USEDCARSALESMAN

Department of Energy

DepartmentofEnergy.com is a new blog that Usedcarsalesman recently began putting together.

"Department of Energy," the generic term within the above URL, is usually what comes to mind when one thinks about an entity, typically at a national or state level, that is in charge of managing energy-related problems within a given jurisdiction. 

Examples of such organizations are:  

• U.S. Department of Energy
• Philippine Department of Energy.  
• Oregon Department of Energy

Why did Usedcarsalesman start DepartmentofEnergy.com?  Reality is because he could. 

But also because he's been following energy technology developments since the 70's.  

And because a non-nation or state specific "Department of Energy"-named site seemed to make sense in this day and age.  

What does Usedcarsalesman mean by that?

Well, it's no news, but almost all people around the globe have to cope with energy-related matters that don't appear to pay much attention to state or national boundaries (frankly since, for better or worse, most energy-related prices are seemingly so largely hinged to prices in internationally-traded, commodity futures markets).    

So, this "Department of Energy," itself merely the humble DepartmentofEnergy.com blog, doesn't limit its focus to a constituency within state or national boundaries.  It can address a world-wide constituency and a world of energy-related problems and solutions.  

Usedcarsalesman may "sell out"

Over the next few months, Usedcarsalesman is planning to reconfigure the use of a few of the web addresses he has kept registered since the days when Bill Clinton was still kicking-it in the Oval Office.  

One of those addresses, Usedcarsalesman.com, the address on which this very blog has "sat" since late 2004, may be included in that number.  

Why the possible change?  Well, reality is that "Usedcarsalesman.com" is a web address that might be able to "angle-in" on modest revenue from Google, courtesy of the many used car sales outfits paying to advertise online using Google's Adsense service.  

The address isn't doing this at present and, thus, Usedcarsalesman, himself, could be, in a small way, leaving money-on-the-table with his admittedly peerless opinion blog.  

So, if Usedcarsalesman alters it, how might Usedcarsalesman.com look in the months ahead. Usedcarsalesman suggests that it may incorporate the following two changes, numbered in order of importance:

1. Better serving the used car sales community and the used car buying public utilizing Google AdSense and other keyword-focused, used car related information.  The front page of Usedcarsalesman.com will be reorganized to display Adsense advertising based on the main keywords and keyword phrases that Google-search users enter concerning "used cars."  The main thing is the provision of helpful information concerning the keywords, keyword phrases in question.  Usedcarsalesman sees reason to believe that even Adsense ads are helpful to web searchers if clicking on them increase the searcher's awareness of a given topic more than might have been the case if the Adsense was not present 
2. Usedcarsalesman's blog will live on, it simply won't be "front-and-center" on Usedcarsalesman.com.  A link on the front page will take you to one or more pages containing all past and present Usedcarsalesman posts, as well as posts that Usedcarsalesman will add going forward.  

So, yes, when all is said and done, Usedcarsalesman may, for commercial reasons, be planning to actually start embracing the topic of used car sales on Usedcarsalesman.com, "selling-out" so to speak.   But, fear not -- he has no plans to let this disturb his blog. 

 

The BloggersBulletin.org

Here's the story:  Usedcarsalesman decided he wasn't having much fun flying solo.   

And it also crossed his mind that his good readers probably didn't have a heck of a lot of patience for a dude who only posted when he felt like it -- you know, once a week or twice a month or once every two months.  

Furthermore, he figured his readers would reasonably flock to something updated everyday (heck maybe even more than once a day). 

But Usedcarsalesman knew he was only human; he new he couldn't sustain that kind of pace -- essay after essay, 7 days a week, an unrelenting flow of material produced without reprieve.  

So, Usedcarsalesman said, "I think if you want to keep readers interested and coming back to a blog, then you have to team up with some other writers and work together to update the one blog on a regular, daily basis." 

He floated this idea around within certain well-used forums and he also read certain blogs that already had adopted this team "modus operandi."  Usedcarsalesman's group-blogging concept seemed like a good ideas to others also. 

 
 

From all this came a group-blog which Usedcarsalesman started up with a partner of his.  It is called, TheBloggersBulletin.org.  The Bloggers' Bulletin focuses on the topic of blogging/social media and it currently has 45 Contributors.

