Victor Lund

St. Valentines Day Massacre

2012-02-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

On this day (+1…..which would be Valentine’s Day, of course) in 1929, a group of executives gathered for a mid-morning get-together. Records do not indicate that coffee or buns were served. Nor do they appear to indicate that the seven men gathered around the water cooler (maybe because there was no water cooler).

Anyway, seven top guys in "Moran Enterprises" were gathered in a non-descript Chicago garage. Suddenly, the regulators appeared. In this case the regulators were dressed in the uniforms of the Chicago Police. So to comply with this surprise audit, these seven men, men who worked for George Moran Enterprises faced the wall and raised their hands (a standard audit procedure at that time).

This time, however, the regulators were not police. Rather they were Al Capone's hit men dressed as cops. Instantly, they began firing Thompson sub machine guns (not standard audit equipment even at that time) at the backs of the seven gunsels from "Bugs" Moran's gang. After the initial burst, they checked the victims and put away any of those still moving. Then they drove off.

From drive-up to drive-off the whole thing took less than eight minutes. The bloodshed was so bad that one hardboiled reporter, from the Chicago City news, walked into the garage, and remarked "I got more brains on my feet than I got in my head". And he had a big head.

Thus, the event entered American popular mythology as the "St. Valentines Day Massacre".

Lawsuits waste tax payer money

2012-02-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

I have to tell you, our local newspaper is horrible in terms of the volume of articles they produce each day. Our little real estate technology publishing company produces more original content with one person (shout out to my friend Emily Williams!). However, the San Luis Obispo Tribune has been doing a darn good job of following the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisor's efforts to rid our area of plastic bags. I have been following the story (online). Here is a previous post about the San Luis Obispo Plastic Bag Ban. What is killing me now is that the County faces tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills to defend the plastic bag ban against special interest groups - in this case - plastic bag manufacturers.

Here is some history. Round one was a campaign for and against the ban. The community wants the ban - and some lame "not for profit" who will neither "confirm nor deny" its affiliation with the plastic bag industry is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to block the ban. They had auto-dialers calling every household. They can circumvent the Federal Do Not Call list because they are a non-profit. Despite their efforts, they lost.

The County Board of Supervisors, representing the citizens of our county, passes the ban on plastic bags. No more plastic bags! Hurray..... but not so fast.

A law firm is now challenging the ban, so the brave citizens of our county who are trying to help the environment will now need to waste community funds to fight it out in court. This kind of needless and wasteful spending in our court system puts a noose around our country. Rather than community funds going to help the community, they will be wasted on a lawsuit.

It only took me about 2 seconds to find the Save the Plastic Bags Coalition website that clearly states "In April 2007, after San Francisco banned plastic bags, he (Stephen Joseph, esq) was approached by plastic bag manufacturers who wanted him to help defeat ban initiatives."

So for the past 4 years, this lawyer and his firm have been paid to disrupt the good faith activities of the communities of California who do not want plastic bags. Moreover, the citizens of California have been paying lawyers to defend the laws passed by their forward looking, environmentally conscious public representatives who are doing the job that the tax payer asked them to do. The waste sickens me.

Here is the update from the San Luis Obispo Tribune Article

An attorney suing the county waste management board over its adoption of an ordinance that would ban plastic shopping bags at most stores in San Luis Obispo County has withdrawn one of his reasons for the litigation but has left the other intact.

Stephen L. Joseph, representing the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, said challenging the “yes” vote of board member Greg O’Sullivan “will impede and substantially slow down efforts by other parties to invalidate the ordinance.”

The other “cause of action,” the contention that the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority should have completed an environmental impact report before voting on the ordinance, remains in place.

It is scheduled for a hearing March 22 before San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Charles Crandall.

The board adopted the ban Jan. 11 after a heated four-hour meeting at which scores of people testified pro or con. Hundreds of others also made their feelings known through letters, phone calls, emails and personal contact.

Under the terms of the joint-powers agreement that created the waste management authority, the 13-member board needed eight votes to approve or reject the ordinance. It received eight in favor.

Each of the five county supervisors has a vote, as do representatives of each of the seven cities in the county.

O’Sullivan’s position is unique. He represents all 10 of the smaller community services districts in unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County, from Nipomo to San Miguel.

However, he comes from only one of them, the Templeton Community Services District. Templeton’s board of directors, on a 3-2 vote, opposed the ordinance.

O’Sullivan said his yes vote was on behalf of the “citizens of the county,” which goes beyond the Templeton district. It is that vote that Joseph’s suit initially challenged.

The ordinance, set to take effect in October, allows retailers to distribute paper bags, but only if they charge customers 10 cents apiece.

