There is a pending Hurricane Wally this year, and we are already up to Ida. Wouldn’t that be ironic, getting wiped out by the old namesake. Wallace headed for Big Lots (discount mart) to stock up on supplies. Here is a good old Colman kerosene lamp I found in the electric closet. At first it was a mystery, since these things sell for $85 each. I vaguely remember finding one that “smelled bad” at the flea market. This must be it even if I don’t remember buying the thing. It has new mantles.
Kimmie, a new friend of Wallace’s, was over for coffee. She is talking about heading for Costa Rica. I agree. There is a large contingent of Americans coming up about to try to retire on $800 per month. (For the record, I generally avoid political talk in this blog, but I predicted in 2002 that the next large financial fiasco will be corruption of the working class retirement investments. Enron, Madoff and Social Security will seem like angels when the real trouble starts.)We chatted about the availability of American grade services in Latin America and she knows people who have already bailed. This got me thinking about all these instances here in America where dentists and such are caught practicing without a license. You know, from a garage in Hialeah. It sounds bad, but I’ll bet they are fully equipped inside. For all the huff from the government, isn’t it a funny thing how you never hear any complaints about the quality of the actual dental work? I’m just sayin’.
Arnel called to say his weekend at the beach was wiped out by unseasonal wind. This confirms Wallace’s report of rough waves and drifting sand, preventing his usual swim with Millie. The sand is blowing across A1A, the main coastal road with a name that is designed to be almost as difficult to type as a Canadian Postal Code. This is a tough situation for Arnel, as the top beach places (Toucans, RipTide, Walkabout) are all open seating or Tiki bars. No play, no pay.
You know what is embarrassing? Air Force One. What a symbol of how DC has made enemies of the whole world. Then I saw the fleet of Galaxy transports that bring along the support staff. What have we become? Why can’t our president walk down a foreign street in his shirt-sleeves? He should be made to do so until he cleans up his act. Instead he has a 35-ton blast proof car they fly around for him. Put the guy in a M-1 (tank) or a monkey cage and get it over with. Were we not the nation of equals first to rid ourselves of a hated ruling class?
The awaited letter from the Carolinas arrived, I note it had been opened for postal inspection. It was an ordinary envelope clearly with maximum two or three pages inside. Can’t be too careful, now. Better get the CIA on that, you know, all those enemies foreign and domestic, sending three-page letters. Enemies. They’re everywhere!
It was interesting to go through the documentation from Theresa. This is the “business card” flyer item recently discussed. She is sales, I am production. I came away from the first hour of examination with some contradictory results. The “cards” are not standard size. (Me being the world’s self-acclaimed bizcard expert.) Until they can be made that size, each one must be custom designed.
There is also the 11” x 17” paper size. This will require a printer we don’t have. After the pilot, the rest are photocopied two-sided for the outrageous cost of 24 cents each. Does that include the stock (paper)? There are 30 ads per sheet but two are non-revenue-producing. One is used in a contest and another is a “Your Ad Here”. This is not nitpicking, folks, it is my job to make sure every detail is considered. The sample uses rounded corners on the card graphics to match a companion web page – and those rounded corners are a programming quagmire.
Estimated revenue is $10 to $40 per ad, meaning a huge spread in potential from which fixed costs must be deducted. Repeat customers are the obvious goal here but that is not my department--advertising is a hard sell and I'm taking Theresa's word that she can do this. I will invent a new word game and maybe a nonsense “question of the week”. What I don’t know is the frequency and lead time of publication. Did you know I can write crossword puzzles?
This rather mechanical side to the business can be a rewarding read for any office types who are considering quitting their day jobs. I tend to be thorough, so get back here once in a while for more development. I can only hope others are as competent as they say they are.
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