Frankly, Usedcarsalesman has spent most of his time administering and editing The Bloggers' Bulletin lately. So his own house, the great "Usedcarsalesman.com," has fallen in to neglect, if not disrepair.  

Will Usedcarsalesman find a way to come back and again "reside" at Usedcarsalesman.com on a regular basis?  

He doesn't rule out some kind of part-time arrangement with Usedcarsalesman.com. 

After all, If TheBloggersBulletin.org is his new blog of residence, then Usedcarsalesman.com might serve Usedcarsalesman as his vacation getaway, right?  

Why is Usedcarsalesman.com called Usedcarsalesman.com?

It was about 1998 in McLean, Va.  The humble writer of this blog was at a Safeway grocery store, standing in a cue at the pharmacy counter.

While waiting for a pharmacist to return, said humble blog writer killed some time by glancing at a xerox of a newspaper article taped --presumably by the pharmacists or their staff -- to the counter's trim.  The article showed a chart titled something to the effect of:  "Poll ranking most trusted Professions."

Who did your humble blog writer see at the top of this list of most trusted professions?  If you said Pharmacists, you get a gold star.  

Maybe by taping this poll up, Safeway Pharmacists were attempting to raise their self-esteem for some reason.  Or maybe they were jabbing at local religious leaders who, during golf-outtings, incessently touted themselves as the professionals considered most trustworthy by the public.  Or -- though he hopes not -- maybe these Safeway Pharmacists were just surprised by this poll's results and thought it was a good joke.  

 

Anyway, this humble blog writer scanned the chart downward to see where it ranked other professions.  As he recalls, he didn't see any really interesting until he hit about the lower 1/3 of the results.  Then he started to see professions like "Lawyer" and "Elected-Representative" ("Elected Representative" doesn't generally come to mind when one thinks "profession," but this writer let it slide)

He figured that he would have spotted "Lawyer" or "Elected Representative" about half-way up the list or higher.  Perhaps this opinion poll was influenced by the difficulties President Clinton was having at the time.   Perhaps it was inordinately derived from the opinions of people who had just received an exorbitant  bill from their defense attorney.

But when he reached the bottom of the list, he then saw the "profession" that apparently sat "dead -last" in people's minds when it came to trustworthiness:   "Car Salesman."

Yes, this humble blog writer probably had to agree with the poll on that one (Let's just say he was somehow "familiar" with the retail car business at the time).  Whether it was arranging an auto loan at triple the going rate thanks to a customer's ignorance of his own credit statement or selling readily available cars at over sticker price, making decent money in car sales involved some heavy-duty "skating" on the backs of buyers.  

But he also knew that this "professional trustworthiness" poll didn't give those good souls it polled specific enough choices.  The poll had obviously omitted the ranking of a "professional" who he knew was commonly more "contra-customer" than the Car Salesman:  the "Used Car salesman!"  

After all, it was a Used Car salesman who would pay a mere $4,000 for an immaculate, low-mileage luxury trade, insisting to its unemployed owner that her car was poorly maintained and virtually impossible to resell.  Then he'd have the car washed and waxed and turn around and sell it the next day for $22,000 -- clearing $18,000 that the lady could have potentially kept if she'd studied up and sold the car herself.  Yes, that "professional," the 'Used' Car salesman, probably, deservedly spent his theoretical afterlife in a lower "circle-of-hell" than just a mere Car Salesman.  

With the pharmacy poll still in mind in 1999, this blog writer bought the URL, Usedcarsalesman.com.  He figured he'd do something with the address to make light of the presumably low opinion people probably had of the Usedcarsalesman.  Say, make a "character" out of the Usedcarsalesman but in something that did a "180" on the stereotypes a little:  "Usedcarsalesman turns over new leaf," "Usedcarsalesman comes clean."    

Unfortunately decent "pre-fab," online-publishing software --Blogging software such as Typepad --  didn't really emerge until about 2003 and it was late 2004 before this blogger finally rolled it all together in to Usedcarsalesman.com.  

*

Anyway, today he asks and answers the question, "Why is Usedcarsalesman.com called Usedcarsalesman.com," because he's actually thinking of changing the name of this blog. 

