Of Dogs, Ducks & Guns

This all started this summer with a brave proclamation… I am not hunting duck this year. Instead, I would spend my fall and winter weekends camping, cycling, and hanging out with my kid. Truth be know it was not just the time and competing activities that prompted my proclamation but also increasing license fees, asshat game wardens, limited hunting lands and a tight economy.

Then this Fall while sitting on my deck in the sun; it was one of those days you could smell the hint of winter in the air but the Sun would still hit my back yard in the afternoon, I took a good look at my undocumented Labrador retriever Hunter. No he is not Mexican, just a W.O.P. He does not have papers but take one look at him and his pedigree is undeniable. He is one of two remaining pups from a litter of 14 that did not sell five years ago. The other is his brother Rusty, Lost Rider Highway's dog. In the late afternoon light I could really see the gray in his beard and on his muzzle. I was feeling guilty so I started the process of trying to figure how I was going to hunt this year. Slowly I bought licenses, some diver decoys for the big water and got ready to hunt. One problem remained, there was nobody to hunt with. Everyone stuck by their guns but me.

Almost weekly I started loading & unloading the boat but never getting out. Some days it was 80 degrees sometimes it rained or was too windy and other times I was just too damn tired. If you know me then you know how OCD I am and how much this was stressing me out. The next thing I know and my dog is looking at me and thinking “hey dumbass, it’s the end of December and there is only 5 weeks left”. He was right. Two days before the University’s holiday break I burned some vacation time to get into the field.

Day one, Monday, we went out in 26 degree weather and got skunked. It did not help that we did not get out until about 9am. The crack of dawn right? Actually, I had not scouted this property this year so I was not eager to walk in before first light. We did not see any ducks but I took advantage of the situation to properly scout the property. Tuesday we were in at first light and had the last decoys and the blind set right at shooting hours. It was 32 degrees and freezing rain. We were better today, two teal, a drake & hen.

Last year I would have never hunted in these conditions, but this year the pressure was really on to get out. I am glad I did. These two birds in these conditions really got the monkey off my back. The dog is happy and so am I. Is there a moral to this story? I don’t think so. Maybe there is, don’t skip any duck seasons because you do not know how long your Lab will live?

Good Riddance

Maybe the TTC (Trans Texas Corridor) is done? Maybe our Governor, who likes to not listen to us, will finally get the message, through force. His pet commission, The Texas Transportation Commission, which runs TxDOT was abolished by the Sunset Commission Tuesday. The Texas Transportation Commission was the architect of most of our private toll road projects in Texas. The commission will be replaced by a lone Commissioner that reports directly to the Legislature. Hopefully gas taxes which account for about 3.5 Billion per year will finally be used for road and highway construction and maintenance instead of Governor Perry’s pet “economic development” projects.

Depleted Stars?

There has been a lot of talk in the press about a depleted Stars lineup. It is bad to be missing 7 key starters but I think we have become spoiled here in Dallas. We still play a team every night with Brad Richards (MVP), Mike Modano, Marty Turco, Mike Ribero, Mark Parrish, Daryl Sydor, and Fabian Brunnstom. These players are rounded out by young players like Loui Eriksson. We even threw away Sean Avery. He needed to go but on a team with less talent I do not think this would have happened. Ask St Louis fans if they would be disappointed by this depleted lineup? Would they have ditched Avery? They would, for the first time in a long time, have some hope for their team.

We have just become used to Hick’s open wallet for his sports teams. Although I may not agree with many of his choices I would never fault the guy for not trying to put the most competitive product possible on the ice. Now if I just had FSN & Versus (at a cost of about $100.00 p/mo) I would gladly watch this depleted team play the last 50 games of the season.

Epic FAIL

Personally, I do not like any bailout and prefer to let the market decide. But, does the market control GM & Chrysler? I don't think so. I think there is a lot of outside political and labor meddling. By now everyone knows the package failed in the senate. GOP representatives would not sign off on any loan that did not get consessions from the labor unions. Since the fingers of failure seem to universally point in that direction that may not have been a bad idea.

FROM DMN:
"That bill passed the House on Wednesday but immediately ran into opposition from Senate Republicans who said it did not go far enough.
On Thursday, they demanded the United Auto Workers union agree to accept a lower pay and benefits package that would be in line with compensation earned by workers at U.S. factories producing cars for Japanese companies such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan. In an unprecedented series of negotiations, lawmakers met with representatives of industry and labor on the first floor of the Capitol in hopes of striking a deal - the effort that ultimately collapsed when the UAW balked at the terms demanded.
At a news conference on Friday, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger accused GOP senators who blocked emergency loans of trying to "pierce the heart" of organized labor.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who played a leading role for Republicans, told reporters at the Capitol that the talks came close to success but failed when the UAW refused to commit to lowering its pay-and-benefits package in 2009 so it would be "at parity" with the Japanese companies."

