"I'll keep looking...."

There is a long essay over on RocketBomber about Amazon versus bookstores.

The guy works for Barnes and Noble, so his perspective comes from that angle.

One of his principle complaints is the new phenomenon of dealing with customers who want a specific book, but who don't have the information they need to find it.

So the bookseller plays 20 questions, trying to figure out what book they are talking about. Only to find at the end of the process that the customer: A.) Wants it now. B.) Wants it cheap. Or C.) says, "Thank you very much. I'll buy it from Amazon."

His point being that you can't play 20 questions with Amazon. It's a big computer. Garbage in, garbage out.

He talks about how he has to grin and bear it. (His characterization of this type of customer is right on -- but he's anonymous and can say it....) :)


This problem is compounded when you sell both new and used books.

I too have noticed the ONE BOOK and ONE BOOK ONLY type of customer. The difference between me and Rocket Bomber is that I know I probably won't be able to satisfy the customer. I immediately say, "You're most likely the find that online."

Often, I'll have the ONE BOOK and ONE BOOK ONLY in the new books section, but not the used book section.

But I've figured out that the ONE BOOK and ONE BOOK ONLY customer -- who wants it now, who wants it cheap -- well, really isn't a customer. That is, if you added up all the sales to all these customers, they wouldn't amount to a hill of beans. (To clarify -- the customer who buys one book is great; it's the person who comes in only looking for one book who doesn't add up to much.)

It's like a grocery store trying to survive on a customer who only comes in for one flavor of sauce, and the leaves. If the customers don't grab a shopping cart and fill it up, most grocery stores wouldn't survive.

The real customers -- the customers who keep you alive -- read BOOKS, not BOOK.

Oh, I take the time to answer their 20 questions, mostly because I think I'm really good at it. And looking it up on Google takes but a minute (begging the question as to why the customer doesn't do it himself.)

Most often, the ONE BOOK and ONE BOOK ONLY is asking because: 1.) He's been looking everywhere and looking for years. In which case his best bet is obviously the internet. Or 2.) Someone who is looking for something he heard about on T.V. In which case, his best bet is the mass market, who probably has stacks of books and has them at discount.

So, I'm usually willing to look for the customer, BUT -- I also try to tell him the truth. Based on watching the books that come in my wife's much bigger bookstore, month after month, year after year.

"You aren't likely to find that book used, right now," I tell them. Because either it's in HUGE demand -- or because it's really pretty rare. Or both.

The thing that bothers me isn't the same thing as Rocket Bomber. The thing that bothers me, is THEY DON'T BELIEVE ME! They'll walk off, convinced I've tried to pull a fast one, certain they'll find the book at the next bookstore they go to.

Instant karma. Because, they probably won't.

For example: Atlas Shrugged.

Here's a true and accurate answer.

If you were looking 3 years ago, you would've found it in most good used bookstores.

If you begin looking in another 3 years from today, you'll find multiple copies in any used bookstore.

Right now? Probably in one out of ten used bookstores.

I have a new copy for 8.99. A used copy would probably cost you around 4.00 to 5.00. You have a one in ten chance of finding it if you leave....

90% will leave. (Which says something about Atlas Shrugged customers ...:).

No, really. You'll probably have to spend another hour looking for the book -- even if you're successful!

Do the math, people!

Or, a customer comes in and asks for Hornblower books. Now -- I haven't seen a used Hornblower book in years -- the old paperbacks and old hardcovers are long, long out of print.

BUT -- they do have nice new tradepaperbacks, which I have taken the time to buy and stock. Over a dozen Hornblower books, including the first four or five. And they cost all of 12.00 each.

"Oh, I'll keep looking...."

Yes. Yes, you will.

I have a long list of authors and titles that are rare in the used book market; but readily available in the new book market. But people who would be insulted if I offered them a job at 9.00 an hour, will spend hours looking for authors and titles which are difficult to find used, but readily available new.

I've decided there is a fundamental disconnect between people's perception of books availability -- and the sheer number of books.

If I were to just order the Highly Recommended book on the site Shelf Awareness -- my store would be bursting at the seams in a very short time.

And the ONE BOOK and ONE BOOK ONLY people seem to have the least knowledge of books, and are therefore surprised and insulted they don't have the ONE BOOK! and what's wrong with you anyway?

