A recent study that was reported by Craig Gundersen, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois and colleagues was published in the September issue of Pediatrics which you can read here. The study focused on the stress of mothers and how it changed obesity rates among young children. The ages that were focused on were between three and ten and found to be overweight the more stressors their moms had in their lives.

The data in the study came from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). There were 841 children participants in the study which came from 425 different households with an annual income not exceeding twice the poverty level who were included in the analysis, 37% were overweight or obese.

The study revealed that households with no maternal stress, a food secure household environment and a low-income range had a 33 percent potential of being overweight or obese. Those children in food insecure households had a 34.8 percent potential of being overweight or obese. The food secure or food insecure statement equates to the average availability of food in the home.

When mom was found to be more stressed and reported more stressors in her life, the children in the household had a higher potential of being overweight or obese in food secure households but decreased among the children in food insecure households. The children in the food secure households were found to have a 43.7 percent potential of being overweight or obese when comparing them to the children in the food insecure households.

“We were not able to observe what people are eating in these data. That’s definitely part of future work,” said Steve Garasky, a professor of human development and family studies.

“But at this point we have to conclude that in stressful environments, children in households with adequate food — maybe it is ”comfort food,” or maybe it’s just larger quantities of more traditional food — are possibly acting on the desire to eat more, and maybe even eat differently, than those from food insecure households,” he added.

The statistics of this study didn’t seem significant once children reached the age of 11. It was suspected that young adolescents have bigger social networks and outlets to share the stress at home with thus the outlet in food consumption.

While it’s easy to point the finger and find a problem in the society it may leave the single mom’s struggling just to make it what they are supposed to do. Dr. Gundersen has some ideas, “Not to absolve all personal responsibility, but we have to acknowledge that there are some factors that may be beyond an individual’s ability to control,” Gundersen said. “So with a focus on public policy, there are three important things that can be done. First, we can have a firm social safety net for such households. Second, we can offer financial education to enable people to better understand how to manage their money. And third, we can focus on the importance of making sure everyone has health insurance. So instead of saying here’s what mothers can do to alleviate the stress, we’re saying here’s what we can do as a society.”

If it seems odd that dad’s stress levels aren’t mentioned in this study, that’s up for future research. The researchers have future plans to measure the stress levels of fathers in determining overall household stress. Garasky says they started with mothers because single-parent families make up a high percentage of low-income households, and the vast majority of those single parents are mothers.

“And then it’s the premise that mom is traditionally the primary caregiver,” Garasky said. “So if you want to link one person to circumstances of a child, it’s more natural to link to mom.”

“Unfortunately we did not have access to information about fathers’ stressors and behaviors in this data set,” Brenda Lohman said. “Yet in most modern households, fathers may be doing as much or more of the cooking than in the past. So I agree that future work must address stress levels of fathers too.”

The well known phrase, “Just Google It” proved itself to be true as American’s immediately researched what a freudian slip was. The flurry of searching all started with Joe Biden at one point, misspeaking, he started a sentence by referring to George — as in President Bush — and then corrected himself to say John — as in McCain. A Freudian slip, he joked and said multiple times. It seems to be the message that Democrats keep trying to make, that Bush and McCain don’t have too many differences.

As soon as the statement was made you can see the graph spiking for the search on Google for “freudian slip” and another pic showing it’s number nineteenth position.

The search term, “freudian slip” wasn’t the only hot search spawned by those statements of Joe Biden’s. Other search terms that were related to that search were “Joe Biden Freudian Slip”, “Freudian” and “Freudian Slip Obama.”

It wasn’t the first time the Obama campaign has seen a frenzy around the term “Freudian slip.” You can see a clip of the YouTube video below. As reported over at Politico: “Mere minutes after Joe Biden wrapped up his maiden speech as Barack Obama’s running mate, McCain’s camp and the RNC gleefully seized upon what they called a “Freudian slip” in Obama’s introduction.

After almost doing it earlier in his speech, Obama got caught up in his closing crescendo and predicted that it’s Biden who would be “the next president of the United States.”

“Barack Obama sounded as though he turned over the top spot on the ticket today to his new mentor, when he introduced Joe Biden as the next president,” McCain spokesman Ben Porritt quipped in an insta-statement.”

With all the frenzy built up with freudian slips falling left and right, it’s amazing to see how much America is controlled by the boob tube in front of them. Google Trends which can be found at http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?sa=X often times finds it’s Top 100 trends in America controlled by what is airing on TV. If it’s not what is exactly airing on TV at that moment it is the day’s gossip machine at work of what sex tape was released, who is divorcing or what animal just grew four heads.

When you sit down and use Google and start typing queries into the search engine you would probably be surprised how many people before you have searched the same term. Even more surprising is that the majority of searches end up searching around the same uptrend in time. If you actually type a keyword into the search trends you can view the graphs over time and see how every keyword has a monthly, seasonal and annual trend. We aren’t as unique as we seem to think we are and all mostly lead by TV, media and publications.

Tell us what you think about the freudian slips, Google Trends and America turning to Google for their Encyclopedia Britannica.

In light of recent events on our social networking platform, Ning, it’s interesting to note the fierce interaction between supporters of WidgetLaboratory and Ning. Emotions flare between the slightest of remarks, assumptions are made, which in turn, fuel the fire for other discussions. As Peter Morris, The Business Shrink, says, “Business is personal.”

TechCrunch, along with BizShrinkOnline.com, has been following the activities and development of the feud between widget maker, WidgetLaboratory and social networking platform, Ning.com. While TechCrunch has kept a more public presence, BizShrinkOnline.com has been researching the facts, reading the emotional rants of both sides, and finding out possible alternatives to our own predicament as a result of WL’s shutdown. Since last Friday, Ning has been scrambling to offer replacement services and techniques for gaining back some of the major features that WL offered. BizShrinkOnline.com relied heavily on WL’s widgets to easily customize our navigation system and create custom pages within the Ning platform, the most important being our store front! With the loss of tools and content, the question remains: Who is responsible?

This debate continues to flourish across blog posts and forums for both sides. One such blog compared the situation to a rocking chair. If you were the user sitting in a rocking chair (WL widget) and the rug (Ning) were suddenly pulled out from under you and the chair broke, would you sue the chair manufacturer? An interesting point of view. And here is where emotional and business perception come into play. How are we viewing the situation? What are we using as a comparison model? My response to the user was that this is an incorrect scenario for what has happened. More was involved than just a 2-part scenario. Something a little more correct might be:

Let’s use a roller rink as our scenario. The roller rink (Ning) houses many rollerskaters (network creators). If we choose to buy a special pair of rollerskates (WL widget) to use in the roller rink, it is definitely our choice and right to do so…within the guidelines of the roller rink (TOS.) In fact, as a skater, we go so far as to buy accessories to decorate our skates (customize). Then we build up a nice little fan base on the sidelines that come to watch us skate with our customized skates. But what if those skates scratched the rink? Caused the rink to behave poorly for other skaters, in turn affecting the way their fans appreciate them? More importantly, what if it was just the PERCEPTION of the roller rink owners (Ning) that our skates were doing that, regardless of whether or not they were. Would it not be in their right to ban any rollerskates made by the company from which we purchased? It says as clear as day on the rules posted near the door! I would say yes. Unfortunately, though it would put us out the time and effort it took to make those skates look great and acquire our fan base (and there’s) by going to that rink, it is clearly within the rights of the rink to ban us from wearing them, especially if they think it could affect the other rollerskaters going around the rink. Worse for them, I COULD take my entire fan base away from their rink.

Now, if they ban us from bringing in our skates, there’s really nothing we can do about it. We are not rollerskate makers, so we can’t make a new set of skates. But in this case, at least we still HAVE our skates and can possibly customize them for use at another rink. But in this case, we don’t have our skate. Essentially, the manufacturer has them. What’s being discussed in many of the forums is the issue of reimbursement. Who should be responsible? Well, the purchase was made from WL and now we no longer have a product. Not WL’s fault (or maybe it was), but they still have our money and we’re left with nothing. The onus clearly lies with WL to make it right with the users, right? Not necessarily. But to their credit, WL has made it publicly clear that all widgets will be made available as open source code for anyone who wants it along with migration tools and support. Backend services will be run from their servers, taking the load off any of Ning’s servers. Now I’ve got my skates back in my hands! There’s the solution. However, a question of fairness raises its head. If I’ve paid for my widget coding, should anyone coming into the game AFTER me be able to get it for free? After all, if you were to purchase that new pair of skates, find out they were banned, then discovered the manufacturer could FIX them in some way as to use them at your roller rink, that’s great. But is it fair that the next guy who comes into the roller rink get a free pair? Shouldn’t I get a refund? As was pointed out in another forum, cable companies do it all the time. You pay for a premium channel, it gets old or a newer channel comes along, then they offer it for free. There is a caveat here. Those cable users had a choice. A choice of umpteen other channels to choose from. On Ning, only one other well known scripting company was out there providing these kinds of tools, and according to most users, paled in comparison. So without a choice, it’s hard to say that we are being treated fairly by not getting some type of reimbursement.

These and many other questions still lie in wait for an answer from Ning. One in particular, if we’re still using the roller rink scenario, is what happens if I buy my skates from a different company. Do I still run the same risk of losing my ability to skate at that rink? What if I bring in my altered skates from the same company? Will they look at that and simply shut me down for using skates that they had previously banned?

Ning still remains stoic in their responses to the issue, though they are trying to find workable solutions to many of the issues raised by network creators. Is it fast enough? No. Is it an effort to reconcile. Absolutely. Since the occurance, I’ve been in touch with the Ning support staff throughout the weekend and even as early as 4:20AM today. This alone should restore some of the faith lost in their sincerity to support their customers.

When it comes to business, many choices are made based on facts and data made available to them. Ning chose to act quickly based on facts and data made available to them from their own team. Their actions greatly affected thousands of users and network creators. It could have been handled better to reduce these effects. At the same time, WL has taken it upon themselves to release sensitive documents prior to the occurance. Correspondence between the CEO’s of both companies detail the discussions prior to the shutdown of WL. From a strategic point of view, this may have been a boon to WL’s argument. However, upon closer inspection, you can see that the rants of WL are more emotional than professional.

Driving factors like having your business shut down are a common cause for emotional and sometimes irrational outbursts. But without these passionate moments, where business owners fight to keep their business alive, or professionals rally around one team or the other, there would be no competition, no purposeful business. Business is personal. It’s the sweat and effort you put into creating a positive end result. And when that end result goes astray, the time invested, both emotional and professional, come crashing down and leave you drained and wanting.

What is your opinion? Have you ever been in a situation similar to this? How did you handle it? Were others affected?

You can follow some of the discussions at TechCrunch.com and on WidgetLab’s own blog, WidgetLaboratory.com. If you would like to join the network creators forum at Ning, you can follow more discussion at networkcreators.ning.com.

With growth still moving at a fast pace, 3rd party developers were seeing brisk adoption of their alternative Ning add ons and customized options for the Ning social networking platform. The clear leader in all 3rd party modifications was a company called WidgetLaboratory.com founded by Spencer Forman. Development over at WidgetLaboratory.com had been innovating at a fast pace with new updates and modifications almost weekly. Abruptly and without notice on the morning of August 22nd, 2008 Ning unilaterally disabled all WidgetLaboratory.com plug-ins, add-ons and modifications to all Ning social networks.

Ning publicly released this statement on their Ning Developer Network which you can read here. “This morning we removed WidgetLaboratory, a third party application developer, from the Ning Platform for violating Ning’s Terms of Service. WidgetLaboratory provided independently developed applications that could be added to a social network on the Ning Platform by a Network Creator. While we try to be as transparent as possible, it’s our long standing policy not to comment on specific cases where we remove networks or third party developers from the Ning Platform so we will not be providing any additional details publicly.” Although Ning refuses to provide additional details publicly network creators, Widget Laboratory members, Ning users and bystanders are getting upset and posting their comments in all corners of the Internet revealing extra information on the events between Ning and Widget Laboratory.

On Blogspot Spencer Forman, CEO and Co-Founder of WidgetLaboratory.com released a statement on the current events. You can read his entire statement here. We have provided a snippet of some of the more important parts of his statement below:

“As of this morning, August 22, 2008, we learned from our customers that Ning had unilaterally removed Widgetlaboratory.com and all of its products. We have received no formal notice or explanation at this time. We have not violated any Terms of Service, nor have we violated any published “guidelines” from Ning.

This action by Ning was completely without any notice, was without any merit, and in our opinion was done for the sole purpose of eliminating a company that had started to provide a useful and valuable service to all of you. We have a full and complete documentation of our relationship with Ning from the very first moment that we contacted them in November of 2007 and met with them subsequently to get their blessing for creating our company and products. The facts and details contained therein will substantiate our claims regarding Ning’s actions.