Here's why:  When people think "Usedcarsalesman.com," they probably think "Used-Cars," not "Blog-site-with-one-fictional-usedcarsalesman's-straight-forward opinions-on-"Entertainment"-"Media&Web"-"Military Affairs"-"Miscellany-Politics"-and-"Transportation."  The blog name, Usedcarsalesman and URL, "Usedcarsalesman.com," might confuse people more than it amuses them.

I don't know.  Though it might be less fun for me, maybe I -- your favorite blogger -- should just call "Usedcarsalesman.com,"  "myname.com" instead.  What do you think?

On the other hand, President Obama has worked a great deal to aid stumbling US auto manufacturers and has lately found himself titled," Car Salesman-in-Chief " by more than a few op-ed writers in major news publications.  

In light of that, perhaps "Usedcarsalesman" may continue to serve, now as a surprisingly contemporary title for this blog.  

 

Hacking Reproductive 'Deadlines'

Yesterday, Usedcarsalesman was reading through his usual roster of online magazines and newspaper as is his custom. 

Lo and behold he saw a Newsweek article called, "Have Another Fertilitini"  ("Fertilitini" is apparently a fusion of the words, "Fertility" and  "Martini") a piece which discussed a "slick new promotional campaign (that) reminds women in their 20s and 30s that their biological clocks are ticking."  

Apparently the campaign initiated by the American Fertility Association (AFA) involved meetings at a nail salon in New York so that women might take a nail session and a drink while simultaneously listening to an expert speak on issues of fertility of women in their 20s and 30s.   

Now of course Usedcarsalesman felt a little guilty reading this aforementioned article because it was in Newsweek's Women's Health Section -- A section a dude might be embarrassed if his wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, saw him reading (Or maybe they'd be embarrassed and he'd be nonplussed by their reaction...he doesn't know but somebody would probably be embarrassed). 

But he got over it.  And then he started to think about the situation many urban women -- and for different reasons men too -- in general faced if they sought to have children but failed to do so during their peak reproductive years.   

Would these ladies going to these "Fertilitini" parties now suddenly get "knocked-up" with this "gun" to their heads?  Would they look at declining fertility as some kind of "deadline" that they were forced to meet and that made all their other activities -- career, project, school, political office -- secondary?

Usedcarsalesman didn't see this happening in most cases. 

Instead, Usedcarsalesman figured they'd "hack" their way out of their declining fertility situation and still stay on their respective career tracks.  See how in the following hypothetical situation: 

Its 2013, a woman is 30 years of age.  She goes to the local fertility clinic and pays to have some of her eggs frozen using the new Crytop process-- snap freezing eggs before they stored in liquid nitrogen ("Crytop" eggs are allegedly almost as successful as "fresh eggs" in producing a successful IVF pregnancy)

10 years go by and it's 2023.  Maybe she decides to get married, maybe she doesn't, doesn't really matter.  One way or the other -- whether through husband, boyfriend, donation -- she obtains the necessary missing component in the reproductive process.

She says: 'Hey great, I am 40, I have the money, why don't I finally have a child."  She emails one of the dozens of Surrogacy outfits in India that have been marketing to women such as she incessantly since 2010.  They take her egg and the sperm sample she provides and for $50,000 U.S. (Financing available!) a nice young Indian woman serves as the surrogate for her pregnancy.

Roughly 9 months later, the surrogate has her child.  The new Mom flies in to Bombay and picks the newborn up.  Strangely the young lad prefers his milk flavored with just a hint of curry. But regardless, the woman has a child and has beaten the naysayers!

Usedcarsalesman says count on this scenario! Its as certain as 2 AM "Last Calls" in LA.  And its only going to become more common, more the thing younger adults do: Outsource the pregnancy and use optimal reproductive material they have had harvested while they are still in their 20s and 30s. 

Yes Usedcarsalesman agrees this kind of commoditizes human reproduction en masse.  And It potentially allows for bizarre scenarios where a billionaire megalomaniac decides to have 1000 off-spring at the same time.  But that appears to be par for the course upon which many adults find themselves playing

--

Post:  Usedcarsalesman is getting up there himself and recognizes that dudes apparently have issues of their own with regards to fertility.  Not to give too much information, but he has recently utilized the services of CryoChoice.  Count on enlightened dudes in their 20s and 30s to do this in increasingly greater numbers.

