80/20

What is it about the 80/20 rule that seems to pop up in many aspects of life. I first heard of the 80/20 rule in sales. 80 percent of your business is done by 20 percent of your customers. In parenting they say that your children learn from about 20 pecent of what you tell them, and 80 percent by what you do youself (by example)

20 percent of the worlds farmers (America) supplies 80 percent of the worlds produce. (Actually California grows more rice than the Orient combined). 83 percent of America is fine with God in the pledge of allegiance. Yet 17 percent are trying to change the fabric our country was founded on.

80/20 defines the complacency and mindless, lethargic, going thru the motions that our country has turned into.

A note to single people...............

One of my favorite sayings that I came to respect when I was single after 17 years of miserable marriage was: "You have to become the person you want to marry". Meaning, If you want to meet someont that is responsible and with integrity, you need to become a person with integrity and responsibility.

How many times can you meet someone at an AA meeting who will tell you that when they're at a party, if there's only 1 other alcohalic there, they'll hook up with them. People tend to attract their own kind. If you want to attract a Christian wife, do you think you'll find her in a stripper bar? Hell no. Get your butt into a Wednesday night Bible study and you'll meet her. If you want to meet a woman with an Atheletic body like Angie Harmon's , what do you think the chances are of attracting her if you look like John Goodeman?

You need to become the person you want to attract. (period)

Ace's Wisdom Encyclopedia

Excuses versus Motivation:

Why didn't you call? Uh, I lost your number. I got run over by an Amtrak. I won the lottery and you can kiss my ass. I had to take my grandmother to the hospital.

One thing you come to learn with age is, if you want to do something, you'll find a way to do it. It's all about motivation. For most of us deciding what to do amounts to doing what is the least miserable chore. If someone doesn't call you back, it's because calling you back wasn't that important to them. Take that for what it's worth. The house could have caught on fire and calling the fire department was more important. (along with the statefarm agent and your realtor) or, this person chose to go to lunch instead. Perhaps hunger was more important than calling you back. Perhaps watching Will and Grace was more important than calling you back.

On the other hand, if you had just won the Mega-million lotto and had too much money on your hands, just the rumor that you wanted someone to return your call would have had your phone ringing off the hook. "It's all about motivation"

When you ask a woman to marry you, and she says she has to "think" about it. The motivation isn't there. Actually, I believe that you shouldn't have to ask someone to marry you. If you don't know what their response is going to be, you aren't ready to get married.

Steve Pavlina preaches: "Do it now". It's a form of self-motivation. It's the cure for procrastination.

Stephen R. Covey says: Do what's important, before it becomes urgent. ie, quadrant 2 activeties. For most of us, our time and activeties are divided into 4 quadrants:

1. Urgent - The house is on fire. April 15th 11:59pm. etc..l.

2. Important but NOT Urgent - Taxes on Januaray 1st. Exercise. Phoning your relatives.

3. Urgent but NOT important - The phone ringing. Somebody elses problems. etc....

4. NOT Urgent and NOT Important - Scuttle butting. Gossip. Monday morning QBing.

We should spend most of our time in quadrant 2. If we do, then we avoid the time wasted in the other 3 areas.

If you really want to do it. You'll do it.

What's happened to my Television?

I remember being a child of the fifties (for a couple of years at least) and after my mom died when I was 11, I was basically babysat by a black and white 19 inch sony TV. I don't think my dad and I got a color TV until the year before I went into the Navy.

But Television in those days were just great when you consider the morals and censureship they had to comply with. How did Rob and Laura make Richie in those two single beds?

How come they don't make TV shows about PT Boats anymore? Where are you Commander McHale? I miss the Skipper and Gilligan. (actually I miss Mary Anne and Ginger) I'll take I love Lucy over friends and Earl anyday.

The ONLY thing that has gotten better since the 60's, are the cartoons. No not superfriends. South Park, The Simpsons and my Fave, "King of the HIll" .

