29 innocent humans murdered

Gun Control? How about Parental Control. There are 20, 6 and 7 year old babies now with the Lord, seperated for a time from their grieving parents.
     It's time to hear the truth. It's time to take responsibility. It's time to parent your chlidren. Its so easy to say we need more gun laws or we need to ban guns. Do you need to hear it again, "when guns are outlawed only outlaws will own guns". The Clackimaw Mall that was shot up was stopped by a Good man with a gun. The man who was carrying a conceiled wepon, legally drew on the shooter and the shooter ran and then shot himself, not any more people. Its odd how that little fact was not reported.
     Murder has been around since the very beginning, Cain killed Able....with a rock. Guns are NOT the problem, people are the problem, but these mass killings are getting worse, more evil.
    These unimaginable mass murders are happening more and more. Just in the last few years we keep witnessing "kids" with asault rifles, sawed off shotguns, and handguns killing people. Yes, you still have people lose it and kill another person, I'm not talking about that, I'm referring to kids who do the un-thinkable.
     It used to be unimaginable, unthinkable, then came video games. Kids practice 14-20 hours a week winning at their favorite video game. Studies have shown that teens and pre-teens fronal lobe develpoement is stunted, and do not properly develope, when playing video games for hours a day. This underdeveloped frontal lobe results in lack of impulse control. Think about it, kids dont really control impulses to start with and if the part of the brain that is in charge of that function doesnt properly develope, they never will reach full potential.
     But the big problem is parenting. When kids sit in their room, alone, playing Black Ops, or Halo, or Super Mario brothers for that matter any game, hour on hour, by themselves, un-parented they do not learn to interact with people. They can become reclusive, cant look you in the eye, cant carry on a conversation, cannot interact with live people. When a kid gets this way, he naturally can become the easy target of the more social kids. It seems to me we always hear the same description: "He was a good boy, quiet didnt have a lot of friends". I remember coaching a T-Ball team of 5 and 6 year olds and some of them, it appeared, were doing something physical and social for the first time. While attempting to play catch, I heard one boy say to the other, "throw it to the humanoid".I was blown away.
    PARENTS! WAKE UP! DO YOUR JOB. Yes, your job is raising your child. When you bring a child into this world, your #1 job is them, NOT YOU!  Give up the gym, your hobbies, your "me" time. We are so self centered that we think our "needs" are ahead of our children, WRONG.
     As a kid, we played Cowboys and Indians. We played Army. We did these things WITH other kids, outside, with consequences. If you ran, you got winded. If you fell, you lost some elbo or knee skin and it hurt. When I was 6 or 7, I was shot (with a surveyer stick pointed at me as a rifle by my best friend). Well, when you get shot you fall and I fell knee first into a shard of glass and cut an artery and took 7 stitches in the leg. There was no reset button. I was laid up for a week or so. Lesson, cutting an artery and getting stitches sucks, try to avoid that. I get it, the new video games are so realistic its unbelievable, and if that lights your fire, so beit, just understand that you need to treat this time cautiously and only let your baby participate while YOU supervise and participate with him or her.
     It now comes out regarding the Newtown murders that the Mother of the killer owned the guns he took, legally, proving criminals do not obey laws. But it also is coming out now that in the last few years, she kept him home, spending all his time is 2 rooms, playing video games, away from other kids and people in general. What do we expect? Do we expect he would all of the sudden become a normal person who gets a job a wife and a mortgage? Seriously? The Mother become worried about him in the last couple years, TOO LATE!
     California gun laws are the most strict in the country. Waiting a week for a handgun is not such a bad idea, but when evil wants to kill, it will find a way. There are no gun laws that will protect us from evil. Guns are here, you cannot change that. But rocks are here, and sticks are here and cars are here and rope is here and knives and cleavers .....you get it. Lets not blame an inanimant object for evil, its only the instrument used by evil. Lets blame parents who are more concerned with their own life than their childs. Lets blame a societal change that happened in the 70's when we made it the law of the land to murder innocent human beings, by law, with absolutely no reason whatsoever.
     We have murdered over 55 million babies in the United States alone since 1973's court decisioin Roe v Wade. That says that while the evil killings were happening in Conecticut, while 29 Human beings were brutally murdered, we, as a country murdered 157 during that same hour alone. And we continue to MURDER 157 BABIES EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY.  How many people have been killed with guns during that same time period? If you want to get angry about loss of life, take on legal abortion. I'm sick of hearing people claim that its a right to take an unborn human life, or its ok for you but not me. Thats the same thing as saying Its OK for you to kill innocent school children, but its just not my bag"
If you are just trying to make yourself feel better by opposing an inanimanat object, than dont bother me with your hogwash.
    We must take responsibility. If we want to own an asault rifle, we must be responsible enough to keep it out of the hands of ill-equipped people. If you want to own a Pitbull, you have to INSURE that it cannot get out among the public. Pitbulls have killed 17 people per year since 2006, where is the outrage? If you want to own one, you must be respoonsible for it. A dog is like a gun, they must be maintained by a responsible adult. We will revisit this over and over until we have the guts to look at the truth, but I fear we may have already jumped the shark.
     Until Jesus returns.

I really feel sorry for my competitors...NOT!

Can you imagine Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Juan Marischal all in their prime and all on the same team? Would anyone have a chance against them? Wouldnt every other team be in awe? Wouldnt anyone with half a brain be intimidated? Well, it really wouldnt be fair, but then again, those who know me well know that I don't necessarily need the fight to be fair.

What if the companies that invented: the tape rule, the desk stapler, the portable belt sander, the random orbital sander, the utility knife, the cordless drill, the radial arm saw, or the first portable circular saw, coil fed nailers, all got togather. Well, thats exactly what happened when Stanley and Black and Decker became one and brought Stanley and Bostitch and Black and Decker and DeWalt and Porter-Cable brands all together.