We have achieved a level of market penetration into the Ning community that has made WidgetLaboratory a somewhat “essential” resource for add-ons and widgets. Based upon the personal phone calls and correspondence from the entire Ning team, including their entire Executive staff, it would appear that they decided to eliminate WidgetLaboratory for anti-competitive purposes alone. This is truly ironic to us, given the fact that our products have demonstrably INCREASED the popularity of Ning and caused more customers of Ning to purchase their Premium Services. This was truly a win-win-win relationship between Ning, WidgetLaboratory, and all of you.”

While many users and network creators do admit that Ning terms of service do state that they can remove and shut down just about anything at anytime without notice, it clearly shows a lack of credibility and professionalism from a company that has grown so large and that so many people depend upon. We here at the Business Shrink also utilized Ning.com and WidgetLaboratory.com to develop a niche social network for the Business Shrink at www.bizshrinkonline.com. The CEO of the Business Shrink, Kurt Iverson made this statement about the current events, “As a company who’s focus is on creating relationships and delivering articles through several blogs, we are very concerned about the blatant disregard for the thousands of customers and end users that Ning’s decision affects. It is without doubt that Ning has not provided the expanded features necessary to truly make their platform a customized experience for developer and end user alike. By giving no warning, no time to find alternatives, nor any method by which to recover from the loss of such effective tools, Ning has inadvertently removed two of our methods for monetizing the site. Ads (the Widget Laboratory ad widget) and an entire store (embedded into Ning through the MediaNow widget). It is disconcerting to know that Ning’s leadership has not taken into account those users who relied on Widget Laboratory to make Ning’s solution a more viable platform for their businesses. These are basic rules of business. If you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot, you should at least have the foresight to have some gauze pads on hand.”

There are other network creators that have made statements about the issues too. One network creator named Brother Richard posted this on Ning’s Developer Network, “I have spent hundreds of dollars and several hours developing my site. Widget Laboratory offered several wonderful features, none of which Ning provides. The fact that this was done without warning to them, or anyone else is inexcusable. I have nearly 4000 members who now have many of their favorite features and information is now lost. Because of the great products that they offered, I have resisted the recommendations of many of my members to leave the Ning Network altogether. Unless, their items or restored or Ning provides any replacements, I may be forced to do so. Ning offers NO chat features, NO easy way to make drop down tabs, NO easy way to add new pages, etc.” You can read the current set of comments on the Ning Developer Network that has 24 pages of comments here and here.

With hundreds if not thousands of networks hurt by this shut down it also extrapolates into a large amount of users. When looking at Brother Richard’s statement that he had nearly 4,000 users you could go with a small estimate of hundreds of users per network and be understating the damage. It has been estimated that there were over 10,000 users of WidgetLaboratory’s 3rd party add-ons for Ning. If only 100 networks were using WidgetLaboratory.com and each had 100 users that would be 10,000 users hurt by Ning’s actions that happened without warning. Is this how a half billion dollar company treats it’s clients, customers and users? It will remain to be seen how Ning.com decides to find credibility, trust and professionalism again after they have possibly become too greedy to allow successful 3rd party developers to exist. It could be that Ning just wants a social networking solution that is featureless, dull and lacking fast pace innovation that 3rd party developers were creating while taking up the slack for Ning’s in-house development. What do you think Business Shrink readers?

Steve Byrne reveals his climb in stand-up comedy. Steve was recently featured on Comedy Central on Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour and has been on The Real Wedding Crashers, Tonight Show, Fox’s Mad TV, The Late Late Show, Comic View and more. Being half Asian and Irish Steve approaches comedy with a funny mixed race stand point, from janitor to comedian.

Segment 1

Peter: Yes indeed – Peter Morris is your Business Shrink. Peter Morris is in Monaco today, where he’s taking care of business, not on vacation. I’m Peter Laufer, pleased to be sitting in his chair here in our San Francisco studios today and taking care of Business Shrink business for him. You are always invited to check out BusinessShrink.biz to learn more about Peter Morris, The Business Shrink, his upcoming books, and to subscribe to the free weekly Business Shrink newsletter.
And, with that introduction, I want to welcome to The Business Shrink Steve Byrne, the comedian who ought to – if everything is working right – be here with us now. Are you there, Steve?

Steve: Yeah. How’re you doing?

Peter: I am well, thank you. As you just heard, I’m here sitting in for Peter Morris, so all of the reams of paperwork he received and all of the clips of your work that he received I don’t have. In a way, maybe that can help us have an interesting hour together.

Steve: Sure.

Peter: We’ll learn about each other, and most importantly, I’ll learn about you and your work. The predicate I’d like to start with is this is a business show, and Peter Morris, The Business Shrink, always says that business can’t be defined as anything other than everything. Everything, in some way or another, is business, so where does business fit into comedy? You do comedy. You’re a comedian professionally. What’s the business connection?

Steve: Wow! Well, the business connection with being a stand-up comic is that I think the business comes second. It’s not something you necessarily think about until you’re actually starting to make a few bucks, because it’s something you start off doing as something you’re passionate about and you want to do and you want to pursue…and you’re not necessarily ambitious about it…

Peter: So, first you start to just want to entertain and tell jokes, and then later on you realize that there may be a business connection? How did that start with you? What is the genesis of your stand-up career?

Steve: I started off first as a male exotic dancer in Thailand. I was with a male troupe called Mantastic.

Peter: Now, this requires me to say, “Seriously?”

Steve: No, of course not. No. I graduated from Kent State University in Ohio, and my father had just gotten transferred back to New York City, so I asked to crash with them for two or three months so I could experience New York City and check it out. – to live in the Big Apple. The first day I got there, I said, “I’m not coming back until I get a job.” I went up and down Broadway, and I’d walked into Caroline’s Comedy Club. Somebody had just gotten fired, and the manager had overheard me asking for a job. He peeked his head around and said, “Oh, we’re looking for somebody. Do you want to start tomorrow?” I said, “Okay.”

Peter: Isn’t that amazing how often in business and in life it is serendipitous. You happen to be there and he happens to need something. You could have walked up and down the street for months and not had that kind of encounter.
Steve: Exactly, yeah! Within a day or two, I’m sitting there answering phones and sweeping up the floor and everything – watching these comedians that are at the best club in New York City, the headlining club in New York City at the time, Caroline’s Comedy Club. I was just exposed to that, and I thought, “That looks like a lot of fun,” so I wanted to try it out.

Peter: So you were in there working prior to ever having any ambition to be a comic, yourself?

Steve: Right. I’ll be honest. I never had the Eddie Murphy raw tapes when I was growing up or listened to Dice when I was younger. I was just a kid – I liked hockey. I never thought of doing stand-up. I never thought of pursuing stand-up. It was just something that just kind of, like you said, was serendipitous. It just happened for myself.

Peter: So you were sitting in there, and…now this is business here, because we’re seeing how a career starts. You’re sitting in there. You’re watching it. It looks intriguing. You decide to give it a try. How did that happen? Did you give it a try at home in front of the mirror or with your girlfriend? How did you…

Steve: Well that’s a different story. Anything in front of a mirror or in front of a girlfriend would be humorous, yes.

Peter: [laughter]

Steve: No, I just called the comedy club and asked if I could go up one night. Being a stand-up comedian, looking back now, it was a lot like my first time in bed with a girl, where it was quick. I don’t remember it. There was some giggling. And I cried afterwards.

Peter: [laughter]

Steve: It was all those things all at once.

Peter: And yet you picked yourself up and found another girl, or found another comedy club.

Steve: Yeah. I decided to keep going after it, because I enjoyed myself on stage. The second time I was on stage, there was a local booker in the audience that gave me his card and said, “I’d like to talk to you. You know, you shouldn’t bring those notes up on stage with you.” I said, “Well, you know it’s my second time on stage,” and he said, “You’ve got to call me tomorrow.” Within a few weeks, I was working as an emcee, which is the lowest rung on the totem pole, obviously, as a comic. You’re there to make announcements. You do a few jokes, but it’s your job to introduce the other comedians.

Peter: From there, you’ve been on The Real Wedding Crashers on NBC, the Tonight Show, Fox’s Mad TV. I’m looking at the list here. It’s impressive, obviously. CBS’s The Late Late Show, BT’s Comic View. Between getting to that point and what you just described, how long a path was that? How much time did that take?

Steve: I would say the reason I’m doing all these radio shows…and I got this through a friend of mine, Kurt Iverson, who is my webmaster. This Saturday, I have a hour special on Comedy Central, which is probably the biggest thing I’ve done up to this point, and so from point A to point B would be ten years. That’s what I’ve always heard. I’ve always heard it takes ten years to become an overnight success in stand-up comedy.

Peter: Can you remember – you don’t remember that first time, but – the second time when the guy came up to you and said you shouldn’t be using notes, do you remember any of the jokes that you did?

Steve: I personally don’t, because I think I blocked it out of my mind because they’re so horrible that they’re not worth remembering, to be honest with you.

Peter: Yeah, it just would be fun to look at where that was and then what happened over the ten years. Now, from a business standpoint – and we’ll talk more, specifically about what’s coming up on Comedy Central; we definitely want to give a spotlight to that so people listening can take advantage of the opportunity to catch your act there, but from a business standpoint – over those ten years, what kind of metamorphosis occurred with you, where you realized, “Yeah, this is a lot of fun. I like to perform, but this is also a career path. This is something that can enable me to eat and get shelter and clothing.”

Steve: That never really happened for me until, I ‘d say, about the fifth or sixth year, because prior to that, I was just making enough – literally – to just get by. I mean there were times when I was doing one-nighters from city to the next in military towns, performing in like, literally, chicken-wire fenced stages…just making enough to pay my rent…or stay in my car. There were times when I was shorted money, and I wasn’t even paid.
So, up until about the fifth year – that’s when I started performing at universities and colleges. Essentially, what you make at a university or college in one day, in one hour, is what you would make normally for a week at a comedy club, so that’s when I started saying to myself, “Oh man. Maybe you could make some money here.” That’s when I started getting a little fixated with my income and parlaying that alongside with something I was passionate about.

Peter: Then did you have to figure out how to deal with that money? Is there a management kind of a problem that develops? The image is – and maybe the image is nothing close to reality – that bucket loads of money start coming, and you aren’t in a position – not you personally, but one isn’t in a position – to figure out how to deal with all of that. Does that match with your life?

Steve: I would say that that probably happened to me two years ago, where I was a little more overwhelmed, let’s just say, by how much was coming in. My folks have always been very good with managing their money, so I started turning to them for advice. For example, it was only until this past November I bought a loft downtown in Los Angeles, which I’m talking to you from right now.

Peter: Well, it’s terrific to see that migration occur without a disaster of an accountant ripping you off and you becoming a drug addict.

Steve: [laughter] Oh no, no no. I’ve definitely had my share of being ripped off. The biggest lesson I learned on the business end of being a comedian – because I think that for most comedians, it’s just kind of like this free-floating kind of wild west profession, where there’s no union really; there’s no schools to attend; there’s no right way of becoming a professional comedian other than… After ten years, I’ve just learned there’s just guys that are really talented or really motivated. It’s almost like salmon going upstream. It’s just survival of the fittest, and eventually you’re the few making the rounds, making the money. But, along the way, I’ve definitely gotten ripped off by representation, by managers, by agents. It’s something that I’m very keen on now and I definitely read everything and make sure the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed.

Peter: Absolutely. Steve Byrne, here on The Business Shrink. The Business Shrink, Peter Morris, is not in today. He’s elsewhere working – in Europe, in fact. I’m Peter Laufer, pleased to be here to get a chance to get to know Steve Byrne.

Your mother’s Korean. Your father’s Irish. That infects your humor, and we’ll get some understanding of that. We want to remind folks again about the Comedy Central act that’s coming up. Tell us?

Steve: Oh, that’s this Saturday evening at 11:00 on Comedy Central. It’s called Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour, and it’s also available on Amazon.com. Usually when you see a television broadcast, it’s 42 minutes of whatever is feasible for the television broadcast, but the DVD is more the uncensored stuff, the stuff that couldn’t make it to air, or a little edgier.

Peter: Sure, well give us one line that can make it to air, since we’re on the air. Tell us a joke.

Steve: [laughter] Well, one of the things I always get asked about is my background, my ethnicity. I always have to mention that I’m Korean and Irish, which I’ve discovered over the years makes me Caucasian and Asian, which I’ve found makes me Caucasian…right back to zero. And it’s not necessarily a good combination, being Korean and Irish – having black hair and red pubes. It’s not sexy, to say the least.

