Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography – Language from Matthew Rogers on Vimeo.

I grew up in Atikokan, Ontario well before Wal-Mart made its way into Canada. More importantly, a lot of what I think about business was informed by the experience of my family in running a local business. We had a building supply and we did some contracting.

We also had a Laundromat where I was tasked with maintaining the machinery. It was mostly Maytag equipment. My folks sent me off to Winnipeg one summer to be trained in the repair of said machinery. I guess in some fashion that makes me officially a lonely guy, but that’s another story entirely.

Growing up in a family running a local business I appreciate local merchants in a way that seems to have become less common.

I’ve travelled a lot in my working life. From the time that I moved to Texas I’ve travelled to all kinds of small towns, all over the US. In every one there’s a Wal-Mart. And in every one what was once the downtown core is a wasteland. What few local merchants remain struggle to get by offering things that Wal-Mart doesn’t.

Fortunately, that’s quite a bit of stuff. Have you ever noticed that Wal-Mart doesn’t really have any selection? None at all in reality.

Oh, they have some stuff. It’s usually really cheap stuff. Seldom is it good quality stuff. Therein lay my first complaint. My grandmother taught me that I should decide what I want to buy, save my money and buy good quality merchandise. Buy good quality and keep it nice a long time. Take care of your things and enjoy them for years.

However, when I look around Wal-Mart I find cheap stuff. Not the kind of things that I’d want to invest in. Certainly not the kind of goods that would compel me to scrimp and save.

Their philosophy, and it’s plainly played out in their advertising, is buy cheap stuff and buy more of it. What if I want to buy good stuff? Really good stuff? They simply don’t have it so I am compelled to shop elsewhere.

Then there’s the issue of their corporate behavior. Wal-Mart has a long and well documented history of treating their staff very poorly. They don’t believe in a living wage. Further, their human resources strategy goes to great lengths to avoid paying any benefits to employees.

Then there’s the matter of their purchasing. Did you know that Wal-Mart actually moved their global purchasing office to China?

We always hear how it’s too expensive to make things in North America. The labor costs are just too high. Take the garment industry as an example. Wal-mart won’t buy t-shirts made in the USA.

You can buy a t-shirt at Wal-Mart for just a few dollars. Dirt cheap in reality. The actual labor cost involved in that shirt is a pittance. Less than 25 cents.

If that very same t-shirt were made in the US it might cost 25 or 30 cents more. However, in return for that small added cost someone here in North America would have a job. Maybe more than one person. How great would that be?

Would you not gladly pay $3.50 instead of $3.25 if you knew that your neighbor had a job as a result? I surely would.

But returning to my original point, a $3 t-shirt doesn’t usually survive a handful of washes. So you replace it sooner. It actually costs you more than a $5 t-shirt made from better materials. Buying better quality goods makes perfect sense, but it doesn’t follow their motto of “Always lower prices.”

Today has been declared “Small Business Saturday.” The idea is that we all should visit local shops and start our holiday shopping by supporting the small businesses that form the foundation of our community. This is a brilliant idea! I encourage anyone who might read this to seek out unique and quality goods from local merchants.

In July we sought out a trainer to work with Gwen and ourselves. Stella eventually settled upon Stephanie Bennett at Peace Love Dogs, a new facility that was in process of opening in the Spring Branch area of West Houston. Stephanie came to the house for an initial session, then had two further two-hour sessions working with us and Gwen.

In the month or more that it took to find and coordinate the training we had actually worked through many of the issues that we had with Gwen. As she was maturing she was better able to focus and stay on task.

When we went through the formal training we found, much as we expected, that Gwen’s a smart and able little Labrador. Her only issue is that she’s young and full of energy. Stephanie had her handling all the basic obedience work in just one session.

The second session was still just Gwen, Stephanie and I. Gwen was taking on more evolved commands and staying with the basics in the face of potential distractions. I was impressed with Stephanie as a trainer. I thought by the end of the third session she’s have Gwen filling out a 1040 simplified form for sure.

