Business Statistics to Ponder

Here are two statistics to ponder:

1.  The Average American Worker admits to wasting 2 hours of work time on the Internet each day.
- Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Page-a-Day Calendar, June 26, 2012.

2.  In 2005, the average CEO earned more in 1 workday than the average worker earned all year.
-Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Page-a-Day Calendar, June 28, 2012.


If the average American Worker admits wasting 2 hours on the Internet what about the workers that didn't admit to anything?  And if that is the average, consider the thousands of American workers who did not have access to the Internet while they were on the clock, such as Postal Workers and retail sales clerks.  Average-wise, that would give the ones that did more than 2 hours on the Internet daily.

Then imagine if you could get all the workers to take a loyaty oath saying they would not get on the Internet, accept for official business, imagine how much production would go up;  At least 25%.

Another statistic is that the average worker's pay has been decreasing the same time the average CEO's pay has been increasing.  So, overall this means if the average worker gives up his Internet habit he can raise his CEO's pay about 25% and maybe the leap in profits the CEO can buy that 2nd jet, yatch, or island he has always wanted. 

And the worker can have the satisfaction of honestly giving his all to his job without cheating - he is  getting a satisfaction money can't buy and the CEO is getting a satisfaction money can buy, so everybody is happy!

RSVP - Répondez s'il vous plaît

For those of you who don't know but do care, when you see RSVP on an invitation it means please reply so that the host can plan and supply enough eats and drinks.

For those of you who know what RSVP means but don't care, come or don't come. The host will just have to adapt for your self-centerness.

You would think if someone cared enough about you to want to share with you this upcoming event in their life it would not be too much to ask if you are coming or not coming, for the sole purpose of making sure there will be enough food to go around and to assure you will be comfortable during the event.

And there will be some who RSVPed they will come and then don't. The host spent his or her hard earned money for their enjoyment and they just don't show up? tch tch. Shame on them.

Ironically, in this case two wrongs make a right. The ones that RSVPed that that would come and don't will be feeding those that didn't RSVP and do show up. Hopefully it will balance itself out.

Adventures of Willow

Yesterday morning on our walk Willow took a dump in a unkempt yard. The yard looked weedy with a few wildly grown bushes. It is a corner lot. From where we were I noticed no one but one of the four or five surrounding houses could see us and that was the house of the yard with the fresh dump. And their 2 windows overlooking that part of their yard had its shades closed. We could have probably got away with no one seeing it. But, the little goody-two-shoes sitting on my left shoulder said, “Do you really want to leave your dog’s mess for someone else to clean it up?”

The little guy on my right shoulder retorted, “They don’t care, they won’t clean it up, look at the yard- leave it!”

The little guy on my left shoulder said, “It is not up to you to decide for the people what should go on their property – remember the Golden Rule.”

And I picked up the doo-doo with my plastic bags.

I also stirred a memory of a couple of years ago when a preacher and his family lived next door to Bob. They lived there about three or four years and had all they could take and moved. They had a little fruity looking white poodle. They would always take their dog next door to Bob’s yard to use the bathroom. I think they felt one more dog turd among the litter wouldn’t matter. And of course, they didn’t clean it up… why bother>
I don’t think the preacher thought of the Golden Rule nor did he have a little man sitting on his shoulder.

The turd-in-the-yard also reminded me of when I was about 5 years old and it was summer time. No one wore shoes in the summer. One morning I ran out and played sand stepped on a mushy turd… it got all between my toes. I was mad. I knew who did it. My next door play-mate Carol Joe.

I went directly to their apartment, went in (no one locked their doors then), marched back to bedroom, woke him up, made him come out side with me and I should him the mushy smeared turd and told him never to dookey in my yard again. He didn’t. Carol Joe was about a year younger than I.

Carol Joe was mentioned indirectly in my last posting. He is the one who had a wreck at Sope’s Creek Covered Bridge destroying the bridge and himself on Valentine night 1964.

