Notebook entry, October 24, 1999

USA WEEKEND edition of Oct 22-23, 1999 had the result of their national poll on evolution.  Their yes or no response to the question: Should local school boards be able to decide whether to teach evolution? The results? NO: 73%, YES: 27%.  There was a very good sampling.  20,310 readers voted by phone or online in the September 17-19 National Debate.  But, I do not know how scientific the results would hold up.   It confirms my beliefs that their is a large majority of Americans who believe in evolution, yet have not been allowed to express themselves in full until now.  Too much attention has been given by the media to the creationist vs. evolutionist debate.  Why settle on the truth, when controversy sells TV time and newspapers.

Notebook entry, October 21, 1999

I want to apologize to my regular reader about the absence of current Notebook entries.  I really am business researching my book.  I will let the cat out of the bag a little and inform you that it has to do with gender differences and why we act the way we do in today's society.  Nothing  of Earth shattering proportions to change the entire outlook and perspective of evolution, but there will be some new stuff to keep the wonks tongue's wagging for a while.  It also is the busy season at my work.  We are preparing for the Christmas rush, and as such, my days are long and I have to drag my old bones home with heavy spirit and aching pains.  I'm OK.  I've been doing this for 17 years, so I know what to expect.  The only thing new will be the parcel post avalanche from the Internet companies on their way to the customers.  We are not ready for what is to come, but that is how our organization functions.

Notebook entry, October 14, 1999

BusinessWeek special report, October 18, 1999 issue, p.152 "Thanks to full employment, America's poor are finally getting a break."  The principle that a rising tide rises all boats is finally coming true in the inner-cities with the continued economic upswing.  The labor markets are so tight now that employers have lured virtually everyone who wants to work back into the labor force and are now reaching out to those that employers previously shunned. The quote the report: "From 1992 to 1998, 16 to 24-year-old African-American men with a high school education or less saw their employment rates soar from 46% to 54%, while the share of the entire 16-plus population with a job climbed only four percentage points.  The result: The hourly pay of young black men has jumped by an inflation-adjusted 12% since 1992, to $8.23 an hour in 1998.  "Their wages finally took off when unemployment got low enough." p.160

The report continue saying that supermarkets, such as  Pathmark, have begun to build new stores within city limits again, and it seems that banks are more willing to make riskier loans to small businesses within inner cities to further pump up a long forgotten area of America.    Companies now view the inner cities as "a vast hiring hall."   The dark cloud on all of this?  The Fed may raise interest rates in attempting to control inflation and snuff out the economic fires just starting to catch within the inner cities.  You know....last to benefit, first to get screwed?   But, we will see as we are in a New Economy these days and the entire spectrum of industries is changing rapidly for the better.

Notebook entry, October 12, 1999

I just finished chapter four of THE BOOK.  The writing is going well, but to tell you the truth, I really don't know the direction the book will take after chapter five.  It's almost like the book is a fetus, and I don't know the sex of the child yet.  Interesting.  Both John, my editor, and his wife were down with the creeping cruds and we could not meet today. Meeting postponed until the 21st.

Well, I took the plunge toward eBusiness by placing two of my posters up on Amazon.com's zShop web site.  I think that it is a great idea.  No muss, no fuss.  The customer just clicks on the 1-click button and the charge to the customer's credit card goes directly into Evolution's Voyage's checking account.   Sold only one poster since I first posted on the 5th of Oct.

Notebook entry, October 8, 1999

I am puzzled.  My counter is zinging away.  2,876 hits last night.  That up from an average from around 95-100 hits daily.  At fist thought I thought that perhaps my opening of my one single item on the new Amazon.com zShop had everything to do with it, but the only connection to Amazon.com's selling page show that there were no hits.  The only other thing that I can think of is that there was a writeup or verbal tip from sort of media outlet, but I don't who or what.

Egads!  I'm clueless! Will someone please clue me in or I will left behind.