Peter: [laughter] Indeed. Okay, we are going to continue in this vein and get to know you better here on The Business Shrink. I’m Peter Laufer, filling in for your Business Shrink, Peter Morris. Steve Byrne is on the line – Comedy Central program coming up this weekend.
We want you to know if you’re interested in learning more about The Business Shrink, Peter Morris, you can do that by checking out the website, TheBusinessShrink.com. Steve, you might want to check that out because that’s put together by the same Kurt Iverson that takes care of your website, so you know that TheBusinessShrink.com is going to be a good site, right?

Steve: Absolutely, yeah.

Peter: He does fine work. At TheBusinessShrink.com you can also subscribe to the free weekly Business Shrink newsletter. You can also keep track of the upcoming Business Shrink books. The first in the series of Business Shrink books is coming out in just a few weeks, and we want you to be apprised of that. You can find out about that at TheBusinessShrink.com.
Also at TheBusinessShrink.com, you can listen to past segments of Business Shrink shows, listen to Peter Morris mix it up with a pantheon of characters from the business community, and again, we define business, here at The Business Shrink, about as broadly as you can imagine. More with Steve Byrne coming up momentarily, here on The Business Shrink.

Segment 2

Peter: I’m pleased to be here, talking with Steve Byrne, the comedian. I’m trying to connect the heritage that you described, Steve – your mother is Korean and your father is Irish – and I’m trying to think what kind of combinations there are there. The best that I could come up with is that the cabbage and corned beef is maybe similar to kimchee.

Steve: Yeah, kimchee cabbage…we’ll go that route, that’s fine.

Peter: Steve?

Steve: Yes, hello.

Peter: Yes, Steve. We seem to be having some technical problem. Where are you? There you are.

Steve: Okay, yeah.

Peter: I’m looking at these connections that you talked about before the commercials. Your mother being Korean and your father being Irish and how that influences your comedy. You are part of a troupe, The Kims of Comedy, using the Asian experience in your humor. How does that work?

Steve: Well, it’s along the lines of the Kings of Comedy. There are all these different touring groups, like Blue Collar Comedy. I’m friends with Bobby Lee, who is a regular on Mad TV and another gentleman, Dr. Ken Jeong, who is actually really a doctor who is a partner at Kaiser, and he started getting a lot more notice with film work. Jed Apatow, for example, loves him. He’s was the doctor in Knocked Up who delivers the baby.

Peter: Uh-huh.

Steve: He’s done a bunch of Jed Apatow movies and whatnot. There’s another guy named Kevin Shea, who’s coming up and who’s actually from the San Francisco area.

Peter: So are you all using Asian related issues, Asian themes, then, in the work that you do together?

Steve: Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. All of us come from an Asian background, so we just get together when can put together a show. Actually, we’re going to be in San Francisco in July at Cobb’s, doing some shows out there.
So yeah, it’s something that unites us. It’s something that’s part of our background, and you know, we actually did a DVD together, and we learned a lot about making sure you want to copyright your name and register your name. We got into a lot of legal wrangling with the company that produced the DVD, which we never saw a cent from. I learned a lot more about copyrights, for example, after going through that experience.

Peter: Again, it’s an example of how business infects everything and how critical it is to have a feeling for the business side unless you’re lucky enough to have somebody holding your hand.

Steve: Absolutely, yeah. It’s something that you never really think about as “an artist.” You’re always thinking about just making yourself happy enough through your art and paying your rent, but when the money starts rolling in, that’s when you’ve really got to start covering your tracks. That’s definitely one of them – when you’re part of an ensemble – making sure the name is taken care of. You know, we lost out on a lot of opportunities because of that.

Peter: That’s a shame, and it’s great that you’ve learned the lessons. What constitutes an Asian point of view in humor that’s specific, and how does that get out to the wider audience? You must have to figure out some positioning there to make it work.

Steve: You mean to make it mainstream?

Peter: Well, both to make it mainstream and to have it Asian-specific in some ways so there’s a rationale for it and to balance what might be the offensive with the humorous, right?

Steve: [laughter] Yeah, that’s definitely true. There are some guys out there that do think it’s their job to go out and offend people or make them uncomfortable. I think me – and especially the other three guys I work with – always come from the collective conscious of funny is funny. Just make ‘em laugh, because for the most part, most of the people we’re entertaining have been working from 9 to 5, and they kind of want to get away from everything. So, that’s always been the basis of my comedy, just being humorous and making sure it’s silly and light-hearted. If anybody is taking a jab at anybody, it would be me making fun of myself.

Peter: Right, and I think we were disconnected there for a minute. During the commercials, I was trying to find the connections that you could bring from your Korean mother and Irish father. I thought the corned beef and cabbage and kimchee – maybe there’s something there. Is that the kind of thing that you look for? Some way to bridge your two sides?

Steve: That’s definitely how it started off, I think. When you’re a younger comedian, you want to acknowledge your parents, somehow. You know, if you’re an overweight comic, you could be up there for 45 minutes, but eventually people are going to ask, “Are you going to talk about being fat?”
It’s like when I’m a mix, people wonder, “Well, what are you?” Eventually there’s going to be something along those lines. That’s how a lot of the jokes early on in my career started. One of the early…

Peter: Hold onto that joke. I want to hear that early joke. We are going to take care of some business first. Steve Byrne is here, talking about the business of comedy. Check out his upcoming Comedy Central show.

I’m Peter Laufer, sitting here for Peter Morris, your Business Shrink. The Business Shrink can be found at TheBusinessShrink.com.

Segment 3

Peter: You’re listening to The Business Shrink. The Business Shrink is Peter Morris. He’s off working today, elsewhere. I’m Peter Laufer, pleased to be sitting in for him and talking with Steve Byrne, the comedian. Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour is coming up on Comedy Central March 29 at 11:00 at night, so watch for that.

So, Steve, you were just about to give us a sample of what you were doing when started to acknowledge your ethnicity from up there on the stage – the equivalent of the fat guy talking about his weight.

Steve: Yeah, I think it’s just something that always needs to be addressed. Mine was always making fun of people who were coming up to me and asking, “Where are you from?” I would answer, “Pittsburgh.” They’d be like, “No, seriously. Where are you from?” I’d say, “Pittsburgh.” It was like they thought I was from some mutant island called Half Asia, located just south of the Philippines. It’s me, Keanu Reeves, and Tiger Woods on a beach all day playing volleyball. It’s awful.

Peter: [laughter] But, on the reality side of that, is that going to be something that’s not going to able to be used much because we are getting rid of those stereotypes, with Barack Obama running for president, with Tiger Woods being the wonder that he is, with you up there on the stage? How long can that be even a factor?

Steve: I wouldn’t go that far with putting me in the same [laughter] league as those two, but I do think that yeah, the country as a whole is becoming more accepting of interracial marriages, of people of just all different ethnicities. I think there is an intolerance towards racism now, as opposed to a few years ago where people were just quiet about it.

Peter: Yes. Your mother was from Korean, and your father, Irish, from Ireland, or were they Americans?

Steve: My father is American. He’s from New York City. He grew up in the lower east side of New York City. During the Vietnam War, he served our country. He was in the Army, and he got sent over – instead of to Vietnam, to Korea – and met a girl, brought her back, and that’s my mom. Coincidentally, after 9-11, my brother felt patriotic, so he signed up for the Army, and instead of going over to Afghanistan, he got sent over to Korean. He met a girl. He brought her back. They got married. So, I will never join the military as long as I live.

Peter: [laughter] Yes, because you don’t want a Korean wife?

Steve: I’m on a mission to die alone, so that’s my operation.

Peter: Or you could pick the place where you would like to have a wife from and ask the military to dispatch you to that place, rather than Korea.

Steve: Exactly, yes. Definitely – like Cabo San Lucas during spring break. I think that would be my operation.

Peter: I think that as opposed as I am to the military, I might be convinced to join with you if that were the destination.

Steve: Okay!

Peter: So, coming up on the Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour on Comedy Central, what can we expect?

Steve: Just a lot of silliness, a lot of me talking about my background, my history with my family…growing up feeling awkward about coming from an interracial marriage…the fact that when I was younger, I was just a mess. I was not successful with the girls at all. My hair was all over the place. I didn’t have hair products, gel or mousse or pomade. My dad was bald, so I just used water, and it dried out on the bus, and by the time I showed up at school, I looked like a mad scientist. I had acne all over my face – like if a blind girl bumped into me, she could read Braille. I was not even more than 100 pounds, soaking wet, I think, when I was a junior in high school, so the only people who would be attracted to my body type would be like lonely German businessmen…

Peter: [laughter]

Steve: So it’s just stuff like that.

Peter: It was grim. It was grim, and that’s the kind of stuff we’re going to be able to enjoy on Comedy Central, and that is March 29. What day of the week is March 29?

Steve: That’s this Saturday.

Peter: That’s this Saturday at 11:00 in the evening.

More from Steve Byrne here with The Business Shrink momentarily. I’m Peter Laufer, sitting in for your Business Shrink, Peter Morris. The website for more about The Business Shrink is TheBusinessShrink.com. How about for you, Steve? What’s the address?

Steve: Oh, SteveByrneLive.com – the great webmaster Kurt Iverson, who takes care of you guys and myself.

Peter: Indeed. SteveByrneLive.com and TheBusinessShrink.com for more, as we continue here on The Business Shrink program.

Segment 4

Peter: The Business Shrink is Peter Morris. He’s in Europe working. We’ll hear from him when he gets back. In the meantime, he’s asked me to sit in for him. I’m pleased to do that. I’m Peter Laufer, here talking with comedian Steve Byrne. You can learn more about Steve by checking out SteveByrneLive.com, and you can check him out Saturday night, March 29 at 11:00 eastern – Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour on Comedy Central.

Steve, we were talking about the business of comedy when we started talking, and then we were looking at your career. You were talking about those early jokes where you were looking at how you looked and how that seems to, from what you were saying before we were interrupted, have moved into politics. What is the role of comedy in politics for you? Certainly, there’s plenty of examples of people who use comedy in order to make political points. Is that what you’re doing, or are you just recognizing that it’s out there, and as you say, trying to make people laugh after their 9 to 5 shift?

Steve: I’m not really a political commentator. I think after watching The Daily Show, they pretty much nail everything on the head. I think that’s one of the best friggin’ shows on television. My stuff is more along the lines of being just really silly and ridiculous, outlandish kind of thinking outside the box stuff. In my special, I talk about teaching guys how to make love and how to fight in really ridiculous ways, so I’m not really that well-versed enough to make jokes about the political forum.

Peter: So, you don’t take on the issues of mixed race or Asians from a political standpoint? It’s just an element of your act.

Steve: Yes. I would say it’s like a quarter of my act. The tough thing about when you’re an Asian comic or a Black comic is getting out of the loop of just talking about that or using that as a crutch, so I acknowledge it. I talk about it, but then I move on and I talk about other things in my life that affect me.

Peter: What about in your life? How do you relate to things like the immigration controversies that we have in this country, the question of English only? Where do you sit on these issues?

Steve: I would agree with the English only, because it seems that everybody here speaks English. It’s like if you’re going to come here, it is the language in which we do do business. I do get annoyed when I’m flying on an airplane and they make the announcements, obviously in English every time, but then they have to do it in Spanish as well. I’m like, “I’m trying to nap here, so could we just cut it right now?” [laughter] I’m a pretty liberal guy with some stuff, and I’m a little more conservative with some other things. Even with this election now, I don’t know who I’m going to vote for in American Idol. There’s a lot of good singers out there, but I really don’t know who I’m going to vote for at this time.

Peter: Yeah, yeah. Did you learn Korean?

Steve: I took some classes while I was in college for a little bit, but language is obviously easier to pick up when you’re younger. I did pick it up when I was younger, hanging out with my Korean cousins, but it’s something you’ve got to keep at. That’s something I just didn’t do after I took the courses in college, so I’m a pretty bad Korean, to be honest with you.

Peter: Do you regret that now as you think about it – that you had the opportunity to learn this language that you could use to go over and do stand-up in Seoul?
Steve: Yeah, I definitely thought about that, but to be honest with you, I don’t have that much interaction on a daily basis with many Koreans that don’t speak English. Other than my mom, not really, no, so I kind of lucked out. But, it is a regret of mine – absolutely.

Peter: I think it’s interesting to hear you say that in the context of you saying English only, English only. We have the opportunity to make it very easy for us to forget those parts of our heritage that might be really nice to take advantage of.