I always used the Unicorn example I sell Unicorns online -- but not in my store. Because, you know, if you are in my store, you can demand to see the Unicorn. But online -- well, I guess you just have to take my word for it.

Shooting the cougar.

There are 123 comments on the KTVZ site over this incident. Which is way more than any little old human murder ever garners...

A word of advice for animal lovers. If you don't want this kind of thing to happen, don't feed the deer.

Actually I'm going to shout that: DON'T FEED THE FRACKIN' DEER!

***********

I've decided to vote for the bond measure, just so they'll build 5 more roundabouts. I want Bend to have a new nickname:

ROUNDABOUT CITY.

Better than "Poverty with a View" though it may amount to the same thing. Come to town, twirl around, and leave.

**********

Heroin deal downtown? Really? What 23 year old wakes up some morning and says, "I'm going to get hooked on heroin!"

Or meth, for that matter.

It's not like no one knows the consequences...

**********

"Recovery Seen In Use of Credit Cards" Bulletin, 5/14/11.

This is couched as though it's a 'good' thing. You know, "The dust is slowly coming off the credit cards."

The reasoning is, "...income is slowly making a comeback right now."

"Economists now are cautiously forecasting a turnaround in spending."

Yes, on the spending.

Proof that income is making a comeback? Seems like the opposite to me -- borrowing more money would imply that income is NOT making a comeback.

You know -- debt.

Versus having actually money to spend. (I never actually believed that Americans had given up on their credit cards -- more like, credit cards had given up on them...)

But I guess I don't think like an "expert" in the economy...

*********

I'm shocked -- SHOCKED! -- I tell you that Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook would try to "smear" Google despite their goal of being "transparent."

Hmmm.....did any of you journalists actually see that movie last year?

Today's Bulletin news of the weird.

I'm writing this on a strange material called "paper" with a technology called "pencil."

Blogger was down for almost a full day. (Blogs from Thursday are still missing....) Makes me a little nervous. I have lots of my fiction stored in the blogger cloud, as well a my posted blog.
Makes me realize that while the internet may be forever, internet sites and services may not be.

Does it seem to anyone else that the hackers are winning some battles lately?


Some Bulletin stories amused me today. Big stories, like the brave deputy who is hunting the cougar south of town.

Personally, I'm rooting for the cougar.

"HE WENT out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun
In case of accidents he always took his mom
He's the all American bullet-headed saxon mother's son.
All the children sing

"Hey Bungalow Bill
What did you kill
Bungalow Bill?"


Then there was the headline: "Prineville trucker cited for heavy load."

Important news.

I've always figured most truckers are overweight. (Their trucks, not them....)


But my favorite headline was; "Tronos sue former landlords for deposit."

Basically, the landlords evicted the Trono's for spilling blood on the carpets and blistering the walls with bullet holes...

The Tronos' want their deposit back.

People are petty in the weirdest ways...

Current predictions.

Looking up predictions from four years ago has made me realize I haven't made a prediction about the economic future of Bend on this blog for some time now.

There was one other prediction that I remember making: I don't need to look it up, because I remember it exactly.

Back then, the average cycle of a housing downturn was seven years, top to bottom back to top. (Based on bubbles in California and Texas, there had never been a national downturn in housing, as was mentioned repeatedly during the bubble because you know, cause it's never happened before must mean it will never happen....)

So my expectation was that it would be seven years or more. Probably more, since this was the mother of all bubbles.

The economy, I think, has followed housing in it's ups and downs. (That and no jobs -- which, at least locally, is also connected to housing.)

Anyway, I think what's been happening since that first year or two of significant declines is that we have been bumping along the bottom. I think small downturns are continuing, at least in my business, but the smaller declines could be due to other factors -- like comics not selling, or my not spending oodles of money on establishing new inventory lines (things always sell better when you're building inventory, because -- well, you're spending more money than you're making.)

So...I expect we'll bump along the bottom for a while longer. Especially in Bend. We avoided Armageddon but we are living in a dysfunctional economy.

Bend continues to draw newcomers, and lose oldtimers, and wobble back and forth as to whether we are a hot place to live, or yesterday's news.

The longer we wobble, the more likely I think we'll come back. As long as we don't get a loser reputation.

On one hand, I expect we'll get more of the type of rational decisions made by the Redmond Airport candidate who decided that his wife had little opportunity for a teaching job in Redmond.