Environmentalists have been aggressively persuading local governments to adopt similar ordinances and have succeeded in dozens of cities and towns across the United States. In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban the free distribution of plastic bags.

Other cities and counties across the country have followed, including Seattle, Portland, Ore., San Jose, Los Angeles County, and Washington, D.C. Smaller cities such as Santa Monica, Long Beach, Carpinteria and Fairfax have enacted some form of ban or limitation on the use of plastic bags.

Joseph characterizes the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, formed in 2008, as a nonprofit environmental organization. His critics have called it a front for the plastics industry, which he denies.

Hot off the Press

2012-02-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

On this day in 1468, one of the most influential figures in the last 2000 years (and maybe all of history) died. To keep things in perspective try to remember a few things: Leonardo Da Vinci was seven years old, Michelangelo had not been born yet and a guy named Christopher Columbus was just a teenage apprentice on a Genovese Ferry.

If it had not been for this guy who died on this day, none of those guys would have become as famous as they are today. In fact, if it had not been for this guy who died, the Dark Ages might have remained dark and 90% of what we know today would be unknown. He had created a revolution that changed the way ideas were processed and began the knowledge revolution.

The deceased was Johann Gutenberg....yes the inventor of moveable type....and thus printing....and thus knowledge for the common man. So, you say, let's hear about his grand and laudatory funeral.

Well, the man who changed much of history died blind, poor, and virtually unnoticed. Now, before you cynically assume this dismal end was the result of the failure of early printing, check again. Gutenberg's printing was a winner from the get go. He started it in 1450 and within five years the Gutenberg Bible was almost due. Also due, however, was a loan to a certain Johann Fust (seed money for the print shop). Fust knew a good thing when he saw one and refused to extend the loan for one day. In default, Gutenberg handed over the print shop (type, press, paper, coffee-pot) to Fust who completed the Bible and became fabulously wealthy.

Remember, if you're thinking of inventing the next YouTube or Amazon, remember that Revolutionaries are sometimes killed in the Revolutions they start.

Monroe Doctrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2012-02-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

Should the rest of the world consider issuing a Monroe doctrine to America?

Has international trade made the concept of a nation's independence impossible?

For those of you who need a brief history lesson, The Monroe Doctrine was our young country's effort to declare that European involvement of the affairs of our country were unwelcome.

As you will recall at the time, Europeans were actively involved in America and very interested in protecting our valuable resources that Europeans had an interest in.

This sounds very familiar to me. Like the way in which our country involves itself in the affairs of other countries in the far east and middle east under the flag of fair trade.

I have complete faith that American military, freedom, relief, and aid are helpful to the countries that receive it. But why do we protest when they ask us to go away?

Do we really need the oil that badly?

I am not a political person by nature. I am a citizen. I read a lot and watch news programs. I make an effort to know my local representatives at all levels of government - personally if possible. I have been able to get cell phone numbers and email addresses for many of them. I try to stay current on how they vote the issues, but only do so modestly. I usually vote, but have skipped more than once. I would classify myself as independent or libertarian if I had to wear a pin (thank goodness I don't).

I am concerned that America is the police department for the world. I am also concerned that our economy is so closely tied to oil from the middle east and manufactured goods from Asia. I am not a big fan of Unions, although I respect the role they played in establishing rights for workers during the industrial revolution. I hate frivolous law suits and multi-million dollar rewards. I think that no company is too big to fail. I think that our nations level of entitlements is too much of a burden to tax payers.

I would like to see our country go on an austerity diet and bring spending back into balance - but I understand that it would wreck the economy, prolong the economic depression, and continue to burden the real estate industry that feeds my family.

I guess that I am hopeful that our nation begins to make small choices to preserve every country's independence. Rely less on foreign manufacturing and oil. Cut entitlements carefully and slowly. Tax us less.

File this under #justsayin

Monroe Doctrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

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GE Study Proves Consumers Respond More to Shared Content | Digital - Advertising Age

2012-01-26T06:55:00.000-08:00

GE Study Proves Consumers Respond More to Shared Content | Digital - Advertising Age:

'via Blog this'

Tablet Ownership Almost Doubles and Friends Call

2012-01-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

My iPad setup

If you did not already have an iPad or other tablet before Christmas - you probably do now. Tablet computers were the rage of the holiday. The number of adults with a tablet went from 10% to 19% in less than a month (Pew Internet & American Life Project). If you include e-readers, the market penetration among adults is 29%. Apple was so successful that they overtook Exxon as the largest company in America.

A number of my friends were among the fortunate recipients of the new iPad. I languish away with my iPad 1 - such a slacker! Anyway - I did get a number of emails from people asking about my favorite apps - so here goes:

I use Hootsuite for monitoring social networks including linkedin, facebook, and twitter feeds. It is super handy when I am at conferences or meetings.