Steve: Absolutely, but fortunately for me, at least, through stand-up comedy, I’ve gotten to meet a lot more Koreans and Asians in general. When we do these Kims of Comedy shows, I get to be part of that Korean community especially, here in Los Angeles. We sold out the Wiltern Theater, and it holds about 1800 people. An experience like that is great, and you feel a lot more closer to your roots as an Asian or especially as a Korean.
Peter: You know, I spend so much time with The Business Shrink, Peter Morris, I hope some of his business tactics are rubbing off on me. Often when he’s engaged in a conversation like this with a guest on the program, he comes up with ideas that he suggests and sometimes they take advantage of them. I’m thinking as we’re talking, you don’t need the Korean – I disagree with you over the English only stuff, but you and I can argue about that over a beer sometime – but you don’t need the Korean, I would think, to take this on the road. Have you thought about – maybe you’ve already done it – have you thought about going to Asia and taking this unique brand of American multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural humor over to some of the sophisticated capitals of Asia and repatriating some of that money?
Steve: It’s definitely been something that’s been on our radar. I think that to combine the four of us – it’s so tough to get all four of us together for shows. When we do, it’s really a miracle in and of itself. We do have some friends, for example, that do a show that’s called The Axis of Evil that was on Comedy…

Peter: Yeah. Ahmed Ahmed and the boys!

Steve: Right. I met a man who’s one of my best friends, with Maz Jobrani and Aron Kador, and I know they’ve been extremely successful going over to the Middle East, selling out 2000-seat venues. So, that’s been an inspiration for us because we’re all friends amongst each other in the stand-up community. We’ve kind of seen what they’ve done and we try to use that as a template. We’ve thought about going over to Korean or going over to certain parts of Asia to do it. It’s something we’ve entertained, but right now we just got out of all the legal wrangling…

Peter: From that DVD, yeah.

Steve: Yeah.

Peter: Well, I think it’s a great idea, even if it’s mine. Obviously, it was yours, too. As Deputy Business Shrink here today, I see nothing but success with you doing that.

We’ll continue this conversation and say goodbye as the hour closes out, momentarily. I’m Peter Laufer, sitting in for that aforementioned Business Shrink, Peter Morris. I’m glad to be meeting over the radio Steve Byrne, and looking forward to his hour this Saturday, March 29, 11:00 eastern, Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour on Comedy Central.

For more about The Business Shrink, Peter Morris, check out TheBusinessShrink.com. There you can subscribe to the free weekly Business Shrink newsletter. You can learn more about Peter Morris’s biography as an international entrepreneur over the last 30 years or so, and also learn about the upcoming Business Shrink series of books, listen to past Business Shrink programs with The Business Shrink, Peter Morris. All of that is at TheBusinessShrink.com

Segment 5

Peter: Yes indeed. Peter Morris, your Business Shrink is not here today. I’m Peter Laufer, pleased to be here today. I’ve gotten the chance to get to know comedian Steve Byrne a little bit.
Steve, we have just a couple minutes left before we say goodbye, but one of the things I can only imagine – it’s like a doctor goes to a party and someone says, “Can you look at my arm. It’s hurting at the elbow.” You must all the time have people say, “Tell me a joke. Tell me a joke.” Right?

Steve: [laughter] Yes.

Peter: Does it just drive you nuts?

Steve: Yeah, sometimes it does, but you know, that’s just the great thing about my profession. People are always looking to laugh, and that’s the redeeming value in being a comedian – knowing that your job is to make people smile or laugh. It’s a positive thing, so I definitely enjoy it.

Peter: Absolutely. Well then, tell me a joke.

Steve: [laughter] Well, I think I’ve told a few this show that I haven’t really gotten too good of a response on.

Peter: No, no – you have! It’s just I don’t give out that kind of…and I have even been told this by program directors at radio stations, “Would you laugh, please?” I don’t respond with that kind of belly laugh, but the smile is there. If this was radio with pictures, then you’d be okay.

Steve: I’m actually the same way when I sit and watch comedians I like. I’m not a laugh out loud kind of guy, but I definitely internalize it, and there’s definitely a lot of comics I enjoy, so I know exactly what you’re talking about, yeah.

Peter: Okay.

Steve: I’ll tell you about an experience I had the other day, and I don’t want you to be guilted into the belly laugh on this one, so I’ll just ride this one out. This is a true experience. I was in a grocery store the other day, and I realized how women are constantly viewed sexually…always. You know, the grocery store is a very unsexy place, and I was in line at the deli section. There was this gorgeous girl in front of me. I’m in the middle, and there was this guy behind me. The girl gets to the front of the line and she goes, “Umm, could I get a pound of smoked ham?” And the guy behind me goes, “I’ll give you a pound of smoked ham.” I was like, “Oh God.” I felt so uncomfortable I left the line. I come back two minutes later. Now he’s in the front of the line, and I’m like, “I’ll teach him a lesson.” He’s like, “Could I get a pound of roast beef?” I was like, “I’ll give you half a pound of roast beef.”

It’s just little events like that that go on through my daily existence that I jot down and try to translate that to onstage. They’re not joke jokes necessarily, but they’re more experiences.

Peter: Yeah, situations you’re able to turn into something that makes it so we can look at it with a different point of view and realize the irony and the comedy, I guess.

Steve: Sometimes it’s just a pure acknowledgement of the obvious, so…

Peter: Sure. I’m a journalist, and what you’re saying resonates completely, because often just spotlighting that which seems mundane creates a story.

Steve: Exactly, yeah. Some of the best jokes are the obvious ones that are right there underneath you, that have never been talked about before.

Peter: Well, it’s just been a delight to talk with you. Steve Byrne, I wish you the best this Saturday, March 29 at 11:00 at night, eastern, on Comedy Central with Steve Byrne’s Happy Hour. I look forward to us getting the chance – since we have Kurt Iverson in common – we might get a chance to meet in person some time. I look forward to that.

Steve: Thank you. It’s been great.

Peter: In the meantime, Peter Morris is your Business Shrink, and Peter Morris, The Business Shrink, is off working. He’ll be back and tell you all about it, I’m sure. Check him out at TheBusinessShrink.com for more information about his intriguing biography as an entrepreneur, upcoming books, subscribe to the free weekly Business Shrink newsletter – all of that at TheBusinessShrink.com.
More about Steve Byrne is at SteveByrneLive.com.

This is The Business Shrink. Check it out, TheBusinessShrink.com.

Fortunately in May of 2003 a man by the name of Deron Beal decided to create a small group of people in Tucson, Arizona to help recycle perfectly good items being thrown away. The adventure turned into lots of driving and searching for people that needed the items being thrown away. Eventually it became apparent that the Internet could simplify the process and Mr. Beal setup an email group to notify anyone in Tucson, Arizona that wanted to take part what was being given away or announce what they wanted to give away.

Since that first month the Freecycle network and website has grown to over five and a half million users in 75 countries, with thousands of local groups using the slogan, “changing the world one gift at a time.” The Freecycle.org website states that the amount of garbage kept out of landfills due to the efforts reaches around 300 tons a day. This is as much as four times the height of Mt. Everest if the stuff given away were stacked in garbage trucks. Turning trash into treasure has turned into a “pay it forward” type of generosity that is changing lives all over the world.

What exactly can be found on the Freecycle network? So far there doesn’t seem to be a limit to what can end up being given away in small or large quantity. It could be as simple as a half used bottle of cologne, a working used appliance, clothing, cars and even houses that aren’t in bad enough condition to be demolished but need to be moved. In a quote from the Freecycle.org website a giveaway effort turned into a major charity / recycling drive with corporate participation, “A truckload of diapers, clothes and supplies was collected through Freecycle for an orphanage in Haiti. FedEx donated the shipping! - San Jose, CA.”

There are also the Freecycle moments that grab at the heartstrings and make all the giving away and effort worth it when you read some of the heartwarming quotes about Freecycle. “I gave a loveseat to a lady who had nothing. Her husband had walked out on her and her children and they were starting over from scratch. She was so thankful she cried - over a loveseat I would have probably thrown away. - Louisville, KY.” Another one comment revealed a Christmas moment saved for a daughter, “My Daughters’ stolen bicycles were replaced in time for Christmas! - mom of five, Austin, Texas.” There are also the far reaching events that Freecycle gets started that end up helping thousands of people like this quote mentions, “At a local Freecycle “Hurricane Help Project” event, hundreds of local community members helped victims of the latest hurricane with free furniture and building supplies. - Melbourne, FL.”

In addition to Freecycle helping people that need it, saving landfills of tons of garbage and helping the environment it also helps provide an alternative method to consumerism. When the need for something arises it doesn’t always have to be brand new and in sparkling condition. If you can obtain the item for free without going to Wal-Mart or Target and forking over the cash it makes sense to do so. If that doesn’t get you interested, give it a try just once and get the uplifted feeling you will find when you give away something to someone who really needs it.

To find out more about the Freecycle network, email list and opportunity you can visit www.freecycle.org and sign up there. From the site you can type in your location anywhere in the world and locate you local Freecycle group to get started. After signing up all you have to do is either start giving or getting and tell others about the process.

A recent study was completed and published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine which you can read here, to see if the list of health effects like erectile dysfunction and groin numbness could be eliminated by changing the typical bicycle seat, also referred to as the saddle. The typical bicycle seat has a protruding nose extension to maintain balance and stability but this has been proven to cause recurring problems for men using the seats long-term. The solution was to completely remove the nose extension from the bicycle seat.

Dr. Steven Schrader of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Cincinnati participated in the study and commented that, “No-nose saddles are a useful intervention for bicycling police officers alleviating pressure to the groin and improving penis health. Different saddle designs may require some re-learning of ‘how to ride a bicycle,’ but the health benefits to having unrestricted vascular flow to and from the penis and less penile numbness is self-evident.”

A noticeable statistic from the study was the increase in men reporting they had no numbness in their genital region. Originally only 27 percent of men reported no numbness but that rose to 82 percent of men after 6 months of use of a no-nose saddle. The data showed that the noseless saddle reduced contact pressure of the bicycle seat in the perineal region and ended up improving penile tactile sensations.

One of the most positive results was the final decision of the police officers in the study who decided to continue using a noseless bicycle seat after the study was completed. An amazing 97 percent of the officers continued their use of these new innovative seats. The data might have swayed them when reports showed erectile function was increased after 6 months of use of the noseless bicycle seats.

This is the second study focusing on noseless bicycle seats and this could finally make waves in the consumer market of bicycle seats. There are roughly 5 million recreational cyclists that could benefit from alleviating the genital numbness, perineal discomfort and overall increasing their sexual health. How about you Business Shrink readers? Do you shy away from your bike due to discomfort? It looks like it’s time for a change in the way bicycle seats have been known to exist for men and probably women too!

This basic doctrine of sin as action and not belief is even further clarified in another interview – this one discussing “same gender attraction.” Two LDS Church leaders clarify that while LDS Church doctrine terms the act of homosexuality a sin, having the tendencies or inclinations toward an attraction for your own gender is not a sin. It only becomes a sin once you act upon those beliefs. These two leaders believe that behavior – even homosexual behavior – is controllable, and that all a gay person must do is accept that their actions cannot go against the teachings of the LDS Church. If the gay member remains celibate and does not act upon those inclinations, he may participate fully in every aspect of the Church that is available, including missionary work, entering temples, and so on as published by the LDS organization themselves here.

Now, getting back to Chris Hardy and considering the LDS Church’s view of sin as action and not belief, it’s easy to see the possibility that perhaps Mr. Hardy’s Disciplinary Council felt they had no other choice but to excommunicate him. Hardy maintains in statements to the press here that he was “stepping outside the stereotypes and stepping outside the image” of the LDS Church, a definite no-no in terms of publicly going against Church doctrine. He also could be said to be promoting activities that could adversely affect the faith of the young men who posed for him, as well as the young Mormon ladies who likely had interesting dreams after perusing the pages of shirtless young men. Clearly, from his own statements, he was not repentant and probably not going to have a sudden revelation that included repentance any time soon.

Apparently both the LDS Church and Mr. Hardy came away from the meeting satisfied with the results. The Church no longer has a member publicly acting in a way they deem contrary to gospel, and Chris Hardy now feels “empowered and free.” Of course, let’s not forget that with an approximate 10,000 calendars sold at $14.99 each, the gross take was about $150,000. It would be interesting to see how much of that was net profit, and how much – if any – was paid to the young “models.”

More to the point, though, is the question of why some of the twelve young men were called to meetings, but not disciplined as was reported in the press here. Are their actions any less responsible for the overall effect of the calendar? Was it truly just a matter of sincerity in apologies or perhaps unfair treatment of those who have served missions and those who have not? Hardy is a returned missionary himself, but “has not been active in the church since 2002.” In a similar case involved a gay member of the Church who wrote a contrary letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune, the LDS Church noted that it does not speak of what takes place in the council sessions because they deemed such disciplinary meetings and communications confidential – an admirable and responsible point of view.