On the other hand, I continually see newcomers who come in the store and say, "Whoooeee! We're starting a new business!" (And, as always, it drives me nuts that there is no way to get accurate information about how other retailers are doing, other than the opening and closing of stores....)

So, at some point over the next two or three years, I expect to start beating last year. Not by much, but a little. And then a long slow climb back up to my "goal." I don't know if we'll get to previous sales levels -- I suppose inflation will eventually get us there. But I'm only 20% from where I want to be, and I think I'll probably get there within a couple more years, maybe three years, maybe four....maybe.....

What do YOU know?

There's a nostalgic article over on Salon from a guy talking about how much he loved Marvel comics -- 1n 1965.

Then he complains that new comics are too dark. (Actually, he says that he's 'heard' that the Watchmen is pretty dark...)

Really. What other medium would suffer such indignities?

I look forward to the next insightful article about movies from someone who hasn't been to a movie in 45 years; I'm sure he will object that nothing today is as good as the Doris Day and Rock Hudson comedies used to be. He's pretty sure. He hasn't actually been to a movie, but that's what he's heard.

Or someone who hasn't watched a television show in 45 years, and is dismayed that all the sitcoms aren't like "Leave it to Beaver" anymore.

You know -- true lovers and experts of the medium.

You know, even though he can't be bothered to actually be involved since 1965.

Sheesh.

The simple stuff.

Most comic stores have racks that are waterfall in nature. So the bottom third of every comic is obscured. Many comic stores feather their titles, showing the left 2/3rds to 1/2 of the comic, but overlapping the right hand side.

There can't be but a handful of comic shops in this world that can show the full cover of every comic.

So, whenever a publisher puts their title at the bottom of the comic, and/or on the far right margin, they almost guarantee their comic won't sell.

What a waste.

**********

So, you know, books pretty much come in standard sizes (well, there are tons of variations, but a majority of books are standard sizes.) So to conserve room, we stack like-sized books with like-sized books.

But customers simply don't see it. They throw any old book with any old book-- but a stack of 11" books don't collate well with a few 14" covers mixed in, and so on.

I don't know.

It seems simple to me.

**********

Building a levee.

If my store budget was like a levee on the Mississippi, the flood waters have reached the top of the levee several times since the dam burst upstream.

I have a total in mind that is an optimized number at Pegasus Books; that is, I can do my job without stress. Pay the bills, pay myself, and keep the store up.

We are running around 20% below that number on the slow months; about 10% overall averaged throughout the year.

The 20% below number is where the flood waters are lapping at the top of the levee. I watch carefully, but it sort of just threatens to surmount the top, and then recedes.

This lower number is enough to do my job; keep employees, pay the bills, and pay myself enough to get by.

Anyway, the point of this blog is to say that I decided this year to continue to shore up the levee, even though it is costing me money in the short run. My extra inventory is like sandbags on top of the levee -- keeping the store a little safer, but at a little extra cost.

Much of the cost is absorbed by savings -- on postage and discount levels. But some of it is also coming from spending money, and hoping that the new product will pay for itself.

If I can extend the analogy just a little more. My thinking is -- if the levee were to ever break, it would take months, maybe years to rebuild it. A little spending now, and I might be able to save myself from that time and expense.

I have more or less decided to PUSH for the optimized number -- even though trends are working against me. I have the second half of this year to keep trying to push those numbers up, and a good chance of -- at the least -- covering the cost.

It's almost a matter of willpower. But also of intent -- that is, by setting that goal, and constantly adjusting how and when and what I buy in product, I'm betting I can push that sales total to the optimized level.

Building a levee, if you will, that is strong and high.

More predictions from 2007.

From February 26, 2007:

My mind keeps circling back to the comment by the real estate agent in yesterday's Bulletin article on downtown condo's.

Let's quote it in all it's brazen glory:

"The urbanization we are seeing here is so unique to the community this size, I think we're just going to have to see more inventory and see how that goes before we'll really know.

"No guts, no glory."

This is the very definition of speculation; let's build more and see if they sell."

I'm beginning to recall that much of the predicting me and others were doing was in direct contradiction to what we were hearing from real estate and developers. They were pretty shameless, in hindsight. Yet they were continually quoted by the Bulletin and other local media.