The third session was a little different as Stella and Shadow came along as well. Shadow was not about to be left out, but as he’s eight years old and went through similar training when he was just a puppy. The two of them handled Stephanie’s every command as if choreographed.

So much of the teaching was merely giving us the understanding that would bring about the desired behavior in Gwen. It wasn’t teaching her. It was teaching us. It was giving us specific common modes of communication and managing expectations.

All of this brings me to mind of a series of podcasts that I found in the archives of Ideas over at CBC Radio. The series is called Dogs Themselves and in three parts. The series highlights how our understanding of dog psychology has evolved a great deal in the very recent past. It’s a fascinating listen.

Not long ago we, with typical human arrogance, made many silly assumptions about the mental capabilities of our canine compatriots. Perhaps this stems from the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt? It certainly seems like we’ve long underestimated dogs abilities to understand us or the rest of the world.

We’ve dealt with several trainers over the years. Somewhere along the line someone remarked that dogs can be equated to children around six years old. I no longer believe this to be true. Perhaps I’ve met some especially slow six-year-olds, or some especially smart dogs, but I think that generalization fails to give dogs their due.

In the podcasts one of the guests point out that dogs have a very well developed sense of fair play. This is no simple concept to grasp, certainly beyond many children.

My family has kept dogs through most of my life. We continue to do so now. Their presence enriches us in ways that are difficult to describe. In fact, if someone has to describe it to you there’s a good chance you’ll fail to appreciate what they’re saying. So deep and personal are the emotional connections involved.

There is one thing  about keeping dogs that has always served me well. Each day I strive to be the person that my dogs think I am. It’s a lofty goal, but it has never been the wrong way to go.

Watch the video. Visit the web site. Contact your elected officials. Please.

We also went on our annual pumpkin hunt, this time choosing the local farmer’s market over a more distant source in the countryside. We found our Great Pumpkin for the year, a 125 pound monster (!) that I simply cannot lift on my own. It’s the largest that we’ve ever found.

More pics to follow as things progress.

While some might think his humor is low, I think that this song proves not only his comic genius, but also his strength as a performer. Heck, I even find the video an impressive piece of work. Nicely done, Al!

The Scent of Black (Cahors) from GrapeVisions on Vimeo.

Last summer Stella and I took a week of vacation to visit the Napa Valley in California. We traveled with another couple, also newfound wine enthusiasts. Not only was this our first real vacation in a long time, but we found the choice of topic and location immensely enjoyable.

In truth, we found ourselves starting down what may well be the very long path that is the exploration wine.

The first manifestation of this process takes the form of poor fiscal judgement. That is, we’ve joined the wine clubs of a few of our more favorite Napa and Sonoma area wineries. That results in small, regular…say quarterly…sample shipments of wines that we cannot otherwise purchase locally.

Then more recently someone pointed out The Texas Wine School, a new operation recently setup by Mr James King. James recently moved to Houston from the Los Angeles area. He was most recently involved in the business of wine importing & retail operations, although he is an ex-pat Englishman who has also spent some time working in the wine trade in Australia.

James is giving evening and weekend classes in wine appreciation. Stella and I have thus far taken his classes on the wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Napa & Italy.

Each class was a two hour session involving an overview of the region and tasting a small number of representative samples. Each was thoroughly enjoyable.

Further, James has been very open to adding classes where there appeared to be broad interest. I’m saddened that I was not able to attend last week’s class in the wines of Piedmont, Italy. This being the home of the Barolo’s and Barbera’s that are both amongst my favorites.

He also conducts more formal training based upon the standards established by the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (W.S.E.T.) These are longer classes that go into greater depth. They tend to be the focus of people in the restaurant business. He also gives classes following the curriculum prescribed by The French Wine Scholar Program of The French Wine Society.

We’ve long thought that we should be doing more recreational things as a couple. James King’s classes at The Texas Wine School in Houston have been just this kind of thing. We’ve had a good time and learned about a topic that was already on our horizon.