Category: Happiness

Apple Needs to Take Bold Action

Apple is done, say teens

iPad

                                                                                                                       We know this company for the Mac computer, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.  All were leaders in technology.

Many people do not believe that Apple (AAPL) will be a leading innovator now that Steve Jobs has passed away.  There are flaws in that thinking.  Steve Jobs lead the company through some serious mistakes and the company did thrive despite those events.  Those bad decisions did impact company earnings and Apple’s reputation.  Some examples below.

Sticking with AT&T as an exclusive partner for too long

If only Jobs had pulled the plug on Apple’s exclusive relationship one year earlier, the U.S. smartphone landscape might be radically different. Motorola released the first DROID phone for Verizon at the end of 2009. It was the first Android phone that we remember seeing in the wild. It was Verizon’s answer to the iPhone.

Emailing an iPhone 4 customer to say, “Just avoid holding it in that way,” was a mistake

Apple had its sterling reputation severely tarnished by Antennagate. The iPhone 4 became synonymous with dropped calls and signal problems. (Sneer if you want, but when we’d pull out the new iPhone a lot of people would ask us if we could even use it to make phone calls.)

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, needs to go Bold.   That translates to taking on some new ideas for new products and extraordinary improvements for existing products.  He can do it!  The question is: Will he do it?

Life After Retirement

Huell Howser passed away last night. He was the homespun host of public television’s popular California’s Gold travelogues.   He obviously enjoyed producing the programs he presented.  I actually found his presentations irritating because of the corny dialog he used.  He wrote it and he enjoyed presenting it.  He retired in November 2012.

Howser is not the first well known and widely loved personality to die shortly after retiring.  Andy Rooney was the ever loved curmudgeon who ended every 60 Minutes program with some silly but interesting observations. He died within a few weeks of his retirement.  Remember Edgar Bergen the ventriloquist?  He was the father of Candice Bergen.  He too died within weeks of his retirement.  I am sure there are other well known people who died shortly after retirement.

Still, I know some veterans of WWII that are alive and well who drive cars, play cards,  argue about everything, watch television, and are living happily ever after.

So my question is: does being in the lime light impact your life after retirement or is it that those who really love their jobs face an early death upon retirement?

I believe it’s the latter.  My own father worked until the age of 70.  He would have worked even longer if his employer had not said “We think it’s time you retired.”  He was not a happily retired man.  He struggled finding things to do.  He lived 16 years after he retired.

I on the other hand never loved any of my work.  It was work not fun.  I do not miss getting up at 5:30am.  I do not miss angry bosses.  Actually my son was 18 when he said, “You have hated every job you ever had.”  Wow! That hurt but it was true.

So since I have no regrets about not working maybe I will live to 100.  I hope so!

What’s Your Number?

Do you have a date with destiny?

There is something about dates and numbers that I do find fascinating.  Today the Los   Angeles County wedding chapels are booked to capacity.  Just because the numbers are 12-12-12.  I wonder who will be married at 12 minutes past 12 noon today.  Will they be drinking twelve glasses of Champaign?  Perhaps they will go on a twelve day honeymoon ending on December 25.

The number 12 also has significance in the Jewish and Christian faiths from the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles and the 12 pearly gates of Heaven, said Frank Ponnet of Holy Family Church in South Pasadena. The number, derived by multiplying the holy trinity and the four corners of the horizon, represents “fullness.”  Most of us have heard the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”

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However beware of December 21. The Mayan calendar predicts that is the day the world comes to an end. The Mayans were a very sophisticated society long before Europeans came to America.

My number is March 31. My birthday. It seems that major significant things have happened either on that day or a day or two preceding or following that day. I was married on March 30 (not my plan). The home we own was purchased on April 1 (April Fool). The best jobs I ever had were all obtained in late March or early April.

So what is your special number?

Cash is Still King in Emergencies

Do you have some cash stashed away for an emergency?

The widespread and ongoing power outages caused by Hurricane Sandy not only left millions of people in the dark but reminded many of us of how useful it can be to have some good, old-fashioned cash on hand for an emergency.