Usedcarsalesman Has Gone Fishing ...Will Return in July '08

Usedcarsalesman on the Va. Tech Shootings, 2 Months Later

Usedcarsalesman wanted to let a couple of months elapse before he offered any insight on the Virginia Tech shootings - the worst shooting rampage in U.S. history.

First off, Usedcarsalesman went to school at U.Va., some 90 miles up the road from Virginia Tech in Charlottesville, Va.  Even though he graduated way before a lot of atypical, domestic mass-violent events occurred in the U.S. -  The Oklahoma City Bombing, The North Hollywood Shootout, Columbine High School Massacre, the recent Va. Tech Shooting - Usedcarsalesman probably still has a feel for the general environment that Cho was in while attending a major Virginia college.

Does Usedcarsalesman have a feeling for Seung-Hui Cho, himself?  Yes and no.  After watching the "Cho videos" this gunman apparently released to NBC (and which should be shown in their entirety to the public!), Usedcarsalesman was troubled by the inconsistencies this information added to the student's personae.  He was described by other sources as a loner, silent, mentally ill, and angry etc. and that's what Usedcarsalesman was expecting to see.   But Cho on video seemed oddly communicative, sane, and aware of other people (but guns-and-ammo pose-happy and angry).  Yeah, the guy wasn't George Clooney, but he didn't come across clumsily on video - you could tell that his "monologues" were coming from the "gut" so to speak.  Frankly, the guy didn't strike Usedcarsalesman as crazy, as much as he would have wished it otherwise.

So, what turned Cho in to this monster who committed such terrible actions?  Who knows?  We'd all like to "label" it because it makes us feel better and more in control.  So based on Usedcarsalesman's experience at college in Virginia he's going to speculate and go with this speed-ball:  "'Cho was intelligent, but from day one growing up in a very prosperous area, lacked money, power, sex, and, of course, mental health.  This, coupled with web-based information that enabled his access to ideas, media and materials produced a monumental outlet of violence on his part."   

1.  Money - His mom and dad are hard working and run a dry cleaning shop which is probably a financial heart-breaker when it comes to making ends meet and staying afloat versus other venues in Fairfax.  Any disposable income that Cho's parents can afford to throw his way, ever?  Probably not.  Heck in Fairfax (Falls Church) cops drove Volvo patrol cars for Pete's sake, until the mid-90's.  Yeah most people living there aren't real presentable, original-types, but they do have that annoying upper-middle-class, dual-income kind of W2 money - a lot of "Jr's" there get all the cars, clothes, trips that they'll ever need. Financially, Cho was probably a little bit of a fish out of water growing up, even in Korean enclaves

And his economic outlook probably got worse pre-College.  "Your sister managed to get in to Princeton, study economics and work for the State Department?!  You got in to Va. Tech and are studying ...English?!"  "What, you want to be busting your ass like us when you are 50-60 you stupid fool?" "Why can't you be more like the Kwang's boy?  He just got a scholarship to medical school!"  (speculation on last words of Cho's Father and Mother to him). 

Cho goes to Va. Tech. Va Tech pulls probably 80% of its incoming class from Virginia and half of those from Northern Virginia (mostly kids with Mommy and Daddy's credit cards, shiny European cars, lots of electronics).  The fact that Va. Tech is a public school with relatively low tuition for in-state students probably only magnifies the financial disparity for Cho.  Rather than dropping 30k a year on tuition at  private school, The "spoiled" kid's parents drop 6k and have that much more disposable income to drop on their off-spring at Va Tech.  Cho's parents, on the other hand, are probably working there hardest just to cover the 6k and his room and board. 

How about post-grad prospects?  Va. Tech is all about the traditional fields of Engineering, Architecture, Computer Science, Business and Agriculture.  It has a 60% male enrollment rate, unlike most colleges.  You go there, you go there to study in fields with direct, real-world application like Engineering, Architecture et al., not English. The guys in the traditional fields graduate and they have decent-paying jobs lined up and on-campus recruiting is outstanding for these fields. Cho's accounting major room-mate was probably like, "my first job when I graduate as an accountant is going to pay me $50,000."  "What do you have lined up, Cho...Cho? (to friend) Why's he always walking away from us like that?"   

