In the past 20 years of my life, I have noticed a battle similar to the one waged in the natural world… that of “predator” and “prey”… the major difference is that one is for survival while another is for what ever is left of our money after the governments get their ever increasing cut.

Disclosure… what’s it all about?

It’s a well known secret that every time you watch TV, it’s the advertising that helps pay for the air time to run the shows you enjoy – another worse kept secret is when ever you watch a movie, it isn’t a co-incidence that a particular actor wears a certain suit, drives a specific car and even has particular beverage preferences… but bloggers? Yep, now there are a few business models out there that PAY bloggers to promote their product… the controversy isn’t whether they are getting paid or not, but whether they need to disclose that they are essentially receiving payola.

Advertising… what’s next?

We are all great now at completely avoiding any conscious thought when viewing an advertising, much like TIVO screwed up the revenue models for many broadcasters – we have all evolved to be fantastic advertisorus ignoramus’s. Advertisers realized this and moved a step up in the attack against our wallets, they are like tigers who are always trying to “outsmart” their customers from their money instead of a trusted friend wanting to HELP us. We cannot trust what people tell us about a particular product because there is always the question of bias, a few years back stock recommendations made “undisclosed” promoters waterfalls of money before the government in one of its few instances of action “banned” the practice… where does this all lead? Are advertisers going to begin going after my parents in their retirement to tell their kids about the newest product to make them money and my life more complicated? Don’t worry – I am sure there is a business model being developed as we speak to after those who we least suspect of making money from their words.

Christmas…

Christmas, to me at least, is becoming the equivalent of an endless commercial, repeated over and over and over again… some people love Christmas, for many of us, it’s a “legit” excuse to spend money that we really don’t need to otherwise while for others, it’s simply a religious festival. Is it just me or does this orgy of consumerism start early every year and much like Santa on his slay, free of the binds of time, lasting far longer then the days on the calendar would indicate? To me, consumerism is starting to really put a damper on this whole event… do I really need to listen to yet another song about Rudolf brought to you by XYZ? Do I really need to watch the monotony of every commercial using red and white “coke inspired” colors schemes? Do I really need to watch 20 versions of the “Night Before Christmas” using different products? Much like I am becoming an expert at tuning out advertising… sadly, the whole idea of Christmas is also being phased out of my mind… thanks to advertisers.

Advertisers… they ain’t all bad

Before you think I am anti-advertising, I am not… they have their place like anything else in our lives… my problem is with the AMOUNT being trusted within my mind whether I want it there or not… especially over any (you name it) holiday. I lived 300 days without seeing a coke commercial with Santa Clause, I sure as hell can live another 300 years without seeing it again, but sadly, I will see it next year, different actor, same message. I don’t know where advertising went wrong, it seems to me, they are increasingly struggling to get my attention, struggling to be heard… much like spam… at first it wasn’t bad but not it’s completely out of control.

Solutions

If an advertiser actually has something that will IMPROVE my life, not negligible, not a rehashing of the same concept but something that will actually IMPROVE MY LIFE – I welcome being approached, otherwise donate your marketing budget to the needy – I want no part of it. I have had ENOUGH.

The Bottom Line

This blog was not sponsored by XYZ…

I recently streamlined my operations once again, I do this every quarter to make sure I run as tight and efficient a ship as possible – this saves me time and my customers/visitors money which I can invest in other endeavors. I recently retired my VOIP system and replaced it with Skype as a result of my review and changing situation.

Initial Rumblings

As many people, I have heard on and off about Skype – some people I deal with got rid of all their phone systems and switched over the Skype while others still don’t have a fast enough connection to benefit from its service. As for me, I evolved slowly, from land line to VOIP and now… SKYPE! I was looking into satellite phones for a while as I plan on doing lots of international traveling in the near future but for now, I have settled with Skype.

Skype?

