Thursday, January 28, 2010

Sage-Brush.

Only took me eight minutes to drive from my garage to the parking garage Wednesday morning.

8 minutes.

I used to give myself a half an hour.

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A few months ago, I learned that a space I've always coveted (much bigger) was leasing for a full 33% less than I'm paying, and without the dreaded Triple Net!

Today, I noticed another space that Linda and I seriously considered for the Bookmark was at a full 50% less than we're currently paying.

So while downtown Bend continues to have pretty good fill rate, the rents are definitely down.

**********

So Steve Jobs unveils the Apple Tablet. There's quite the reasoned essay on the members only comic book bulletin board about how this technology will be the end of us.

I figure by the time these things put us out of business I'll already be out of business.

Hah.

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One of the responses to Bruce's Wandering Eye column about "whining" over Measures 66 and 67, was from a guy who said he wasn't whining.

No. He was leaving Oregon.

Oh, good. You're not complaining about a call that didn't go your way, you are going to leave the game completely.

That's so much better.

**********

So, I've decided on a MacBook. I'm thinking the aluminum case, with the lit keyboard. (For all those times I'm camping , or something....heh.) Actually, I'm thinking there might be less confusion, since Linda already has a white MacBook.

Linda was browsing online about the Ipad this morning, and I could see the gleam in her eyes. She loves gadgets. "It's a cool gadget," I said. "But let's wait for them to work out the kinks and improve it."

Funny thing is, I'm the guy who reads a book, lists it n my "Book of Read", and takes it back to the store. The idea of a 'Pad' full of literature is actually....appealing. Can you imagine the buggy whip maker seeing his first car, and saying to himself, "Wow! That's Cool!!"

Meanwhile, I'm going to finally break down and finally, finally get a cell phone. Verizon, with a whatyoumacallit to get wireless for my new MacBook. If I'm going to have a bunch of young employees, I want them to have immediately access to me to ask questions.

So I'm going over this afternoon, to the Computer Connection.

Liz Courts has been doing my inventory for me, and she's been brilliant. See, when I bought the point of sale computer, I just assumed there was a universal data base that included all my product, and all I'd need to do is run my scanner-gun across them.

Nope.

Diamond had their database, that only went back a couple of years -- and they weren't exactly helpful in seeing that I need a much broader reach than that. (I don't just carry comics and graphic novels, but books and toys and games and and and....)

So I walked in the other day, and Liz was scanning things at a furious pace.

"How are you doing that?" I asked.

"Oh," she says. "I just went to Amazon, and use theirs."

"You know what, Liz? No one I talked to thought of that. The 'experts' at Diamond certainly didn't."

Apparently, so far, she hasn't found anything that isn't included in Amazon's database. Hah.

I told Aaron, my tech guy, what she did, and he laughed. Like I said, none of us bright guys had thought of that.

Anyway, I'm losing Liz to Portland next week. I tried to figure out a way to keep her in Bend, "so you won't have to go to Portland...."

"That's just it," she said. "I've been trying to get to Portland for years."

Sigh.

I'm back to my old strategy of hiring high school age, mostly. They can accept, indeed really only want, a few hours a week. Just means that our vacations will need to be in the summers when they can work more hours.

So I'm going to get my MacBook this afternoon, then have Liz show me what to do. She has done all the books and artbooks and I think most of the games, but we still need to do the biggest chunk, graphic novels....

15 comments:

jared said...

Dunc, I wouldn't go the Computer Connection for a purchase. My .02 cents.

And Liz sounds like she is an awesome employee!!!

Duncan McGeary said...

I think an Apple costs what an Apple costs, within a few bucks, and the CC is right there downtown and Linda has gone to them for tech help and they've been useful and I don't really have time to shop around if I'm going to have Liz show me stuff in one of her two last working days....

I know myself, if I put this off, I may put it off forever....

H. Bruce Miller said...

"One of the responses to Bruce's Wandering Eye column about "whining" over Measures 66 and 67, was from a guy who said he wasn't whining. No. He was leaving Oregon."

Or so he says. It's the easiest thing in the world to put an anonymous post on a Web site saying, "I'm pulling my business out of this socialist hell hole and taking 3,000 jobs with me." Is he really going to do it? Does he even HAVE a business? Who knows?

Let's wait and see if the mass exodus the opponents predicted actually happens. I'm skeptical. It costs money to relocate a business, and the bigger the business the more it costs.

Also, since the tax is assessed on the basis of sales in Oregon, moving your HQ elsewhere wouldn't do any good unless you also stop selling in Oregon.

H. Bruce Miller said...

"The idea of a 'Pad' full of literature is actually....appealing."

I have to say the whole thing leaves me cold. I like the look, the feel, the heft and the smell of a real book. The total experience is much more than just looking at letters and words on a page.

That said, the downside is accumulating hundreds of books that you can't give away and don't want to throw away.

Ginger & Jerry said...

My one regret on my Macbook was not having a lighted keyboard. Also I've spent over $20K at Connecting Point and you won't regret it. I can call them with stupid stuff....Like "How do I resize a picture in iphoto?" and they've always been nice about it.

(I have now learned to just type it into google and find out for myself.)

Duncan McGeary said...