However, the whole situation brings to mind the question of moral and religious duplicity. It seems reminiscent of the recent problems the Roman Catholic Church has had with sexual abuse being swept under the rug in order for the Church to achieve its own objectives. This is not to say that the Men on a Mission calendar shares the same caliber of moral impropriety as a priest who defiles a boy, but for a member, not understanding the purpose behind their leaders’ actions is almost as destructive to one’s faith. Should those leaders then be excommunicated for possibly “destroying the faith” of others? All churches seem to have issues with revising their doctrine in order to meet their current needs. Perhaps the backlash from excommunicating twelve returned missionaries would – in and of itself – put the Church in a bad light, just like revealing the abuse would have put the Catholic Church in a bad light. Perhaps it was a choice between the lesser of two evils, an odd choice when considering religion and churches. Then again, perhaps not so odd when we realize that churches and religions are comprised of human beings, fallible and susceptible to influence and tradition.

It’s highly unlikely that any of us will ever know the rationale or discussion involved in the decision to excommunicate Chris Hardy for his missionary style beefcake calendar. However, it will be interesting to see whether the 100 returned missionaries who applied to be on the 2009 calendar will change their minds after the controversy circling around the 2008 one.

What do you think about the controversy? Should one man face all the punishment for putting together a calendar when the men who posed in it did so of their own free will? How do you feel about organized religion and the question of moral duplicity? We want to know what you think! Leave us a comment!

These days, unclaimed baggage is a million dollar business for one lucky company in the United States. It is surprising to find out that there is only one unclaimed baggage facility for all of the airlines in the entire country. This idea was started from very small beginnings in 1970 when the founder, Doyle Owens, took $300 dollars and an old truck to purchase some unclaimed baggage and hauled it away.

From such a small start, the Unclaimed Baggage Center has grown to a 40,000 square foot facility in Scottsboro, Alabama. The state of Alabama can’t complain as the store brings in millions of visitors a year flocking to the store for lost treasures and unheard of bargains. Every day nearly 7,000 new items are added to the stores shelves. You can view the Unclaimed Baggage Center’s website at www.unclaimedbaggage.com to get more information how you can score your next treasure from the sea of unclaimed baggage.

If the baggage is simply left unclaimed it might be assumed that what is left is mostly heaps of worthless junk that no one wanted in the first place. Surprising enough very valuable things have been found and resold to bargain hunters for amazing prices. Treasures like an antique 1770 violin, diamond rings, silver, wedding dresses, hidden money, Egyptian artifacts and just about anything you could ever imagine. In terms of jewelry, the record for the Unclaimed Baggage Center so far is a 40.95-carat natural emerald was found tucked away in a small plastic bag.

With a long list of jaw dropping treasure troves finding their way out of forgotten luggage there is also the downside of the business. Dirty laundry, toiletries and junk galore of stuff that really was easily forgotten once the airlines paid passengers their lost baggage bounty. Dirty laundry keeps the Unclaimed Baggage Center washing and dry cleaning laundry more than any location in Scottsboro, Alabama. So it seems even such a lucrative no brainer business is still a dirty business that could grace the featured spots of the tv show Dirty Jobs.

All of the unclaimed baggage is analyzed by professionals that know specific markets and generally have a good idea of retail market value. From that point they price the products anywhere from 20-80% off the retail value giving patrons exciting values. The number one seller seems to hold a solid spot with electronics being the most sought after products on store shelves from iPods, cellphones, camcorders and guitars. One item that seems to be in abundance and priced the most competitive isn’t very surprising since it’s actually the actual bags that contain all the treasures. If toothpaste ever became valuable the Unclaimed Baggage Center would be in an enviable position.

Even though the percentage is very low of unclaimed baggage it still could happen to you any time you fly. There are some simple things you can do to ensure that your luggage will always make it back to you. The number one thing is to put identification tags in multiple locations inside of your luggage detailing your home address and possibly even including a copy of your itinerary to help locate you while you’re on vacation. Other tips that are suggested are taking photos of your luggage and an inventory of its contents so that when you do file a claim that you have proof. The other most important thing is to never leave if you don’t get your baggage, always file a claim immediately before you leave.

When on your next road trip passing through Alabama don’t forget to make a quick detour to the Unclaimed Baggage Center and hunt around for you next treasure find or bargains on your next luggage set. You just may surprise yourself with a 40.95-carat emerald, new wedding dress or even a luggage full of cash as one man did. If you feel this business practice is a little unfortunate or not fair, it’s most likely not going anywhere since it’s been running successfully since 1970. If you have a lost luggage story drop us a comment and let us know about it. Have you visited the Unclaimed Baggage Center and found a treasure, we want to know about that too!

The creators of the website called PeopleFinders.com, which is a pay site, launched the new criminal investigative tool to the public called CriminalSearches.com. The site is still sporting the infamous BETA logo as most web launches do these days. The tag-line of the new site is, “Do you really know who people are?” After that you are encouraged to start scouring the database with the suspected’s first and last name.

After you first submission you can get more detailed with middle names, city, state, zipcode, county, year of birth or age range. With a quick glance you can see someones criminal offense or offenses with a legend that gives you an idea of the type of criminal they are. Once you get some hits you can view details to pull up offense dates, aliases, previous addresses and more.

Skipping over the individual search for criminal histories, you can also do a broader search for your entire neighborhood. This will produce a long list of offenders that are within just a few feet or miles of your house. You will be able to get addresses of their location, offenses, pictures and identifiable information such as ethnicity, hair color, height and more. Clicking on offense icons on the Google Map layout will take you to the detailed pages of each offender.

While this is a great tool for families with kids, single parents, school officials or just the concerned neighborhood watchdog, it can also open up abuse. It is stated in the terms and conditions of CriminalSearches.com that information cannot be used “(a) as a factor in establishing an individuals eligibility for personal credit or insurance, (b) as a factor in evaluating an individual for employment, (c) in connection with any personal business transaction with an individual, or (d) for any purpose for which one might use a “consumer report,” as defined in the FCRA. You must certify that you will comply with these Limits on Your Use of Our Site prior to accessing information on this Site.” This statement in the terms and conditions will most likely not keep employers, hiring agencies, apartment owners or any number of agencies from using this information to disqualify or scrutinize applicants. We did not experience any verification process or disclaimer of these rules until we dug into the terms and conditions.

Even with the highest standards of usage there is one more flaw that could wreak havoc on someone’s personal life if falsely accused. Accuracy of the information is not guaranteed and another person’s similar identity could be mistaken for someone else. It is stated on the website in the disclaimer section, “The content, information, documents, graphics and images published on the Site may contain inaccuracies, typographical errors or other errors. We make no commitment to update the Site.” It’s most likely enough to be ridiculed and flagged as a danger to society if the information is true but false information could be incredibly damaging to people that might be wonderful neighbors and co-workers.

It’s not as if this public information is anything new. The information is all available from multiple resources throughout the Internet and courthouses. The problem lies in the slew of websites that try to charge for the access to public information. With this new launch the information will be made freely available and more accessible to anyone regardless of their resourcefulness or contacts.

Just as stories appear in the news of employees getting fired because of their Facebook or MySpace pages, you just may see people getting fired for their unknown criminal histories. With the growth of the online dating industry this service could obviously do some good to alert someone that a potential date may not be that dream catch after-all. Families will be able to have more knowledge at their fingertips and understand the dangers in their neighborhood better. All types of relationships in life could be reevaluated if shocking information is found lurking in the piles of criminal records. How do you think this will work? Do the benefits outweigh the potential downsides?

By briefly paying attention to the news anyone can see that the consumer price index is out of control, making it a public affair that inflation is rising at a record pace. In June of 2008 the Consumer Price Index surged 1.1 percent. The entire year’s inflation rate is currently at 5 percent which is the highest the U.S. has experienced in 26 years. The soaring costs of food and fuel are adding to the woes of Americans that are already facing a credit crunch due to the sub-prime crisis. But what is hiding on balance sheets, trading floors and in the big bank’s boardrooms is a list of problems that could easily spiral out of control beyond the sub-prime crisis.

While everyone understands that the sub-prime crisis was created by passing out loans to unqualified homeowners, most don’t think about the fact that commercial businesses received the same treatment. Foreclosures are forming suburban neighborhoods into ghost towns and those neighborhoods are needing less commercial property and services. Anything like office parks, movie theaters, fast food, strip malls, warehouses and parking garages are finding customers are drying up as the 7,000 foreclosures a day add up to more vacant homes. Ultimately this leads to an increase in commercial property defaults, vacancy and a lack of funding for new projects in the commercial property industry. Industry leaders like Bloomberg and Morgan Stanley are reporting drops could be 15 percent in 1 - 2 years in the commercial property industry.

Ignoring a potential crash of the commercial property market, American consumers still have a long list of secrets in their pile of bills and balance sheets. Forbes released information here, that in May 2008 consumer credit rose $7.78 billion to $2.57 trillion in total consumer credit debt. While home equity went belly up, consumers turned to credit cards to fund their lavish purchases which helps drive the U.S. economy. When comparing the number of $2.57 trillion in total consumer credit debt to worldwide economies it can become quite breathtaking and unsettling. The United Kingdom’s GDP is less than U.S. consumer credit debt totals and so are the GDP’s of Russia, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy and Canada. With Americans hurting and pulling back on paying their bills major credit card companies such as Bank of America, Capital One, Washington Mutual, Citigroup and American Express are bracing themselves for at least a 20 percent explosion in credit card defaults.

With crashes and debt pushing the breaking point of survival in the financial markets and consumer’s lives, the government is briskly picking up the pace of bailouts of financial institutions and consumer’s debt piles. You can see the bailouts in situations like Bear Stearns, IndyMac Bank and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other bailouts are happening by sovereign funds like Abu Dhabi which forked over $7.5 billion to keep Citibank afloat. All of the bailouts eventually hurt the consumer. When Americans received their $600 tax rebates they paid for it in the next year’s taxes. Currently total credit in the U.S. has went from 150 percent of GDP to 340 percent. This is putting pressure on the value of the dollar as other investors, countries and funds lose trust in the sustainability of the dollar.

If the shell game could be extended for another 10 years some CEO’s, accountants and financial advisers would be thrilled but on November 15th 2007, FAS 157 was made effective for all financial statements for the following fiscal years. The new agreement requires that certain assets held by financial companies, including complex investments linked to mortgages, be marked to market. If there’s no market for those securities — that is, if buyers simply won’t bite — the required markdown could theoretically go all the way to zero. What FAS 157 will essentially do is to force insurance companies and financial institutions to reveals their rotten assets that they have been hiding in level three asset categories where there is a requirement to value them. Once the cat is out of the bag that these assets are worthless, breathtaking losses will be reported putting extreme pressures on the entire U.S. economy. What exactly is hiding in level three assets? These are the huge derivative positions, the private equity investments and enormous slices of the mortgage market. Banks don’t talk about them. The market doesn’t put a price on them.

If the market doesn’t put a price on level three assets, who exactly is putting a price on them? Accountants are given the privilege of guessing what the level three assets are worth and using a “mark to model” pricing method. Big financial institutions like Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merril Lynch and Goldman Sachs were able to pretend their level three assets were worth a great deal but the new FAS 157 regulations that shell game is all but over. In the 2008 fiscal year losses will have to reported when the level three assets are found to be all but worthless.

All of the potential falling dominoes mentioned have been quantifiable in certain ways and the losses can be predicted even if in the worse light in some way. The worldwide derivative markets are a completely different game in themselves. Derivatives are packaged neatly with sub-prime loans and tons of other financial vehicles at large institutions like Goldman Sachs, USB, J.P. Morgan, Bear Stearns, Citibank and HSBC. If the worldwide derivatives market collapses along with total housing wealth, the stock market, bond markets and the value of the dollar the U.S. economy will undoubtedly flirt with a depression.

Before you believe that the sub-prime recovery is around the corner and the economy is ready to turn around, be sure to remember all of the other pieces of the U.S. and world economies that still remain to be tested. One domino has fallen and continues to crash down taking the next in line with it to a level that many never predicted. Presidential candidates talk as if they have a solution with potential tax rebates like you just received in the mail. By the time you receive your next tax rebate you will probably notice the next domino taking it’s fall. Prepare now and ignore the chain reaction as it brings balance and integrity back to the world markets.

All of the airlines involved sent a co-signed letter to all of their frequent flier customers asking them to get involved and contact Congress to pass a bill to curb the oil speculation that is going on. The airlines state they believe that an additional $30 - $60 a barrel is added to the current price due to speculation and that a bill could remove that surplus.

