In one of the strangest stories this week, a 4 year old boy was asked by the TSA in Philadelphia to remove his leg braces and put them through an x-ray machine.  The boy needed the braces to walk and he was made to go through the machine without the aide of his mother.

Here is the twist.  The boy’s Dad is a Police Detective form Camden, New Jersey.

What is the problem with this story?  If you recall in the interview with Bob Crandall on an earlier post, he says that intelligence is what is needed to protect people.  Bob Schneier who is a security expert coins the TSA efforts as Security Theater.

I used to call on Garber Travel in Boston.  The old man, Bernie Garber was a man with sayings.  The first one you learned form him was that “Companies do not do business with companies, people do business with people.”  So, to borrow from Bernie, “Objects don’t try to kill people, people try to kill people.”

The current security system being operated is a waste of money and ineffective.  The unfortunate process that works is profiling. For every old lady, 4 year old little, or middle-aged Father of 2 they pull from the line, the real people they need to speak to are probably getting throw their silly gauntlet.

I always tell the story of my experience after 9/11.  I was in Hungary for my cousins wedding.  In Budapest, the Hungarians pulled out the old Communist playbook for handling the crowds.  The sterilized the airport and had multiple passport checks in place.  They were not so much concerned about my bags, as they were about me.

Here, the whole system is set up to find objects instead of people.  It’s completely backwards.

The TSA apologized for what they made the family do.  Let’s face it.  The system is totally broken and an alternative needs to be put into place.  It is killing our airline industry and putting a crimp in economic development.  Fewer people are inclined to travel knowing the hassle with TSA at the airport.

We should all be apologizing to the family in Philadelphia because our irrational fears and realize that we should be looking for people, not things.

My cousin in Hungary has renovated an old home in a small town north of Budapest called Göd. He did a fantastic job modernizing the home with a new kitchen to a 2 car garage with opener. It is a home that has a small moment in history as the last place that Admiral Horthy the leader of Hungary during the interwar period stayed before his exile to Portugal.

My cousin is selling the home because the kids are all grown up and they are downsizing. He asked me to post it on some Real Estate sites here to attract Hungarians that may want to move back. After all, since Hungary is no longer a communist country, there is an attraction for some to go back home.

What has happened? I have had some legitimate inquiries into the home from people I am trying to attract. Hungarians that are looking for a nice home back in Hungary.

However, I have also attracted the most bizarre scams. I like this one from a gentlemen professing to be a Colonel Glen Parent of NATO forces in Iraq. There is a real person name Glen Parent who is in NATO, but this guy is just too funny. He obviously has taken on the persona. HIs English is a lot to be desired.

Here is his message to me:

“Hello ,

Ives Galacerp has written a very detailed account of the recovery of Charlie Davies, a US National Soccer Team forward who was

Photo by ISIphotos.com

involved in a terrible car accident back in October. He woke up 3 days later in the hospital and did not know where he was and thought he was in Honduras having his organs harvested.

His accident happened in October 2009.  He broke most of the bones in his right leg.  Fractured bones in his face.  And, fractured bones in his elbow.  He also injured his posterior cruciate ligament.  The miracle is his bones have healed and he is on the treadmill already.  He has one more surgery to remove the plate and screws from his elbow.  He is schedule to return to France and start training with his club Sochaux at the end of February.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is freaking unbelievable.

You can read the full article here at Soccer by Ives and his published article at ESPN Soccernet.

I have to admit, I was one of the people guessing we have to scratch Charlie Davies from the World Cup.  Let’s hope he can continue on his recovery.  He was one of the bright spots in US Soccer in 2009 as we led up to the World Cup.

Found this online. Kind of repeats a lot of what we usually recommend clients do with their eCommerce.

I worked for American Airlines when Bob Crandall was running the company. To this day, I love to read or hear what it is he has to say. He is a tell it like it is kind of guy and always has been. The the difference between Bob Crandall and a lot of so called, “Tell it like it is guys today”, his commentary on the airline industry is based on fact and experience.

I was in International Sales at American Airlines in the early 90s. When we started running flights Internationally, we hired the Israelis to provide us with security consulting. The 5 layers of which he speaks, American Airlines has been doing since 1990 on International flights. If you research the shoe-bomber case, the AA security people in Paris red flagged Richard Reid and did their job.