You cannot restructure an industry withou restructuring all of the components. Labor, you see, thinks that the carmakers work for them. I think there is some irony about to happen here. The GOP, which labor stabbed in the back by supporting Obama, just returned the favor to the UAW. And now their only hope resides with Bush. If I were Bush I would let the UAW rot. Let the automakers reorganize under CH11 and the UAW will be history.

The new big three (Toyota, Nissan & Honda) seem to build decent cars without paying fat union bosses kickbacks and huge salaries to unskilled workers. When you think about it, the best cars in the workd are still being built by Americans. They just needed to get rid of the unions to do it. Unfortunately, my next Chevy may be a rebadged Toyota.

Thoughts on the Big Three

When the Ford, Chrysler & GM first went to the hill to ask for loans the remarks were varied from all sources. So, what does a car guy think?
Initially I thought & still think Chrysler is toast. They have nothing EV oriented to speak of in the pipeline. That was all being developed on the Benz side, as all R & D had been, before the sell off. R & D is the most expensive part of the manufacturing process after labor. Chrysler did petty good on the labor side with the contract negotiations but there is no substitute for cash on R & D. They even went to Hyundai seeking a research partnership, as did another US Automaker, but were told they had nothing to offer that Hyundai did not already have. Sobering to say the least. As a privately help LP they are by far the weakest. Look for GM to try and buy the Dodge & Jeep badges in the fire sale. Rumors were, since the LP was formed, that Chrysler was just being redeveloped to resell after Benz let them go anyway.

How about GM? Greatest potential and largest liabilities. They still do well overseas, North America is the loser for them. GM is selling Chevys in China! GMAC tanked too. (Read my previous post for some insight on why people may not do the right thing like pay for the stuff they buy.) Their hybrids are good for large trucks and their EV technology is about to kick Toyota's but. The gamble to put resources into EV's and not into Hybrids I think will pay off. As America urbanizes the City-EV will replace the econo-boxes the line city streets. The Volt will bridge the gap. The motor is not mechanically connected to the drive train, it only generates electricity to power the electric motors at each wheel or charge the batteries.

What about Ford then? When all of this started it was remarked that big blue was in the best shape. They are the smallest, they have operating cash, and the new F-150 is a hit. They also got some help from their Volvo & Mazda units on shared technology. This almost makes up for the Land Rover debacle. The current low gas prices have helped too. The escape hybrid is also pretty good. If they can get a focus based hybrid or an EV to the market soon they may be just fine.
So, why did they go to the hill with the other two? Like all of us they did not want to miss out on any freebies! Hey, I have stood on line at the grocery store for the free samples with no intention of buying the product. Maybe they just wanted to see what the fuss was about?
Or, maybe they are geniuses? They could have led the charge to the hill only to not take a penny. Every time the auto bail-out is covered on the news I hear 2 things: GM + Chrysler= 15 Billion dollars in aid, Ford says they may not need cash assistance after all.
I can see this now....Ford, the only American automaker that did not take bailout money from the hard working taxpayers! Now that is Ford tough. That will sell cars.

Ruby Tuesday

I am home this morning waiting to attend Jury duty for the City of Sanger. I envision when/if asked if I would rather be somewhere else I would reply "I would rather be on my boat scouting duck hunting locations and maybe wetting a line." It is not that I do not want to participate or that I do not think the process is important. It is just that the process apparently does not think I am all that important or crucial to the process. You see, since my Sophomore CJ major days I have always wanted to serve on the jury. However, being college educated, caucasian, male, republican (fiscally conservative) and, more recently, a father I am usually the first to go. Lawyers like to dispose of people from the jury that have the ability to look 10 minutes into their future. Obviously, the client cannot or he would not be on trial. They usually will not have this internal duologue: "I should not sell this meth/steal this/break that/do that/etc. because some guy is going to hand my ass to me on a Tuesday afternoon 10 months later".
That's really all that separates us, besides the bailiff anyway. I never, and I mean it, do anything, and again I mean it, without evaluating the consequences. This condition, projecting yourself into your future, was one of the most fascinating subjects studied in my college Psychology of the Offender courses. It is all that separates us. How is this behavior honed? Basically everything that happens to you develops your projection. Your family life for instance. Remember this "just you wait until your father get home" threat. I guess that is an empty threat if the father has abandoned the family. Education? Grades are not instant, you work for them a semester at a time. If you are not able to defer your gratification then you will forever live in the now, an animal of impulse.
And now I am going leaving the house to pass judgment on you. Not that You would be reading this, you would have to go looking for it.