"I'm skeptical."

Me too. It's hard to see people selling their house, moving their business, starting up somewhere else, just because their taxes went up.

One of the reasons I'm still in the same location, even though I'd love to have a bigger space, is all the costs of moving, including the costs of losing your customers.

It would be a pretty short-sighted spiteful thing to do.

And if they do, you have to wonder if they're the kind of citizens Oregon needs.

Duncan McGeary said...

Think is, I love having access to information, the more the better.

I'd probably have the damn tablet in my backpack, and still read the paper books.

MrBruce said...

http://bendbubble3.blogspot.com/2010/01/bend-is-republican-country-and-george.html

HBM,

I know your quite fond of Republicans, and quite tired of the old Bush-Nazi connection, and the fact GW-BUSH, and baby-bush presidency were financed by killing jews in WWII but this week the British government declassified some real jewels. Once and for while ascertaining what we always knew all along, ..

Cheers, and keep up the good work for the present Nazi's running our Bend.

Anonymous said...

hbm, here you are what we always new about ameriKKKa, but now confirmed. .... we really are fucked beyond hope. Lastly this proves that my assertion that 'news' in the USA is only entertainment.

Fox most trusted news channel in US, poll shows

Survey showing approval rating of more than 50% for rightwing network vindicates its drive for partisan audience Wednesday 27 January 2010

The onward march of Fox News, the relentlessly rightwing channel that has revolutionised American television news by making it overtly partisan, has been boosted by an opinion poll that suggests it is the most trusted news operation in the country.

Almost half of all Americans surveyed in the poll of 1,151 registered voters said they trusted Fox News. That is a notably larger vote of confidence than the 39% who said they trusted Fox's great rival CNN, and vastly more than the credibility ratings of the traditional news networks ABC News (31%), CBS News (32%) and NBC News (35%).

Anonymous said...

Dunc,

Cali leads us ... please read the following its chilling.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100208/abramsky

Anonymous said...

They ( cali right-wingers ) believe big government is bringing down the Republic, and they're all too happy to wave at cars passing along Crenshaw Boulevard a bizarrely adapted US flag--the stripes and a circle of thirteen stars representing the original colonies, inside of which is the Roman numeral II, which stands, I'm told quietly, for the Second Revolution.

* ( The above is from the above 'nation' story about the collapse of government in cali )

I have told you all for years the civil war was about to start in Cali, remember my most recent economic model, if the riot starts there will be white-flight to our Bend gated community's, .. but then the poor hoards will follow.

Best time in 20 years to live in New Zealand.

Anonymous said...

It could serve as an epitaph for California these days: a gorgeous state with a terrific infrastructure built up over the past century, but no money or political will to keep the place running properly.

*

And this will be the OBITUARY for Bend, .. 1998-2008, they built a nice new city-hall and cop shop, ... but the fact is everything will collapse.

Don't get wet in your pant's because 66&67 passed that will not solve the problem. The problem of course in Bend was a spending orgy during the prior ten years and now the debt is at CAP, and soon all the tax revenue will barely pay interest on the debt.

In the mean time the BULL beats its chest for the State to return the $4M the city squandered on SELLING UGB-expansion to drunk soccer-moms, and getting them to speculate in worthless desert hobby-farms, any student of SB-100 1972 (LCDC) could have told you DLCD would never approve the UGB that the city god's pulled out of their ass. The BULL got $5M land for free from HOLLERN to market the deal. Speculators bought the land within the 'speculation zone' like it was 'done deal', now all the soccer moms are holding the worthless bag. So fucking Bend. The poster soccer-mom of Bend is of course Sawyer.

Dunc for Mayor?

Anonymous said...

Economy forces changes in thinking about retirement homes
LAS VEGAS (MarketWatch) -- If your idea of a dream retirement home is a luxury contemporary overlooking a championship golf course in the desert, you better be prepared for some mighty small block parties: When it comes to retirement living, golf courses are out.

*

Who could have known? Who could have guessed?

Anonymous said...

For an old timer the following would be a "Where the fuck do they find these guys", ... Bend always lag's the USA by 1-1/2 years.

...

a story in today's Oregonian about the economic travails that continue to plague Bend:

Once one of the nation's fastest-growing cities, Bend has shed thousands of jobs during the past two years. The number of families receiving food stamps has more than doubled. Last week, the state Employment Department reported Bend's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December at 14 percent -- higher than the statewide average of 11 and the national rate of 10... Bend was among the first places in Oregon to be swamped by the economic storm, but few here expect it will be among the first places coming out. Not real estate agents. Not business owners. Not social service providers. Not city officials. "In my personal opinion, we will be among the last places to recover," Bend City Manager Eric King says.

jared said...

Unfortunately CC treated me poorly and misdiagnosed a family member's issue, potentially costing them more money. Not saying it would happen every time, or that it was purposeful, but I haven't been back since. Anyway, not trying to be a jerk, everyone has their own experience. Enjoy the Mac, they are really cool.

Also, I spoke to Liz yesterday in the store, she can program. That is awesome. Please know that I am really impressed with her Amazon solution. Though I kept asking myself "What is she doing here working here?". Then she filled me in the Sys Admin job offer. Sounds like the stars aligned for you.