.86 each (plus tax and shipping, of course.) You can add up to four inlay colors for an additional 20 cents per coin per side. Again, interior holes are free.
Challenge coins do not HAVE to be brass (which, yes, has become very costly.) My friend Dan Arakawa, with whom we do our majority of coin and pin business, suggests zinc alloy coins.
And if you want a cutout inside your design, with the zinc coin they are free; with brass the charge for a cutout is $40.
500 of the 1 1/2" diameter coins at 3 mm thickness (about an eighth of an inch) are $2.86 each (plus tax and shipping, of course.) You can add up to four inlay colors for an additional 20 cents per coin per side. Again, interior holes are free.
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