SWCAMBORNE

“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

Bertrand Russell

from Planet Proctor by Phil Proctor

one of the original members of the Firesign Theater

How many pills do you take each day?  How old are you

Perspective: How many did your grandparents take at the same age?  We are taking a lot more pills.  They must be working.

Pharmaceuticals have arrived in the last century.  It is no wonder that the companies in this business are doing well.  Their market has grown phenomenally.  Much of the growth is in pills that you have to take every day to maintain health.  Things like cholesterol medicine.  It seems like a little thing but it is a big change and will auger other changes.  Like less power for doctors over time and more for pharmicist and testing centers.

One last thought: If medication prices are controlled by the government, will the rapid pace of new pharmaceutical development continue?

Here is an idea for someone who likes craft fairs, dogs, photography and making money.

Set up a booth at a crafts fair have good lighting and a variety of back drops.

Missy is the poster dog for this idea

For ten dollars people can have their dogs picture taken and have a print to take home.  Sell them others for more money right there and on line.  We were at the Wisteria Festival in Sierra Madre recently and there were so many dogs around that I had this great idea which I am now giving to you.

People with dogs will spend plenty of money to get keepsakes of them and at crafts fairs they are expecting to spend some money.

The best diving near Puerto Galera in the Philippines is at Verde Island and the best dive site on Verde Island is the Pinnacles.  We liked it so much our first day we immediately booked a boat for the next day to go back.  There were 12 divers on the boat and we had two dive masters.  The boat had a captain and one crew member.  When we came up from the first dive the sea had become very rough and the boat was only a few yards from the rocks.

We grabbed the line off the stern of the boat and tried to get on board.  The captain had to stay at the helm and the crewman was busy not getting washed out of the well.  Both dive masters were in the water keeping the divers on the line away from the prop and the rocks.  Gene, Howard and I were the first ones on the boat and we turned around and started pulling the others into the boat some of them in all of their gear.

It was quite an adrenaline rush.  No one was hurt, Chris Huss took some great photos and then we went somewhere calmer for the next dive.

Howard dubbed us the “Dive Militia”.  A self organizing group of citizen who help out when necessary.

Employers dread the “Employee Free Choice Act.”  They say it will make it possible to coerce workers into publicly checking a card for a union because it eliminates the need for a secret ballot in Union elections.  Unions love it.  They believe that organizing a workplace today is too hard and that management uses today’s structured certification process to intimidate workers.  I say that change is….

But I have a question?  Will it be possible to use “Card Check” to de-certify from one union and join another one.  It should be.  That simple act would make Unions compete and competition is good it lowers costs and improves service.

I propose to start Simons Discount Union.  This is an example of how it will work: Teachers in California pay about $100 per month in Union dues.  Simons Discount Union (SDU) will give the same representiation for $50 per month saving the average teacher $500 a year.

SDU’s proposal will be simple: “All you have to do is check this card asking to change union representation.  Your card stays secret until we have cards from a majority of the teacher in this district.  Then we start saving you money.”