I use Evernote for taking notes and capturing webpages.

I have a lot of media apps - CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, ESPN, WSJ, NYTimes, Washington Post, Sun (London and Hong Kong).

I have all of the productivity tools for pdf, word processing(pages), spreadsheets(numbers), presentations(keynote) - love that. By the way - if you want to use your iPad for presentations, you can pick up a connector at any apple store.

I use iCloud to keep all of my contacts and calendars etc. synchronized across all devices.

I like DropBox for storing and sharing large documents and images that cannot be emailed. This is a really handy way for me to save my presentations to my iPad, and make them available at conferences for the audience to download.

I use a number of publishing tools to manage my websites - but I do not suspect that those are important to many of you. For example - I use the Blogger app for this blog and the Wordpress app for WAV Group.

For movies, I use Netflix, but also use the Ted App a lot for inspired videos. I also have HBO Go, which comes with my cable subscription.

For real estate, I use zillow, trulia, Century 21 and Realtor.com's apps. I must confess - I really do not use them a lot - more for research purposes and to watch what everyone it doing.

I like Yelp for restaurant ratings, but also use Foursquare. I make reservations using OpenTable when necessary.

I use the Kindle app for purchasing books - more selection in the amazon store than the Apple Bookstore.

I like TripAdvisor for foreign travel - it was great in Italy last summer.

Our Choice is a really cool environmental app done with support from Al Gore - it is a great tool for teaching children about the environment. It really explores the bounds of interactive magazines.

Whistle turns my ipad into a phone - that is cool.

If you have a company or market a product - you may want to take a look at this article - it has a lot of breakdowns on who is adopting these handy mobile devices. The Men vs. Women may surprise you.
Tablet Ownership Almost Doubles Over Holiday Period:

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sunrise sunset

2012-01-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

The central coast of California provides its residences with amazing sunrises and sunsets. The Pacific Ocean sashays up to rolling hills and vineyards, reaching up to foothills framed by panoramic mountain backdrops. We like it.

Sunrise this morning was spectacular, but it inspired me to think about perspectives. As I saw the sunrise, someone else on the planet saw the sunset - why the two terms for the same event?

Sunrise and sunset are different from life and death. They are more like two sides of a coin - the same thing, only made different by the side you see.

A long time ago I was the student of a great professor (Charles Talliaferro) of philosophy of religion. My young mind could not help to hold passionately to "my beliefs" until one day, he made me switch. He forced me to argue against my positon; and in doing so, he changed the way I think about so many things in life.

As I think back, he changed my perspective on so many things. I gained respect for opposing beliefs, opposing cultures, opposing sides.

As an athlete, I was predisposed to "hate the competition," in order to frame a winning spirit. As an athletic leader (captain), I united my team with common beliefs, common goals, and common enemies. All for one, one for all. The team was only as strong as its weakest member. 100% effort, 100% trust. It was a gentler form of military-like conviction to the team.

Strangely, philosophy of religion and politics leads to many wars. It pits neighbors, friends, and family members against each other in a battle of sunrise and sunset; heads or tails. Philosophers have long known that not even Reason itself can be justified on reasonable grounds.

I have begun to recognize that there can be opposing positions that are both correct - two rights. A sunset can be a sunrise even though they oppose one another.

In many ways, the foundation of my career is accepting this paradox. Putting on the hat of the client and drafting a strategy that makes them win. Then putting on another hat, and drafting a strategy that is the complete opposite of the one I just created for another client. The only think that really changes is the side of the coin.

It is amazing how a lesson learned so long ago has shaped a life.

Is the media failing americans

2012-01-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

I listened to the coverage of the results of the recent victory of Newt Gingrich had in the recent primary. There was not a single mention of the policies that he will bring to office if elected. The 2 hours of coverage was focused on three topics: Mitt Romney's tax returns; Newt Gingrich's open marriage proposal; and Newt Gingrich's consulting contracts with Fannie Mae. There was no mention at all of Ron Paul or Rick Santurum.

How will the voting American find the real information that will inform their voting decisions?

Here is a history lesson: Many Thanks to UBS financial Advisor - Art Cashin for the valued reminder that the media can be dangerous.

On this day (+1) in 1897, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World featured the first newspaper comic strip called "The Yellow Kid." Among the growing immigrant population of New York, the new comic was an instant success. But William Randolph Hearst's N.Y. Journal wasn't willing to let Pulitzer succeed, so Hearst began a circulation war. The two dailies became aggressive and waged their war over the concept of war - war with Spain - war over Cuba.

Both papers tried to out-hype each other on the war issue so much that their pandering gave rise to a new phrase, one based on the comic strip, "The Yellow Kid" (and the yellow ink that bled onto other page). Critics called it "yellow journalism" and most think the press competition started the Spanish-American War.