On our walk this morning Willow studied every mailbox with border grass clumped around it. I never knew their were so many mailbox posts that were surrounded by border grass, or monkey grass, as it is sometimes called.

I always thought that was probably where male dogs peed and she was in a way just studying her peers. Then this morning, all that poking my the long border grass at the foot of mail box posts paid off. Out shot a rabbit… I heard a “THUMP!” That was the sound of a rabbit’s hind feet springing and away the rabbit shot.

Willow tried as hard as she could to break away from the leash to hunt down her prey. I think with her breed that might be part of the instinct – or she read it in her hunting dog manual – to always poke around in high clumps of grass.

On the way back home I tried telling her how the hunt is the thrill, actually catching and eating a rabbit would anti-climatic – but I don’t she bought it.

Mexican Labor Boycott in Georgia

This past week the Georgia Legislation passed a new law limiting illegal immigrants welfare assistance. I think the argument is that the illegal immigrants are not putting money into the welfare system, so they shouldn’t be able to take any out, like for health assistance and so on. I am not sure how much the Federal government pays and how much the state would pay.

To show their displeasure with the law the Mexicans-Americans did a form of protest. They had a work-boycott Friday. Many did not show up for work just to show how much they will be missed. I haven’t heard just how many took part.

Friday morning we stopped on our way between places at a McDonald’s, to have a McGriddle breakfast sandwich. We like to go in and read the discarded newspaper and eat. A sign on each door DRIVE THROUGH SERVICE ONLY. And then I remembered it was the day for Mexicans to boycott their work.

OK, they made their point.

That evening it was on the news how well their boycott went over. Many restaurants, mostly Mexican, were not opened. Other businesses, such as landscaping, there were no business done. And I bet their lack of labor was felt all over.

I’m glad they did boycott. It gave them an idea how strong their solidarity is.

But again, I think the laws should be directed at the ones that hires the illegal immigrants. They are the ones that gain the most. The company owners and managers can keep their operating costs down, which I’m sure just gives them wider profit margin. I doubt if they pass the savings on to the consumer.

It is the Mexicans with the strong work ethnic that are willing to work at low paying jobs and should be admired be respected for it. It is the businessman who keeps them on low paying jobs and probably discourages them seeking legal status where part of their pay would go back into the system to service them… now the business man gets away with not paying his share of unemployment taxes and other benefits.

I will get off my soapbox before I am pelted with a rotten tomato.

The Christian Way

Many thanks to Judy of "Just Ask Judy" for her technical wizardry on Idamae's picture.
These two ladies are sisters. The passport type portrait is Margaret Julian (1874-1957). The lady standing is Idamae Julian (1876-?). They were sisters. When Idamaie became legal age she moved to San Francisco and never heard from again.

They are my ancestor’s Jason Henderson Hunter’s granddaughters. They are the daughters of Mary Hunter (1856-c1881) and John C. Julian. John Julian and Mary may have died fairly young. Mary’s brother John Andrew Hunter (1846-1896) raised the two girls. Here are the notes I accumulated:
While Margaret was still a child, her father John Julian, perhaps after his wife died, moved to Idaho where he owned a ranch. Margaret was raised by her uncle John A. Hunter, and his wife Amanda. Later the Hunters kept the money from the sale of the Idaho ranch. This upset Margaret's daughter, Gladys. But Margaret would not let Gladys or "other relatives" (Ida Mae's family?) file a lawsuit. Apparently, Margaret even destroyed some papers that would have increased a lawsuit's chance of success.

Maxine Ferguson:
"The Hunters were Maggie's mother's brother and his wife. Very austere persons. Maggie's father (John Julian) may have been Jewish, and that is where the Hunters drew the line. Margaret's father was not wealthy but well off."

Two sons died at birth.

Margaret lived with her daughter Gladys until she died in the mid-1950's. David Willis remembers her as a pleasant, quiet lady who made pumpkin pie for him and his sister.