I just got back from a week long sales meeting in Baltimore. It was the first for the new Stanley Black and Decker (SBD) Construction-Do-It-Youorself (CDIY) Division. Including IT, Marketing, Customer Service, and Sales, we were 1100 strong. We have #1 Market share in just about every category, it's pretty strong. We pretty much took over the Baltimore Hilton, directly across the street from Camden Yards...or whatever they call the place now. On the last night, they put on a "Brand" party in the Baltimore Convention Center. The pics above were the displays that absolutely blew my socks off (got a pair of Stanley work socks too!)

I can't imagine the knot in the stomach of my "competitors" when they realize what just ran them over, took the food off their table, and caused their children to be happy with a GED.

They should die like the swine that they are.

Wow, pretty heavy huh? Well, I do not apologize. I work in a very competitive world where you either eat or are ate. I like to eat, so I must engage my enemies daily. I know, I know, I am not freeing captives or saving lives...I am selling tools, the best in the world.
...but as Babe Ruth so eloquently put it, "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."

Bonnaroo ReCap

Well kids, we survived Bonnaroo, and I DO mean survived! 85000 people camped out refugee style(absolutely no exaggeration) although our camp was the Taj Mahal thanks to Bev's sister Andy. Heat, 90+ humidity+mud+bugs like tics, fleas, mosquitos and many more...only added to our sense of accomplishment when we reached a venue to hear live and mostly up close to: Conan O'brien's first schtick after NBC let him go, so funny, Umphrey's McGee, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-awesome, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers who finished the set with ...KING TUT!, the Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, wow, The Avett Bros (my boys), a little John Prine followed by Stevie Wonder-A-mazing, Jay-Z (just testin ya, you know I wasnt there for that one, we just listened from our tent...2 miles away!) Then Jamie Johnson, John Fogerty doing CCR and his own stuff(whatever, just stick to Green River-goose bumps for me) btw, Kris Kristopherson is an amazing songwriter-duh, but singing and playing guitar and harmonica...not so much) but it was sooo cool, then Zac Brown-made us proud to be C&W Fans.The the finale-Dave Mathews, wow, the drummer was absolutely amazing-my highlight of Roo!(btw, I think that "peanuts'" Pig-Pen must have attended Roo at some time. His dance method was adopted by yours trully. It stretched out your back and when the music gets real funky, you only have to throw a "lean back" to the beat and you are in baby, I just hope there wasnt a cloud of dust with me but I cant be sure and really didnt care at that point. So as I lay in bed with the AC blarin' at this fine Motel, waiting to go to the airport, I can only think of the tunes, they were great,,,, oh ya, and the thought...there's no place like home,there's no place like home, there's no place like home...zzzz Aunti Em, Auntie Em!

I'm just a Territory Grinder

When I identify a target customer, I persue until I have won him. He/she, whatever, hey, you gals have ships and cars, the customer is a he, ok? Anywho, thats the goal. To be relentless. Not a pest, cuz the same sales rules apply here too. You must be a "Natural" part of the
environment to make the sale, IE, "get them to sign on the line which is dotted". I ID'd Meeks Lumber some 20+ years ago and I wont get into that part too much, but just recently have I made any progress. Well, they have an annual Contractor Expo (sale) at Harrahs in Tahoe. As the Stanley Rep, I was invited to contribute....I mean attend. Well, here's my chance, and I'm definately going to exploit it. Mind you, my major competitor in nailers and staplers is Senco. Senco has been on the shelf at Meeks for over 20 years, and with the same rep! I cant even remember how many positions with Stanley I have had in those years. So, I put on the full court press. I arranged to have the Stanley Race Car there, in my booth, check. Got Meeks to bring in 2 Nailers and 2 new Bostitch Tape Rules for the show, check. Spend 50+ hours making flyers, building mobile displays, ordering POP (point of purchase) and literature. We paid for a 10 foot booth, but kinda stretched that out to 30 or so feet. This is a pic of the booth, note: there is a full size actual NASCAR Show Car in the booth.

Overkill maybe, huh? The pic below was taken 5 minutes before showtime. I think that the look on my good buddy Steve the Senco rep's face says it all. "Dang, this is a tuff spot"!

Well, I wont get into details, but my booth was one of the busiest in the show. Bill Meek himself thanked me for bringing in the Show Car. My main goal of the show was to impress the socks of the Meeks folks, and get 300 contractors to take a good look at the new Bostitch Hand Tools. I ordered in 300 Stanley FatMax Hammer Holders and gave them in exchange for them to fill out a simple survey, end result is I walk into the buyer at Meeks with 300 Contractors names, which Meeks they shop at and what BHT catagories they are interested in buying. Not bad. As far as Bostitch Nailers go, I made major headway today. The next 30 days will say alot. Here are a few more pics from today, oh, and by the way, every bit of this booth except the car and one 8 ft table came and went into the back of my truck with the taneau cover shut!

I have seen many changes in my 23 year Stanley sales career. I started, selling Bostitch Nail Guns and Staple Guns & acc to lumber and roofing yards, tool houses and insulation supply. I remember the day, 1995, doing a demo at Depot. We, Bostitch, were getting traded from Stanley to B&D for Kwikset. How demoralizing if nothing else, now Kwikset is part of us. Us is SB&D. Us is Stanley, Bostitch, DeWalt, Delta, Porter-Cable and thats just our Construction-Do It Yourself channel. Stanley Black and Decker is now an 8.6 Billion company. The other 2 Channels, Security which includes, Stanley Hardware, National Hardware, Sonotrol Security, Stanley Best Access (grocery store automatic doors), Price Phister, Kwikset, Weiser. The Industrial Channel includes Bostitch, MacTools, Proto and a few more. Its quite daunting.

So,
after the "All-Company" Web-Ex Conference Call on "day 2" of our new company Stanley Black and Decker, I got on the phone to the owner of Apex Saw in Reno, Nv regarding the Contractor Show on the upcoming Friday and Saturday March 19 and 20th. I requested that he placed my Stanley booth next to the DeWalt/Porter Cable Team. I reminded him that NOW we were on the same team!

When the 3 DeWalt salesmen, Nate Knighten, BJ Peterson, and Juan Cisneros and I were setting up our tents and booths, we introduced ourselves and did not waste a minute in unifying our efforts as ONE team.