But as far as Will and Grace, Ted and Martha and Dharma and Greg...... You can keep them. I'll take re-runs of a crazy red-head trying to sneak into a nightclub show any day.

Death Valley Scotty.............

Use to say, "Don't complain and don't explain." I'll give you 2 instances where I learned the value of this wisdome.

1. 1981, Citrus Heights California. I use to complain about this huge tree that use to block the sun from coming into the master bedroom window. (bedroom faced the street) It was a girthy Maple tree about 2 feet in diameter (trunk) One night the screeching of wheels comes down the street. Then a hughe crash right next door. Some drunk in a pick up lost control and plowed into my neighors house. Drove right into their kitchen. See, if he'd tried my house, he'd a ended up in the maple tree.

2. 2004, Vancouver Washington. I'm 3 in line behind 2 slow pokes. The light turns green and as is the custom in Washington, the motorist have to hit the snooze button once or twice before they can actually wake up and proceed thru the intersection. Well as usual, I'm honking to wake up the guy in front. About a half a mile ahead in the opposite directions comes a garbage truck with it's rig in the upright position. It grabs a power line and pulls down a telephone pole. The 2nd car in front of me gets flattened like a pancake. See if he'd a gone when the light turned green, it woulda been me getting squashed like a bug.

Male Bashing..........

I found my self in a "coin-op" Laundromat the other day. Sometimes you just can't find a washer big enough for the comforter ya know? But one thing that I noticed that was much nicer than the ghetto laundromats I'm use to from back in the day is that NOW they have TVs up on the wall. Unfortunately, for the 48 minutes I was was stuck in this place, I was forced to watch "The View". All I can compare it to is "The Man's Show" for women. Only without the the comedy of Jimmy Kimmel or Adam Corrolla. It's basically 4 women drinking coffee talking about how hard it is to diet or why men can't put the lid down on the toilet. The only difference I could discern from the The View and The Man's Show was that on The Man's Show, The guys put Women down. On The View, the women do a pretty good job of putting themselves down. Both shows are fodder for the brainless. The only good that came from watching the View was that they had Uma Thurman as a guest which helped pass the time.

Governmental Fluff.

One word. CSPAN. Seriously, do you think 90 percent of the grandstanding that we see on TV would ever exist in the absence of a camera? Would the silly steroid baseball hearings have ever taken place without a primetime audience? Would Ted Kennedy and Diane Feinsteins ever have joined forces to ramshackle Judge Alito in the Senate confirmation hearings?

I say take away their expense accounts, take away the cameras and don't let them come out until they've reached bi-parisan answers to terror, Social security and illeagal immigration.

Brand name fluff..............

Having raised 2 teenaged boys to adulthood, I found myself loathing trendy brand names. "FUBU" "NIKE" "BOSS" lord have mercy. 200 bucks for a pair of Michael Jordan sneakers. It got so absurd, that at one point, I started buying myself 15 dollar Wall mart sneakers just as a form of protest. To show my kids that I was cool for "less". * note- (Walmart sneakers suck without 10 dollars worth of orthotic cushions in them)

When pagers were in fashion, I had to buy pagers. (but this was actually a good thing) It's a great way to keep an eye on your little rebel. Then cell phones. OY VEY. (did I spell that right?)

I think public school and TV commercials are a parent's worst enemy. This seems to be where humans get their pardigm that you are what you wear, drive and reside at.

FLUFF! Damn it! ALL FLUFF!

ME? I'm guilty of owning a Mont Blanc Ink Pen. I use it to write songs with. It's a tool. I feel using a 200 dollar pen will inspire me to write quality songs. But then again Carl Perkins wrote Blue Suede Shoes on the bag of a brown paper bag.

Most of my guitars are all used. The only ones I bought new were my Cherry Sunburst Les Paul, My Sting Ray Bass, Both of my Strats and the Teles and my 1977 Ovation Balladeer. The rest were all used. As for the quality of used vs. New? I can't tell. It's not like buying a pair of shoes. My favorite guitar is my patent pending gold top WolfGang. Paid 600 bucks for it on EBAY. It's on almost every cut of my last two albums.

