Your Questions About Gardening

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A letter from the boss

Posted on Monday, January 19, 2009 9:35:25 AM by Las Vegas Ron
To All My Valued Employees,
There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn’t pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.
However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.
First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You’ve seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I’m sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.
However, what you don’t see is the back story.
I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.
My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn’t have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.
Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom’s for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn’t look like it was birthed in the 70’s. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.
So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don’t. There is no “off” button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden — the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations… You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I’ve made.
Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn’t. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.
Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I’ve paid is steep and not without wounds.
Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:
I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don’t pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my “stimulus” check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.
The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.
The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you’d quit and you wouldn’t work here. I mean, why should you? That’s nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.
Here is what many of you don’t understand … to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn’t need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into th

Help with conclusion on slow foods/ local foods?

I am doing a speech on local foods help with conclusion? I dont have one yet
Slow Foods, Local Foods
“Slow Food aims to be everything fast foods is not” USA Today. These words just about sum up what everyone believes Slow Foods it about, actually it’s much more. Slow Foods is more than a way of eating, it’s a lifestyle. This lifestyle connects our food consumption and lifestyle elements around us. Slow Foods is now a global movement with thousands of members around the world. These members link the delight of food with their commitment to the community and the environment. If you were to look at any produce at any store here in Hawaii, you would probably see Made in Mexico, Made in California, or Made in Chili. Can you believe that that tomato you’re eating traveled 3,980 miles just so you could devoured it? People have gone so far with food, and now its time to backtrack. We need to go back to our roots, gardens at home, and the local markets, you may not think that this could impact our world but it can, and with your help it will.
Slow Food aims to counter fast life, as in fast food restaurants and industrialized foods. Fast life has led to thousands of irreplaceable local traditional restaurants, all because industrialized foods are easy to package. Fast life has a major impact on the environment, all those planes, barges, and factory processing and shipping food all over the world. Basically Slow foods is promoting local farmers markets and all local food. They are trying to tell us, “Hey stop buying that stuff from Mexico and who knows where. Start helping your environment, and eat foods from where you live for a change!” These people are right.
Do you know why food costs so much in Hawaii? Because it has to travel so far; to travel you need gas, to have gas you need money. That money they need is coming straight out of your pocket. 80-90% of food in the state of Hawaii is imported, think about that next time you eat a tomato. Imagine if only 50% was imported or 40%, most of the food you see in grocery stores would be local. If everyone in the island of Hawaii went out to a local farmers market and bought their weeks worth of food there, not only would you be promoting Slow Food and local food, you would have helped the environment greatly. Think about it 148,677 people all buying locally grown food, that would take a huge weight off the environment.
Your probably thinking, so what? I can just go to Costco and get everything I need. Well eating local mean more for the local economy. For every dollar you spend locally it produces twice as much income for the local economy. Whereas buying at a non-local place such as Costco, the money leaves our community every time someone buys something. Local food is almost always fresher that imported foods, when you shop at supermarkets the produce have been sitting there for days, or even weeks. When you buy local the produce has probably been picked within the day before. Eating local is better for air quality and pollution. Believe it or not, eating organic isn’t like eating local, organic foods still travel thousands of miles to get to you. Whereas any local food could be from your neighbors backyard and only have to travel a couple of steps.

The many uses for WD40?

1. Protects silver from tarnishing.
2. Removes road tar and grime from cars.
3. Cleans and lubricates guitar 20 strings.
4. Gives floors that ‘just-waxed’ sheen without making them slippery.
5. Keeps flies off cows.
6. Restores and cleans blackboards.
7. Removes lipstick stains.
8. Loosens stubborn zips.
9. Untangles jewellery chains.
10. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12. Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.
13. Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14. Keeps glass shower screens free of water spots.
15. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16. Keeps scissors working smoothly.
17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.
18. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for
those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn’t seem to harm the
finish and you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just
remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19. Dead insects will eat away the finish on your car if not removed
quickly! Use WD-40!
20. Gives a children’s playground gym slide a 20 shine for a super fast
slide.
21. WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and
wipe with a clean rag.
22. Also, if you’ve discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and
dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots
with WD-40 and rewash. Presto! The lipstick is gone!
23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to
open.
24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.
25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as
vinyl bumpers.
26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.
27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.
28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy
handling.
29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running
smoothly.
30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.
31. Removes splattered grease on stove.
32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs.
34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).
35. Removes all traces of duct tape.
36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve
arthritis pain.
37. WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will
be catching the big one in no time. Also, it’s a lot cheaper than the
chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind
though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed
in some counties .
38. Use it for gnat bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops
the itch.
39. And for some reason………..spray it on your arthritic knee joints etc and
it will ease them.