E-liberty.org Turns 4

We are now a google page rank of 4. That means I have 6 more posts to make.
Woohoo.

Utah

I will be leaving on a jet plane for Salt Lake City tomorrow. My hiatus from sanity will be ending after I take my last final tonight. It will be nice to breathe the dry heat mountain air at 5,000 feet above sea level. or 10,000, whatever. Well, it was something to blog about.

e-Liberty.org Turns 3!!!!!!!

As of July 14, 2005 e-Liberty.org has attained a google.com rank of 3. This is a stellar day, as the site has only been up for about 6 months. As we move up the rankings we will try not to forget about the little people and bring our friends' blogs with us. Peace out.

Top 5 things I hate about LISTS!

Everywhere I go there are lists, top 10 things you should say to your next ex-wife, seven things you should do to look thinner than you are, 101 ways to love your dog better. The world has become an endless supply of 10 second "pick me ups" that are going to make everyone's life better. It is amazing to think that no real effort is needed, just $3.95 for a trite magazine and you can "check mark" your way to a healthy, well-rounded life. Then to make sure that you are following the lists closely enough every few issues the editors will throw in an "editor's choice" quiz that will really, truly, ultimately, surely, beyond all reason tell you if you are ______. In the blank feel free to imagine all the things you, a complex human being could possibly be in the eyes of a cosmo editor. I'll give you a minute.
At some point I can see this list thing really moving into the mainstream news. Top 10 reasons Bin Laden hates you. Four Best ways to quickly disarm a weapon of mass destruction (with a swiss army knife). 101 ways to tell if you neighbor is a terrorist. And the follow-up quiz could be: Are you a Macgyver or a McLean? 10 ways to tell. Personally, I think I'm more of a MacGyver. I mean, I have a swiss army knife, thanks to Derek. I was in the *cough* boy scouts. I wouldn't enjoy shooting someone. And to avoid using a firearm on many occaisions I have created hot air balloons out of wet afghans that I crocheted while government conspirators were hunting Teri Hatcher and myself. I have never blown up the Nakatomi Building (AKA the FOX building) and I'm not a New York Cop having domestic problems with my highly successful wife. Yeah, I think I'd get a 9 on that quiz.
So here it comes, the top 5 things I hate about lists!
(Hmm... is this contrary and hypocritical? Make your own list of why this might be and post it.)
5. Common Sense.
The title of the article is "5 things to spice up your love life"
#1 thing is: Spend time together
So to engage in coitus we must physically be at a close proximity? That's News.
4. Four out of the five ways to spice it up you already knew because you read it last month when it was called "4 ways to spend more time together, and be spicy.
3. Spicy has taken on an entirely new meaning, that has nothing to do with food.
2. Letterman Killed Them.
1. Sometimes they have 4 reasons, but think 5 will look better.

Detroit Motor Companies

For parallelism I suppose I should comment on things that have to do with the north eastern half of the United States. In this spirit it would be prudent of me to mention the current price war between the "pride of the yankees," Detroit's auto manufacturing giants.
It has been quite obvious to Americans that over the last few decades we have been losing the "auto" race to foreign competitors. Sales have been stagnate as gas prices have gone up and American reliability has gone down. In turn, the steel competition between the U.S. and our Asian counterparts has weakened our ability to produce cars at a competitive advantage, making it more expensive for U.S. consumers to "buy American."
American auto manufacturers have also felt pressure from foreign automakers because of the Just-in-Time system that has made Toyota the award winner for reliabilty so many years running. It is no wonder that their vehicles have such a high resale value.
I find it amazing how much branding can be associated with American auto makers. It seems a waste of money to have models under two different brand names that are almost identical. It is understandable that there is value and merit in branding and developing a namesake. However, it would seem very costly to uphold each of those brands. Very, very costly.
I also fear that the American motor companies are lagging behind in their methodology. They seem very caught up with the short term goals, and have made fewer strides to develop models for future consumers. American manufacturers have made their greatest strides with extremely large, overkill vehicles like Suburbans and Hummers. These vehicles are ineffecient on a number of fronts. First of all they are expensive. Secondly they are not as stable as other vehicles and have a higher risk of rollover. Anytime a vehicle flips over it increases the risk of serious injury by something around 90%. And serious means, somewhere along the lines of being between a living vegatable and a dead one. Third, the large vehicles not only cause more damage and can increase the risk of serious injury, but along with this comes high insurance rates for the drivers. This in turn increases the overall insurance rates because SUV's and cars are not independent of one another, and as the number of SUV's increases the greater the chance of a car hitting one, and greater damage being caused. Lastly, the fuel economy of SUV's is extremely poor. It has been projected that our natural gas and oil will run out by around 2080. Although we do have time, it seems that whatever company wins the race in developing more efficient cars, or possibly develops the use of an alternate fuel source, would gain the largest competitive advantage over its competitors.
It seems at this point in the race American manufacturers are lagging behind Honda and Toyota. I understand that there is still a market for larger vehicles and that it would be stupid for American manufacturers not to cater to this market. However, selling SUV's is not the answer to their multi-billion dollar problems.
Another problem I see with American manufacturers is the lack of a good warranty. Hyundai, for instance has a 10 year warranty plan. Not only do they have an unbelievable warranty, they have also been getting good reviews from J.D. Power and Associates for reliability. They are standing behind their product with a warranty, because it is reliable. Imagine that! Ford offers basic three year warranties on most of their vehicles and it really quelches my desire to spend 12,000-20,000 dollars on a car that they do not even believe will work for more than three years.
In conclusion it seems that the American auto makers are slipping and although they have begun an intense marketing campaign to sell cars at a lower than normal price, it will only give them short term profits that will not contribute the kind of capital necessary to push them beyond the competition. There is serious need for a reevaluation of goals within the corporations. As it stands the companies should recommit to quality and safety foremost. A safe and reliable car is what most Americans desire. Secondly, fuel efficiency is of growing concern and the foreign competitors have dealt with that type of market in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Russia for decades and they have a decided advantage in the efficiency market. Therefore, it is imperative that our companies invest in cars that will be economical and efficient on the road. Lastly, make people want to buy American again. It may not always be the most economically efficient idea, but in order to build and develop into the strong powerhouses of yesteryear our companies need to reinstill the life that American motor companies once had in American driveways.
And maybe a little prayer wouldn't hurt.

Thanks Drew!

Drew you have unknowlingly contributed to my blogging efforts. Leave me a comment whenever you find out.

This is my first Post.

There are so many things to say, thankfully someone has already said them before. As per the request of my friend and business associate Derek I have created this chronicle of my inner most thoughts, those suitable for public viewing, to further our business gains. It will be my concerted effort to make your cyber-experience of me interesting, but not too interesting.

See ya'll real soon.