Nostalgia: Tales from Normal Minn: Fiction : February 2025". :Patriot Dairy Farmers get their Firehose washed and ready to "Milk Baby Milk"

  Well all the dairy farmers in the midwest are getting ready-----ready to milk all the cows 24/7 since many,...most of their  milking staff could be deported.   In short the cost of milk could be going through the roof.  

It has surely been a while since those dairy farms were a small family affair..no vacations etc all the very large milking machines changed that so it will be interesting to see all those aging baby boomers picking up the mantle.  Stay tuned.  

Nostalgia: 2006: Planning Commission: "Is it Complete?"

 

Nostalgia: Plan Commission: April 2006; Is it "Complete"?"

(Ed. note: The following is a portion of the minutes of the Evansville plan commission minutes of April 2006)

Mr. Connors distributed a revised draft 4/3/06 of the Amended Final Land Divider’s Agreement - Westfield Meadows at this meeting and reviewed the changes with the Commission. Mr. Sauer expressed concerns regarding the minimum elevation that will be permitted for openings in the foundation and asked the motion be subject to receiving information for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirming that the 100-year-flood elevation is approximately 903.00. The developers requested that the provision requiring them to pay the city an amount for future maintenance of the storm water detention pond on Outlot 4 be removed from the agreement, because the DNR has required the pond to be seeded with plants that must not be mowed.


Furthermore, the developers requested that the city issue building permits before the storm water detention pond north of Porter Road is complete.


Motion by Sauer, seconded by Hammann, to recommend to Council the approval of the amended land divider’s agreement for Westfield Meadows subdivision with the following changes: (1) no building permits will be issued until the storm water detention basin facility south of Porter Road is complete; (2) no occupancy permits will be issued until the storm water detention basin facility north of Porter Road is complete; and (3) approval contingent on the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirming that the 100-year-flood elevation is approximately 903.00. Motion passed.

Reflection: 2009: Don Sheehan: "Plan your work and work your plan"

 There was a saying back in around 1980 that for small business, the secret was to "Plan your work, and Work your Plan." It was the real mantra for everybody.

Don Sheehan, Award Winning Dale Carnegie Sales Trainer shocked me one Saturday morning in a seminar when he spoke to about 25 busness owners who were facing the severe recession of 1982-----He said there was a new rule-----"If the plan is not working---change it. Following in the old rut is a prescription to failure."

One of the essential premises of the current "bailout" mentality for the banks, is that the essence of the system is ok, and that we just need another layer of debt for not the kids, but the grandkids and great-grandkids to pay off. 

One specific industry that is facing this dilema is the news industry. Newspapers have not in general adopted or have found the winning balance between digital and print for advertising---and there have been some stunning misteps----As Don Sheehan suggested, there must be an essential reshaping of the way things are done in order to survive---and those who are facing their demise are not able to make the necessary changes.

Say in banking---community banks in America are trying to meet their customer---they simply have to since they are local. Big banks feel no such imperative---and most it seems to me have made the decison that they will take the bailout money and use it to buy other banks so that they can get bigger, and thus even more insulated from failure, since the Fed will bail out only the biggest. This formula simply cannot work. It you think it can explain how it can work. 

Don Sheehan was right. "Work your plan and plan your Work" is just an idiotic saying in a time of crisis---the key is to have the courage to find a plan that works and make the necessary changes.

AI Corner:

 when a thimble is filled with the compassion of the federal government how much room is left?

The statement "when a thimble is filled with the compassion of the federal government how much room is left?" is a rhetorical device, not a literal question

. The amount of "room left" is a matter of perspective and depends on an individual's opinion regarding government effectiveness and compassion. 

The underlying sentiment can be interpreted in a few ways, with no single correct answer:

• Government compassion is limited: One interpretation is that the compassion of the federal government is so small that it would barely fill a thimble, if at all. From this perspective, the amount of room left would be almost the entire thimble, signifying a profound lack of government empathy.
• True compassion is personal: The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) argues that government compassion is not the same as personal and private compassion. Since government action is an institutional process, it can't authentically replicate the personal, heartfelt compassion that one human can show another.
• Compassion is not a government function: Another perspective suggests that the government is, by nature, not an agency of compassion. The American Enterprise Institute has described the perception of government as a compassionate entity as a "vile and cunning lie," arguing that government's primary function is coercion, not kindness.
• Compassion is a matter of perception: The question highlights the ongoing debate about how effective the government is at helping people. While some see government welfare programs and foreign aid as acts of compassion, others view these same efforts as inefficient, ineffective, or impersonal. 

Reforms coming for Normal, Mn : FICTION

 Just got a note from Herman in Normal, Mn who has been dutifully going to morning coffee at Betty Lou's Coffee Shop where all the bass fishermen meet each morning.  Seems that the fishermen have gathered a petition to government here that henceforth the ABACUS will not be the preferred counting method for justice and social justice.  And likewise ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE and other lightening fast counting and decision making techniques will not be used in the Department of Defense or as we now call it, "The Department of War."  Only the ABACUS and counting on one's fingers will be permissible for military matters.  

Nostalgia : 2008: Memories of Christmas 2008

 The Elves of the Observer have noticed in the Christmas retail trade, the following: Shoppers are reviewing their lists, looking for deals....and waiting, waiting, waiting.

Secondly, shoppers are paying from debit rather than credit cards, or...are paying with cash.

Thirdly----- if there is no deal....there is no deal.......

Finally......shoppers appear to be buying for themselves, not others. That is a little striking I suppose. In the catalog business, it would be shipping to another address, or buying gift cards etc, . It may be that shoppers just have not gotten in the mood yet, or are waiting for the end to get the best deal. The latter is my hunch.

The waiting for the last moment is a bad prospect for retailers who hope to survive this year Christmas. Many have off loaded merchandise to liquidators rather than fill their back rooms that are already stuffed to the gills. Some retailers have already notified their employees of the end of their employment at the end of the Christmas season.

This is a huge game of "chicken"----how low will retailers take the price? and when. Are they already beyond survival? We will know shortly. Stay tuned.