We cross-merchandised a few items and made it obvious that our 3 booths were as one. The visual presence we put out was of unity and power. The breadth of line we represented was unreal. DeWalt Power Tools, Bostitch Pneumatic Tools, Stanley Hand Tools, Stanley Storage, Bostitch Hand Tools, Porter-Cable Power Tools, and Stanley Mechanics Tools.
As a competitor, I pretty much either ignore or dislike any salespeople selling any product that is the slightest bit in competition with me. Hence, I had not met these 3 B&D reps until the first morning setup. I found we had a lot in common, they don’t like their competitors either!
They taught me a lot. I learned that I really detest the turquoise of Makita, the red of Milwaukee, and the blue of Bosch. And I now have a soft spot for that slightly different shade of yellow.
At the event, I sold products from, Storage, BHT, Bostitch, and Hand Tools including the new Sweetheart™ planes. I now know about “fixed frogs” and “adjustable throats”!
I noticed a New product DeWalt had displayed in their booth, the “Quadraport”. This is an air delivery manifold that includes 2 unregulated and 2 regulated outlets. The store did not stock it yet. On the second day, I asked Nate if I could display it in my booth next to my new CAP2045 compressor. Within 30 minutes I had sold my first DeWalt product, AND a new CAP2045.

The owner, Lane Andreson (correct spelling no relation) came to me towards the end of the show to tell me how appreciative he was of “our” display and the demonstrations of our products. He also remarked that he heard feedback from several customers regarding SB&D, all positive. He had overheard me respond to a customers question: “Who bought Who”?
I responded that Stanley purchased B&D, but instead of “taking them over” we were re-forming it into this new company, utilizing all the talent for both. This is a new account for me and the re-order ought to be great, and like the opening order, will include all lines. I think this show helped all of our brands that were represented.

I am excited about all the possibilities this new company offers me and my customers. To represent the finest name brands in the industry is a salesman’s’ dream come true. As the structure of the sales organization becomes more clear, I am confident that, working together, we can take our share and then some.
1 horse may pull 500 pounds but
2 horses, hitched together can pull over 2000 pounds.
The competition had better look for new work!

I submitted this story, a shorter version, and it is now on our SB&D webpage. The near future should be interesting.

Had to pull out some Zigsters

Building relationships is probably the number one element to long term sales success:
Back in 1988 or so, we landed “Lumberjack”, 11 stores in my territory. Steadily, I built relationships with the different buyers, Store Managers, Tool dept managers, warehouseman, accounts payable, and “Bobby Bostitch”, the tool aisle dude or dudette. Each location was pumping out about $5k per month. Lumberjack was Bostitch, Meeks was Senco.
In about 1990, I put the full court press on Meeks, 13 locations now, cant remember how many back then. I landed the Chico location. Set an 8’ aisle of Bostitch, put on a product knowledge (PK) class, complete with pizza! Before we could get a sales event scheduled, the corporate Merchandising manager, DP nixed the whole deal, made the store return the product to the wholesaler. The wholesaler sold them 40 different items, one being mine so a return was out of my control. Then in 1999, with the help of then SWAT guy, Derek Davidson, we opened Grass Valley, repeated the above steps and held a SWAT event. 108 degree summer day, sold 22 tools. A Great Day. Within a week, DP put the nix on it. He was a real “nixer”! He never returned a call or email when it became available. I never met the man. Since then I have a number of different positions within the company. Fast forward to July 2009:
I now sell Stanley Hand Tools, Storage, and Bostitch. Meeks is my only potential growth customer. I have steadily built relationships with the different personnel and systematically added many new items to their mix. We have a promotion going on which places Stanley Hand Tools on Merchandising Racks, on their wall, for 50% off. I have added 46 racks to two stores. I called to alert the store buyer, Lacy that I was on my way to set their 32’ wall. She responded by telling me that as of Monday, they had a new Store Manager and that he was not happy to see all the Stanley in the warehouse. She told me to come to her office when I got there. I asked who was the new Store Manager, and yes, she responded with DP.

Hmm, well at least I get to meet this guy. On the hour-long drive, I got a little worried to be honest. This account is pretty important. I cannot let this guy nix me again. I have to stay calm, be in control, listen, mirror his body language/demeanor/rhythm. I have a chance, one chance to make the first impression, what I want it to be. I have to go in assuming he remembers nothing of our past occurrences. I must create the “reality” of our business relationship as I want it to be. “I am not who you think I am, I am not who I think I am, I am who I think, you think I am.
When I arrived Cindy informed me that Lacy had been let go that morning, right after our phone conversation. Nice atmosphere, good thing I had a plan. The “counter” clerk Cindy is an old school lumberyard gal. It was easy to create that needed relationship with her in the weeks I had been working on this location. I had sold them in a 8’ Storage set and now it was a 32’ Hand Tool wall. Cindy says, you need to talk to DP. She paged him, no answer. He had gone to lunch. She looks out the window and sees him getting into his truck. She goes outside and I can hear her yelling his name. Great, so he’s not gonna like his lunch being interrupted, here we go, he’s on his way back in the store.
Mid 50’s I’d say, medium height and about 30 lbs overweight. No expression is evident.
We meet, introduce ourselves and shake hands. I start out with, well, I understand Lacy is no longer with the company. He affirms with a nod and I detect a little remorse. Here’s a guy who has worked for this company for 18 years, by his reaction, it most likely bothered him. A crack in the armor. I respond with, “ I know how tough that can be, we’ve recently been through the same thing. These are tough times”. A slightly more relaxed demeanor came over him, I mirrored that and seg-way’d into how Stanley and Bostitch had combined. How I had been with Bostitch for 22 years. I figured I may as well get it out there now. No response. Then he asked about the Stanley Black and Decker merger, a good sign. I briefly explained what I could. He then asked, “what do you have in mind for my tool wall?” a very good sign. We walked the wall, he had some suggestions which I made note of. He apologized for not being able to supply me any help, I was to come back in the morning and start. All in all, a very good start.
I set a beautiful wall in the next two days, bringing in a custom Starbucks order the second morning. Friday afternoon, the Stanley wall was complete, trash in the dumpster. DP was quite happy with the results. There were 12 more feet that could be re-worked and condensed in that wall, with opportunity to add more product. Friday night, I emailed he and the new buyer, D with a Bostitch Manual Tacker planogram and 3 more tool Racks. Monday morning I was back. I walked into DP’s office, had some small talk, found he had not looked at email. I let him know that I would be happy to finish his wall and while I was at it I would obviously create room for the new Bostitch Manual Tacker display. This would give him a “Pro” line to augment his Arrow and Do It Best DIY tacker line. He was very positive. That was too easy, he wouldn't make this semi-minor call himself, he would want his new tool buyer D to have that input, so I backed off a little saying, “I wouln't want to step on whatever plans D had, and maybe you two could toss it around”. He liked that a lot, base hit, gapper, little did he know that I already had this conversation with D and knew he liked the idea. I bid him a happy Thanksgiving, he reciprocated, I will.Bottom line, relationship building often starts out as a sequence of reactionary conversation with the goal of “Being a Natural Part of the Situation. The Natural Salesman can walk into the store, greet the counter folks, and walk into the Store Managers office, unannounced and get things done. This process is a tight rope walk with this guy right now, I am not relaxing just yet, but if I can get this small unassuming Bostitch PO from the guy who defines Nixing, he’s a real nixer, the door is wide open and I am walkin' in. Remember the two bulls standing on top of the hill looking down on the green lush valley full of cows. The young bull says, “ hey, lets run down there and get us one!”, at which the old bull says, “nah, lets just walk down there and get them all”. Be the old bull.

