Saturday, October 02, 2004

Life in Non-hub America

Living in non-hub America can be a pain in the neck - at least when one wants to fly to another non-hub destination. Recently, I wanted to travel from Tulsa to Springfield, Illinois - about 100 miles NE of St. Louis. When I checked Travelocity and other Internet travel sites I discovered the least expensive flights for this 500-mile trip were $780 roundtrip. And to get to Springfield I would have to go via airports in Minnesota, Texas or Tennessee! I checked to see what it would cost to fly just to St. Louis. It cost $720. Then I checked to see what a ticket from St. Louis to Springfield would cost. $740! - to travel 100 miles!

I checked with Greyhound bus and it was about $200 RT - but it meant catching the bus in the middle of the night. I ended up renting a car for a weekend rate of $50 and driving from my inlaws home in Tulsa to Springfield and back. Took more time but saved me about $700. I just wasn't going to pay almost $800 to go to Illinois when I can get flights to London and back for the same amount.

Northeast Oklahomans used to be able to fly direct to St Louis on TWA until American Airlines gobbled up TWA and downsized St Louis operations. There are currently no direct flights from Tulsa to St Louis thanks to the airlines. American says they plan on adding back a daily flight between Tulsa and St. Louis on Trans States Airlines subcarrier in January. I fear this will be one of those cramped propeller jobs.

In the last 20 years the airlines have done more to kill the economic development potential of cities like Tulsa and Oklahoma City than have even our legislators. By going to the hub system and reducing competition through consolidation they have made air travel more difficult for those of us in non-hub America. When corporate executives have to fly in to Oklahoma on incredibly uncomfortable propeller jets it becomes very difficult to persuade them to relocate their business here.


Friday, October 01, 2004

Sucking Up

Sucking up works. As a report tonight on ABC's 20/20 revealed, studies have confirmed what we all thought - that bosses love suckups.

I've witnessed the extreme suckup's success in a number of organizations I've been in. Two of the best examples are recent. In one case a 50-year-old employee, a high-ranking officer in the Army Reserve, starting sucking up to our new boss the minute she stormed onto the scene. At group meetings he would periodically grab her coffee cup and leave to get her some fresh coffee. At first I thought he was just chivalrous but when he repeatedly ignored the other women in the meetings it became embarrassingly obvious he had his lips attached firmly to the the boss' butt. I say embarrassingly but the suck up showed no embarrassment of his own. We were embarrassed for him. Yes, and it was the suck up that was promoted.

In the other case I was on a project with a young lady that showed me suck up techniques I could only admire but did not want to emulate. She put extra effort into finding out where the boss would be and when and making certain she was there when he was and gone when he wasn't. When she talked to him she praised his wisdom and lamented that he had to depend on so many fools. When the three of us were together she would make it a point to ask me about tasks she knew I had not completed yet. When she and the boss were talking in her office next to mine I could hear her trying to convince the boss that my ideas were wrong. When I would confront her she would deny it. I couldn't bring myself to engage in these tactics and I soon found myself on the outside while she was invited into the executive meetings with our boss.

So yes, sucking up works. So why can't I bring myself to do it?

Thursday, September 30, 2004

Mystery Trip Goes Sour for Governor

A few months ago Governor Brad Henry led a delegation to China to promote business between Oklahoma and China. The trip was a closely held secret until the final few days before the group left for China. Not that the press didn't try to get the facts - they found out about the trip weeks in advance but the Governor's office refused to talk. Sources in the Governor's office say the Governor didn't want the press to have time to make an issue out of the trip.

Since the delegation of educators, government reps and a few businesspeople returned from the trip to China there has been a steady flow of grumbling regarding the Governor's behavior in China. Several participants have been outspoken in expressing their disappointment that the Governor ignored his fellow Oklahomans throughout their time in China. "The Governor stayed holed up in his suite with his staff the whole time" said one source. "The Governor wasted a good opportunity to befriend a group of Oklahomans and instead earned a big fat zero in our book."

Other delegation members faulted the Gov for behaving like a prima dona and canceling long-scheduled events at the last minute - like an appearance at a sister state event - and upsetting the Chinese hosts.

Sounds like the Governor made enemies from one end of the Earth to the other.
Solid Republican Goes Wobbly

I have a friend that always votes a straight Republican ticket. She doesn't have a highschool diploma. She's a good person but understands very little about how the wider world functions. She's the type of person that quotes political ads when asked why she supports a candidate. I asked her tonight what she thought of the Presidential debate. To my surprise she said she thought Kerry won the debate. She's not ready to vote for Kerry but if a person that's never voted for a Democrat is toying with the idea I'd say Kerry did do well tonight.
Debate Transcript

Transcripts of tonights debate can be found here.
Let the spinning begin!

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Security Mom?

Where did this "security mom" topic come from? Are women supposed to care more about security than men? Is this just a new media term dreamed up to give the media something to talk about between hurricanes?
Trouble Staying in Compliance

It's hard to stay out of trouble. In Norman recently I was parked near the campus to do some shopping. I put plenty of coins in the meter but when I returned to my car I found a $50 ticket on the windshield! I still had plenty of time left on the meter so what could this be about? Turns out my license plate was a few days expired and Normans' crack(ed) police had spotted it.

Since Oklahoma's Bureau of Keeping License Plates Up-to-date does not send out reminders or invoices anymore it's up to the driver to periodically look at ones' license plate or remember to go to the tag office to renew the license. This may be easy for some people but not for me. If I have more than two things to remember I can be certain of forgetting at least one of them. The sheer number of things one must do these days to "stay in compliance" is overwhelming. If you also have to go about earning a living this compliance thing is quite a distraction.

We forgetful citizens can depend however, on money-hungry jurisdictions like Norman, Oklahoma to find the wood in our eye and take a cut. The county I live in forgives such a fine if one gets the renewal within a week but not the City of Norman. When I called to inquire one of Norman's crack "administrative technicians" gave no ground and added a touch of cold disdain for good measure. I could hear her thinking "we don't need your kind in our city".

Next time, I'll go shopping in Stillwater.

Sunday, September 26, 2004

Missing the Judds

When I leave the house I try to at least dress up in a t-shirt, shorts, socks and shoes but, unless I have a meeting, I don't go beyond that minimal effort to look presentable. I must have looked pretty destitute a few months ago on a day when I decided to eat at the Route 66 Cafe in Tulsa.

As I was entering the cafe a scrawny fellow in blue jeans and what we call a "cowboy shirt" turned to me with a huge grin and an unusual greeting - "how ya doin'? Did you see the Judds last night?" For a moment, I thought he had said "juggs" but a synaptic spark ignited and reminded me the Judds were some sort of country and western singing group. "Uh, no" I said, "I missed them." Still enthusiastic, the cowboy must have felt my pain and tried to console me. "Well, the tickets were $15 and I guess you couldn't afford it - it was kind of expensive," he nodded in sympathy as he went through the door.