To celebrate take Brian Williams, Scott Pelley and Diane Sawyer to a cocktail party at Ted Turner's house and reassure everyone that competitiveness would never get in the way of a free and effective press. (Don't mention Election Night the year 2000 or that Florida's in two Time Zones......or even the real primary election results in Iowa).

Here is a post about Political Unrest in America http://www.victorlund.com/2012/01/political-unrest-in-america.html

Farmers leave San Luis Obispo Farmers Market

2012-01-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

San Luis Obispo Farmers Market

I spoke to an amazing ol fella while buying vegetables at our local farm stand.. You see, I like vegetables from the grower, not some third party distributer or distribution warehouse. The vegetables are fresher, and buying from the grower just feels better to me. Besides, he is a neighbor and his children go to school with mine, he belongs to our local rotary, shows up at the planning commission meetings, see them in church, an so on.

We always chat about business; I talk about real estate technology; he talks about farming, harvesting, and selling vegetables. We met years ago when he had a stand at the farmers market. We still have a great farmers market here – San Luis Obispo may have the longest running farmers market in the country. Its fantastic!

He told me the story about why he does not go to the farmers market anymore.

You see, when his great grandfather got into the family business with his son, they tilled the land, planted the seed, picked the harvest, and would run it into town on Saturday for the farmers market. It was a great time for farmers to talk about farming, and of course there was always friendly competition about who grew the juiciest and sweetest tomatoes, the fullest avocados, the meatiest artichokes, and so on. Some farmers had better crops than others and made more money and got larger farms, some just scraped by, and some failed. Farming is farming; you just do the best you can.

After awhile, organizers decided to spruce-up the farmers market. They felt that if they could bring live entertainment and outdoor barbeques that more folks would come to the market and buy more vegetables. Like all the farmers, he thought that would be a fine idea – more people would certainly lead to more sales. So they agreed and more people came, and sales went up a bit. Moreover, people sure were having a good time.

The organizers did surveys, measured audience size and realized that the market would be even be bigger if they advertised to nearby towns. It sounded like a logical idea, and they decided that the farmers should pay a modest fee to afford the advertising. It wasn’t much money, so they agreed. They called it permit.

They more they advertised and more people came, and more attractions were added. “It got to be that more people were coming for the music than the vegetables” he said. Sales did not seem to be going up. Moreover, the organizers hiked those permit fees even higher. If he wanted to put his stand in a particular spot they charged him an even higher permit fee. The only way to avoid all of the fees was to put your stand on a side street.

My friend figured he had had enough. The fees were too high and it did not feel like a farmers market anymore. It felt like a State Fair. He realized that his vegetables sold just fine from his farm stand, and he wouldn’t need to pay the permit fees.

In leaving, he gave up a little bit in sales, which were quickly absorbed by the others at the market. But really did not change much. As it turns out, people buy the same amount of produce each week no matter what – supply and demand. They have no problem finding his stand, everyone in town raves about his friendly service and great vegetables.

My friend taught me a little business lesson, If you have great products and great service, you make your own market – the locals will hear about you and will to do business with you.

Political Unrest in America

2012-01-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

From http://dont-tread-on.me/?p=1188

A rather amusing but shocking email has been spreading around the internet recently. You may have seen it. It is one of those chain emails that, after some consideration - you recognize as worthy of passing along. It says it was written by Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

I often ask people a question - what is the oldest government structure in the world? The answer is the United States, circa 1776. Every other government was revised or restructured during WWI, WWII or some other war or insurrection, or independence movement.

I am not a revolutionary - but there is a goundswell of rational and practical people who recognize that at a very high level - the citizens of the United States are over governed. We have too much of everything - laws, entitlements, etc. I honestly do not believe that we will have much luck trying to "fix" it. There are too many special interest groups - which lead us to where we are today.

After you read this - remember that our Great Nation was founded as a result of revolution caused by unfair taxes.

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them..

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

100 senators, 435 in the House, 1 President, and 9 Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but PRIVATE, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 543 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits….. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red ..

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it’s because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan …

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power..

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it……… Is up to you.

This might be funny if it weren’t so true.

Be sure to read all the way to the end:
Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table,
At which he’s fed.
Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.
Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.
Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.
Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.
Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.
Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won’t be done
Till he has no dough.
When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He’s good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he’s laid…
Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom…’
When he’s gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax..

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Tax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Sales Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, & our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What in the hell happened?

Can you spell ‘politicians?’

San Luis Obispo plastic bag ban

2012-01-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

I love living in San Luis Obispo county. It personifies so much of what the rest of the world thinks about California - Land of Fruits and Nuts. In reality, the county is full of fruit (mostly citrus and grapes) and we have plenty of nuts (almonds and olives).