Day in the life of the "Natural Salesman"

This is a sales story, although not an exciting one. You won't be taking notes on this for sure. It was simply a day that reminded me why I love being a salesman, "the Natural Salesman"
In September 1993, I was doing some pretty good business in Redding, Ca. I was getting alot of contractors working and living in Weaverville coming into my SWAT events in Redding so I decided to open one dealer there. I would go into town strong and confident and make one of these lumberyards excited to carry a product they dont have and dont get a big call for.
Early one morning, I drove from Redding to Weaverville to open one of the lumberyards in town. First stop, HomeCraft Lumber, Mike and Phyllis Price had just sold the store to a larger lumberyard, Schmidbauer Lumber and were there to run the business for the next couple years. I had to "create the common denomitor", quickly. I needed to find something out about these people that I can relate to from my personal experiences. Finding the common ground is the most important sales skill you can possess. But it cant be fake. You are the demonitor that needs to adapt to theirs, it's simple math, lol.
As I began to establish this new relationship, I told him I was here in town today to open up only one of the two yards as a Bostitch dealer. It didnt happen that day, but with some follow-through I opened them up as a Full Line Bostitch Construction Dealer. I did many SWAT(Stanley Works Attack Team) events over the next few years and as his Bostitch biz grew through perserverence, hard work, and salesmanship, we owned the local market for a good 5 years. I was promoted in late 1999 and have had many differents positions and territories since. For all intents and purposes, they have not been my account since 1999.
Today, for the first time in years, I headed for the big W. As I reached the top of the wiskeytown grade, I remembered the Bronco's first death. As I had reached the peak with 327,000 miles on her, she died and speewed blue smoke into the 100 degree air. She did live on to her second life/engine and now lives in Caleveras County as a snow-plow.
As I pull up to the front of the store, the marque reads, "Thank You FireFighters!" and I spot the Bostitch banner in the front window. Phyllis walksout to her car with an armfull of afgans. I say, "Phyllis!", she turns, looks at me a nd says, "John, what are you doing here?" We used to exchange pictures and stories of our kids, today, we exchange grandbaby pictures. We go in the store and there's Mike. He doesnt fish tourneyments anymore, bought a motorhome and He and Phyllis are finally retireing next year.
I pulled out my promo's, went over a couple of them and took two PO's.
When you treat people right, and let them in on you the person, it creates lasting relationships. You must be a "Natural" part of their business to succeed.