**********

March 6, 2007.

Here's a prediction I had wrong: thinking comic stores would be immune to a slowdown. Wishful thinking:

The media seems to be full of bad economic news; meanwhile, Pegasus isn't feeling it much. Not sure it would in any case; comics shops often do well in bad economic times. My sales tend to go up or down due to trends in my particular and peculiar part of the world, rather than because of overall economic conditions. The major exception, of course, was the depression that Bend went through in the early 80's. Still, I think it's early in the cycle, especially for Bend. The pain signals haven't reached the brain yet.

**********

March 14, 2007.

An interesting comment on the prevailing mindset back then. I'm posting this because anyone reading this is going to go, "Well, of course we had a bubble. Of course, we were going to see a bust." But that isn't the way people were thinking back then. Being a contrarian was truly rare back then, though few will admit it now:

"Interestingly, whenever the subject comes up in the store, not only do customers not agree that there is a slowdown, or even a potential slowdown, but they seem surprised that anyone would think so.

Oh, I don't know. Anyone who reads the news? "

***********

Another post that reflects the mindset exactly four years ago, today. April 9, 2007:

"We had an old family friend join the table yesterday. She was thinking about selling her house. So I told her, I thought she should try to sell this spring and not wait until summer or fall. The brother in law who lives in Bend, chipped in, saying he thought that Bend was going to continue booming, that we were a baby boomer mecca.

Interestingly, our old friend seemed very receptive to what I said. I think because she had already been looking into the situation, and seemed aware of some of the developing dynamics. But what was interesting to me was that my B-in-L hasn't changed his opinion about Bend's growth whatsoever."

**********

On April 6, 2007, I have a long blog about how I think there is still a moment of "grace" where it might still be possible to escape the coming downturn if you act NOW:

I think I'll post it in full, because it turned out to be pretty correct.

"In every bubble I've experienced, there is a period of grace at the end, when it is still possible to get your affairs in order. To escape. You have to be paying attention, you need to trust your instincts, but that moment is there.

I do believe it's possible Bend is at that moment.

A couple of days ago, there were three positive economic news items on the front page of the Bulletin. I then turned to my U.S.A. Today, and there were four negative economic news items on the front page.

It's spring, and if houses are ever going to start selling, it is now. But if they aren't selling, we aren't going to really hear about it for another few months. It's still a positive moment in time.

We are the second fastest growing urban area in America. But that information is from last year. You can ride that wave of positive news, but paddling out to sea expecting another big wave is more questionable. There will be plenty of people who will look at the improved sales this spring, and the positive news in the newspaper, and think the lull is over, good times will continue. That's what gives you your opportunity. You have a period of grace.

And if it should happen that they're right, and you're wrong, you don't look back. You at least got out while it was still possible to get out. You at least didn't lose money, and you have removed the distinct possibility that you could be the last fool.

It appears to me that the fundamentals just aren't on the side of the optimists. Reality has a way of reasserting itself. But there is always that moment when the optimists are still in charge, but the pessimists are right. There is no proof, no one knows for sure, but that's the way it feels to me. Feelings can be wrong, but if you wait for the evidence, it's usually too late.

God knows, I could be completely wrong. And I don't have a house for sale, which would color my thinking. And to be honest, I'm kind of in the middle in my own business between the expansion of the last few years, and the cutting back in fear of a downturn. I'm sort of maintaining the momentum. But this feeling I'm having, that this is the period of grace, is very nostalgic and very strong. As usual, I'll wait to take action when there is a bit more evidence, and as usual that may be a little too late. I'm no different than anyone else.

That's the way of a bubble. Everyone tries to play it a little too cute."

Predictions from early 2007.

In honor of Paul-doh's reappearance in yesterday's comments (I Hate To Burst Your Bubble) I thought I'd go back to the beginnings of this recession and research some of my predictions for Bend.

The first one I can find is on January 7th, 2007, more than 4 years ago:

"I don't believe there is going to be sudden collapse in the retail environment downtown. Lots of change, yes. Challenges and retreats; surges and lulls. I think downtown is at such a fever pitch, that it would take a complete disaster to bring it down. And if that happens, downtown occupancy rates will be the least of our worries."

This has pretty much been dead on; and I'm proud of it, because my only example was the early 80's when downtown had a compete collapse, so I predicted against that experience because I felt circumstances had changed.

