Apple Is Annoying Its Base!

The Apple iPAD2 is in deep trouble for several reasons – not the least of which is a misjudgment of the demand for the product and the competition In the marketplace.

Normally, Apple would not mind the stories of lines around the block to get their product and the attendant shortages and month-long waiting lists, but then the Japanese triple-disaster has thrown the delivery cycle off just as competitors are ramping up in earnest.

“Rumors of an Amazon tablet have been brewing for months. In August, Amazon went on an engineer hiring spree, and The New York Times reported that new hardware could be underway. In September, TechCrunch reported that Amazon would launch a tablet alongside its own app store. And this month, the Times spotted more job listings, suggesting that Amazon is rounding up Android developers for an Android-based Kindle.”

http://www.pcworld.com/article/222971/speculation_over_amazon_android_tablet_mounts.html#tk.nl_dnx_h_crawl

There are existing models that can compete, including existing Samsung and Motorola models. Then add it to the fact that Apple intends to launch in other countries this Friday, so they are holding many copies of their product back for the launch – annoying those of us who are waiting for delivery of an Apple iPAD2.

It is not wise to annoy your base! I am a former owner of an Apple Computer Store – an I am annoyed!

One Trap At A Time

I suppose I am not the only one in North County who has a raccoon problem. It started with noise on the roof, and after a week or so I went up on a ladder and it was obvious SOMETHING was living up there. I had all of the fecal matter hosed off, and from the vegetation it was obvious that the culprit was a raccoon.

We set a trap, which just proved to be a feeding station, but we also Vaselined the posts – that stopped the roof nesting. Many rains have not removed the deterrent.  It was apparent there was more than one of whatever it was, and the squirrel trap failure indicated that whatever “it” was,  “it” was large.

Then we noted that the net I had over my Koi pond was getting ripped…badly…the animal wanted to go fishing. That was NOT going to happen. I have 28 beautiful Koi (we started with six and nature took its course.) The net was over the pond because we wanted to discourage egrets and other large birds from the Wild Animal Park, who like to fish in our area during the winter. The net is VERY strong, but as the ripping indicated, or raccoons are stronger.

So, I  we went to Grangetto’s  and bought a trap, set it and the next morning the food bait was gone, the trap was triggered, and it was empty. We tried it a second time.

It was obvious that the trap was too small! The trap was falling on the raccoon’s back or tail and he/she was simply backing out. I moved it next to the door so I would hear it and when it triggered, we threw on he light and saw the largest raccoon ever to grace the Guinness Book of Records!

Back to Grangetto’s and the counter man sold me a trap he said” would hold a mountain lion!”

Well, not quite, but it is BIG! We await the return of Mr./Mrs. Raccoon, who will live but be discouraged from returning to fish in my Koi Pond.

 

 

Catch and Release

I see in the morning paper that 406 illegal alien criminals have recently been arrested and deported just from the City of Escondido.

(Activists need not worry — they will be back within a week.)

The problem is the catch and release program — if the criminals return after deportation it is a federal offense but the feds simply release them in Mexico and they return to play the same game over and over. Job security for ICE Agents.

I am certain that being deported is an inconvenience, a bit of a nuisance to be certain and a bit expensive, but nothing more than that.

Returning is a FEDERAL FELONY, but the feds do not enforce that the first, second, third, fourth…the murderer of the Oceanside CHP officer a few years ago had been deported six times. The largest number of deportations for a single individual that I have read, is eight!

Let me admit that we do not have enough federal prison space to incarcerate all of the problem, but if we could just incarcerate a large number, perhaps the real threat of prison would slow the problem.

You Remember What ASSUMPTION Means?

Want to know why it is that taxpayer dollars are being tapped to subsidize pension plans for public worker unions?

Yes, it was the stock market crash, but that has nearly recovered.

Well, if that is true, why is the future of public pensions looking so bleak into the future?

The Wall Street Journal  has the answer: Pensions were based in the past on ASSUMED Return on Investment of their funds!

So, isn’t that normal? Yes, but look at the assumptions.

The most common ASSUMED ROI is 8%! 59 public pension funds used 8%, 17 used 8.25% and 12 used 8.50%.

In contrast, only ONE fund used 7%, three used 7.25%, 16 used 7.50% and 16 used 7.75%.

Obviously, in today’s climate, those returns are not possible, and whatever the delta is between the actual and the assumed falls on the taxpayer.

More Special Pleadings

I note with interest the special pleadings in newspapers around the nation, as Special Interests vie for the crumbs that will be left after the budgets are finalized.

The high-speed rail, NPR, senior centers, Planned Parenthood, public art  – and of course the schools are all pleading their cases in public, hoping the alligator will eat them last.

I am certain that all of the supporters of these Worthies believe the world will end if an existing budget is reduced by a single dime, but somehow civilization, somewhat tattered, will survive.

The Special Interests have even enlisted various media to plead their case, the sob stories are endless, and by extension these stories argue to increase taxes to continue support at the previous level. Failing that, each Special Interest just wants some other Special Interest cut so that their Special Interest can survive.

No one has more clout than schools, of course, because no one has more clout than Mothers of America United, but schools have a special problem: They absorb most of the money.