the emalsculation of America

If you go to a baseball game and are fortunate enough to get seats close to the field, you had better bring your glove and watch out for flying bats, the wooden type, I am talking pro ball here. ESPN is on a roll again, but allow me to digress. First they piss me off with changing probably the most important baseball stat there is, RBI's. An "RBI" is a "Run Batted In". Two "RBI's" are two "Runs Batted In". "RBI" is a "thing". 500 RBI's is 500 "things". Why do they deem it necessary to say that "Runs" "Batted""in" is three things, it's not, it's one. You cannot break it down to three words, it's one phrase. ESPN calls it 36 "R""B""I", that would be correct english, IF, it were three different words. Ok, enough of that, most of you have heard my take on that already anyway. Now ESPN and SI are complaining about how dangerous it is to sit in a great seat at the ballgame. You might get hurt! Oh my, we can't have that! Are you kidding me? Hey, Ken takes a knife, that's what makes it a good game, right? Before you know it, the closest you will be able to sit in is in the upper deck, and a full set of catchers gear will be a requirement! Now, what would Harey Carey say about that? He couldnt direct the cameraman to any scantity clothed women, not that I approve of that sordid sort of thing, but then again, not that there's anything wrong with it either.
On Sunday in Taladega, NASCAR put on one of the greatest restrictor plate races I can remember. 57 lead changes between 25 drivers and a finish that was amazing! Carl Edwards, in the lead with the finish line in sight, moves up the track to block rookie Brad Kezelowski, Brad fakes high and dives down low, a veteren move, Carl goes back down to block but bad brad was already there. Carl spins and catches air at 200 mph or so, by the way, a Cessna takes off at 160 mph or is it "m's ph". Anyway, Carl's rocketship is on it's way back down to terra firma when the #39 car hits it and launches it up some 15-20 feet in the air, into the wire catch fence and back down to earth, breathtaking. Bad Brad wins the race, Carl, gets out of his completely destroyed car and jogs 85 yards to the finish line. The COT is amazing. It did what it was designed to do, both aerodynamically and safety wise. The catch fence caught the 3400 lb missle with only a little debris escaping and injuring one fan and scratching up 6 others. NASCAR rules of the yellow line caused the scenario, but the driver of the #99 car caused the wreck. He was penalized big time, right then and there! Get rid of the yellow line rule when the checkered flag is in sight, problem solved. Place a second net with the exact same dimensions behind the first one and hog ring it with Bostitch Aluminum Hog Rings, SR15-ALUM. They will blow with any impact, the second net, cabled at top and bottom will catch any debris the first one missed. Problem solved.
What the PC crowd wants to do is this: Slow the cars down, make it a penalty to block, cut the banking down, isn't that what we call, the Freeway? Guess what, nobody would care about the race. No fans, no race. But racing cars is just too dangerous, we cannot allow it. The drivers get fatigued after 500 miles, get sick from the carbon monoxide, etc etc.
Here is the real solution: Every 100 miles, park the cars. Allow everyone to get new tires on, get some fresh air, and....are you ready, you knew it was coming, they all get an orange slice and a capri-sun! There, I've said it, it's true, I'm so sick of it!
When I was a kid, you played baseball in America, that is IF you made the team. That's right, it was not an automatic. They called it "TRYOUTS", wow, how cruel. And guess what? Everyone on the team got a trophy, oh let me be clearer, everyone on the team that WON THE CHAMPIOSHIP got a trophy. Baseball teaches you to win and to lose. Every moment of this grand sport involves one person, on the spot, forced to perform. It builds character, which is wrong, I know but that was way back when the U.S.A. didn't give a rip what the other countries were up to. We were the one country that achieved! Now all we do is ring our hands.
SOCCER DID IT! Slowly at first, just a game. The #1 sport in the world, or the #1 world sport. We let it infiltrate our culture. Nobody on the spot, everyone gets a trophy, orange slices and juice for all, during the dang contest! Have you heard the term, Soccer Mom? Mom's protect their children, that's a good thing. Dad's push their children into uncomfortable life lessons.
Sometimes you have to get a bruise, get your feelings hurt, just to find out what you are made of. The game of Soccer is cool, I'm talking about how we let the culture of the rest of the world, through Soccer to overcome us. We're soft, and before you know it we'll all be wearing grey uniforms and marching in order! I just had to get it off my chest.

"You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell"!

Well, In your life you will witness a multitude of sights, sounds, and people. Regarding people,

some will leave you in awe, I watched Willie Mays catch and hit a home run, Michael Jordon sinking free throws with his eyes closed, Joe Montana rising above the level of meer human contestants and working the 2-minute drill to perfection.

Some are just fun. Harey Carey singing "take me out to the ballgame" at Candlestick.

Some can inspire. Thats the subject here. Here's a hint... "IIIIII've seen this book...b'fore".

Zig Ziglar, yes, the Zigster, is coming to Sacramento Feb 24. Its a day long deal with multiple speakers, and I must also warn that there is quite a few "billymayswannabe schpiels" mixed in the day. But the speakers list aint too bad. ...........................................................................................

America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, will show you how to make it through any crisis
The Greatest Olympian of All Time, Michael Phelps, will show you how to sharpen your competitive edge
World's Foremost Health Expert, Dr. Earl Mindell, will show you how to increase your health and energy
Top Sales Expert and Author of Get Motivated!, Tamara Lowe, will show you how to strengthen your sales and negotiation skills
President & CEO of Forbes Inc., Steve Forbes, will show you ways that thriving corporations use to stay ahead of the pack
Legendary Soldier-Statesman, General Colin Powell, will show you how to be a take charge leader

I'm going to see Zig. It will most likely be your last opportunity to see him in the flesh, he's 82.

Whoever wants to go, let me know quick as you can as we can go as a group for $19.

Hey, if you are up for a few sales pitches thrown right at your chin in rapid fire mode and you think you can take one for the team, it will be a good day.

Let me know, but at least you know where I will be that day. Cant wait to hear..." And maybe someday I will seeYOU, yesssssssssssssss you at the top!"

Katie Noel....Christmas baby girl

Well, got us a new little Grandbaby! Katherine Noel Hobbs, born 12-23-08, 9:24 pm, 7lbs 8 oz, 20 inches and a "Full" head of black hair, she is soooooooooooo cute.....breathtaking!

We are headin down to the hospital to get some of that "new baby smell".....hey, ya gotta take the good with the bad! Momma and baby....and Daddy are doin fine...and nobody passed out or had a siezure...that you know of!

Gentlemen, start your STAPLERS!

It was Bostitch Day at Golden State Flooring! Its been dead out there and I found out there was an open date for the Show Car, so I scheduled this event. Golden State Flooring just may be the biggest wholesale wood flooring distributor in the nation, and this location has been very slow and is usually left out of the event mix. After we towed an 87 Bronco out of the way.....wow, you couldn't have done that the day before huh? I actually about blew a gasket on that one, we got set up and had exposure to Hwy 101 Southbound in San Carlos all day.

The Stanley Race/Show Car was there.

We advertised it like crazy.

280 Contractors received phone calls with a "recorded message" on the previous Friday and again on Monday, the day before the Big Show. 80 received a fax of the flyer I made.

This flyer was also featured on the Golden State Flooring website exposed to 800 of their customers per day. So, we did our job preparing

for the event.

I made sure product was in stock.

I introduced the "Fastest Gun in the West" contest and they will call their events, "Who is

the Man with the Golden Gun". Cornball as all get out, but eeeeeefective.

This will turn into a "heritage" event for them.

I made sure they know, it's my event, I'm letting them participate!

The contest itself was a great success, the turnout overall was slow. The idea I have is to develop this in 2009 culminating in a head to head contest at the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) show next year. "

The Fastest Gun in the West" vs. "The Fastest Gun in the East"....that would be cool

During the final championship "heat", we had three guns going off of one compressor, this proved to be one too many for the compressor to keep up with.....learnt one there!

Each guy was FORCED to wear the Stanly Racing Cap to compete, pretty harsh huh? I was donned out in the Race Attire, lookin like some ole' race driver. Hey, I give the customer what they want. You wanna make fun of me? You wanna hurt me? Well go ahead, if it makes ya feel better!