In addition to the co-signed letter the airlines also used their newly founded organization, Stop Oil Speculation Now to fund a major national ad campaign putting a full page ad in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Roll Call and Politico. The ad asks the following questions: Drive to work? Buy food? Take the kids to see grandma each summer? Plan on heating your home this winter? The ad then states, “If you do any of these things, gas and oil speculation hurts you and your family.” Readers are then directed to go to the organizations website at StopOilSpeculationNow.com to ask Congress to make a difference in 30 days.

You can view a copy of the letter at the Airline Organizations website here or you can read the text version below.

An Open letter to All Airline Customers:

Our country is facing a possible sharp economic downturn because of skyrocketing oil and fuel prices, but by pulling together, we can all do something to help now.

For airlines, ultra-expensive fuel means thousands of lost jobs and severe reductions in air service to both large and small communities. To the broader economy, oil prices mean slower activity and widespread economic pain. This pain can be alleviated, and that is why we are taking the extraordinary step of writing this joint letter to our customers. Since high oil prices are partly a response to normal market forces, the nation needs to focus on increased energy supplies and conservation. However, there is another side to this story because normal market forces are being dangerously amplified by poorly regulated market speculation.

Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs.

Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper.

The nation needs to pull together to reform the oil markets and solve this growing problem.

We need your help. Get more information and contact Congress by visiting

www.StopOilSpeculationNow.com

What do you think about the airlines ad campaign and letter to all of their customers? Do you feel that Congress can truly change the price of oil by approving a bill to remove speculators? Many economists and oil market analysts say that if the speculators are driven from the speculation market in the U.S. they will just go to other corners of the world to continue their speculative trading. Tell us what you think!

Over the past decade safety regulations, laws and rules have been banning consumer use of fireworks in local jurisdictions. Regardless of the restrictions, states that have liberal firework laws often help the spread of more powerful fireworks into states that have banned fireworks. Even though fireworks have been banned for personal use in some areas, there has always been a local public display to help ring in the 4th of July celebration.

This year in late June, Cocoa Beach, FL announced that the city would not host a Forth of July fireworks display this year citing a downturn in the economy. The city manager of Cocoa Beach, Charles Billias, said the display cost around $70,000 and was too expensive for the cities budget. One of the major expenses cited was $28,000 to $30,000 for the barges. In 2007 the fireworks display in Cocoa Beach was said to be one of the largest in Central Florida with a half hour length. You can read more about the Cocoa Beach display cancellation at Local6 news station in Florida here.

San Diego County in California had it’s 2nd largest city cancel their firework display in December 2007. Residents of Chula Vista, California were not alerted until the end of June when signs started being posted telling that a fireworks display would not be held this year. Although residents were upset and news stations spread their displeasure, city officials said it had to be done when costs were cut by more than $15 million from the city budget. A large side cost to the actual fireworks display for Chula Vista was said to be police overtime and traffic control creating $35,000 in extra city expenses.

While those are two extremely large cities in America that have canceled their displays due to budget constraints, smaller cities all over America are reporting the same problems. Towns like Abington and Bridgewater in Massachusetts are basically begging for help from local businesses to help with their displays. “Because of the economy, most of our corporate sponsors have not made the contribution they have in the past,” said Kathy McCarthy, a member of Abington’s “Night Before the 4th” committee. You can read more about Abington and Bridgewater’s firework budget woes at this news report here.

An interesting echo across towns in America is not really that city budgets can’t handle the cost of the firework display expenses. The real problem seems to be that donations, cities depend upon to sponsor the displays are not coming in or being canceled even at the last minute this year. Cities that are being open about their sponsorship contribution shortage are cities like Treasure Island, St. Pete Beach, Tarpon Springs and Plant City. You can read more about these cities budget woes and what they’re trying to do to solve them here.

With cities running short on cash and canceling firework displays left and right there are heroes in our midst stepping in to save the day. One city being helped by a hero is mentioned above as canceling their show due to budget constraints, Treasure Island. The cities of Madeira Beach and Treasure Island will have a display because of the Rice family, owners of Gators Cafe and Saloon in Florida. The Rice family donated $15,000 to make sure local residents had a display to view. Another city mentioned above had a local business hero too. Dave and Lisa Ulgenalp own a local restaurant chain throughout the central and west central Florida and donated $18,000 to Tarpon Springs for a fireworks display. In Katy, Texas another local business hero was found when Luis Gutierrez, regional manager of Warehouse Pool Supply, stepped forward with a $15,000 donation. “Thanks to Gutierrez and Warehouse Pool, the celebration will now go on as planned” a city official announced.

With cities experiencing steep budget cuts, the future is looking more grim for firework displays than in 2008. This is mainly due to city budgets usually being planned a year in advance. In tough times budgets are felt well into the future when cities try to clamp down on extra expenses. With cities feeling the pinch of the tough economy due to budget constraints and decreased sponsor donations it is also providing a shining light on some of the most patriotic Americans and businesses one can find. You may find that next year your local firework display will be provided by your patriotic neighbors and businesses willing to step up to the plate to keep America’s strongest 4th of July tradition alive, firework displays for all.

A recent study has been released by psychologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) highlighting the problems of hard work when you are already tired. The dangerous result of working harder when you have already worked hard or not had enough is sleep is a dramatic rise in blood pressure. High blood pressure leads to increased stress, hypertension and heart disease.

A UAB psychologist, Rex Wright, Ph.D. led the study and released the findings to be published in the July issue of International Journal of Psychophysiology. You can read the UAB press release here at the University’s website. Even though the study found that exhausted individuals’ cardiovascular systems had to work harder when work tasks were completed, there is a twist that eliminates some tired individuals from harm.

The twist happens when the person that is exhausted believes they can accomplish the task at hand or is strongly focused on determined to complete the task. If an individual is so tired that they don’t believe they can complete the task blood pressure isn’t effected. This variable was shown in the study when subjects reporting very high fatigue had low blood pressure in all instances of the study.

While the blood pressure twist shows a difference when individuals are severely tired, it also shows up when the task at hand is perceived to be almost impossible. In the study individuals that were presented with a task that was incredibly difficult to complete didn’t have higher blood pressure because they, “viewed success there as impossible or too difficult to be worth the effort,” Wright said.

This should raise a red flag to all those workers that continue to put in that extra few hours when they’re already exhausted and wore out from the work week. If putting in extra hours every week is increasing the chance of cardiovascular harm and raising the chance of a heart attack, stroke or kidney damage is it worth it? With the economy teetering, credit crunch and unemployment rising many workers are probably determined to get in as many hours as possible at work. The end result could very well be an increased rate of heart disease in America after this new recession.

To reduce your blood pressure doctors state the one of the best ways to start is to first lose weight. More than half of Americans are overweight and doctors say this is the biggest factor in high blood pressure. Other tips are to moderate alcohol, limit salt and exercise. If you already have extremely high blood pressure you should be on blood pressure medications to help you handle the ups and downs of you blood pressure. Just remember that if you’re extremely exhausted and you’re putting in extra hours or working extra hard you are playing with fire or at least your blood pressure and future health.

Even when patients and consumers take over the counter medicine, they often find a long list of potential side effects from even the simplest medicine available. The lists can go on and on, but typical side effects for antidepressants and other medications are dry mouth, urinary retention, blurred vision, constipation, sedation, sleep disruption, weight gain, headache, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of libido, agitation, anxiety and a whole long list of many other side effects.

Researchers in Australia and New Zealand have come out with updated information on antidepressants and the elderly patients taking the medications and a peculiar side effect that has been studied before. It seems that when taking antidepressants, elderly patients over the age of 60 years old are more susceptible to falls and getting themselves injured in those falls. This specific study focused on 21,900 patients in the 60 and above age group and studied their use of antidepressants and the occurrence and recurrence of falls within a 12 month period. It was found 24 percent had one fall while on antidepressants, 11 percent reported they injured themselves in the fall and 8 percent of the participants had to get medical attention due to injuries from the fall.

The newest research can be studied with it’s full analysis and abstract at the PLoS ONE Journal here. Another study was released in 2002 by a group of psychiatrists and researchers through the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center and found similar results. You can read the 2002 study here. Although the study completed in 2002 didn’t have has many participants in the study it found a greater percentage of subjects that fell when using antidepressants. When looking at just the first 6 weeks of treatment about half of the participants or 53 percent fell.

With the elderly population it is a a fairly serious problem that the medications that are there to help them are increasing their falling rates. In the cases of falls in elderly individuals, fractures occur because of the fall in 4% of cases, with hip fractures being associated with the highest in mortality rates. Women have a much higher risk of injury from the falls and one statistic from the most recent study stated, “A number of factors interacted to multiply the risk of falls, such that over 60% of women older than 80 years with depression and using an SSRI fall and sustain injury.”

With all of the studies involving the elderly and increased rates in falling and injury due to antidepressants, one thing rings true in most cases. The class of antidepressants that seems to be causing the most problem with falling is the SSRI group of medications. Another direct quote from the study states, “Antidepressant use (particularly SSRIs) was strong associated with falls regardless of presence of depressive symptoms.” This leads to a pretty close conclusion that depression alone is not the cause but the introduction of the SSRI class of antidepressants.

Elderly patients run high rates of depression and the solution is obviously not to take away the antidepressants that may be helping their quality of life. An important piece of information to take away from these studies however is the need for professional evaluation of each elderly person and their increased liability of falling, that could increase their potential for injury or even death. When the elderly population is diagnosed and prescribed antidepressants, efforts should be made to prevent falls and make their surroundings safer to prevent the unfortunate phrase, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!”

John: Hi! Good to be with you.

Peter: It is terrific to have you here. And you’re here for a few reasons. First of all you’re right across at the Random House booth because you have a book coming out now too and we’ll talk about that book so that we can draw some attention to the audience.

John: “The Way We’ll Be.”

Peter: “The Way We’ll Be.” Everybody knows your name now even if they don’t know you because of the Zogby poll and it use to be that the Gallop poll was the poll, right? And then you came along. So before we talk about the book, and we talk about your most recent poll, which relates directly to books and of course we are interested in it because of the Business Shrink book. What’s the history? You came along and Gallop owned the business, why did you think there was room for somebody else?

John: Well I thought that it was simply because it was the mid’ 1980’s, there were big companies like Gallop that were doing the more global sorts of things and we came along at a time and it took the blue highways approach in the 1980’s. We did all the little sheriffs races and all local communities that were investigating issues like recycling and anti-smoking ordinances and so on, so we built up this little infrastructure from the bottom up and so by the early 1990’s if I could continue the metaphor it just sort of percolated from the bottom up and we entered into the national scene.

Peter: In a way, maybe even more interesting, it’s one thing to say, is it Clinton or is it Obama? But to learn about things like if there should be another casino in Sonoma County California or if the sheriff in Tulsa is in fact on the take, that might be sexier stuff.

John: Well you know in a lot of ways it is. You know a lot of people, there are a lot of political junkies and a lot of the political junkies really love it on the census tract level and the precinct level, but I also learned a lot. You learn a lot about people’s values and the importance of geography and the factors at a local level that really make us who we are and so by the time we started really polling a lot nationally in the early mid 1990’s I felt like we had this infrastructure of data about bits and pieces of the American people and their most intimate level.

Peter: And certainly technique. You’re listening to the Business Shrink program. The Business Shrink, Peter Morris off making lots of money. I’m Peter Laufer standing in for him and pleased to do it here at the BEA where we’re launching the Dysfunctional Workplace the first in the Business Shrink series of books and talking with John Zogby the author of “The Way We’ll Be,” the pollster. Now John, you’re talking about how you learn all of this, but methodology is always an issue. Who are you to be able to tell me that you know what I’m thinking and how do you know when you ask me that I’m not feeding you a bunch of lines just because I’m annoyed that you’re asking me?

John: Well people, annoying liars should be represented in every poll because they are represented in every vote and at every meeting.

Peter: Yeah, but isn’t it a little different going into a secret ballet booth than somebody calls up and says, “Hi, I’m from the Zogby Poll, what do you think of the sheriffs race?” And I’m so annoyed at getting calls. I say something that’s not true. How do you cleanse for that?

John: Well, what you do is by calling enough people in your sample and then especially in the world of politics because you can measure what you said as opposed to what the actual behavior is. On election day, what we’ve done, all of us actually in the field, is built up a pretty decent record of accuracy so you know then that for every liar there is out there, there’s either another liar who cancels that person out or that fundamentally almost everybody is really telling the truth.

Peter: And one way to prove that out is then to look at how the results that you came up with in your forecast correlate to that which actually happened and you’re here being awfully modest. You have the best track record in the industry, right?