Lots of turnover downtown, to be sure, but the vacancy rate has remained low.

**********

On February 16, 2007, is the first reference to what local house sellers were predicting:


"I always get such a kick out of when Realtors' talk about how the housing prices have hit bottom and will rebound in the spring.

Let me give you a hint. NEVER listen to the maker-- or seller-- of ANY product when they prognosticate. Most them have convinced themselves that things are great, and some are hoping for the best, and the rest-- hopefully the minority -- are cynical liars."

Harsh. But not to anyone who listened to these bozo's...

**********

I don't fully address the housing slowdown until February 18th, 2007. (I was making plenty of comments over on BendBubble2). It's hard to remember now that there was ever any doubt that housing was headed for a long fall. The comments are correct, but still have a tone of speculation:

"I've thought some more about the housing bubble. It seems to me that Bendites were much more vigilant six months or a year ago, when the national statistics first started coming in and it first became apparent the boom was slowing, than we are now. So now we think we've internalized the fact that there is a slowdown, but nothing seems to have really changed. We aren't really feeling it.

I compare it to the moment in the horror film, when the character is certain that there is something dangerous out there, the tension builds.....and a cat leaps out. Of course, the character relaxes. And THAT'S when the monster jumps out."

Later on in the same blog, I say:

"I haven't been paying much attention to the Bubble Blog 2, or the Bend Economy Board. Read a bunch of it last night.

Well, that was bracing! I'd almost forgotten what a terrible state we're in.

No, really. I do believe we have been undergoing a bubble, and I do believe that we are in danger of collapsing housing prices. Once that psychology changes to negative we're in for a long haul.

But here's the thing; you just can't put your life on hold because everything may go south tomorrow. The older I get, the more I realize that you can't keep putting stuff off forever.

So I'm torn. On one hand, I'm convinced that there is indeed a bubble popping. If nothing else, just the steepness of the graph tells me that something is wrong. And I've had long experience with bubbles and fads."

This turned out to be my strategy over the last four years: full acknowledgment of the crash, while trying the maintain the store at a high level.

One last post from February, 2007, because it reveals how when these downturns start, things are still a little murky. This was over 4 years ago, and a good 5 months before Bears Stearns went belly up, but I was paying heed to the danger signs, even then.

"I think we are in the very dangerous moment. I know this intellectually, while emotionally, I'm not quite ready to accept it. Everything I see and read leads me to believe that we are in the same place as sports cards in 1988. The slide has already begun, but not enough information has been released, those in charge of the information are still able to distract us with words; with smoke and mirrors, and we aren't feeling any pain yet. No one we know has lost their job, though a few people have had their hours cut. It just doesn't seem all that bad.

But I can look at the slowdown in housing starts, the lack of good paying jobs, the fact that some of my major customers are in the building business, that prices have gotten so high that we are pushing our luck with out-of-towners, that other places in the country that used to be growing as fast as us (Florida and Las Vegas) are hurting, and that the prices are starting to soften. On a scale of 1 to 10, we are at an 8 in warning signs. We're probably already hurting, but the pain hasn't quite reached our brains yet.

O.K. I think I've convinced myself. Because that's what it takes. The prevailing mood is almost impossible to break through, which is why these booms keep going long after everyone knows its a bit crazy, and why the downturns are so painful and hard to turn around. I can't emphasize the importance of psychology in all this. It may become difficult to sell a house at ANY price, and at some point, prices will stabilize but sales may stay stagnant. I shudder to think of all the real estate, builders, loan companies, title companies, etc. etc. employees we have around here. I cringe at the number of businesses that I think are being supported by the boom town mentality (either as equity businesses, or as businesses that cater to the boom).

And all those rich folk who think Bend is so great? Given the slightest smell of desperation, and they'll move along, with all those people who cater to them.

It may not happen. I think it will. I hope I'm wrong. "

Supposedly, the recession didn't start until December 2007, but in retrospect it was already starting almost a year earlier, and those of us who were paying attention were already getting prepared.

Did I say promotions don't work?

I should probably say, promotions aren't free.

We had a bigger than normal day, yesterday, but if I add in the costs of extra labor and the cost of the "free" books to the store, it was probably a break even.

A break-even with the promotional rosy glow.