But San Luis Obispo is also famous for progressive social reform. San Luis Obispo was the first county in the United States to place a ban on cigarette smoking inside public buildings. A few years later, San Luis Obispo extended that ban and became the first county in America to ban smoking on public streets and public places. Thats right- you cannot smoke outside on the sidewalk either.

Now the county is pushing for another first. The first county to put pressure on retailers to stop offering plastic bags to consumers on the check out lane. The proposed measure would have retailers charge a $.10 tax per bag. The more extreme measure would prohibit the use all together.

So I read about this (online newspaper) one day, then the next day, a weird organization called my house and suggested that I encourage the county not to pass the measure. I guess the Plastic Bag Association of America is concerned that we may be a crack in the ice. Presumably plastic bag sales may count into the millions in our little county - but if San Luis Obispo leads the nation as it did on smoking policy - they have a lot to worry about. I voted yes to remove plastic bags. We shop at Trader Joes and New Frontiers - they dumped plastic bags years ago.

Feb. 3rd. 2012 Here is an update

The county passed the plastic bag ban, joining many other areas of California. Now the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition is taking our county to court to try and get the ban repealed.

A lawsuit has been filed against the county’s waste management board, asking the court to set aside the board’s Jan. 11 adoption of an ordinance that would ban plastic shopping bags at most stores in San Luis Obispo County.

The suit was filed Thursday by attorney Stephen L. Joseph on behalf of the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition. It will be heard March 22 in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

Joseph argues that the Integrated Waste Management Authority, which enacted the ordinance on an 8-5 vote, did not complete an environmental impact report, as the coalition says is required.

He goes on to challenge the affirmative vote of IWMA member Greg O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan sits on the Templeton Community Services District board of directors, which voted 3-2 to oppose the ordinance.

However, O’Sullivan also represents the other nine community services districts spread throughout the county. He has said his vote represented the districts collectively rather than just his own.

If he had voted the other way, the ordinance would not have passed because it needed eight out of the 13 votes.

Ray Biering, attorney for the IWMA, could not be reached for comment.

The IWMA consists of all five county supervisors, a representative from each of the county’s seven incorporated cities, and the director representing community services districts.

Joseph describes the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition as a nonprofit environmental organization that was formed in 2008.

The ordinance, set to take effect in October, allows retailers to distribute paper bags, but only if they charge customers 10 cents apiece.

Environmentalists have been aggressively persuading local governments to adopt similar ordinances and have succeeded in dozens of cities and towns across the United States.

In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban the free distribution of plastic bags. Other cities and counties across the country have followed, including Seattle, Portland, Ore., San Jose, Los Angeles County, and Washington, D.C. Smaller cities such as Santa Monica, Long Beach, Carpinteria and Fairfax have enacted some form of ban or limitation on the use of plastic bags.

The Save the Plastic Bag Coalition also has filed lawsuits against Marin and Santa Cruz counties, as well as the cities of Manhattan Beach and Long Beach.

Environmental groups have accused the coalition and Joseph of being fronts for the plastics industry, which Joseph has denied.

Report: Consumer Media Usage Across TV, Online, Mobile and Social | Nielsen Wire

2012-01-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Very interesting report out of Nielsen Today. They show the penetration numbers for how consumers use Television, Mobile, and internet.

Clearly Television is the leader. It has been around since 1920 - quite a run - currently reaching 290 Million people in America over the past 90 years.

By Contrast - the Internet did not start to be commercialized until the early 1990s. In in its short 20 year life it has grown quickly - up to 211 million people. In some way, I think that the internet bubble was not really a bubble. The growth has been enormous.

Mobile is even bigger than the internet - reaching 232 million people - an is likely to be the the first to pass television in adoption. Mobile phones emerged about the same time as the Internet - also about 20 years old.

But everything is growing faster. Take a look at mobile web - 116 million consumers have adopted already. This has happened since 2007. Outrageous Growth.

But wait, there is more... Marketing Charts released the results of a Deloitte survey today that indicates that 9% of consumers have cancelled pay TV in 2011 (about 28 Million) and are getting their TV from the Internet. Moreover, another 11% say that they plan to cancel their plan in 2012 (another 30 Million).

By my charting, it would seem that television is on a path to be overtaken by mobile and internet by 2015 or 2016.

The links to the dates showing when these technologies evolved are links to Wikipedia - it is interesting to read the descriptions - be sure to take a peek.

Take a look at this article from Nielsen.