John: We do. We have an excellent track record. You know, here and there things change at the last minute and something gets wrong but, you know…

Peter: Like John Kerry’s going to be president or something like that. Minor stuff…

John: Little stuff like that. However when push comes to shove, we get them right, and when we get them wrong it’s a point or two in the opposite direction and we get a pass on those sorts of things.

Peter: And why is that? Why are people honest? For example, if you were going to conduct a poll about people living in this country illegally and you started to call to communities like here in Los Angeles. We have a great number of people from Mexico who are here without documentation, wouldn’t they be prone to not answering you accurately?

John: Oh. That is a hole in the industry. You know when you get into questions of the illegality, frankly when you get into communities where there are a lot of first generation immigrants, there is a high degree of suspicion. Many of them come from countries where….

Peter: Somebody with a clipboard or with a good suit on at the door knocking, that’s not a good sign.

John: That’s not a good thing.

Peter: You are listening to the Business Shrink. The Business Shrink is Peter Morris. Peter Morris, not here today, he’s off working, I’m sitting in for him, Peter Laufer at the BEA, Book Expo America where we are launching the first in the Business Shrink book series The Dysfunctional Workplace, From Chaos to Collaboration: A Guide to Keeping Sane on the Job, and with me here at the Los Angeles convention center, with a really nice crowd developing is John Zogby and we’re in the middle of talking about polling and your book The Way We’ll Be, but first while we were in our break there, you said you want to clarify the erroneous polling numbers regarding the John Kerry win.

John: No, the polling numbers were right on the money, nationally and for that matter almost every state with the exception of Ohio, we’re off a few points. But I took the numbers and some of the barometric reading questions that we gave, that we got from the public, and I projected…

Peter: You personally…

John: …projected a Kerry victory, as an analyst.

Peter: So was that a wrong thing to do? Did you then slap your hand? Did your corporate side slap your personal hand?

John: Yeah, I did simply because, when I looked and saw 45% thought that Bush deserved to be re-elected and 46-47% of the country headed in the right direction. Presidents normally are not re-elected with those kind of numbers and so I thought that the last 1 1/2-2% that were undecided would swing to Kerry, that’s where I went wrong.

Peter: So that’s a mistake then from your point of view to mess with the science and allow that subjective analysis to go in there?

John: Well, the science was fine I think what it was, was that I saw my hat then as the analyst hat and that I was making a projection and in reality we don’t predict or make projections, we should just let the numbers talk for themselves.

Peter: Yeah, now speaking of the numbers talking to themselves, concurrent with the book “Expo America” here, you came out with a poll that in many ways seems counter intuitive to the terrors that are not just rippling through this industry but cascading through this industry. That one, nobody is reading, and two, if anybody is reading they’re going to be reading off a screen and not enjoying the texture of the printed word on a dead tree.

John: You know, Neil Pulsman’s Social Critic, argued that with every new technology it buries an old technology. But the fact of the matter is people are listening to the radio, even though there’s television, people are watching television even though there’s an internet, people are still reading books even though there are e-books. Now, e-books we’ve found about 10-11% who said that they liked e-books and would be e-book consumers. A larger number among 18-29 year olds, but people are still buying books…the dollars may be down, but…

Peter: But not even that much…

John: No, people are buying books. You know, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, they’re all in business and doing well. Wal-Mart, Costco…

Peter: And people are saying to your pollsters, that they’re reading, too. So, why is it that we have this impression that we have a post-literate culture?

John: Because I think sometimes, not unlike pollsters occasionally, we don’t let the numbers talk, we look at the numbers and do our own interpretations. Maybe that’s a little segue from the Kerry-Bush mistake that I made, but the fact of the matter is, look, you can’t extrapolate from a book expo, but there’s a lot of people here. There are a lot of people at your local bookstore, your Barnes & Noble. There’s a recession, people have fewer dollars to spend, maybe the dollars are not growing the way that we’d like them to grow. Maybe the publishers are having a little rougher time, but I think the factors are pointing to our getting out of this, and the fact is, people are reading large numbers of books, and they love it.

Peter: And in fact, your investment in a book versus a movie theater ticket is huge. You have the pass along value of the book, you re-read the book, you can use it as a doorstop, or a decoration on your coffee table…you get a lot of value out of a book.

John: People are reading. They may not be reading some kinds of books, but there are others they are reading, and witness that beyond the independent booksellers, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, online are doing very well, and so is your local drugstore. Wal-Mart…

Peter: And yet you’re studies show that the independents are indeed suffering greatly because of the Barnes & Noble’s and Borders…

John: Yeah, but a lot of people are still buying, 49%, are still buying from independent book sellers.

Peter: You’re listening to the Business Shrink…the Business Shrink is Peter Morris. I’m Peter Laugher, at the BEA: Book Expo America, at the convention center in Los Angeles, with John Zogby. We’re launching the book, the first book of the Business Shrink books series, The Dysfunctional Workplace, and we’re pleased to be broadcasting from here. And watching people pick the book up and look at it with interest. And also launching here is John Zogby’s book, “The Way We’ll Be.” And that then begs the question, which I’m sure you must address in the book, which I have not seen yet, it’s not out yet. It comes out in August, and it’s always difficult to interview an author when you haven’t read the book, but it’s that question of how much do polls drive what we do as a society. If I hear that it’s going to be a slam dunk for Barack Obama in November against John McCain, and somebody asks me if I want to go sailing on election day, do I just go sailing because I know my vote won’t count, and then it’s your fault that John McCain wins.

John: Boy, the day before the New Hampshire primary this year, colleagues Keith Oberman and Chris Matthews were saying, how are we going to write Hillary Clinton’s obituary tomorrow at the New Hampshire primary? Voters are in a feisty mood, they develop their own moods. Now, they’ll read the polls, they’ll look at them, and understand that they’re kind of a reflection of how they think. But I don’t really see any evidence that they have that much of an impact…

Peter: So then what is their value then?

John: Ah…the value is simply to take a barometric reading. You know, if I know I have to lose weight November 4th, I’m not going to get on the scale November 4th, I’m going to get along every which way and see just how badly I’m doing, or how well I’m doing.

Peter: How well you’re doing, we hope. So, do you worry though, then that which has been charged is true? That a politician is watching your results more than looking at the broader picture and that politician is too concerned about his or her popularity? I guess in a way George Bush is a reflection that that’s not true, because his popularity is as awful as anybodies could possibly be in his office.

John: I think public opinion plays a factor and should play a factor. But it can’t be the only or the decisive factor in how a politician behaves. My understanding of politicians, the successful ones anyway, is that they come in with a core set of their own values. Now what’s the value of a poll? To determine should I emphasize this or not emphasize this? Should I say it this way, or should I say it that way? There are ways of selling and packaging those values and those ideas, and there are clearly ways of not doing that. And that’s one of the values of public opinion, not so much to tell a politician this is what you should think, and this is what you should not think.

Peter: Yeah.

John: More a question of emphasis.

Peter: And does it continue to be a thrill 30-odd years later, to go out there? What is the fascination for you?

John: The real fascination is seeing something that’s developing while we’re in the middle, while we’re in the eye of the storm and then seeing it continue to develop there. In this book there are several “eureka” moments, things that I had been following, you know, especially since the mid-to-late-90’s and then on through. Then all of a sudden you see the numbers moving in a certain direction every year, every couple of years, and then…wow. It’s changing…there’s some things developing here. The next poll that comes out, another 5 points towards that direction, compared to when we first started 10 years ago. There’s a seismic shift that’s taking place. That’s the sort of thing that’s very exciting. Kind of being able to capture something maybe before anybody else does.

Peter: And then be able to draw the world’s attention to that and maybe have an involvement in social change because you’re spotlighting it.

John: Being the philosopher, being the person who captures the vectors and points/sees the direction being pointed, that’s much more intriguing to me than who’s ahead today or tomorrow in a presidential race, believe it or not.

Peter: No, I do believe it. You’re listening to the Business Shrink, the Business Shrink is Peter Morris, he’s the author of the new book, the first in the business book series, “The Dysfunctional Workplace.” I’m Peter Laugher, sitting in for him here, at BEA, Book Expo America, broadcasting with John Zogby, famous for the Zogby Poll, and soon to be famous for the book, “The Way We’ll Be.” Now, let me ask you this…you haven’t seen this yet. Here’s the “Dysfunctional Workplace”, the book by Peter Morris, the first in the series. Why do we have what seems to be an insatiable appetite in this country for books that tell us what we ought to be doing. In some ways there’s a corollary there to poll work, right? Why do we want somebody to tell us, as Peter Morris does here in The Dysfunctional Workplace, what we ought to be doing, and particularly in business, the business books?

John: The key word is “connectivity” or “connected.” There are so many things out there that force us into our own privacy, into an atomized little piece of the world. Whether we’re commuting in a little car, or a subway car, or walking on our own with an iPod. We ultimately have our own thoughts and our own needs, and our own hurt feelings. And what we want to know as human beings is: How do I fit? Am I the only one who’s hurt? Am I the only one who’s helped? This isn’t working for me…is it working for them? And, you know, what we do, whether it’s polls or authors, is try to give people an explanation for it, an understanding a bit. In that sense that works for a lot of people because otherwise you just won’t have it, you’ll never know, you won’t have any idea…

Peter: So what you’re saying is that the growing anonymity of the society, the automatic teller machine instead of the bank teller, the automatic toll taker instead of stopping at the toll booth and saying “Good morning” to the guy you give your $5 to or the gal, the drive-thru at the restaurant. This is creating a loss of some kind of a tribal interaction that we used to have that allowed us to have a touchstone that we’re missing…

John: Well, yeah…in a lot of ways, we used to be able to walk into a bank and have the teller say, “You look nice today.” “Oh, alright!” Or you walk into a bank innocently, and tell her “I don’t like your attitude…” “I didn’t do anything!”, “Well at least I had some sort of feedback.” But it’s bigger than that. You know, in the workplace, or hearing an opinion, or watching an event…I can’t tell you the number of people who write after they’ve seen a poll, or read a book, and they’ve said, “Gee, everybody I’ve talked to is with me on this issue.”

Peter: Just saying goodbye now to John Zogby…it’s been great spending a half an hour or so with you.

John: My pleasure.

Peter: And your book, which is coming out in August is…

John: “The Way We’ll Be.”

Peter: Any your poll that you’ve conducted about the book business had one wonderful, somewhat frivolous question, which was, if the president calls you at 3-o’ clock in the morning, what book do you suggest the president read, right?

John: History, lots of history.

Peter: Right, and that’s what I’m asking you. What is it that you think the president should read?

John: Me, personally?

Peter: Yes, what would you tell…

John: Oh, I would…

Peter: That’s what you’re saying was the answer, was history. Ok…but, you, if the president called you at 3-o’ clock tomorrow morning and said, “John, I cannot sleep.”

John: I would tell the president to read “All the Kings Men” which is a favorite political novel…

Peter: Oh, it’s one of my favorites too. Absolutely spectacular.

John: The best of all time…

Peter: Yes, yes, and…

John: Gives a little bit of depth from there…

Peter: Yeah, and what would be the takeaway lesson for the current president from that book?

John: Is that you can mess up, but hubris can destroy a politician.

Peter: Yes, indeed. So, you are listening to the Business Shrink program. And your Business Shrink is Peter Morris. I’m Peter Laufer sitting in for the Business Shrink Peter Morris, here at the BEA, Book Expo America.

It may come as a surprise to most people but it is recommended that teens require an average of 9.25 hours of sleep to be alert the following day. In reality, most teens are not even getting close when they are averaging around 7 hours of sleep each night. A discussion about why teens find it hard to fall asleep earlier to get more sleep can be found here at the Sleep Education site run by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Basically, the information says that due to biological changes that take place around 11 or 12 years of age, teens find it hard to fall asleep before 11 p.m. or later. Due to school start times this forces teens to have a significant loss of sleep producing a long list of problems.

Problems that arise from lack of sleep in teens can be specific to the individual but can include difficulty learning, thinking, making decisions, using good judgment and solving problems. Moodiness, irritability, sluggishness and decreased motivation are problems most people have experienced at some point in time due to lack of sleep. Besides reducing overall health, immune system health, growth and memory, lack of sleep can be a big health problem when students get behind the wheel. It’s estimated that over 50,000 crashes a year are caused by sleep deprived young adults under the age of 25 years old.

