Mixed Bag.

For last week's article on E-Books, I was pressed by the reporter to say whether sales were down because of the new technology.

I can never make one to one correlations on sales. Is it the national economy? The local economy? The industries I'm in? The weather? Negative ions?

It's always unclear. It's always in the gray areas. It's always muddled.


In my constant monitoring of the media, it has become a real mixed bag as far as optimists versus pessimists.

Financial Armageddon is as negative as ever -- but I think that's his world view. Big Picture is much more hedgy, and much more willing to tack with the current prevailing winds -- if he invests in the market, it's because he thinks the market will go up for whatever period of time, not that he believe the economy is coming around. Calculated Risk isn't quite a relentlessly negative. Salon and Slate both seems to have political reasons to believe the job situation is getting better.

Locally, it's even more muddy. Bend or Bust, one of the more negative blogs in town, just wrote a blog about U-Haul anecdotal evidence that people are moving to Bend. Say it ain't so, B.O.B.!

Downtown Bend continues to quietly lose businesses and attract new businesses.

My own sense is that this is just the usual spring push toward optimism -- but Bend still remains mired in the Mother of All Housing Slumps. A new overlay of people coming to town, who can make fresh starts? Is that what's happening?

I'm not convinced that all the much has really changed.

I will remain cautious and hunkered down.