I would join in on Free Comic Book Day even if we lost money, because the rest of the industry does it and I want to be part of that.

It is kind of a fun idea.

I might be able to get a bigger result if I actually made more effort, but take out the costs of that effort, and we probably -- again-- break even. I've made very big efforts some years, and other years just kind of went with the flow.

Anyway, this is a successful promotion because it it well thought out, has developed a tradition (first Saturday of May, which is helped by the opening of summer movies), and --above all -- has the magic words FREE.

***********

Spent 3 hours in the garden yesterday. 3 hours seems like the magic number; long enough to get something done, but not so long as to burn me out. If I try do this every day off, I should have the garden in shape for summer.

I was thinking that I was farther along this year, because it hasn't gotten hot yet. Then I look at the calendar. Hell, I remember the bulk of my Mom's gardening being done by now. She usually eased off by late July...

Having the new lawns and sprinkler system helps. Still a bit raw. Need more plants.

If I was really patient, I would buy a truck load of dirt and another of manure and work up the soil before I proceed any farther. Which means another year of getting ready to actually have a full garden...

Free Comic Book Day is Here!

I purchased more of mix this year, than last.

Good stuff -- Green Lantern, Thor, Captain America, Star Wars...

**********

I'm under no obligation here to be (Quote) "Fair" (Unquote). It's my blog.

On the other hand, I want this blog reflect business reality as I see it. I want people to trust what I say.

So with that in mind: I'd intended to compare Thursday's total -- with street closure-- to the day before -- without street closure. Both middle of the week days, both nice weather.

I would have posted it if the difference was extreme, so it's only fair that I report that the difference was minimal.

I will say that I had fewer 'regulars' in than usual, and that at least a couple complained. But apparently, they were substituted by non-regulars.

***********
Last I heard, the city of Bend was trying to decide how to allocate their "general funds."

Hell. That's easy.

Legal fees...

Our county too. And our local college. And since we're calling in outside counsel, our state too.

Apparently, county official Mark Pilliod, who supposedly isn't saying anything has said a lot: "A monumental waste of resources...."

What a bunch of winners....er, whiners....

Ultimately, it's we -- the voters -- fault. We let ideological leanings overcome common sense, and have put into office petty (county) and/or clueless (city) officials.

**********

So Al Queda has admitted Ben Laden is dead. Now the only people who don't believe that are Republicans...

(I know, I know. Cheap shot. Most DO believe it, but hey...)

***********

I have nothing I have to do today but dink around in the garden and read comics. Life is good.

Bladerunner won't happen.

Saw the first five minutes of Bladerunner. Quit watching when I realized it was censored and commercialized. (They cut the N word.)

Anyway, somewhat startling to realize it was placed in the year 2019.

Eight years away.

Where are the hovercrafts? The human robots? The Mars colonies?

Did that all seem likely when the future was 40 years away?

I feel cheated.

Free Comic Book Day tomorrow.

FCBD has become a tradition on the first Saturday of May.

These are high quality comics that are created for the event. I'm going to start with letting each customer take 3 comics.

Come on in! I think most of my guys are planning to be there, so it should be a party.

I had a woman complain that it was interfering with Mother's Day.

"The gall!" she said.

"But....but....Mothers read comics too!" I objected. "Besides, you have that wonderful Mother's Day movie....Thor."

Quick Reads

American Vampire #12, 13, 14,: Still enjoying this series. Scott Snyder hits just the right tone.
#12 is about an 'Old West' show, which the outlaw Sweet visits, and the reckoning, thereof. 14 and 15 start a new storyline, jumping all the way to WWII.

Neonomicon #1-4: It's Alan Moore, exploring the sexual elements of Lovecraft.

Crossed: This is Walking Dead, only sick and twisted.

Sweet Tooth: Still my first read, each month. Deceptively simple, but affecting.

When a rule isn't a rule.

Today's Bulletin:

"Event's Weekday Traffic Closure a First For Bend."

"An all new Cinco de Mayo event will close a section of Wall Street through downtown Bend today."

"On Wednesday, the Bend City Council approved a change to the city's coade governing downtown street closures. The city will continue to maintain an official limit of three closures per month in July and August and two for all other months, but the council will now have the authority to approve exceptions for additional events."

"The change comes in response to a request from Deschutes Brewery for the "Sagebrush Street Fare."


NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I give up.

Two new events in one fell swoop.

Let me rephrase this announcement:

"The city will continue to continue to maintain the official (wink, wink....official.....ha,ha) limit....but the council will now have the authority to approve exceptions (that is, anyone with any idea whatsoever as long as they show up to present it will be approved....)

ARRRGGGG!!!!!!!!

So, basically, we are back to closing the streets every weekend of the summer, the very thing that I fought so hard ten years ago. Back then, we had a couple of retailers on the city council who actually saw the wisdom of limitations.....

I know you all think I have been overreacting to these closures -- but I'm telling you, they won't be satisfied until they drive away all the regular customers. The only thing I can think is that none of these other businesses HAVE regular customers....

Come on. Let retailers be retailers. Let customers be customers. Believe me, we get PLENTY of foot traffic in the summer. This actually pulls them AWAY from actual shopping.

I more and more am inclined to look to buy a location where neither the landlords or the bureaucrats or other retailers who have neither the experience (or, I'm just going to say it -- the savvy) can interfere with my business.

I shouldn't have to write this twice.

My entire blog disappeared.

Hit some combination of keys and blamm! Gone!

So, I'll just put a couple of things I remember saying. I had a lot more, ....ah, well.

***********

Notice how it's gone from: "It isn't torture!" To: "See! Torture works!"

**********

So the administration is like the crazy aunt who has adventures but can't help but embellish.

Doesn't matter.

Ding. Dong.

**********

I see other people have noticed how the younger generation seems more jazzed by Bin Laden's demise than even the rest of us.

Unexpected results. Emotionally, politically.

Who knew?

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Ducks in Lust.

Speaking of conspiracies: If the Navy Seals did indeed find a treasure trove of information at Osama's lair, why would they trumpet it? Wouldn't it be the other way around?

Seems to me:

If you didn't find anything, announce you did, and hope you get the bad guys scrambling.

If you did find something, announce you didn't, and make sure they stay in place.

Or...maybe you did find something, but want the bad guys to believe you didn't, so you make a big deal about having found something....

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Another 3 hour session in the garden.

It seems like I get a different weed infestation every year, and they are a different weeds than I remember in my mom's garden.

When I first came back to Bend after college, I was trying to be a 'full -time' author. So of course, I was earning my money from gardening. Mowing lawns, but also doing quite a bit of weeding and planting. My mom was a well known gardener, so people assumed I knew what I was doing. (Well, I did have a resident expert.)

As I was gardening, yesterday, I heard loud peals of quacking in the distance, rising and falling.

Back when I was a full time writer, one of my gardening clients was Ruth Stover (and her husband, who was suffering from Alzheimers at the time). They had operated the two theaters in town, (the Tower and Liberty (?), and later a clothing store.

They owned a wonderful house down on Mirror Pond. Ruth was a funny lady, and I'll always remember her telling me, as ducks were quacking loudly and chasing each other around, "Those ducks are in lust! It's disgusting!" she'd say, in mock horror.

Anyway, I was hearing Ducks in Lust yesterday as I was gardening, even though I'm on the east side. There must be pond nearby.

(I may have told this story before, but ducks in lust show up every year...)

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One last comment on Osama.

You'd think a million dollars would buy more house in Pakistan....

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I was batching it last weekend -- Linda was at a women's retreat on the coast -- so I thought I'd drink some brew and turn up my records really loud.

I was at the grocery store, and noticed one of those "energy" drinks with high alcohol content. Called, Tilt. I thought I experiment just once, to see what it was like.

Well, it went down easy. Too easy. Almost hiding the alcohol content. It had the equivalent kick of nearly 4 regular beers.

Also unexpectedly, I kind of liked the effect. I was kind of scared of the caffeine and sugar mixed with alcoholic, but it was nice. Too nice. I felt very alert and bouncy -- but when I tried to type the above section last night, every other word was misspelled.

I worry about these -- for 2.00, you get drunk quick and easy.

I think that may not be a good thing.

(And yes, all you horrified brew folk -- I'm a barbarian. O.K.? Besides, it was an experiment...)

Life -- and Death.

Conspiracy theorists: On your marks -- ready, set, GO!

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This is one of those instances where I feel I have to address the news of the day -- and yet, just about everything I might want to say has been said.

