GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

Like many of you, the Gorilla is an avid horse lover, so when he heard the disturbing statistics about them, he was shocked and saddened. Over 100,000 horses were cruelly slaughtered in the U.S. last year. You may assume that these are old or lame horses that have no use any longer, but your assumption would be wrong…dead wrong!  Over 91% of the horses sent to the slaughterhouses each year are perfectly fine, young, healthy horses and many of them- disturbingly- are foals from the PMU or Premarin drug farms. Premarin is a women’s menopause drug, which is made from the urine of pregnant mares. Once the mares give birth, many of these foals are sent to slaughter, without ever having a chance at life. In addition, many of the horses slaughtered are retired race horses, who are by no means lame or old.   And the slaughter is the cruelest, most painful and terrifyingly scary death, one could ever imagine. Horsemeat cannot be sold for human consumption until the horse is bled-out (many are still alive during the process), so without going into the gruesome details, use your imagination. And to make it even worse, each horse must watch the horses before it be killed in this way. Once slaughtered, the meat is then sold to European countries and other countries, often times, for human consumption. It is a cruel and unnecessary evil that many states in the U.S. have outlawed, but in too many other states in the U.S., it is still perfectly legal.  Currently, a bill is pending that may outlaw altogether the slaughter of horses. The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act bans the slaughter of horses in the United States and causes it to be illegal to transport horses to other countries for purposes of slaughter. So how does the largest slaughterhouse in the U.S.- Bel-tex- in Fort Worth, Texas handling the proposed bill? Well, as you can imagine, not well. The company, whose grisly slogans include, ”Eat and Drink American” and “The Best Color for a Horse is Fat,” is fighting the bill. Texas happens to be the “horse- kill” capitol of the United States with both of the largest slaughter plants located there, including Dallas Crown in Kauffman, and Bel-Tex in Ft Worth.  Many people aren’t aware of exactly just what goes on in the big money (blood money) industry of these U.S. slaughterhouses, and it is about time it is put to a stop once and for all. And don’t be fooled by the “over-population” myth that has had a lot of press and hype- mostly from the slaughterhouse industry- in order to create justification and need. It is simply not factual. There is simply no overpopulation of horses in this country and any horse that needs to be euthanized due to age, behavior, or illness, deserves to be done so humanly, responsibly, and gently. There is still an industry for horse carcasses. The remains are used for various reasons and do not need to be consumed by humans.  

Fortunately for the horses, they have us as their advocates. Don’t let them down. You can help by writing letters, sending faxes, and/or make phone calls to your Congressional representatives. In the meantime, there are fortunately, many horse rescues out there that are saving these beautiful and useful creatures from a horrible, unnecessary death. That is precisely where the Gorilla obtained his horse; a perfectly healthy 3 year-old male buckskin named “Cody.” There are hundreds of horses that you can adopt or you can even ”sponsor” one so that it may continue to stay out of the slaughterhouses. You do not have to buy one necessarily in order to help.  Horses are the stuff great Western movies are made of, and slaughtering them so cruelly, should never be allowed. After all, Mr. Ed would certainly have something to say about that one, now wouldn’t he?

Since air travel and car travel cost a small fortune these days, many people are hanging up their travel plans and staying home this summer, sacrificing family trips, business trips, and more. The price of gasoline is just too much, so what is the option? Are there options? Well, yes there are.  It seems that more and more people are choosing to travel by bus, and it is turning out to be one of the cheapest options in travel. Companies, such as Greyhound, offer lower fares and the new, Megabus, beats all of the competition; it offers rates as low as $48 round trip from Detroit to Chicago and $67 round trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles! Statistics show that there has been a 13% jump in bus service recently. This is the largest jump in decades, and experts believe it is most assuredly due to the current high fuel costs.  Yes, folks, with mounting fuel costs and congested airports, people are choosing bus travel causing a large, much needed spike in sales for the once lagging industry. A recent study by DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development found American cities lost about 60% of their scheduled intercity bus service between 1980 and 2005. However, the study also found that bus service started rebounding when Mega-bus started its service in the city. It all makes perfect sense since, compared to other forms of transportation, buses have the best ratio of passenger to mile per gallon of fuel (148 passenger miles per gallon). That’s a whopping four times greater than air or car travel.  So why not try the “big dog,” Greyhound? The transportation giant has a fleet of 1500 buses, offering service to over 1700 destinations and although it has always offered longer route destinations, lately it is more concentrated on short routes, from city to city. For instance, let’s say you want to travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco. By air, on Virgin America, it would cost you $241, but for that same trip on Greyhound, it only costs $88. In addition, Greyhound now offers its East Coast subsidiary, Boltbus, which launched in March, and offers routes from Boston to New York, Philadelphia to D.C,. and more. The company has already serviced 56,000 passengers in the short time it has been available for service, further proving that people want to save money on travel.  Although bus travel in a great alternative to flying or driving, it’s not the only alternative. Limo-type super transporters are fancier, higher priced (albeit still lower than flying by far) “limo” style transports that only seat about 28 passengers and offer things like video entertainment, high-speed Internet access, clear cellular phone reception, meeting tables, reclining seats, drinks and snacks, and an onboard attendant to boot. Limoliner is the name of the company, and it is the very first on-ground transportation company that caters specifically to the business traveler. These “limo” style vehicles only go limited distances, but they are a much more comfortable alternative to the bus. Currently, Limoliner offers service from Boston to New York, but other companies are sure to follow suit in other cities soon. And last, but certainly not least, there’s always Amtrak. Although, the price is not as cheap as bus travel ( it’s $138 for a three hour trip vs. $48 for Megabus), it is still a good alternative to driving. Keep in mind though, that Amtrak is infamous for its late arrivals (the only downside).