For a few days after the Northridge Earthquake (1994) the power was out.  The local market was open but to purchase anything required cash in small denominations.  ATMs were not operating.  Happily we had some money.

It’s all part of planning for the next emergency.  Every part of the nation is subject to weather or other physical disaster occurrence.

So, before the next big storm, it may make sense to round up a little extra cash. Some advice from money experts:

  • If you want to conceal cash in a safe place at      home, it’s easy enough to make one. For example, put a roll of bills into an empty food can and stow it deep in your pantry or hollow out that copy of “Moby Dick” you know you’ll never read anyhow. Burglars have  seen it all, of course, but they’re usually in too big a hurry to check  every book or canned good you own. If you’re not the do-it-yourself type,  you can buy similar items, such as wall clocks with secret compartments and Pringles tubes with fake bottoms.
  • Consider a home safe. Safes are designed to protect their contents from fire, burglary, water, or some combination of      those perils. So your first step is to decide what risks you’re most concerned about. You can find safes at retailers such as Costco, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears, and Target, as well at specialty stores and online. Expect to pay $50 for a small chest suitable for stowing cash or $100 and  up for a safe large enough to accommodate other valuables and important  documents.

What’s your plan?

Obama Wins in a Divided Nation

“Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.”

It appears that Barack Obama has won a second term as president of the United States.  While the final counts have not been recorded the popular vote is very close.  Barack Obama may have won the electoral count by a large majority the POTUS does not have a mandate to do anything.  In the popular vote count he won by a nose in a country of 311 million people.  It tells me how divided our nation is on so many issues.

Even as I write this post Mitt Romney has not agreed to concede defeat.  Perhaps his staff is looking for irregularities in the vote counts that could change the outcome.  Then again he came so close he may be having a difficult time accepting defeat.  It’s got to hurt.

So assuming the networks are correct the question remains; where will the president take this country in the next four years?

Kate Upton on Vogue Italia November 2012: Seductive

OK ladies this is my blog.   I get to post what I want.  I am getting tired of politics.  I am looking forward to Tuesday November 6 so that we can focus on other things.  One thing to focus on is pretty models.  This is posted under Happiness and Good Mood because seeing a pretty girl do a modeling of clothes makes me happy.

Kate Upton photographed by Steven Meisel – Video by Gordon Von Steiner
Flip through the complete Cover Story on http://www.vogue.it: http://bit.ly/UqKkA1

Top 25 U.S. Cities by Household Income

The following data was extracted from a MarketWatch news item and modified to indicate city population.  Detroit at the bottom of the list was no surprise but Philadelphia and Memphis coming in at 23rd and 24th place is a surprise.  The vlaue of this information is the indicator of where you don’t want to live.  You might not be able to live in San Francisco or San Jose but living nearby will provide the benefits that come with a wealthier community such as hopitals, doctors, arts, and entertainment.

I personally know there are lower cost housing opportunities in San Jose as well as Los Angeles.

CITY INCOME 2011 Estimated   Population
(IN $)
1 San Jose 76,593
967,487
2 San Francisco 69,894
812,826
3 District of Columbia 63,124
617,996
4 Seattle 61,037
620,778
5 San Diego 60, 797
1,326,179
6 Charlotte 50, 177
751,087
7 Austin 49,987
820,611
8 New York City 49,461
8,244,910
9 Boston 49,081
625,087
10 Fort Worth 47,399
758,738
11 Denver 47,371
619,968
12 Los Angeles 46,148
3,819,702
13 Jacksonville 44,802
827,908
14 Phoenix 43,960
1,469,471
15 Chicago 43,628
2,707,120
16 Houston 42,877
2,145,146
17 San Antonio 42,613
1,359,758
18 El Paso 40,702
665,568
19 Dallas 40,585
1,223,229
20 Columbus 40,463
797,434
21 Indianapolis 39,015
827,609
22 Baltimore 38,721
619,493
23 Memphis 34,960
652,050
24 Philadelphia 34,207
1,536,471
25 Detroit 25,193
706,585
Source: Census   Bureau