Frankly, unless Cho had a large body of writing from working on Va. Tech's school newspaper(s) or its magazines, Cho had no real employment prospects "writing."   And he didn't seem the type to score a ton of decent internships, etc. that he might use to leverage employment in some capacity or attach himself to a company that might train him in some capacity.  As such, Cho's economic prospects, post-graduation, arguably seemed almost absent when compared to many of the thousands of other Va. Tech students studying business, electrical engineering, computer science, etc.

And, of course, his contemporaries at Tech in more marketable majors probably never shied away from razzing the "basket-weaving" liberal arts or English major types about there immediate employment prospects, post-grad. Why do you think this Cho guy said he was a business major?   I know that was the situation when I was at U.Va.      

2.  Power - Well, the guy is a Korean on a mostly Anglo campus that is spread out.  All the other Korean kids are probably fairly well off and forgive any perceived stereotyping, probably studying engineering, architecture, business, etc, not English.  Are these Korean or Asian kids from Central or Southern Virginia?  No, are you kidding?  They are all from Northern Virginia and maybe a few from the Tidewater area, which means they are probably fairly well off.

Well, there has got to be more than money.  Cho could do things for the school that were blind to money and get a little pull with people that way.  There's sports, clubs, politics, things to get involved in and make a connection.  Well, playing ACC varsity sports for the school was pretty much out for him, so maybe you have Intra-murals or Fraternity-related sporting events?  When your folks are struggling to pay for education, the fraternity business is pretty much out and you don't want to waste their money on intramural sports - they are paying for you to go to class, not shoot hoops.  I'd say Cho was essentially powerless and socially cut-off.

3.  Sex -  Yeah, well, that doesn't look so good either.  He'd probably never "got-his-sex-on" with an actual woman in his life, based on his behavior.  Usedcarsalesman doesn't want to try to stereotype the coed calculus that goes through a woman's head when she is checking out dudes, especially English Majors.  But, he figures Cho was not on any Va Tech woman's gotta-get-with-cause-he's-got-such-a-bright-future list

Throw in a some hard-core depression, an interest in weapons and past similar shootings on which to model your behavior and a ton of enabling information available to him online and you've got a violently-themed three act play - first shootings, mail items to NBC, second mass shootings, End. 

Most people would say, "look, as for that f$cker Cho,  if he doesn't like the fact that some students seem more well off than he, then tough.  If he can't handle the competition, then tough.  If he can't handle the razzing, then tough.  If he doesn't have a girlfriend, then tough.  That's life, you gotta find a way to adapt or you die (in the vernacular of modern business, advertisements and news copy)"  Usedcarsalesman tends to agree with this reasoning.   

However, that reasoning can run two directions.   Apparently, Cho saw that Va Tech and the larger world of people would never adapt to him (nor he to they) and so, to the young inexperienced, hopeless adult Cho, It needed to die in some manner, also.  And, that's all she wrote.

Note:  Frankly, it would be nice if NBC news releases the entirety of the "manifesto" and "video" sent to them by Cho.  Other than government and law-enforcement, the public probably won't see it unless somebody leaks a copy.  NBCs lawyers are probably concerned about being sued should future attacks occur following a release of this information, so they want it bottled up. 

Survival Party

Usedcarsalesman has lived at the Toluca Hills Oakwood Apartment Complex in Toluca Lake, Ca. for 2.5 years now.  Technically, it's supposed to be a "temporary-stay" residence, but Usedcarsalesman has encountered people who have lived here for 30 years. 

You might ask, "How does one end up staying at this "temporary" residency for so many years, 2.5 or 30 or whatever?"  Well, some familiar with the LA rental market know:  landlords here can sometimes drag their feet forever when it comes to their responsibility for apartment repair/maintenance issues and upkeep of the common areas.  With the "corporate," national-chain, Oakwood, however, management here takes care of repair/maintenance issues the same day and upkeep is typically outstanding. Thus, for some, sometimes a "temporary" Oakwood is the smart (if pricey) choice for long-term apartment rental in Los Angeles   

The Toluca Hills Oakwood, though one of 200-some Oakwood Apartment complexes in the U.S., is noteworthy for a few reasons (mostly due to its location).  Rick James lived (and died) here a few years ago.  Nirvana stayed here when they were recording their Nevermind album.  And, security always stays stringent in this mile-wide private berg situated next to Warner Bros studios, as though the next "Jessica Simpson"-type staying there has complained of too many aggressive reporters (The Archstone in Studio City, however, is starting to pick up some of the credibility as the cool "industry" residential spot to be [recent events may even exacerbate this trend a little]).