Report: Consumer Media Usage Across TV, Online, Mobile and Social | Nielsen Wire:

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Mediterranean Cod With Tossed Penne Pasta Recipe - Food.com - 340718

2012-01-05T19:55:00.000-08:00

I Got Published! I Got Published! Thank you Food.com - Just kidding - but I am a little giddy because my daughter is thrilled that her dinner last night is published on Food.com.

Next quest is to have a recipe published --- ohhhhh. Now we are talkin!

Check the link below and read the photo credit!

Mediterranean Cod With Tossed Penne Pasta Recipe - Food.com - 340718:

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Sprint’s Truly Unlimited Plan is BS - read the terms of use

2012-01-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

When will companies learn to tell the truth in marketing?

This new admission by the Sprint CEO affirms that they cap data use for 1% of their subscribers. This makes all of their marketing pure B.S. Lies!

Why would a company like Sprint risk its reputation by knowingly marketing a fib to consumers with a multi-million dollar ad program? They set themselves up for #fail.

According to Tech Crunch - in today's investor call, the Sprint CEO Hesse fessed up saying that"“For those that want to abuse it, we can knock them off,” "Sprint pares back data use for about 1% of users, a practice known as throttling."

Here is a quote from the Tech Crunch article. Go back and watch the ads if you don't already know them by heart (link below).

From Tech Crunch: "Of course, a “truly” unlimited plan isn’t at all feasible — data costs money, and when 1% of your user base is costing you as much as the next 10%, or 20%, or 50%, you have a problem. But if you’re going to have the gall to call out the competition and outright claim “No throttling, no metering, no overages” in your advertisement, you should probably, you know, not do those things."

I went to buy a phone from Sprint, but stopped when I read this fine print about the "Unlimited Data Plan Details"

I will not be buying Sprint.

Even Sprint’s “Truly Unlimited” Plan Isn’t Truly Unlimited | TechCrunch:

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SEO yourself

2012-01-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

You never know what turns your life will take. But on thing that we do know is that everyone Googles everything, and they are googling you. If you do not have good search engine ranking for your name and its derivatives, you could be in deep santorum.

The 2012 Presidential hopeful candidate, Rick Santorum found an enemy when he issued slurs against homosexuality. It triggered a radical response by a cleaver Adult Journalist who decided to build a website dedicated to smearing the candidate's reputation.

The website is called SpreadingSantorum.com. In a tragic twist of fate for Rick Santorum, that website is more popular than the website dedicated to his presidential run. It ranks first in Google for many keywords related to the candidates name.

As you can see, the author coined a definition for the candidate's name that is far from flattering. Indeed, the distaste is so vulgar that I chose not to publish this on WAVGroup.com, my business website.

In truth, I will admit that I purchased this domain name victorlund.com to protect my personal brand. Until 2012, the page was no more than a landing page. Divine inspiration caused me to begin publishing here (actually I had the flu and was bored). Another truth, one of the first things I did when my wife and I decided on a name for our daughter was purchase the domain name, alexandralund.com. She started blogging there at the age of 8.

So here is the deal. The only way that you can legally protect yourself against malicious web publishing is through copyright. To file a copyright suit, you are looking at a $10,000 filing fee - so that is not really a good option.

The easy way to protect your online reputation is to become a self publisher. Write about yourself, your brand. If you are a company, become an expert on you. The more you publish, the more Google will credit you. Google Victor Lund and you will see what I mean.

Don't forget Social Media sites. I spend quite a bit of time registering my name to social media sites that I do not use, like Bebo. There is a huge list of these site and it is ever expanding. There is a simple way to check using a website called namechk.com.

Anyway - don't be a santorum - start protecting your online reputation.

Why Marketer Love for QR Codes Is Not Shared by Consumers | Digital - Advertising Age

2012-01-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

Caught this great article on Advertising Age today. It is a publication that I get everyday and it helps we watch what the big brands are doing in adversing.

QR Codes where all of the rage in 2011. Given that people hate typing in URLs on their phones, QR Codes hit the scene with great promise of widespread adoption by consumers. They make the word clickable. Apparently 14 million people have adopted QR Codes (a very small number) and they are young, wealthy, and male.

QR Codes suggest even greater promises to marketers. The big deal for marketers was twofold - measuring response rates and capturing consumer data.

According to the Ad Age article - QR codes may have been the shinny object for marketers in 2012. I am running a poll to find out if my friends think that they will fade out of fashion like the mock turtleneck. I just started running it and there have been lots of votes so far. Please click this link and vote yes or no.

Here is the Ad Age article that inspired this post. It is a quick read.

