... or something like that...  The title comes from an old song by Simon & Garfunkle, a "folk-pop" duo from the 60s and 70s...  They gave us a LOT of hit records in their years together - and Paul Simon certainly had a string of hits after they split.  Art Garfunkle didn't do as well, but he still stayed busy and active in the recording industry. I always think of the old adage about "stopping and smelling the roses" when I think of that old song (BTW, it's "FEELING GROOVY")...  Which then leads to thinking about "tunnel vision"...  And all of this came up today because of a comment made to a previous post that fairly SCREAMS "sales pitch!" and ... well, I've never been a fan of the heavy-hitting sales pitch. Years ago, I actually was in sales - I was selling new (and used) Chrysler and Plymouths for a dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area.  This was in the late 80s and I only did it for a few months.  I had to get out of there because, while I love cars - I'm a certifiable car nut - I couldn't deal with all of the high-pressure tactics that so many sales people used.  It actually kind of shocks me to think about how ...

The above is with all due respect to the Milk Advisory Board and their advertising campaigns.  But, the other day, I came across this wonderful bit of news online… And I thought – wow…  Take a read…  Bank Robber Hires Decoys on Craigslist, Fools Cops By Caroline McCarthy, CNET News In an elaborate robbery scheme that's one part The Thomas Crown Affair and one part Pineapple Express, a crook robbed an armored truck outside a Bank of America branch in Monroe, Wash., by hiring decoys through Craigslist to deter authorities. It gets better: He then escaped in a creek headed for the Skykomish River in an inner tube, and the cops are still looking for him. "A great amount of money" was taken, Monroe police said, but did not provide a dollar value. It appears to have unfolded this way, according to a Seattle-based NBC affiliate: Around 11:00 a.m. PDT Sept. 30, the robber, wearing a yellow vest, safety goggles, a blue shirt, and a respirator mask went over to a guard who was overseeing the unloading of cash to the bank from the truck. He sprayed the guard with pepper spray, grabbed his bag of money, and fled the scene. But here's the hilarious twist. The robber had previously put out a Craigslist ad for road maintenance workers, promising wages ...

If you’re old enough (or have an extensive enough Sci-Fi DVD/movie collection), you may remember the film RoboCop from 1987.  It was directed by Paul Verhoeven, who later became famous for that fantastic piece of cinematic achievement – Showgirls!  But he also gave us the Arnold “The Governator” Schwarzenegger classic “TOTAL RECALL”, and another classic of camp cinematic achievement “Basic Instinct”. RoboCop was a futuristic view of life in the US – specifically in Detroit, MI – where violent crime is the norm – much like today?  Throughout the movie, there are glimpsed scenes of a sitcom TV show (later identified as “It’s Not My Problem”) where a major character uses the catch phrase “I’ll buy that for a dollar!” This wonderful ditty of a catch-phrase came to Me over the past few days when I was reading a post on the EDI-L Yahoo! group about “What is a decent price/cost per EDI message?” and everybody started weighing in with replies – some giving us examples of how much it costs per message at their company (about 50 cents per message) and others going down the “I pay 20 cents per KC” and others talking about the varied costs of the VANs per KC charges.  The poster suggested something about “32 cents per message” – a flat fee. But ...

I’d heard that today was “BRING YOUR TEDDY BEAR TO WORK” day and wish I’d known in advance.  I’m a collector of Teddy Bears – even having one of the first ones that I had as a kid.  He’s now in his 30s and still sits on My bed at home.  Teddy Bears have also influenced another hobby of Mine – My PT Cruiser and car shows.  If you’ve seen a lot of the custom PT Cruisers on the roads out there, you’ll notice that a lot of them – maybe as many as half? – are customized and personalized – with flames, as woodies, as old surfer wagons, with 50s or 40s or even 30s motifs and all sorts of other styles. Of course, there are just as many that are simple, plain and unadorned.  Simple economy cars – even if they’re not too good with the MPG. But I would have loved to have brought one of My Teddies to work today… Maybe the 5 foot tall polar bear.  Or the one My mom got Me for My 40th birthday from Vermont Teddy Bear Company – with custom clothing and My name embroidered on his back.  Or maybe the one from My youth…?  Could even go with current events and bring in the Banker Bear ...

Many years ago, My mom worked for Racal/Vadic...  they were (are?) a maker of modems and did a pretty brisk business...  As a matter of fact, we even had an old Racal box around here at work...  So even though she hasn’t worked for them for years and they never made much of a dent in the “home user” market – unlike Hayes and … what was that other brand? … Anyway, it was interesting to see – at least for Me – a Racal modem in use. At the particular location she worked for – they did a 4-day work week.  Monday through Thursday, 40 hours a week, off on Friday and the rest of the weekend.  Now, mind you, this was in the late 70s and early 80s – not too long after a fairly famous – and campy – movie called “Thank God It’s Friday”.  A little disco-era flick starring Jeff Goldblum, Debra Winger, Donna Summer, The Commodores, and a few other faces from the Funk and Disco era of pop music.  Even a girl known as Terri Nunn - soon to become famous as a singer for the "alternative" - New Wave - group BERLIN - best known for the ballad "Take My Breath Away" from the Tom Cruise flick - Top Gun.  I think it ...