The possible solution for teens and all this sleepiness is to have schools move to later start times. In a specific study done by Zaw W. Htwe, MD, of Norwalk Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Center in Norwalk, Conneticut it focused on a group of 259 high school students. When the students were surveyed about their sleep habits, it was found they were getting an average amount of sleep of 7.03 hours on school nights. The bed-times and wake-times were found to be 10:52 p.m. and 6:12 a.m. on average. That gives the average student a sleep time of 7 hours and 20 minutes for every school night. With a recommendation of 9 hours or more for teens, it’s obvious there is some sleep deprivation that seems to be consistent with most teens.

When looking at most school start times you will notice that 7:35 a.m. is pretty standard in the United States. There are some instances where the final bell to be in class rings at a later time giving students time to eat breakfast and socialize. In this specific study they adjusted the school start time from 7:35 am. to 8:15 a.m. This 40-minute delay in the school day produced pretty significant results. The researchers found that on average students sleep time increased by 33 minutes for school nights.

It seems that a common misconception would be if you give teens a later start time in school, they would adjust their sleep time to be later and later. The later the school start time, the later the actual bedtime. The research proved misconceptions and common beliefs wrong when students actually utilized the extra 40 minutes of time for sleep. Quoted directly from a corresponding author of the study, ““Following a 40-minute delay in start time, the students utilized 83 percent of the extra time for sleep. This increase in sleep time came as a result of being able to ‘sleep in’ to 6:53 a.m., with little delay in their reported school night bedtime. This study demonstrates that students given the opportunity to sleep longer, will, rather than extend their wake activities on school nights.”

In an effort to help teens find ways to get more sleep even if they aren’t blessed with a later school start time, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has released 10 tips on how teens can get more sleep. Tip one is fairly well known by most people but drives home the importance of a consistent bedtime routine. Tip number two says that bedtime should include a relaxing setting. Piles of books, papers and deadlines around your bed is not going to help you relax!

The next tip seems to coincide with consistency and suggests you get a full night’s sleep every night. Tip number four says to quit eating and drinking any caffeinated drinks before bedtime and avoid medicines that have stimulants in them. Tip number five is interesting because most students cram for exams. Don’t fall into the cram for the exam trap, it’s suggested this can wreak havoc on long-term sleep schedules. You can read a story here that was run by Fox News saying that, “Students Who Pull All-Nighters Have Lower GPAs.”

One big hurdle for most teenagers these days is tip number six, which suggests that you do not have TVs and computers in the bedroom. Before you know it, recommendations will be calling for the ban of cell phones in your bedroom to increase sleep! If you’re going to bed hungry or you’re eating meals right before bedtime, then tip number seven is for you, stop the habit now. If you’re exercising six hours before bedtime you’re not helping a night full of good rest either, says tip number eight. When making sure your bedroom is relaxing you also need to make sure that it’s quiet, dark and a little cool to make sure your zzz’s happen easier. The last tip goes along with consistency and says you should get up the same time every morning. If you follow these tips you should find that it’s easier to get more restful sleep and get to sleep faster. If you’re really lucky, your school may start to see research like this study and move to a later start. Here’s to wishing anyway!

With the fast pace growth in the numbers of elderly individuals in America, a growing list of ailments and diseases will see high growth too. A report released by the Alzheimer’s Association that you can read here, states that 1 out of every 8 boomers will develop Alzheimer’s Disease, which amounts to a total of 10 million new cases. The Census Bureau sees diabetes as being another disease that will see a dramatic rise with boomer growth. With rampant obesity among the boomers cases of diabetes, stroke, and heart attacks are expected to put Medicare to the ultimate test and literally overload the professional caregiver networks and the boomers’ own children and family. The American Optometric Association even released a report here warning of major growth in eye diseases and up to 20.5 million new cases of cataracts.

With boomers’ own children, family, doctors and caregivers completely overloaded with the growing needs of the aging population, technology is expected to step in and lend a hand. Although telemedicine hasn’t really seen it’s day yet, it is literally around the corner. With most baby boomers still craving their independence, living centers and alternative living isn’t always a solution that is workable. Telemedicine is allowing monitoring of vital signs and accurate remote measurements for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions. At companies like A&D Medical, products are manufactured to work with various wireless technologies like Wifi and Bluetooth. Telemedicine components that are wired and wireless products can communicate and upload data to compatible Access Points. The Access Point then sends the information to a central station where a health care provider can monitor the baby boomers and treat them by “exception.” If measurements are abnormal or there is no measurement at all, the baby boomer or elderly patient would be contacted.

Looking beyond just telemedicine, there are companies that are releasing new innovative products in the remote monitoring area focusing on the elderly and the exploding baby boomer market. At this year’s Consumer Electronic Show, a company called 4HomeMedia demonstrated products that help remotely monitor the elderly and also combine the telemedicine functions mentioned previously. Looking at their press release describing their services you’ll see the direction this all seems to be heading, “By creating a passive monitoring network around a senior in their normal home setting, both family members and professional care-givers can log into a personalized Web page and get historical trend data, real-time status updates, and proactive alerts about the health and well-being for that monitored elder

The recommended starter kit for the IL service includes the Home HealthPoint, three motion detectors, and an emergency pendant. The motion detectors are strategically placed around the home during the professional installation in the bedroom, at the entrance to the primary bathroom, and in the main trafficked area such as a foyer or living room. Additional sensor devices such as additional motion detectors, access contacts on the refrigerator or doors, a smart pillbox, or IP cameras can be utilized to supplement the monitoring data sets being produced within the home.”

The development in the telemedicine and remote monitoring industry doesn’t end there however. Large corporations and organizations are making big pushes and investments in these areas that are expected to grow rapidly. In a New York Times article you can read here, Intel is found discussing it’s $3 million dollar investment in the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology that runs a living laboratory, with 225 volunteers. This center is setup to sense the people living there through the walls, doorways and appliances. In the NYT article, Intel is found talking about their research development, “Intel researchers are developing devices like a “memory bracelet” that vibrates at a specified time to remind the wearer of a doctor’s appointment or to take medication. Also in trials are sensor-infused carpets — Eric Dishman, Intel’s director of product research, calls them “magic carpets” — and wearable sensors, which would measure changes in gait, to help avoid falls.”

Another big organization getting involved in the baby boomer elderly market was just recently created and named the Continua Health Alliance. Large corporations are getting involved like GE Healthcare, IBM and Medtronic. The one thing all these corporations, private investors and research centers are hoping will materialize is more insurance coverage and government assistance for seniors and baby boomers to take advantage of these advancements. Even though interest is growing, innovations are brewing and whole industries are jumping on the baby boomer marketing bandwagon, Europe is still seeing stronger development and funding in these technologies and services. What really remains to be seen out of all this technology that sounds helpful, is how helpful and accepting will the baby boomer generation be in letting it surround them?

In fact, in a feature story over at MSNBC that you can read here, shows the implications and seriousness of ignoring tire pressure. The Rubber Manufacturers Association completed a major survey detailing just how bad driver’s ignore tire pressure. According to the survey, more driver’s wash their car, three out of four, than correctly check their tire pressure, one in five. Only 20 percent of driver’s on the road even know how to check their tire pressure correctly if they wanted to!

The chances of having low tire pressure is 33.3% or 1 in 3 cars on the road. This leads to over 30,000 injuries and nearly 700 fatalities every year. These statistics are provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). While accidents and injuries are the long lasting effects of low tire pressure, daily effects can be seen in your gas bill. The U.S. Department of Energy says that American’s waste 3.56 million gallons of gas or $14.2 million in gas a day at $4 a gallon due to tire pressure. For every penny increase in the gas price, an additional $35,600 is lost in low tire pressure gas loss in America.

If history continues to repeat itself as it often proves to do, drivers on the road are not going to become better educated or more diligent in checking and adjusting their tire pressure. An interesting innovation by the tire company Michelin, could possibly solve this problem for every driver on the road if fully implemented. It is said this new innovation for tires has been in development since 1995 and was slated to land on pavement in a mass roll-out by 2010.

Michelin’s innovative invention was the airless tire that combined the tire and wheel bringing about the name, TWEEL. TWEEL stems from the combination of the words (Tire/WhEEL) to make a catchy product name that is already being prototyped on all types of vehicles, wheelchairs, Segways and other small transportation units.

To understand what exactly the TWEEL is, Michelin explains it well on their website, “Michelin TWEEL is a single non-pneumatic solution instead of the traditional tire and wheel combination, made up of a rubber tread bonded to the hub by flexible spokes. The flexible spokes are fused with a deformable wheel that absorbs shocks and rebounds with unimaginable ease. Without the air needed in conventional tires, Michelin TWEEL still delivers pneumatic-like load-carrying capacity, ride comfort and resistance to road hazards.”

In 2006 Michelin won the Gold Medal for Innovation from The Intermat innovation commission in Paris. There were five criteria for Michelin to win the gold medal, they were: 1. Technical Design and technologies: improvement in productivity, ease of maintenance. 2. Economy: lower purchase price and maintenance costs 3. Quality of work carried out. 4. Ease of use, ergonomics, comfort, safety and improvement in working conditions. 5. Environmental friendliness. Meeting all these criteria with high marks the new innovative Michelin TWEEL easily took the gold medal award. TIME Magazine also selected Michelin’s new non-pneumatic innovation as “One of the Most amazing Inventions of 2005.” In addition the TWEEL was featured in Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” honor in the Automotive Technology category.

With a sleek and well thought out technology like the TWEEL, it could not only revolutionize the transportation industry, but could be another weapon in consumers’ arsenal to save on their gas bill. Eliminating the need to monitor tire pressure while producing superior shock absorbing and road hazard invincibility, the TWEEL is set to make roads safer and more environmentally friendly. Other uses that are already beyond just testing can be found in heavy equipment and many military uses. If the time table stays in line with stated remarks from Michelin, these new integrated tire and wheel hybrids will be on cars and rolling down our roads by mid 2010. You can watch live demonstrations of the TWEEL and it’s various uses in this video presentation here.

It was all back in the year 1946 that a famous inventor named Earl Silas Tupper came up with a ground breaking design and business plan that changed the face of America. The product was dubbed as Tupperware and gained it’s famous and patented, “burping seal” trademark that became well known throughout kitchens of the country. The business was built through women returning from jobs they had acquired during World War II. After returning from jobs that proved to women they had the skills to do business, they started forming “jubilee” celebrations honoring top sellers of Tupperware. Within 16 years Tupperware become an international brand known throughout the world. Now looking down the road in current affairs and the new face of the American economy, we see a new business built off the same core model of business fundamentals and viral opportunity.

This business is built in American homes and is modeled to be replicated throughout the American countryside and the world. This new business is not built off of burping Tupperware products, but comes from a raw material that is mined from the depths of the earth. Just as people rushed to the West for riches in the exploration of gold, people are rushing into living rooms to hawk up their possessions of love, gifts, heirlooms and other possessions that are made of gold. In the hills of suburbia lies a mine deeper than was once realized, the overfilled or forgotten jewelry box or attic.

The business was not created from thin air, but festered from a marriage that brought Mrs. Thomas into a jewelry-dealing family that opened her eyes to what gold was worth, once it was liquidated into dollars. With rough times facing many lower and middle-class families in America, Mrs. Thomas decided to start a new business that played middleman to the gold refinery business and named it My Gold Party. Typically, it’s a tossup what you might get when liquidating a piece of jewelry, a watch or even coins that are made of gold but with this new business model, the value of the gold is told to the owner within minutes.

While you won’t come home with something to store food in, you will come home with a check or cash if you decide to let go of your gold belongings. With foreclosures, tight credit and tough times seeming inevitable, people are giving up gold for dollars. Homes around America are allowing people in a hard situation or looking to have more liquidity, cash in with their unwanted gold. In fact, another company that calls itself Cash4Gold.com is seeing a dramatic rise with the changing face of the economy. When looking at the business that goes through companies like Cash4Gold, 25,000 gold transaction are rushing through the company operations in a month.

If you take a look at the gold prices in public markets like Kitco.com, you’ll see that gold is starting once again to show some strength. Since a low of $845 an ounce in May 2008, gold has pushed back to levels around $935 an ounce. With oil prices going over $135 a barrel the price of gold is soon to find a related upward momentum that could take it back to lifetime record highs of $1,030.80. Respected financial institutions like Goldman Sachs predict prices of oil to reach $200 a barrel, now other major financial institutions, investors and oil producers are talking about prices around $500 a barrel.

As oil receives it’s price pressures from speculators, it’s pushing up gas prices in every home in the world. The double sided result is a weight on household finances and a growing rise in a commodity like gold that is very closely related to the uncertainty of markets causing household financial pressures. The gold business is booming and parties all across America are cashing in. For $700 anyone can start up their own Gold Party business and seek the gold some don’t even know is hiding in their homes. Tupperware has seen a slight decline in modern times, but a business built off the same model aims to cash in on a recession economy that opens a new door.