Now that you know a little about the Oakwood Toluca Hills, Usedcarsalesman will give you some of the details about the unusual events that occurred there today.  This morning, your faithful blogger went to the parking lot and then heard a fire truck, sirens-blaring, roar on to the property.  Usedcarsalesman figured it was maybe an older tenant having a heart-attack or somebody going in to insulin-shock and needing glucose.  This had happened before. But, a fire?  Come on?

Usedcarsalesman didn't think much of the fire truck, but then helicopters started to show up.  The first one - high above, stationary like a hovering bumble-bee - appeared to be observing activity at an unseen, nearby point to the east.  But, it was the second helicopter that made the real impression - it came in low like it was getting ready to strafe a target. 

Usedcarsalesman stood on top of his Jeep to see if he could get a better view of what was going on as the second helicopter dove past.  He was kind of expecting to see it probably descend below the tree-line and land in a large parking lot on the east-side of the complex, likely to fly-out a tenant needing emergency medical care.   But, instead, Usedcarsalesman saw a huge potential hazard -  a dark smoke cloud rising above the trees!  Usedcarsalesman then saw the second helicopter fly eastward towards this cloud and open its underside doors to drop what must have been white flame-retardant powder. 

Usedcarsalesman focused on the source of the smoke - huge flames now topping out high above the trees about a quarter mile east.  "Whoa," said Usedcarsalesman, not expecting to see such massive flames this close to where he lived.  He saw that this was getting serious and the surroundings didn't look safe versus the fire -  "fields" of 20-some not exactly castle-walled apartments and a hillside of trees and dry brush.   The day was clear and a wind seemed present, high even.  It seemed as though the fire was moving downhill, westward towards the complex.  One thing's for sure, firetrucks, crew, marshals, sheriff's deputies, the whole fire "works" had suddenly rolled on to the property and appeared to feel the same about the fire as Usedcarsalesman.  Many were lugging hoses up to meet the hillside blaze, as if to check its progress towards the complex. 

Police and Fire Fighters were already directing people away from the area.  With the people taken care of, Usedcarsalesman started to get concerned about his personal property.  His Jeep was in the line of the fire and he knew insurance wouldn't cover the investment he had in it, so Usedcarsalesman weaved it out of the Toluca Hills Oakwood, past fire hoses, trucks, and legions of gawkers and parked his ride in a safer location on the far side of Warner Bros. Studios.  Now for his apartment - what possessions did he absolutely have to have?  Surprisingly this was easier than it sounded, since he had already made the following list in case of the hypothetical earthquake or man-made disaster: grab hard-drive and discs, cell phone/charger, big hat, tooth brush, a few clothes/shoes/toiletries, Pint of Jack Daniels, Box of Reds (for trading with survivors :), the remainder of the Canada, and ungrounded espresso beans to chew in the mornings, etc.  Then lock the doors and leave - don't talk, don't gawk, just go. 

Unfortunately (kidding) though, at the end of the day, the helicopter drivers and brave L.A. fire fighters masterfully put out the blaze, so Usedcarsalesman was unable to take time off and host a survival party in Griffith Park with legions of surviving coeds.  Anyway, next time, Valley Arsonists, inadvertent or otherwise, do a better job (also kidding)!

Note:  Turns out a couple of teenage dudes had set this blaze off - accidentally or otherwise - with fireworks.  This few bucks worth of fireworks destroyed 150-some square acres of forest in a relatively populated urban area in the Valley.  What would happen if you had 5 or 6 bad-guys (read terrorists or criminals) invest a total of 50 bucks in matches and gasoline, work simultaneously and make a real concerted effort to set the Hollywood Hills/Griffith Park area ablaze at some point during the upcoming months?  Frankly, if they timed things according to the weather forecast and the winds, they'd end up gutting probably several square miles of Los Angeles and essentially turning parts of the Valley and Hollywood in to parts of present-day New Orleans.  Frankly, Usedcarsalesman think Los Angeles needs to take steps to safeguard the Toluca Hills, Griffith Park area, due to the threat its "easy-combustibility" may pose to neighboring residential areas

Stay Tuned

Usedcarsalesman is going to take two to four weeks, follow the path of many other "bloggers" and move his operation/archive over to MovableType's Type Pad service. Google's Blogger has been a cool service.

