SWCAMBORNE

“There is no substitute for hard work.”

Thomas Edison

The Wizard of Menlo Park

Many of the small Hotels and Motels in California and around the country are owned by people from India. More than a few are owned by people with the last name Patel. Why this happened is an interesting thing to speculate about, but is not my topic today. Some Motels advertise “American Owned” on their marquees. But none of the Indian owned hotels advertise “Immigrant Owned” on there signs. The immigrant owners seem to be, if not hiding the issue, at least not making it a positive. But enough people have had positive experiences in clean, economical, well run foreign owned Motels that I sense an opportunity. It seems to me that a chain of Motels called PATEL’S could thrive. Of course some people would be turned off but others would seek it out. Maybe its tag line could be “A Clean Bargain”

Our next door neighbors for many years were the Lindsey family. They moved away but Tracey the eldest of the children has resurfaced in Nicaragua. She is working there as a missionary with her husband Brian. Here is a link to their blog site. It has some good stories on it that taught me a few things about Nicaragua and about being a missionary. It worth a look. They also have an excellent slide show on the site.

I recently found a paperback copy of this important immigration book written by John F Kennedy. It has the same tone as the Frank Capra piece in Beyond Borders.

It was ghost written for him and published posthumously by the Anti-Defamation League of the B’nai B’rith in 1964.

For a full review and commentary on the book visit Radical Immigration my web site that argues for the Right to Migrate

Henges are everywhere

If you are in a left turn lane with an arrow do you have to turn on your turn signal?

Olean, New York is the town I think of as “where I grew up.” Even though in reality I only lived there from about 1957 until 1962.

I’m always pleased when Olean makes the news and so this teasing story about Olean’s rivalry with Bradford, PA on the Daily Show made me quite happy. The story is from 2000 but trust me nothing has changed.

Because she wants to be involved in historic restoration Rebecca talked me into going with her to Hearst Castle on the central coast of California.

Hearst Castle is a very good example of the taste and behavior of mid twentieth century American nouveau rich capitalists. Hearst basically went to Europe and bought stuff he liked and had it installed at San Simeon. He acquired tapestries, fireplaces , choir lofts, ceiling, friezes and countless other things. All of them are installed in this huge, 80 or so bedroom, house. The impression it gives me is of a giant gewgaw shop.
“My Gaudy Collection”

Rebecca pointed that the antiquities that he bought were installed and are now displayed without context.

I suppose I’m slightly embarrassed that a capitalist American could take such glee in using his wealth to loot Europe.

Other great collections were made by Americans during the same period. Huntington Library, Barnes Foundation, Getty Museum, Norton Simon Museum to name a few. But none of them causes me the same discomfort as Hearst Castle.

Having said all that we had a great trip, saw the Elephant Seals and  solved many of the worlds problems.

I knew that the Congress passed and the President signed an Energy Bill in December. I even knew that it included a provision that mandated the use of energy saving light bulbs by 2012. What I didn’t know until I read an editorial about it in the Wall Street Journal is that the legislation was “encouraged” by GE and Phillips as a way to grow their light bulb businesses.

This bit of market interference was touted as “good for the environment” and so it won congressional support. If the new bulbs really save money they would have been winning in the market and wouldn’t need a law. But they weren’t winning because people don’t like the color of the light from the new bulbs, they really don’t give off as much light as claimed and they didn’t believe that the high initial cost of the bulbs was justified by the extended life and the energy savings. So GE and Phillips bought a law. It is easier to convince 260 legislators than 300 million consumers especially if you can invoke the environment.
But I’m not complaining this is the system we have now. I have an idea that can use the same technique to make someone very rich. Night Vision Goggles allow one to see with very little light. Head lamps operate on AAA batteries combine these two products into one hat and glasses combination and you have enough light to do anything with very little energy usage. Of course they would be cumbersome, uncomfortable and ugly, But it is “for the environment” and so as we saw above Congress will have to pass a law to mandate the use of “Daylight Glasses.”

You may think that I am making this product up but Golf Ball Finding Glasses already exist.

And night vision goggles and head lamps already exist. It is just a matter of combining the products and buying a law mandating its use.

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.”

Herbert B Swope

US Journalist (1882-1958)

Swope is also credited with coining the phrase: “cold war”