danielo

Would it be possible for a business to offer total transparency of
actual wages and salaries? Could a business operate so cleanly, and so
honestly, that it could make known to ALL employees the actual wages
and salaries paid to all employees?

I think it would require a system for establishing pay scales, and for
administering raises and bonuses, that is 100% objectively defensible,
so that it could be defended in all cases. Of course, it would also
require a rigorous application of such a system.

I think the reason you don't see total transparency in this area now
is that it would lead to revolt. "Why does he make more than me?!" If
that question could be answered in an honest, objective, and logical
way, could the revolution be avoided?

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The largest athletic event in the world inspired me to try for a
personal record for sitting on my ass watching TV this weekend. I
watched an average of 5 hours of TV on both Saturday and Sunday.
Including the opening ceremonies of the 29th Olympics (of the modern
era), which were exceptional, except.....

China spent $300 million on a spectacle that has, for the time being,
trumped every Olympic opening ceremony before it. And NBC, the network
given Olympic rights, couldn't spare 3 hours of air time to air it
commercial-free. Instead, the legendary event was interrupted every 20
minutes so we could watch ads for McDonalds, Chevy, and face creme.

My only hope is that the IOC takes the next Olympics away from NBC.

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Exciting news today! I may be honored with an appointment to an office
in the Kingdom of Talossa Royal House. The King is presently attending
to duties related to the recent passing of his father, so he is not
making any royal appointments for a short while. More to come....

Kingdom of Talossa:
http://www.kingdomoftalossa.net/index.cgi

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Why does it still come as a surprise to people that there may be more
than one "John" working at a business? If you're calling "Felicity,"
then maybe you can skip the last name.

It is acceptable to have caller ID but no voice mail. "I saw this
number on my caller ID" is a ridiculous way to start a phone
conversation.

If you call me at work and ask for a price on something, and you don't
know one piece of information I need to get you that price, but you
didn't know that I would need that information, then you're ignorant.
If, when I ask for that information, you say "I knew you were gonna
ask me for that," then you're stupid.

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Burt's Bees soap/lotion gift basket (blog contest)
Ibex cycling jersey, retail $125 (Twitter contest)
Signed photograph print (blog contest)
CD/tshirt/bag gift pack (blog contest)
3 CDs/stickers gift pack (blog contest)
$20 Gift cert to The Bungalow restaurant (newsletter contest)
Jar gourmet peanut butter (Twitter contest)

I feel like there's something else, but I can't remember now. I'll
track them better from now on. How do I win? I have a search feed set
up on RSS that scans for contests in the blogosphere, and I enter
anything that's super easy, like leaving a comment.

Here's something potentially relevent: http://danielo.org/lifeliens

(UPDATE: I remember! I won a zombie button, too, by blog contest.
I estimate my total winnings at about $340 so far.)

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After the kid's ride at this year's Boise Twilight Criterium, my son
(aged 5 years) got a poster of Kristin Armstrong signed by the
Olympian. Then we watched her kicking major ass in the races later. He
watched her like a hawk during the race, and has told every person
he's talked to since then that he rode with her, and that she won the
race "by a whole time around!" Since that day, he hasn't stopped
talking about her, and keeps asking me when the Olympics will be on TV
so we can see her.

Thanks, Kristin, for boosting my efforts to raise a son that loves
cycling. Huzzah!

http://www.kristinarmstrongusa.com

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"I can't give up my car! I need it to run errands at lunch! I need it
to get the kids to band practice! There's no safe way to cycle to
work!"

LIES LIES LIES.

Not meant to deceive the listener, these statements instead deceive
the speaker into believing that their life contains "problems" that
only an automobile can solve.The creation of "problems" where there
are none is typical of the self-deluding language involved in
addiction. When an alcoholic considers life without drinking, he
worries, "How will I relax after work? What will I do when I go out
with my friends?" The lies help to preserve the addiction.

The automobile addict lies to himself daily in order to shore up an
illusion of personal freedom created by a life built around their
addiction. When perceived comfort is threatened by pressure to kick
the addiction, such self-deceiving lies make it easy to talk oneself
out of change.

I am reluctant to use the word "freedom" in the context of my feelings
about cycling, because the tradition of linking the word to the crutch
of automobile addiction (and the ruse of "anti-terrorism, but that's
another story) has largely ruined it. When you suggest that a driver
leave their car at home, they hear "give up your freedom." That makes
it difficult, if not impossible, to convey the feeling of not having a
car to one who can't imagine living without one. And yet, the one word
that comes to mind every time I settle into a ride is FREEDOM.

I was over a year car-free before I began to sense the freedom of an
automobile-less life. I think it takes a commitment to a full year --
four full seasons (if you're blessed to live in an area with four
seasons, as I am) -- before it sinks in. There is something
indescribably amazing in knowing that no weather, however upsetting to
the driver, can stop you from pedalling -- and enjoying pedalling --
your way around life. I can't imagine going back to relying on an
automobile now.

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Tim Woodward is right -- bicycles abound in Boise now, and it's a
great thing to see (aside from the zombies he aptly laments):

http://www.idahostatesman.com/life/story/449090.html

But he misses the mark when he suggests that the "conventional wisdom"
that "nothing would get Americans out of their cars" is fading.
Automobile addiction is as strong as it ever was, if not stronger.
Consider how many times smokers quit smoking, and how all it takes is
one stressful day to set their habit back in motion. That stress is
coming for the new cyclists -- it's called WINTER.

Mark my words: the 19% increase in ridership Woodward cites will be
gone next spring, and the addiction will take hold again.

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I whipped up the two images below, to go along with my "change the message" campaign mentioned in a previous post (here).

Which one makes more sense?

   

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This:

http://seysomething.blogspot.com/2008/07/republic-tigers-contest.html

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