I like eating in ghetto chinese restaurants. I really like Mexican restaraunts that have been closed by the department of health. And nothing beats a 99 cent Burger.

I drive a 98 Chevy Astro Cargo Van. With a huge ass dent in the left side of it. (saved 2 thousand dollars because of it) It still carries my gear when I need it to.

Yep, Cut thru the fluff. It will make your life much simpler.

Cutting thru the fluff.

I'm going to take the next week to focus on the fluff that gets in our way. The fluff I'm referring to is like the "Foam" or "Froth" that covers the real issue. In Real Estate, Froth refers to the synthetic "above waterline" price of housing. When the RE market is good, the price of housing has a 10 percent inflated cieling. When prices first start to drop, experts say, the market is just cutting thru the froth. A good example of fluff or froth is the foam on top of a cappiccino. Underneath this layer of steamed milk is your esspresso drink.

Fluff has to do with appearance. Sometimes tradition. But the truth is, Fluff always has to do with perception. Right or wrong, fluff has an affect on the total package.

Fluff comes in many forms. Bling, razzle dazzle, Mont Blanc, French braids, BMW or maybe just plain practice. Take the parrable of the "Good Samaritan" in the Bible. The parrable is a story about a man who was on the treacherous road from Jeruselem to Jericho. The "road to Jericho" was sort of like the road from San Diego to Ensenada Mexico. YOu don't want to break down on this road because triple A aint gonna dispatch a truck to come help you.

In the story Jesus tells, a certain man (race unidentified) is beaten, robbed, stripped and left for dead on the side of the road. The first to happen upon the man was a Priest. Instead of renering aid to the man, he crossed over on the otherside of the road as he passed.

The 2nd man to come upon the injured man was a Levite (assistants to priests, and decendendts of Levi) And likewise the Levite crossed to the otherside of the road.

The 3rd man to come along was a Samaritan. (a halfbreed Jew/samaritan) Samaritans were outcasts to the jews. They "ate the flesh of swine". However unlike the Prieste and the LEvite, the samaritan showed compassion and stopped by the wayside and rendered first aid using oils and wine to mend his wounds. He picked up the man, layed him across his beast, and carried him into the next town. He delivered him to an Inn where he paid for his night's stay and gave a promise to pay further debts incurred by the man.

One would think that the Priest and Levite would have been obligated first to render compassion to the wounded man. But let's cut thru the fluff. Under jewish law, if a person touched a dead body, or came within a certain distance of a dead body, they would risk "defilement" or "corruption". The process for purging yourself of defilement included spending 2 weeks on the "wailing wall" which would mean a loss of 2 weeks wages. So the fluff in this case was Money.

So many times we focus on the fluff and not the substance. Jesus used this parrable to explain to a "lawyer" (of the pharisees) who your neighbor was.

Ace and Ian Lloyd............

Remember back in 1972 a great hit song called "Brother Louie"? Louie Louie Louie Lou eyeeeeeeeee. That was Ian Lloyd and Stories. Stories was a fabulous progressive rock band that was very reminiscent of the Englis band "YES". But the record label that recorded Ian decided to release a single called "Brother Louie" which they had recorded in the studio, but was not intended to be on the album. Well as usual, it was a mega hit.

Well 30 years later, I was in touch with Ian. I've always loved Ian's voice. I hated the fact that many felt he was trying to sound like Rod Stewart, because he wasn't. But when I asked Ian about BroLou, I recieved the shock of my life, He doesn't like blues. Nope. Not BB, not Stevie Ray, none of it. He says he likes Zep and Cream, but can't really get down with us street boys.

Ace: But Ian, your voice kills for blues.

Ian: I know.

Ace: But, But, But.......

Ian is happy to have sang on Yes's Union album and he's done lots of back ground work on foreigner's albums.