Hey, I like me, my wife likes me, my customers like me, I'm the genuine article...

By the way, the rep I caught badmouthin my product to the purchasing agent back in May? As of Tuesday, the day of this event, He's GONE as a vendor to GSF! I don't play. "So F'n wipe that F'n smile off your rosey red F'n cheeks and pack yer shizite...yerrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRR OUTTTAAAA HERE!!

The Hawaii contest is tightening up. Derek is puttin the pressure on. It's close but there is only 3 weeks to go and I have a slight lead!

Lookin forward to being home with my bride and seeing everyone on Turkey-Day. later

"Brang yer Feesh Pole"

Uncle Bruce is the "Feeshin' Man". On a recent trip out to the lake, he had a day for the record books! This is why, when the weather gets bad, ya jes' gotta wet a line. This is his email:

Here is results and latest Story from last Friday. I had just finished getting things ready for Youth Hunt on Friday night and was lamenting the fact that summer fishing was all but over. The forecast was for high winds Friday but at 10:00am all was calm(west @ 5mph). I decided what the heck, might as well give the fishing one last go. I raced home,grabbed yak, and headed for the lake.

By the time I got there the wind was starting to blow(whitecaps). I debated just bagging it and heading home. After all I had just had a great summer of fish catching and a couple of really nice fish in October to keep me fired up about spring. Then I thought, "what the heck, what's the worst that could happen ?...........after all I do have a life jacket". I put it on while the whitecaps started appearing not just out in the lake but right in front of me in the cove. I piled in and started paddling like a mad man for the far side of the lake(the lee side) and protection from the waves. It took about 15 minutes to clear the breakers and reach somewhat calm water. Waves broke over the Yak the entire way and I'm drenched, but not particulary cold.

Time to fish. I start trolling two deep diving shad andthe Lowrance is showing me lots of rocks at 10-15 ft. First pass results in a good bump but no battles. I keep working the rocks in 12-15ft. and get spun around and towed out into the whitecaps. The battle is on and I'm getting amazed. Half my rod is under water and big waves are breaking all over me. After what seems like forever I get some line back and the fish decides to surface. Holey Moses its a giant bass! He immediately sounds and takes all the line back. I'm now in the middle of the lake and every wave is breaking over me. Finally I'm gaing ground again..........but I have a new problem. The shore is approaching very quickly and the fish isn't finished. Every time I get him close he sees the yak and freaks out and burns back to the bottom. Finally I'm so close to the rocks he can't get very deep and I'm able to grab a jaw and snap a quick photo, splash him back into the water and grab the paddle in the nick of time.Paddle back across lake to relative shelter and take stock. Fish is probably just shy of the one I caught in Florida asa kid but way bigger than anything else. Best guess somewhere between 9 and 10lbs. What a day! I start trolling again and immediately hook up to a 5 pounder that gives me a great aerial show. I don't even snap a picture, just laugh and keep fishing, immediately hooking and landing a smaller bass.

I look up and realize things are deteriorating. A bass boat comes crashing down the lake and slows to make sure I'm OK. I wave and realize it really is time to punt.................

Wind has turned into a full gale and I'm a pretty good distance (@ a mile and across the lake from the truck). Seeing the big Bass boat run for cover gets my attention. Reluctantly I reel in the lure still trailing me and head for for the truck. The bail pops open on the spinner and the crank bait plops back in the water. It must be a sign. I let about fifty yards play out, close the bail and set myself for the task at hand. I take a quick glance at the lowrance and I'm in 25ft of water. I keep paddling and all of a sudden I'm hung. I re-check the lowrance(29ft.) and pick the rod up, leaving the safety tether attached. The entire rod goes completely under, only my hands and the reel are above the water..................no I am not hung on the bottom..............its a submarine !!!!!!!! I just thought things were exciting earlier. I start laughing again as I'm in a full gale with water whipping everywhere and something huge is wanting to take me to the bottom. Hat blows off and paddle nearly gets away before I lash it down. I re-check and make sure all the gear in the yak is securely attached and turn my attention back to the fish. I'm losing ground on the reel as wind and waves are shoving me across lake and fish is not budging. I tighten the drag up as much as I dare and slowly gain just a bit of line back.

Eventually the fish is straight beath the yak and I have substantial line recovered. For the first time I believe there is a chance I might actually land the fish. An old problem is starting to materialize though.............I'm approaching the far shore way too fast. Quick check and still 25 ft of water. If I'm going to have a chance I've got to steer somehow. I unlash the paddle with one hand and use it as a rudder to gain a bit of steering and point the yak across the wind to slow my progress to shore. it also moves me closer to the truck. Another 5 minutes and the fish appears to be tiring. It comes out from beneath the yak and I see it for the first time. Catfish...........big Kitty. It sees the yak for the first time and sounds again. Good bye recovered line. Fish is back on the bottom. I look up and the rocks are getting way too close. A decision has to be made. Cut him off or risk getting rock smashed. If it comes to it I'm jumping out at the last second. I've got hip boots on and I'll just have to hope the yak is tough enought to take the abuse and all the safety tethers hold on the equipment. After all , the old man in the sea didn't give up, and I don't even have sharks to deal with.

At the perfect moment, the fish rolls alongside side, I scoop him into the yak, snap a photo, grab the paddle, spin the yak ..........and right there in the water is my hat. I snatch it out and paddle like a maniac, fish in my lap and truck dead ahead.

What a day ! No, a quick check of my phone shows I've only been on the water for an hour and a half. I spent the first thirty minutes getting across the lake and getting rigged up. In the past hour I have landed the largest bass I've caught in thirty plus years, a five pound bass, two smaller bass, and a 12-15 lb blue cat. All in conditions that a sane person would have simply turned around and done something indoors. What a Day ! When my cabin fever is at its very worst this winter, I'll simply break out some catfish steaks and head for the grill.

It is now a cold, rainy Monday...................Too cold for fishing ?

BB

"Rainbow Stew for everyone!"