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Al-zawahiri. Did you just feel that target get etched on your forehead?

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I'm not sure dancing on the grave is the right response. Oh, hell with it. Dance away.

But it shows, we're no different.

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Burial at sea?

Like I said; conspiracies, ready, set, go.

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On T.V. just now, Obama is giving to Medals of Honor. Covered by all the cable news.

Bully pulpit, folks.

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Ah, the gnashing of teeth on Fox. Trying to spin blame onto Pakistan -- but unfortunately for them, all the other networks were saying the same thing.

They just couldn't spin it.

You can just feel their dilemma. They want to patriotically celebrate, but they are afraid of giving Obama too much credit. So they act like pikers.

Bad show.

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Is Obama really good? Or just lucky?

First he brings out his birth certificate, followed by the Correspondent's dinner where he makes fun of Trump, then he pre-empts The Apprentice last night.

First he announces the elimination of Bin-Laden, then the next day awards Medals of Honor in a patriotic ceremony covered by all the networks.

I guarantee that as soon as the glow wears off, he'll be accused of "timing" it.

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I think the way it works is:

Reagan's failure, due to Carter.

G.H.Bush's successes, due to Reagan. Opps.

Clintin's successes due to Reagan.

Bush's failures, due to Clinton.

Obama's successes, due to Bush.

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I wasted two hours watching the celebrations. I'm pretty sure there was a cheerleading squad popping cute girls onto shoulders; and I wondered where the booze was coming from.

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Why am I not more satisfied? Yes, I'm glad we got the son of a bitch.

Part of me wants even more Justice (revenge) part of me says, "We won! Bring the troops home!"

If I'm going to write a novel....

So with those 100 Orphaned Beginnings in mind, I've come to some conclusions about writing another novel.

1.) I have to be fully, utterly committed. I will start and I will do a good job and I will finish. No dabbling.

2.) I have to take charge of the book; take responsibility for it, look for no outside help, and truly wrestle it into shape. It is my job and no one elses. It's a bit like building an incredibly intricate model that, perhaps, no one will ever see. I have to be all right with that.

3.) It's about the book, stupid. I can't worry about who it might sell to, or when, or how, or for how much. In writing the book, the goal is to write the book. It doesn't matter whether other books are better or worse, I can only work on the book I'm working on.

4.) The work process is at least as important as the creative process. It has to be written in such a way that I can carry on my life, but still make steady progress on the novel. For instance, I need to be sure I don't make my usual mistake of over-correcting while writing the book, and then not doing enough rewriting when I finish the book.

5.) None of the above means I shouldn't take a good hard look at what I intend to write. For me, at least, books take on an eventual form and that's the book. It's hard to change the premise of a book. So once I commit, I have to finish the book whether I think it has flaws or problems; or more to the point, I need to try to fix the flaws or problems.

This last point has been what has probably held me in Writer's Block for the last 25 years.

I'll have to make a decision and then stick to it.


It would also be a perfectly rational decision to not write a book. It's something I've thought long and hard about over the last 25 years.

What has changed?

1.) The possibility of putting it on the internet, instead of sending it into the VOID. Or letting it molder in a trunk.

2.) I have more time.

3.) This blog. Which has proved that I'm still full of the blarney.

4.) It would be interesting to see what kind of novel emerges, now that I have 25 years of life experience behind me.


Sorry to go all Hamlet on you, again. To write or not to write. But it's similar to the process I went through with Star Axe. I worked on it for awhile, then laid off, then again, and then dabbled in other stuff.

Finally, I just said to myself, finish the damn book, already!

What this possibility of publishing online has done, has made me face the difficulties of my writing a novel.

After 25 years, and after the ease with which this blog is produced, I think I may have forgotten how hard it is for me.

The following is not to put myself down: I think it's more a realistic appraisal of my abilities.

Simply put, I find it hard to write a book good enough to be published. Oh, I can get most of the way there, but that last boost of quality, which makes it good enough to be bought and read, that was always hard. I felt like I was barely making it over the finish line.

Now...I always thought the 'great' idea would come along, a burst of inspiration, and more and more experience, along with good work habits -- and create another publishable book. And maybe another.

But I need to be realistic about the time and energy it will take.

This whole examination has made me remember just how hard it is -- and reminded me why I concentrated on running Pegasus Books instead.