Personally, I think Ian and I could make a monster power blues album.

Why don't y'all email Ian and tell him to git his but out to the west coast and git in a studio with Ace.

Can a man back out of Fatherhood???????

When I first saw this question on Lars Larsen's poll, I thought, at first, Hell no. But after putting my knee back into it's joint, (ie, knee jerk response) I started thinking, why shouldn't women face the same reality that men face? For years, a responsible man would have to face the fact that if he entered a woman's bed, he'd better be prepared for the responsibility of fathering a child with her.

With emphasis on the man being the financial supporter for the child.

Yet, a woman, according to the left has a "choice" with her body. She can , by law, terminate the pregnancy if she so desires. My question is, where is her level of responsibility? The question that I can't answer is:

Why shouldn't the woman be faced with the financial burden of raising the child?

If this were in fact the law, you would see three things happening.

1. More abortions
2. More men abandoning their responsibilities as fathers. (which is something the law can't really enforce)
and:

3. I think you might see more women expecting more from a man before she spreads her legs.

Item #3 has me thinking. Is this such a bad thing? Shouldn't a man and woman have something more than physiological compatability in common before they engage in an act that can potentially result in a lifelong commitment?

If a woman has a right to terminate a pregnancy (thus terminating her motherhood responsibilities) where's the man's right to terminate his fatherhood responsibilities?

To make this argument fair; I think one of two law options need to be adopted:

1. A man should not be forced to pay child support.

or:

2. A man should have the right to force a woman to have an abortion.

Both are equally ugly options as I feel both men and women need to be held fully responsible for the consequences that come from undisciplined sex.

Crash Won Best Picture because of Broke-back Mountain?

NO.

Crash wone best picture inspite of broke back mountain. Broke back mountain was a great movie in the eyes of the homosexual left. Crash on the other hand was a great movie with great actors. Don Cheadle is a phenominal actor. Even Matt Dillion had a role that he was believable in. It was a great movie and deserved to win.

As for all the political muchraking over Bareback Mountain. Shame on them. Crash is a great movie that deserved to beat the competition. It was NOT the default choice as many are calling it.

Some say Hollywood didn't want to give best picture to the gay cowboy movie for fear of losing what little integrity they claim to have. Especially after snuffing Mel Gibson last year for the "Passion of the Christ".

The America I remember.........

I was born in the 1950's. I was a child when Buddy Holly sang "That'll be the Day". I was born when Elvis debuted on The Ed Sullivan Show. I grew up in the early 60's having to get "butch" or "flat top" haircuts. I HATED THEM. This probably explains my hair style.

I remember having to try out for Little league. I remember sitting on the bench until I got my ass up and got over my fear of a fastball. Nobody got to play just because they signed up. I remember having to pass reading and math tests before I could go to the next grade level. I remember getting a bike and riding ALL OVER TOWN. I remember going out and playing hard with my friends. We played three flies up. We also played a game called "pepper". We played 2 on 2 basketball, 2 on 2 flag football and tennis. We turned our sting ray bicycles into motorcycles with basebal cards. If we were lucky, on a warm summer night, we'd play hide and seek in the dark. Our parents didn't worry about us being kidnapped or killed by a crack head gangster. We didn't have video games or chatrooms to waste our lives away in and get fat. Our biggest concern as kids was getting back in the house before the street lights came on.

We saw almost every movie that came out. Back then the film companies only release quality movies once every couple of months. Not meaningless crap that's destined for the 5.95 DVD rack before it hits the box office (if it even does).

Back then you could go to the ball game for about 7 bucks (box seats) and get Willie Mays's autograph for free. Now 7 bucks will get you an order of garlic fries, or maybe a regular hot dog, and if you want the say hey kid's autograph, you can buy a ticket at a show that costs 10 bucks to get in, then 40 bucks for a ticket to stand in line and have Willie sign your baseball or glove etc.....