Well, "you wont have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore". Sound familiar? Probably not, since it was given in 1952. That was Richard Nixon's response in the infamous "Checkers Speech". Thats kinda how I feel right now. Just think Brothers and Sisters, we dont have to answer for Shizite for at least 4 years and maybe even 8 years. Whatever happens won't be our fault, cuz there aint no more of us on the hill! It's like being on seasonal unemployement, it's gonna be a while and there aint nuthin you can do 'bout it, so ya might jes' as well put yer feet up and turn on "Opie and Andy" and veg out. Oh ya, and I do feel betrayed by Opie and Ange for that commercial, but he was right, but sadly, now he's left. hmmmmmm

Just think, FREE Health care, a job for everyone who wants one, and welfare for those who don't, and no more of that crap where someone makes more dough than me! We'll all be makinig the same money, right?

Wow, paradise. It reminds me of a song by the Great American Songwriter...and convicted felon...Northern Californian...the "Hag", Merle Haggard.

There's a big brown cloud in the city, and the countryside's a sin..

The price of life is too high to give up. and it's gotta come down again..

The worldwide war is over and done, and the dream of peace comes true,

We'll all be drinkin that free Bubble-up and eatin that rainbow stew.

When they find out how to burn water, and the gasoline car is gone.

When an airlpane flies without any fuel, and a satelite heats our home.

But one of these days when the air cleans up, and the sun comes shining through

We'll all be drinkin that free Bubble-up and eatin that rainbow stew.

Eatin rainbow stew with a silver spoon, underneath that sky of blue

We'll all be drinkin that free Bubble-up and eatin that rainbow stew.

You dont have to get high to get happy, just think about whats in store

When people start doin' what they oughta be doin', then they wont be a booin' no more

When a President goes through the whitehouse door, and does what he says he'll do

We'll all be drinkin that free Bubble-up and eatin that rainbow stew.

Eatin rainbow stew with a silver spoon, underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin that free Bubble-up and eatin that rainbow stew.

Wow, I feel so warm and fuzzy. We are finally safe. We're on our way to prosperity.

I think I'll go buy myself a tie-die shirt and some sandals or something.

But you know, there is another piece of good news in all this. AMERICA IS NOT RACIST!

We elected a man of color to the highgest office in the land and Sacramento elected Kevin Johnson as Mayor, and that is a good thiong. So, I dont want to hear any more shizite (I kinda like that word) about racism for a while, we're cured now, right? Free at last.. Free at last..(yep I'm goin for it) thank God Almighty, we're Free at last!

Well, our forefathers were God-Inspired and we'll get a chance to see just how good our Constitution is. We will survive this, and who knows, maybe I'll get to like the taste of Bubble-Up...everything you can get for free baby!

It's good to be an American!!!

If the liberal Dems can say that Sarah Palin isn't qualified to represent our country because she doesn't think like they do, then I can say Barak Obama Bin Ladin isnt qualified due to a few different things, which I shall now point out to the less "gutsey" observers out there....just kidding, (hey, I'm just giving ya want ya want).

I'm sure Mr Obama is a very nice guy, or not, but who cares. He seems to be a committed man. Its just that it scares me to think of the things he has been committed to over the years. And now he has all our answers and a chicken in every pot. We are about to give up a chance to have success for a hot meal. He could be a very effective Senator, I guess. But Praisident? I think not. "Come on now, we all know your name isnt Pete, its Pierre".

America, U.S.A., the States, the evil one, however we are known, is a great country founded on Christian values by Christian men and women. Our citizens are from all over the world. We bring in our family's culture and meld it in with the existing culture resulting in American culture. I dont have a problem with people immigrating here, I'll help you do it! You could be a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, whatever. I dont care if you worship sale sundays at Macy's, you are welcome here! But the Praisident, I'm holding him to a higher standard.

You gotta be a "purebread", someone who is steeped by history and love in the American Dream! A place where anyone can be anything they want....except for Praisident. I dont want my Praisident or his wife to hate or be ashamed of this country. Lets see, the only rules we have are, you have to be 35 years old, natural born citezen, non-felon, husband of but one wife....ooops I got caried away there. But I want a pedegree Praisident. Someone who loves this country the way it is today and appreciates how we got here. Someone who loves American culture, its rich, its poor, the good and the bad. Someone who sees a better future, yes, but someone who sees that future possible within the framework our forefathers developed.

CAPITOLISM BABY! It's the only system that rewards achievement. It's the achievers who create the wealth. Its that same wealth that comes to the rescue of every country in need. Its the achievers who create jobs to manage their wealth. and thereby make it possible for the rest of America to have the job, pretty much of their choice, to feed and clothe themselves and their families and create their own wealth. Its the achievers in this country that create the medical procedures that are the best in the world. The freedom we enjoy is empty without the wealth created by achiement. It's all up to the individual on where they want to be in the food chain. But as my least favorite "Country" band says..."Only in America" .

OK, you waited long enough, here it is...Barak has Muslim roots. He claims to be a Christian now, and thats all great, but his background is Muslim and that culture is in him and always will be. You say wow, you are harsh or narrowminded or whatever cliche you want, but the way IS narrow. I want our leader to be the very best American Man or Woman, that embraces Capitolism and Freedom. I dont want a Praisident with immediate family in Kenya.

I want his or her family to be from Georgia, and I mean the one next to Alabama.

Well tomorrow is the big day. It looks like we blew it. Maybe this is the wake up call the Conservative majority in this country needs. Four years of Socialism just might do it.

When you give a man a dole you deny him his dignity, and when you deny him his dignity you rob him of his destiny.– Zig Ziglar

Geeze, George McGovern looks pretty good now!....and by the way, "Carabou Barbie" is freakin funny!

Southern Regional Manager-Bostitch...'nuff said?

This is Mike Butler, the new Regional Manager for the Southern Region. He started in SWAT in 1999 and is a real sharp guy, even though it appears he is not using his best judgement here!!

I've been "In the Wild"....Del!