Bob Crandall is right. it is about finding the people, not the things. The security theater we all experience at the airport actually puts us at risk because the time they are checking the little old lady, they may miss the real threat getting on a plane. This point was made at the beginning of the report when bomb making material made it on a plane as a test as carry on because the screener missed it. Which does not surprise me. An eyeball can not be mindful of details on a screen for a prolonged period of time.

Good security is about intelligence and human behavior.

Bob Crandall is right. Not every Muslim is a terrorist, but today, most terrorists are Muslims. It is a fact.

President Obama, hire Bob as your new Transportation Secretary. He would do it to serve his country, just like Mr. CR Smith did for President Johnson in the 1960s. He is right, we need Managers running these large organizations not political appointees. If we have an inefficient transportation system, this economy will continue to suffer and the terrorist have won. (This problem is not a Democrat or Republican issue, they both do it wrong).

Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security Chief is touting the $150,000 scanners on national TV. His firm happens to represent the company that makes the scanners. Boo to Mr. Chertoff. Let’s just add some more tax to your airline ticket to pay his consulting fee and his client’s new boat.

Ok, so my wife tells me, “I got you and Andrew concert tickets for “Star Wars in Concert” for your birthday.“ I have to admit, I did not jump up and down. “Ok”, I said with a one eye brow raised.

If you have kids and you have kids that love music, take them! It is kind of expensive at $65 a ticket, but it was worth it.

We saw the concert at Conseco Field House. Surprisingly, the sound was excellent. I leaned over and ask my son, “Is this live, or is this Memorex?” He gave me a puzzled look of course because he is not familiar with the old Aretha Franklin commercials from the 1970s-1980s.

The real point of this post is, “Community Orchestras can learn something from the Star Wars in Concert series.” The concert combined visual montages with the music. People were clearly entertained. (I am still shaking my head at the quality of the sound. The orchestra was so tight).

I remember when classical music was taught to me. I finally learned about classical music while on a study abroad program in Austria. Our Professor taught us the significance of Mozart, Beethovan, Hadyn in the context of their time. He was so enthusiastic about the music that I finally go it.

John Williams film music is very easy to get because we have the visual support of the film to help convey what the music is saying.

What if Symphonies started applying some of the same techniques to traditional Mozart, List, or Beethoven pieces. After all, we are an easily bored society. People want to be entertained by our standards today which include video or visual stimulation. Maybe we should have a video running that accompanies the music being played by the Orchestra.

Think I am crazy? Well, Conseco Fieldhouse was full. So, something tells me people are ok with orchestrated music. They just want to be entertained with it.

It was a great concert. I recommend it to anyone.

Mr. Matt Pivec – a Professor of Jazz Studies at Butler University is a visionary.

This weekend, I had the privilege of watching some talented High School musicians perform in small combo groups performing great tunes from Miles Davis to John Coltrane. Most High School programs provide students opportunities to play in large ensembles. However, the opportunity to play in combos is generally limited.

Mr. Pivec has implemented an outreach program at Butler University to attract talented musicians from local high schools to explore jazz on a different level than what their high schools can offer. If you watch most high school music programs, players are pretty restricted to the music that is in front of them. Mr. Pivec’s program gives players some freedom to explore the improvisational opportunities in jazz.

Most of these high school kids would not get this type of musical education, until they actually go to college. Jazz Ensemble groups are generally large and a handful of kids get the limelight. Mr Pivec’s program gives every kid in the group a chance to explore improvisational moments. As he said in the program, “It teaches them to feel the music.”

So, if you have a high school kid that plays a jazz instrument and wants to explore jazz at a different level, Mr Pivec is running programs throughout the school year at Butler University. Combo education in the fall and a Jazz Ensemble in the spring. Tryouts for the Butler Youth Jazz Ensemble will be in January of this year.

If you want to learn more or talk to Mr. Pivec directly, check him out here.

He is a visionary and Butler should be proud of the work he is doing. I know the kids are enjoying it. I have 2 of them in the program and am thankful they have the opportunity to experience it.

Ron Sukenick approached me several weeks ago and described a new networking event he was putting together called “At the Top“.

As he was describing At the Top, it had a familiar sound to it.  It sounded a lot like the old Entrepreneurs Alliance of indiana.  I thought, “man I miss the old Entrepreneur’s Alliance.”  I miss seeing everyone on the 3rd Thursday of every month to have drinks and learn about how business started, failed and succeeded.  See, I used to be President of EAI.  We had too much competition and everyone just kind of pulled out.