Skype is essentially what I describe as a world phone that allows you to make free, unlimited calls to other Skype members using your PC – don’t worry, the software is free and set-up was only a few clicks. The other huge advantage over current MSN voice chat type systems is the clarity is absolutely amazing, even better then I had with my VOIP – you can even call land line phones for a flat rate around the world and set-up a voice mailbox which I plan to get shortly. You can send files just like MSN, chat via video and many other features that blow MSN in the dust. I am trying to switch all my friends to it as we speak

Problems with Skype

The only “issue” I have for Skype is you need a good internet connection – dial-up users are out of luck but most of the people I work with have broadband so this limitation is a small one. What I liked about my VOIP system was that I had unlimited North America calls for a flat rate of 35$/month which was a great savings but with Skype, even buying time to call non-Skype users still comes out cheaper @ 2.1 cents a minute then my previous system and all I need is an internet connection to “log-in”, no need to carry a VOIP box with phone and handset from anywhere in the world. I guess my next “step-up” would be a mobile satellite card for my laptop so I can use Skype anywhere in the world without worrying about internet connection speed.

Where can I get Skype?

www.skype.com – tell them Jon sent you

The Bottom Line

Skype will do to traditional phones what .pdf did to the ancient fax machine – good riddance in my opinion!

I read an article from Forbes about the problems @ Pfizer for their new anti-heart-attack drug called Torcetrapib and it got me thinking… why are these companies spending BILLIONS of dollars annually to solve problems that are mostly preventable? Wouldn’t that money be better spent on prevention and education?

What’s in it for the big pharma

Profits, the sole focus of a corporation is to generate profits, the more, the better… the most efficient way for big pharma to generate profits is to create drugs that must be taken for the rest of the patients life – mortality is the ultimate motivator. Remember, their focus is on profits, not the health of the individual. I repeat, if its more profitable to treat a condition then to prevent it… the big pharma will focus on treatment. They ARE NOT in the business of altruism no matter how much marketing they do portraying otherwise. I acknowledge their efforts and applaud them – I am not anti-pharmaceutical, they have their place.

What’s is in it for the government

The role of government is to make sure we are all on an equal footing and can enjoy life in a stable environment. In my world, the easiest way to achieve this is through perfect health, rich or poor – if everybody was in the best shape of their lives throughout all their lives, the world would be a far better place. When people can focus on their dreams instead of finding money for a gym membership or even fixing a root canal – you have created an environment of not only stability but exuberantly positive self-esteem, curing many social ills and diseases that plague us today. If you choose to be unhappy in this environment, then it’s the governments role to ship you to a remote island to be with others of your unhappy kind.

Drugs aren’t the answer

Let’s see, obesity 99% of the time is directly related to poor diet and exercise habits. It’s no secret that the diabetes epidemic is directly related to the obesity epidemic that is spreading throughout the world. What is big pharma doing to solve the problem, they are pouring billions of dollars into anti-obesity, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes etc. drugs that as their patient get sick, they can generate revenues to extend their lives. Again, I am fine with that, but where is the government in all this? NOWHERE! I see more self-congratulatory public service announcements during non-election season about how good the party you didn’t vote is doing then I do about how to prevent obesity, diabetes, cancer etc… what do I take from this? The government doesn’t care – and if they don’t care about me, then I don’t care about them. No wonder they are increasing irrelevant.

Drugs have BAD side effects – habits do not

If something works, it generally has both positive and negative effects. All drugs, by their nature have side effects. Drugs are made public when their positive effects are perceived to exceed their negative ones. Good habits on the other hand, don’t generally have bad side effects when correctly performed – if you choose not to brush your teeth, you get cavities, if you don’t have money, then you pop pills to dull the pain but if you brushed your teeth correctly to begin with, the need for drugs would have been eliminated. The same goes with many other diseases that plague western culture.

Drugs cost money, habits save money

Using the above example, if you invested in a good toothpaste and toothbrush and spent TIME correctly cleaning your teeth, you wouldn’t need to spend money going to a dentist to fix your cavities, nor would you need to spend money on pain pills NOR would you suffer from the side-effects that poor oral hygene bring into your life – social, economic, health and opportunities lost.

Drugs have their place

I think drugs have their place, when I got my appendix removed, I was happy a pharmaceutical company developed Demerol to keep me unconscious during the proceeding days to heal properly – but when it comes to treating preventable conditions, the focus of government should not be on ignorance.

The Bottom Line

If you are looking for a magic pill to cure what you have done to yourself on purpose through a lifetime of poor habits – you are fooling yourself into an early grave.

Important Links:
http://www.forbes.com/home/business/2006/12/02/pfizer-cholesterol-fda_cz_mh_1202torcetrapib.html
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/Diabetes/dh/3135