Slow Down You Move Too Fast

Being a generally happy human being with not too much to complain about, I rarely ever use this space to rant about things. The only times I recall doing so were when people in positions of power abuse them and it gets under my skin.

The other day as I was coming home from picking up my son from preschool we were traveling through a school zone that is part of our daily route. This school zone is on a very busy road in South Austin and I always make sure I am going slow so I don't kill or badly injure any kids. One of Austin's finest police officers wasn't thinking that way on this day. I was hovering right around 20 MPH when the patrol car cruised by in the right lane at probably 28-30 MPH. I thought maybe there was an emergency but his lights were not on like the big yellow flashing light on that very tall sign next to the street.

I followed him for about three more miles as we just happened to be going the same direction. I kept waiting for him to pull somebody over for speeding back in that school zone since that had to be the reason he was going so fast through it. I then noticed he was looking down at his computer a lot. I guess that's why he didn't see that big yellow flashing light on that very tall sign next to the street.

To be fair, I've sped through school zones before on accident. Once when I was a teenager and new to the driving world, I got a ticket for going 29 MPH supposedly just minutes before the light stopped flashing. There were no children anywhere in sight and I'm pretty sure the light wasn't flashing. I got ticketed and had to write a three-page paper for the teen court judge to get out of it. He let me off easy!

So, I'm really in no position to pass judgement on the police officer who accidentally cruised through the school zone faster than he should have. I thought about flashing my lights and honking my horn behind him to see if he would pull over and I could write him a ticket from his book. Not wanting to take the risk of a ride downtown to jail with my two little kids in the car, I decided to let him off the hook.

It would be nice to see him spending more time in that school zone stopping the arrogant high school students from walking out into traffic. They ignore the lights at the intersection and roam out in front of moving cars. They ignore the pedestrian crosswalk and cross wherever they please. Almost daily I see a student inches away from being hit.

I know high school kids don't need a crossing guard, but maybe they need an Austin police officer stationed there to stop them from jaywalking and getting run over by a speeder, civilian or otherwise.

No matter what city you live in, please slow down in school zones.

A Fellow Austin SAHD

Another at-home dad here in Austin has started a new project titled "A Year In Photos" where he will post a new picture he has taken every day for the next 365 days. He started on September 1st and all really great shots! I have yet to meet him but hope to do so one day soon. Check out his blog here,or click one of my favorites so far below titled

best shoes ever...

Photo by Bryan McNeal

The 2007 Austin Enchilada Controversy

It seems as though the 2007 Austin Enchilada Controversy has come to an end. The Perez sisters who own Las Manitas on Congress Avenue have decided to turn down the mostly forgivable $750,000 loan from the City of Austin. In a statement released earlier today the sisters said,

"We concluded that trying to operate a small business under these circumstances is not practical or consistent with how we have successfully run our business for over two decades. We fell we would lose a lot of our independence. And that isn't an acceptable option. Twenty years from now, both of us will be in our 70's. For all of these reasons, it simply no longer makes business sense for Las Manitas to enter into this loan."

This is a good thing for the city, for Las Manitas, and the future of the loan program. As you can read from my previous posts on this matter here and here, like many other Austinites I was never in favor of this deal. I'm glad they made the right decision no matter what their reasons were.

I have very close friends who love Las Manitas and were behind this deal from the start. They may even be able to talk me into having lunch there again some day.

Woody, Boo, and the Tiger

Watching golf today was the best thing I could have done after a night of minimal sleep. Golf on TV doesn't require you to pay much attention and your brain can doze in and out of consciousness without you actually being aware of it. Rapid thoughts running through your head come to a dead stop while watching golf. I like that sometimes.

As you can probably guess by the title of this blog, I love golf. I love to read about golf, watch golf on TV, and play golf with my son, my Dad, my father-in-law, and my friends. I wish I could play more often. One day I will be retired and will play golf three times a week or more like my Grandpa did. Since I was a little kid, my Grandpa was retired and living on the 16th green of a country club. Every time we came to Austin to visit we always ended up on the course. When I was younger I rode in the cart and watched my Dad and him play. As I got older he let me drive the cart and play along. One of my fondest memories is running down from his backyard to putt on the 16th green before the next round of golfers came up.

Today at the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods again held the lead. Yesterday I talked to my sister in Tulsa, OK, and she said my brother-in-law and my nephew were out at Southern Hills Country Club for the second round following Tiger around. What a great day to watch him play, too. He shot a 63 and almost set another record with a 62, but his putt went in the hole and rolled out. The whole world with the exception of the players trying to catch him, all said, "Awwwww!"

After today's round I switched over to The Golf Channel to catch the interviews with the players. All of the reporters asked the players about Tiger and how they planned on playing their game tomorrow. They asked them what it is about Tiger that makes him so hard to beat. Woody Austin was one of those players and he basically said that Tiger's competitive drive is what makes him control the game. He doesn't like to lose. His concentration along with the skills he brings to the golf course propel him farther than most players can fathom.

One of my favorite interviews (and now one of my favorite golfers) was with Boo Weekley. He is a funny man with a respectful attitude about his job as a professional golfer. He wants to play for ten or twelve more years until he has enough money in the bank. Boo said he loves the game but would rather spend more time with his family and going fishing.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of Thomas Brent "Boo" Weekley and Woody Austin. Of course, it's always fun to watch Tiger Woods play. He makes me pump my fist every time he birdies, and that's a lot of fist pumping.

The FedEx Cup is on the horizon. I better get my fist ready.

Business Lessons You Don't Learn In College

I'm so lucky to have read the Statesman today. I'm sure many of you are, too. I would like to thank our City Council and Las Manitas for teaching all of us a valuable lesson in how to successfully run a profitable small business in Austin, TX.

1. Open a small business in a desirable location but not in a building that you own. Lease the space from another business owner.
2. Sell halfway decent products but sell them to politicians, musicians, and actors so people will think your products are actually better than they really are. This will make you an "icon" and apparently that is a difficult label to achieve.
3. When your landlord decides to not renew your lease so he can sell the building to a large company that will bring in more jobs and tax money to the city - pitch a walleyed fit and call up your politician friends and ask for help.
4. Pass around a petition to your customers and get their friends to sign it even if they have never been to your establishment. People like to bet on the underdog and stick it to big business. You can use this emotion to your advantage.
5. Turn down an offer to help you relocate to a building you own a block away from the big business that is moving into your current location.
   
6. Find something to use as leverage. Something like a right-of-way access at the building you own that the before mention big business wants to use. Hold out as long as you can until the City Council steps in to negotiate on your behalf.
7. When negotiations fail, don't give up. Apply for a gift from a city fund set up to help small businesses like yours relocate. Even though you would qualify for a loan with your assets and real estate holdings, don't bother going to your bank. They will just make you pay the loan back. Wipe out the city's fund instead. You deserve it since you are an "icon."
8. Laugh all the way to the bank after the City Council cuts you a big fat check to get you to back off from the right-of-way dispute with the big business. They will realize that's the only way you will go quietly to your new location in the building that you own.

Think of all the money you could save on college tuition to go to business school if you just followed these eight simple steps. Maybe someday you can laugh all the way to the bank, too.