So, Ron asked if Professional Blog Service would like to be a co-sponsor of the event.  I said, “Absolutely”.

Here is why, I would not have co-started Professional Blog Service, if not for the Entrepreneurs Alliance.  It was there that I heard many stories from many different Indianapolis business people who were just like me.  My  all-time favorites were:

• Ray Compton – “You don’t need a lot of money to market, you need to be creative.”
• Harley Davidson – “There are three things needed to be a successful manager – knowledge, experience, and emotional competency.”  With the emphasis on emotional competency.
• Jeff Smulyan – Great story about how he got started

And the other companies:

• Ritters Ice Cream
• JD Byrider
• Scott Jones
• Ontario Systems

The list really goes on and on.  There were a lot of great companies and speakers that participated at the Entrepreneurs Alliance of Indiana.

So, Ron has resurrected this idea with his “At the Top” program.  The venue is the excellent Skyline Club downtown.  (See the metaphor here, “At the Top”  on top of Indianapolis?)  The format is going to be similar to what we did at EAI.  There will be cocktails and appetizers with a guest speaker for each meeting.

So, if you are an Entrepreneur seeking inspiration from other Entrepreneurs that have gone through what you are experiencing, go to the “At the Top” meeting November 18, 2009.

What:  At the Top

When:  November 18, 2009

Time:  5:30p

Where:  Skyline Club – Downtown Indianapolis

Professional Blog Service is very happy to be a co-sponser of this important series of meetings.  Without Entrepreneurs, there is no economy.

You can learn more about At The Top here.

Two Face - Character from Batman comic book

What is it about being in front of a computer that can sometimes bring out the worst in people?

Hiding behind email

In the office, email is the weapon of choice.  How often have you received a nasty email from a co-worker who says things they would never say to your face?  I had a boss that used email to say what he really thought, yet he had a hard time communicating it in person.  After reading it, you would scratch your head and ask, “What was that all about?”

Back in the day before all the electronic communication, if you had a problem with someone, you would spar with them in some form to settle the dispute.  Today, we hide behind email.

I like my wife’s rule to my kids.  If you can’t say it to their face, then don’t say it at all.  She can’t stand the “hide by email” effect.  She is a direct person and tells it like she thinks it is.

Message Board Rage

Another phenomenon I have been observing is what I call  “Message Board Rage”.  I participate in several boards and blog discussions.  There is another guy in some part of the country or world.  He has never met the other person, yet he is spewing a vitriolic hatred for the other person.  In many cases, it is because the other person just does not agree with what they are saying.

Growing up as a 1st generation Hungarian boy, respect is a very important concept in my family.  I grew up in the era of respect your elders.  Now that I have reached my mid-40s, I understand what experience really means.  There is an absence of this long held value in message board culture.  Not only can you show disrespect, you can down right destroy someone you do not really know.

Which begs the question, what drives this behavior?  Are these individuals so unhappy in their real lives that they feel power to take it out on people half a world away?  As my wife says, would these people do it in person?  Chances are not.

Twitter Rage

Recently, we observed some Twitter rage.  An individual did not like something another person said, so he attempted to totally destroy the credibility of the other person.  It was not an intellectual banter of professionals.  It was a vitriolic dialog akin to something seen on the Jerry Springer show.  Is there no professional respect in the world?

The individual tried to engage me.  I pointed out, this will become a circular argument.  Why even have it?

The individual that was getting the rap is guy anyone would like to have a beer with.  He is funny, witty, and just a decent human being.  Yet, this guy from another part of the country had no qualms about trying to destroy this person’s reputation online.

Binary World

Everyone today is right and the other person is wrong.  Convictions are so important that basic human communications have degraded into a disrespectful shouting matches.  The current economic situation does not help matters, as people are full of fear.  The anger out there certainly does mask that fear.

So, what should be done to change the bad behavior in electronic communication?  Simply, start with your own behavior.  Ask yourself, why am I allowing this person I don’t really know, pissing me off?  Is what I am writing, what I would say to him/her in person?  If not, don’t write it.  It’s a start.\

Online Golden Rule

“If you can’t say it to a person’s face, then don’t write it in an email, message board, blog or twitter post.”

Let’s bring the concept of mutual respect back into our dialogs.  We can solve more problems this way.  Maybe even help one another in the process.