Why Marketer Love for QR Codes Is Not Shared by Consumers | Digital - Advertising Age:

Here is another great article from Marketing Charts: http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/qr-code-scanners-unsure-of-usefulness-ignore-info-20598/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=textlink

57% of consumers who have scanned a QR code say they did nothing with the information, compared to 21% who shared the information with someone and 18% who made a purchase

41% said that they found the information they received useful, while 42% had mixed feelings and 18% said the information was not useful

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Ranches and vineyards on rolling hills

2012-01-02T17:10:00.001-08:00

Arroyo Grande California is an amazing place. It is one of those quiet places that you think about when you imagine finding a sleepy oceanside community with a Mediterranean climate surrounded by vineyards, fruit orchards, and horse ranches. This is a view that most people who live in Arroyo Grande see when they look south down the Santa Maria Valley.

Arroyo Grande is highly regarded for sunset views. The town is not on the ocean, affording the benefit of minimizing the coastal marine layer, or fog that keeps us cool on hot summer days. Because Arroyo Grande has lots of hills, we enjoy magnificent sunsets each night over the pacific ocean.

We love our Santa Maria style BBQ here in Arroyo Grande. It is a custom on the central coast to BBQ over red oak. The favorite cut of meat is a ribeye, and we are fortunate to have lots of local ranchers who have grass fed organic selections. We pick ours up at the Arroyo Grande Meat Company, or directly from friends. The central coast is also known for a couple of local cuts of meet like a Spencer, and the infamous Tri-tip.

If we do not feel like grilling at home, our favorite local steak house is Jackos Steak House in Nipomo - a small town about 5 minutes from Arroyo Grande.

Late Technology Adopters

2012-01-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

Technology Adoption Curve

Something amazing happened across the world last week. It has been happening for years, and the impact is really quite profound. Grandparents and Great Grandparents are getting laptops and iPads for Christmas. It is changing the world in the most profound way.

This group represents the last horizon for growth in technology adoption. Depending on the person people over 65 today are either in the late majority or laggards.

I watched this video a couple of times, because it is real - and cements the role that technology plays in our lives - everyone's life today.

The first thing you will see in the video is that this is the BIG Gift for Grandma. The entire family was in on it.

Take a look at the couch. This event is at her daughters house, I presume. The child is a Techie, or at least a Facebook fan. There is an embroidered Facebook Pillow with a Like button on the couch. Couture!

As she opens the package, tears of joy stream from her eyes. This gift has extreme meaning for her, and she is expressing upmost gratitude to her loving family. The laptop has the significance of indoor plumbing, or a gas stove. It represents a big step from poverty to luxury, or ignorance to intelligence. Having a laptop is a status measure among her peers.

A family member chimes in "We got her an external hard drive so we can store thousands of hours of movies on it for her."

There is instant talk of Accessories and Lifestyle decisions. One family member suggests a Hello Kitty carry case. Grandma instantly recalls a case she owns (practical) that may work. She is thinking fashion and how she will integrate this into her attire. Her life image is changing.

Dell should be happy. There is good brand representation of the logo in the video, and even a home run testimonial as one daughter says "I have a Dell, I have had it for three years and not had any problems with it." Then, under her breath "except for battery life, but that is probably my fault."

As she opens the box and pulls out the computer, the tears return. She is having a hard time composing herself. She has her companion dog sleeping next to her. Notice how the dog scampers off when she pulls the computer out of the box. The dog is definitely going to play second fiddle to the computer now.

Notice what happens to the instructions. They are tossed to the side. At least we know that the stereotype of men not reading the instructions is not lost on older women. They have adapted the trait. If anyone expects instructions to be read - think again.

Alas, within 60 seconds, the icon is revealed - "It is shiny and beautiful," she says. Tears return to her eyes.

The camera daughter who purchased the item admits that there was "great emotional stress in buying a Windows computer." A glimpse into the ever requisite debate of Mac vs. PC. I presume that the children discussed it, and the majority overruled the minority.

"It is the most beautiful thing,"she repeats tearfully. Then the crowning moment: "I will have to Tweet or Facebook that," she declares. She is hanging with the cool kids now - and is joining the social media revolution.

Enjoy the video - watch it a few times.

Key to improvement in home values

2012-01-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

The question I am asked constantly by friends and colleagues is "When do you think that housing prices will begin to rise."

I remember relying on the Supply/Demand curve for along time. The United States continues to grow, rising prices and absurd credit standards stimulated over investment in housing. The correction has been painful for many home owners and their banks. The entire nation, and arguably the entire world economy was impacted. But alas, there will be a day when people have no choice but to buy a home or sleep on streets. Recovery has never been a question, but a matter of timing. I still think that is a pretty good argument.

All of us in the industry understand the foreclosure rate, which seems to be slowing, or flattening, or retarding in most US Markets. This is a good signal, and has an impact on bank owned homes - also called Shadow Inventory. The banks have been (incompetent) slow at managing their inventory. Managing foreclosures is definitely not their sweet spot. It would be natural to banks them credit for releasing inventory slowly, but I have seen too many good offers that take 120 days for the bank to respond - and the seller gets frustrated or moves on.

