Conventions

It is fun to just go to the show and not have to work but truthfully that NEVER ever happens. I’m always working. But I do take the time to stop and smell the pleasther:

That’s my Hemi–NOT my husbands!!

MOPAR woman @ SEMA

Originally uploaded by Itinerant

Father and Son @ SEMA

Originally uploaded by Itinerant

SEMA as a bonding experience for father and son.

Back Ink @ SEMA

Originally uploaded by Itinerant

Inked!!

This is an all inclusive show that consists of SEMA, NACE and AAPEX plus various other satellite shows for those in the diesel, off road and rebuild industries. It’s always a great show with all the new gadgets that are shown for the future cars. In 2006 we first saw the Sync which is now coming standard on more and more vehicles. In addition to all the things that can be added (it’s the automotive after market show!) some companies bring in their vintage collection.

This year show was very subdued. Last month’s crash of the stock market left banks credit-poor. The already struggling Big 3 (GM, Ford and the ever in the red-Chrysler) are even more stretched. As an economist, I really try to view each industry as if i were running it. The 1st thing I’d do is downsize the huge bite that retired union workers take out of the budget. Not cut them off but switch them from a PPO to an HMO, maybe even self -insure them. And then I’d dump the union. President Reagan did it in the early 1980′s when the air traffic controllers went on strike. He fired them all. And hired new ones. All the doom and gloom of crashing planes never came to pass. Fire the unions and hire them all back at a living wage. $27.00/hour for janitorial help is just not feasible. $17.00/hour is more in line with the rest of the manufacturing industries.

Not for me to say but lets just say this year’s event was very somber. Even the booth bunnies were cut back to just 1 or 2 instead of 10.

Here are a few of the Vintage Cars we loved.. Chrysler should recommission the DeSoto but have it as a hybrid.

Steve McQueen’s Car from the movie “Bullitt”

Who you gonna call??? This is the original Ghostbusters car.

For the last 10 years I’ve participated in the Consumer Electronics Industry Forum that is held about 3 months before CES. It’s always in October and rotates between West Coast cities. Since moving back to Las Vegas, this is the 2nd time it’s been here. Charlie and I had a presentation to the wireless division this year. If you check, in years past, we’ve had various platforms to spread the word of Pi and green. This is the 1st year that the industry is actually “catching Green fever”

Some random shots from the forum:

Cell phones turned 25 this month. This is one of the early models. Ours was in a box, like a suitcase.

Cocktail Party Schmoozing

Before our presentation starts

I’ve attended NAB for almost as many years as I’ve gone to CES, about 16. The keynote speeches have been yawners, especially in the last few years under the current administration I imagine they are about as exciting as they were in the 1950′s under the blacklisting scare. 80 years of keynotes and I bet they didn’t expect what we saw today. 1st of all it was surprising that Tim Robbins, an outspoken activist, was invited in the 1st place. Previous keynotes have been given by Ronald Reagan (who was attacked by an ice sculpture welding assailant) Dickie Parsons — formerly of the Dime bank, now with Chair of Time-Warner, and Barry Diller, creator of the Fox Network. Conservatives and not wanting to make waves in DC, the keynotes have always been skirting the real white elephant in the room, censorship. Especially in recent years.

Apparently no one told those booking the show this year that Tim Robbins wasn’t a safe choice. As he came out on stage, burly ushers in the room walked about demanding that all recording devices and cameras be turned off. Unprecedented in a room full of broadcast journalist.

Mr. Robbins started to tell us that his original speech had been taken away and that at some point we’d be able to read it on other, less censored media, at some future date. Then it was as if a light bulb went off in his head, throwing caution to the wind, he did his speech from memory.

Entitled: “The Power and Responsibility of Our Nation’s Broadcasters.” It was like watching the hybrid child of Jon Stewart and George Carlin. Sprinkled with those 7 words you can never say on regulated television, Robbins gave us a history of the media and then took all to task for not standing up to those currently in power who have been trying to silence us. Giving us such examples of Edward R. Murrow, Amos & Andy, even down to the audacity of CTW to think that parents would allow their pre-school age children to actually start learning by watching the “box”.

Each visual was followed by applause and in his final words, reminding us that we are on the brink of a new world and have the chance to change history as we know it, he threw down the velvet gauntlet, ““We are at an abyss as a country and as an industry. … And you, the broadcasters of this great nation have a tremendous power… to turn this country away from cynicism … away from the hatred and the divisive dialog that has rendered such a corrosive affect on our body politic.” I think that Mr. Murrow would be smiling right now.

Even though the FCC goons ordered the cameras off, there were still some small hand held devices that could capture the sounds of the beads of sweat that rolled off the NAB official’s brow, and captured the moment.