Take a minute and enjoy this intro (in German) from the 80's He Man Cartoons

(Note: He-Man sounds like he is getting ready to invade Russia in the winter or something :P )

The Potential Flip Side of "Retiring" Retirement: Youth Enter the White-Collar Work Force

As long as Usedcarsalesman can remember, college-degreed adults in the U.S. have begun working at a specific point in time - namely their early 20s, or a few years later given any need for additional schooling. And, the age of 65 seemed to mark the end of the work-lives of those adults - 'Used' recollects numerous seniors who, at age 65, cashed out of retirement plans, left the workforce and began golfing and fishing like it was going out of style :).

Perhaps due to better health-care, diet and exercise regiments and other reasons, many Baby Boomers seem likely to buck the longstanding practice of ending there work-lives, at least entirely, at age 65. Some Boomers, in fact, seem inclined to work as long as they are able to in there current field, or otherwise embrace work in new fields that may be more amenable to advancing age or work in web-related businesses. As such, it appears that the U.S. workforce in 2020 may well be composed of a good number of 75-80 year old Baby Boomers who work, not just because they need money, but simply because they can still effectively do so.

Boomers might also keep working because it challenges ages of convention and shows how they have triumphed over socially imposed limits on there human potential. Some people might say that educated Boomers benefiting from better health care, etc. might serve as reason to allow the retirement age to be raise from 65 to 75 or 85, something like that; but, they might add, "Boomers would still 'retire,' just later on in there lives." This could very well be true. Perhaps Usedcarsalesman overestimates the number of Boomers who will attempt to work to the end of there lives for reasons of intellectual stimulation and continued engagement with the world of business and government. However, Used insists that, whether due to health care or work-from-home Internet technology, more working 80 year old will contribute to our economy in coming years versus any time in the past.

But, here's where Usedcarsalesman sees a potential, as-yet-unnoticed flip-side to Boomers disregarding the traditional 65-year-old retirement age: What if smart, young kids under 18, seeing all of these Boomer seniors disregarding the retirement cut-off, begin to chafe at socially (or legally) imposed age-entry barriers to work themselves? One of them, for example, might think, "if Grandma Webster has blown past 65, "retirement" age, and still works as an investment banker at 90, why can't I -- if I can demonstrate that I am capable -- do white-collar adult work that I am capable of doing even in my early teens?

Fellow bloggers might ask, what kid of work? Usedcarsalesman would say, "anything one could successfully test and train for on-line. Or, any business one could incorporate (likely in an adult's name) or operate as a sole proprietorship (again, likely registered in an adult's name)." Basically, the whole spectrum of white collar work - management, design, accounting/finance, legal or medical practice for the particularly committed and inclined to pass state-licensing exams,advertising, public relations, management consulting, technical service, publishing, news-reporting, media production, counseling. Heck, it might even displace traditional high-school-to-college-to-grad-school education for some youth. Furthermore, just as seniors who continue to capably work might offer the world the benefit of there vast experience, youth who work in white collar fields might offer breathtakingly original or creative solutions to problems.

Usdcarsalesman thinks that this strange new world of direct and indirect youth participation in the traditionally adult white-collar work force has already begun and will increase over the next 20-30 years and beyond (running in parallel with Baby Boomers who continue to work during traditional retirement years).

Note: Usedcarsalesman has often read that some of the success of Allied efforts during World War II apparently had to do with the fact that the Allies fully employed the adult population of U.S. men & women in the fight - whether at war or, state-side, in jobs that supported the war effort. The Axis Powers tended not to make full use of there populations in the war effort - the Axis lost. Since the above post is on the subject of seniors and youth in the white collar work force, one might ask, "will there be an instance in the 21st century information age, say in a war or otherwise, in which societies that make full use of there populations - say, seniors and youth - in a military conflict or in business, triumph over societies that do not?"