In 1968, cars were made of steel. They had 4 barrels. Gas was 44 cents a gallon. You could cruise the strip just for the feel of driving a gas guzzling politically incorrect muscle car. Of course I wouldn't get that chance til' about 1972.

We had a cool thing back then called drive-in movies. If you could get a girl to go with you to a drive-in movie, you were going to be a man that night. You usually picked a crappy movie because, drive-in movies weren't to watch.

I remember A&W rootbeer drive-ins. The waitresses use to come out to your car and take your order.

I remember JUKE BOXES. 10 cents a single play. 3 plays for 25 cents and 7 for a half-dollar.

I remember 7 burgers for doller.

I remember clip on roller-skates. Roller arenas and the hoky poky. My fondest memories are of going to see the Bay Area Bombers crushing the mid-west Pioneers. Charlie O'connel and Joanie Weston starting and finishing fights. (this would be the greatest sport in the world - Roller Derby)

Nobody gave a damn about cholesterol. I think the Bacon Double Cheese burger was invented in the 60's.

Americans were Americans. Not Hyphenated Americans.

Going into the service was something you just did when you graduated highschool. Defending your country was something you did out of pride.

I remember when Pizza joints were cool places that had "shuffle boards". Not kiddie banquet rooms for T-ball parties.

I remember looking forward to the new James Bond movie. The new Beatles album and even the new Elvis Movie.

I remember when MTV actually played music videos.

I remember when everyone said Merry Christmas. Nobody said winter holidays or some substitute politically correct crap.

I remember when people didn't get divorced, and if they did, they didn't talk about it. There were no such things as pre-nups. Teachers that even talked about condoms in school would have been fired. Abstainance was the rule not the exception. If a man got a woman pregant, he married her. She didn't run off to an abortion clinic to have "taken care of".

I remember when the Russians were the biggest fear. Sitting to close to the television would ruin your eyes. And rumors of hair growing on the palm of your hands.

I remember mom taking my temperature whenever I was sick, and dad taking me to the ballgame on a Saturday morning.

I remember having a childhood however brief it was. My mom died when I was 11 and my dad died when I was 20.

My own personal Jesus..................

In 2002, an ailing Johnny Cash released the album American IV- The Man comes Around. Johnny had suffered a severe neurological disease that gave him a very serious dose of Pneumonia. His lungs were reportedly "Scarred" from the illness. This is slightly evident in his vocal tracks. That and being 71, gave this album a very different timbre.

When Staff Sgt. J.R. Cash was discharged from the Air Force in 1954, he sat on the doorsteps of 706 Union Avenue in Membphis and waited for Sam Phillips to arrive. He was there to record "Gospel" songs that he had written. 50 years later Mr.Cash would cover an 80's new wave song "Personal Jesus". On the album American IV, Johnny Cash does an acoustical version of the dance hall/video game song. But why? And how did Cash interpret the song? Taken at face value, the lyrics can be percieved as pro/anti Jesus. By strictly reading the lyrics; it reminds me of John Prine's "Plastic Jesus" - "I don't care if it rains or freezes long as I got my plastic jesus standing on the dashboard of my car". But I believe Johnny Cash, a man with a reverence for God and the Son, would never sing a song that mocked the Son of Man.

The Artist's view:

The song was written by Martin Gore of Depeche Mode. I found this quote in an online search:

Martin Gore: "It's a song about being a Jesus for somebody else, someone to give you hope and care. It's about how Elvis was her man and her mentor and how often that happens in love relationships and how everybody's heart is like a god in some way, and that's not a very balanced view of someone, is it?"

I believe Johnny would have said (and I can't find any interviews to confirm this) that Jesus the Lord and Savior, is the Personal Jesus of those who call on him. Jesus gives us every thing we need to live on this earth. He gives us assurance of those things needed. He comforts us in times of lonliness. He keeps us safe from the evil one. And by his death, he bought our salvation.

Johnny was singing of the promises made to man from God our Father through Jesus Christ the Son.