Well, I got back to SVL Thursday at 4:30. After I set camp up in a different locale, I took the Quad up to where I have been hunting/hiking. I sat out there till dark, jumped up one in the timber but couldn't see what it was and 4 on the road, all does. no bucks. Got back to camp and cooked up some spaghetti in the tent/kitchen, went to bed listening to the Dodgers...(hey, I was bored and alone).

The next day, by the time I got back to camp at noon, I had got my wish! No, not any bucks hanging, but it was raining like crazy. The bad news was, 4 cans of waterproofing did not waterproof the tent roof....I got problems. I re-arranged the sleeping area to avoid the leaks and cut 2 hefty bags and added some duct tape to cover my rack. I had 6 pans around to catch water, could have been interesting but Derek and Preston got in around 8 and had an extra tarp for the roof and that solved it. This was a great adventure. I guarantee I walked 25 miles this week. My pants will all fit better now for sure! But with the rain, came cold wet clothes. Good thing Mr Heater came along....a very good thing. I had clotheslines running everywhere.

It was a blast, I really got into it. It was like fishing or golf, you could commit your mind totally, and that's a whole lot better than nails, nails, nails! We had re-camped in the "upper camp". We used to use this site back in the day, when the lower site was taken, or someone had a lesser vehicle and didn't want to take it down "the sluice". This spot needs a little maintenance. Nothing a chainsaw cant handle though. It was good for Derek and Preston to spend that much time alone together. He's a pretty tough young man. He did need a little Grandpa Hobbs(Sr) action though. I mixed in a little of my own humor, but had to make a comment or two. At one point, Preston dropped a "Snickers" wrapper on the ground and was just walking on by! So I says, "Preston, look at that candy wrapper? Ya see it?Well, pick it up! Do ya want to be replaced by carts?" He was a little stunned until Derek started laughing and we explained the "Caddie Shack" reference. He got it then and kinda loosened up. We had been teasing him all week about loosing the quad key. Another little moment was when he broke my coffee mug. I was outside the tent when it happened. He swung around with his mini-mag in his hand and it hit the handle of the mug and just snapped it off. When I came in the tent, he really felt bad and apologized. I assured him it was cool and he was still kinda feelin' bad, so I says, "Hmmm, looses the quad key, and now breaks my favorite lake Oroville coffee mug....wow.......jerk." We all just busted up. It was a fun moment. It turns out Preston is a bit of a Jr Pyro and could not wait to have a campfire. It was way too dry until we were deluged Friday night and all day Saturday. That evening, it was mostly clear, so the Sr Pyro's decided that tonight was the campfire night. The old pit was almost non-existent by now so Preston made a new one using alot of those same rocks that my Dad put in probably 30+ years ago. Pretty cool.

So, on the last night, we finally had our first campfire, in Preston's new fire pit.

This was a great trip, we hunted our bahunkas' off! I walked 25 miles and had my index finger on the safety of my rifle for 51 hours and yet I still am "Buckless". I do love this Valley, I'll be back again. Anyway, got home to my bride and we're watching TALADEGA BABY! There's no place like home. Later.

Out of the Wild!...and right back in. Chapter 1

Well, Hogan and I and Derek and Preston made it into camp around dark. Preston drove the Quad in and like a young man will do at times, didnt heed his Dad's warning to leave the key in the ignition. ep, you guessed it...he lost it before we had camp set up and spent the next 3 days looking for it. Monday morning I suggested we remove the key cylandar, which we did, and the quad was back in action. We hunted/hiked like none other putting on at least 15 miles in the high country.

Well, we had a decent camp setup in my favorite spot on earth. With one flaw...we forgot



COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT???????? Calm down now, think, hmm..

well Derek had 3 precious "Folgers" coffee singles, (teabags).

Luckily, I brought the ole' camp espresso maker and we "enjoyed" a very limited few cups of the roast.

We did eat well. As I said, we hunted our tails off. My back was ripping! I took some good naps.
It was hot and the Bucks were snoozin in the willows, Derek had to take Preston back and was a little weak on comming back up. It was a little ruff getting out of there....we took some damage...


On the way home I learned that a big storm was coming in and as it is the last weekend, I am headin up in the morning. More to come...

Into the Wild...Spring Valley Lake!-Prologue

Cant wait till Friday! I'll be leaving for the way back country to a little area called "grassy meadow", down rock creek trail from Spring Valley Lake. I am needing this respite from work and cell phones and hotel rooms and dopey customers who want to interupt a good giants game on the radio with their drivel about wanting to buy my product! GEEZE! I will miss my bride though.

"I got a shotgun a rifle and a four wheel drive,

and a Country boy can survive!"

We took Hogan out for a trial run at the High School this evening...not so good. He's a little.. in..deee...pen....dant! We will try him out on a cable this week, if he does good..ie doesnt choke himself to death, I still might take him to stay in camp and keep "yogi" at bay. I really dont want our "pic a nic" baskets disturbed.

Well, my back is getting better but still isnt right yet. I hope the healing continues... Had a decent work week, got some orders in and knocked one out of the park...220 yards for 11 PlanoGrams at Golden State Flooring. I had to lean on them a bit but it is a pretty funny story. Don at the South San Francisco store called me and wanted me to send him 25 repair kits as he was going to their branch in Hawaii. I told him "no problem, but I sure wished I could go to Hawaii!" He said, "well come along." This is where it gets good and with that kind of an opening, I couldnt pass it up. I said, "well, you know we have this contest going on and the winner goes to Hawaii." He says, "well?" I says, "rattle some cages over there and get me the PO for the fittings planograms!" Actually, my statement was a little more "colorful" than that. Long story short, he talked to the powers to be and the "gutless but nice guy" Dan, the PA, called the next day with the PO's. It only took 3 months, 34 phone calls, and 17 emails.

Had a show at Floor Service Supply in San Jose on Saturday. I met the President of the new ownership, nice guy it seems. I am doing well with this new company. We held the "Fastest gun in teh West" contest. There were 150 people crowded around our tent watching the competition.....it was saweeeeet! Can you imagine if you were one of the other venders? yikes

I got home Saturday nite at 8, got a decent nights sleep and followed that up with a 3 hour nap! Its good to be home.