Recently I have been pretty focused on the US Economic policy and the economic situation in Europe as a big issue. Economic strength and job creation has a major role on housing - more important than interest rates. Who knows what will happen.

Today, something new popped up on my radar. I guess that I had always known that if it is cheaper to own than to rent, people would be crazy to rent. This article from S&P is the first mention of the inflection point on rent vs. own. If the S&P has it right - we could truly be at the bottom of the housing decline - at least in some initial markets.

S&P: Buying, renting costs draw closer « HousingWire:

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Last day for the Christmas Tree

2012-01-01T18:03:00.001-08:00

Today is the last day for our Christmas Tree. It has been a wonderful year.

We did not join in on the Central Coast tradition of burning the tree on the beach, but enjoyed looking over the bonfires and fireworks as they lit up the horizon last night.

Startups: Give Us Your Best One-Sentence Pitch | TechCrunch

2012-01-01T15:47:00.000-08:00

TechCrunch is one of my favorite blogs. It keeps me informed of what is happening in all areas of the high tech industry, from early stage start ups to gossip among the technology giants - successful new product launches, and bad company blunders. TechCrunch also provides a significant dose of best practices, and this one is excellent.

Give Us Your Best One-Sentence Pitch

They ask their readers to structure a 1 sentence pitch using the following format:

My Company (company name) is developing ( a defined offering) to help (a target audience) (solve a problem)(with a secret sauce).

For those of you who have worked with WAV Group, you may recognize the format a bit. We use it for a positioning exercise like this:

For (target audience), (product/company name) is the only (defined offering) that (solution).

Reasons to believe this:

1. Secret Sauce

2. Secret Sauce

3. Secret Sauce

This is a good practice for everyone in business. Try it at your board meeting - see if anyone can easily put it together. Ask your sales people. Ask your marketing people. Ask your support people. You will be amazed at the answers you get.

If you want to be blown away - ask your customers!

Read this post to see how others responded.

Startups: Give Us Your Best One-Sentence Pitch | TechCrunch:

Here were the winners

Here’s the ‘winner’ of the bunch:

– “My company, Flat-Club, is developing an online marketplace to help students and alumni of top universities find short-term accommodation by leveraging existing social networks to create trust.”

The runner-up:

– “My company, Neo, is developing an online lending platform to help first time car buyers get an affordable car loan by assessing credit risk based on the borrower’s real-time financial and social data as credit history.”

Four other pitches we rated highly (honorable mentions if you will):

– “My company, Mocku.ps, is developing a Web application to help product design teams quickly share mockups, precisely communicate and collaboratively refine design ideas with dead simple drag and drop tools.”

– “Our company, KIDzOUT, is developing a mobile application to help parents find nearby diaper changing stations, kid-friendly restaurants, play areas, or medical services using our proprietary, national database of over 260,000 known locations.”

– “My company, ScatchApp, is developing a mobile application to help designers transform their paper sketches into working, interactive mock-ups using phone’s built-in camera.”

– “My company, Bombfell.com, is developing a monthly subscription for clothes to help tech geeks dress well, using technology to curate individual wardrobes at large scale.”

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21 Club, New York City / Famous NYC Restaurant with Banquet Rooms - Introduction

2012-01-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

Wikimedia image

Looking forward to visiting New York City in a few weeks. It is one of my favorite places on the planet. I count myself fortunate to be able to go each year, and appreciate Brad Inman for starting a conference there each year that provides me with a legitimate reason to go. This year, we will be having dinner on Friday night with some good friends at Club 21. It is a classic place that is a part of New York City history. Looking forward to adding that check in on FourSquare.

Here is a link to the site.

21 Club, New York City / Famous NYC Restaurant with Banquet Rooms - Introduction:

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Spicy Black-Eyed Peas Recipe : Paula Deen : Food Network

2012-01-01T10:23:00.000-08:00

My mother is a Gibbs. They were one of the early families to homestead in Alabama. She was raised on a family farm that we enjoy visiting for the family reunion every year. Throughout my life, we have always had Black Eyed Peas on New Years day. We are happy to carry on the tradition as we raise our family. This recipe from Paula Dean is the real deal.

In the old days, if they did not have a ham bone, they would use bacon - but either way - start with ham and fried onions as a flavor enhancer to the peas. Add salt and pepper to taste before serving - it preserves the flavor of the fresh pepper. Paula adds the can of tomatoes and chiles during the cooking - which is fine. My mother prefers to dice tomatoes, chilies, and parsley and serve it on top as a condiment.

Happy New Year!

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas Recipe : Paula Deen : Food Network:

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