Overall, it is nice to know that yes, in fact, there are alternatives to the now very expensive costs of traveling by air or auto. So don’t cancel your summer plans just yet… get on the bus people! The Gorilla is a big fan of the new age of bus travel and although he hasn’t done a bus trip since college, he may consider one in the future. The only problem is, people aren’t very receiving of one big hairy Gorilla getting on their bus and taking up two seats. It tends to make people a little uneasy.

Taxpayers this year were primed and ready for their tax stimulus checks to arrive in the mail. The President’s plan to inject a little life into the economy sounded like a great one. The rebates, are the centerpiece of the government’s $168 billion plan to revive the unstable economy, providing up to $600 for individuals, and up to $1200 for married couples. And some will receive $300 for eligible children under age 17. It is a good plan. After all, who wouldn’t love a little extra money, especially at a time when the economy feels strikingly similar to the 1990’s? With all of the doom and gloom in the air, gas prices being outrageous, and food prices that are ridiculous, some people are literally desperate for some extra cash.  The IRS has already refunded about $27 billion to about 30 million tax-payers. It still expects to pay out another $130 million by the end of June, with the last checks going out around July. But now, thousands of people are saying that the IRS messed up big time, making mistakes with peoples’ checks. The mistakes were not minor, and caused many people to have to contact the IRS to have new checks sent out to them. Many people said they received a check addressed to them, but when they opened it, it was made out to someone else! Other people complained of just the opposite problem; the check was mailed to someone other than themselves, making it likely that some dishonest person may have cashed a check not made out to them. Others simply said they never received a check at all, even though they received a letter stating the check was enclosed with it.  In addition, it is reported that over 350,000 households are not receiving their child refunds of $300 per child owed to them. So what really happened? Why is the IRS making these costly and inconvenient mistakes? The tax agency claims that it is simply human error and computer glitches that are to blame for the mistakes, affecting the small percentage of the over 130 million taxpayers in the U.S.  IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said the agency was “confident it had identified all of the people affected by the mistake.” He said the IRS will send letters to those who missed out on the refund, and that checks for the child credit will be mailed out in July. Well, what can you do? You cannot exactly argue with the IRS, and any excuse they give, as lame as it is, will have to do since we have no other choice but to accept it.  But in the Gorilla’s humble opinion, the IRS should be held to a much higher standard since that is exactly what they expect of you, the taxpayer. It seems wrong that if the shoe were on the other foot and YOU made a similar mistake, your excuse-no matter how great, would simply be unacceptable. Then again, you are entitled to extensions, but then you must pay a penalty. So this begs the question…shouldn’t the IRS have to pay some sort of “penalty” to those taxpayers with whom they made mistakes? After all, they too are essentially being given and “extension” of sorts! Hey a guy can dream, can’t he?

Gorillas get awfully hungry, and when they get hungry they sometimes order pizza. There is nothing like hot, cheesy pizzas to make a guy (or gorilla) feel all warm and cozy on a nice evening at home. Like many of you, when the Gorilla decides to order a pizza, he usually chooses Papa Johns. Something about the freshness of that hearty sauce and the melt in your mouth taste of their homemade crust just sets the night right!  Apparently, many of you feel the same as the Gorilla, with Americans all over the United States having ordered a ton of the delicious stuff last year, proving that Papa is capable of rolling out the dough and raking it in as well. Unbelievably, a huge part of the success in the Louisville-based company is in its online ordering. In the last 7 years, the pizza giant has made over $1 billion (yes, that’s a “b”) in online orders alone.  Papa John is now the 3rd largest pizza chain in the U.S., and online sales have been growing at an average of more than 50% per year. In 2001, the chain’s online sales totaled $20.4 million. Last year, its online sales were around $400 million. Mama Mia! Amazingly, when you walk into a Papa John’s location, the phones seem unusually quiet. That is because the orders are coming in like crazy over the Internet!  Jim Ensign, vice president of marketing communications at Papa John’s, says that it took over 7 years to hit the billion dollar mark, but he says that at the current rate, it will only take another 3 years to double that number. That is simply incredible! But the big papa isn’t the only pizza chain to jump into the online ordering craze.  Pizza Hut says that online sales have increased six-fold, and Dominos’ new “Pizza Tracker” tracking system has given the company a “big bump” in sales, says Jenny Fouracre, a spokeswoman for Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Domino’s. Both of these companies also have a text-based ordering system in place for customer orders as well.  Papa Johns says that more than 20% of its business now comes from online and text ordering, and since it was put in place in 2001, the company says it has invested over $15 million in online ordering technology.  The company says that in the future, it will offer even more ways to make ordering easy and convenient for its customers. Now, folks, if you are online as much as the Gorilla, doesn’t it make sense? This is a fantastic concept that has proven to be highly successful, and surprisingly, in a  type of business you would never expect to thrive from online ordering. Keep up the work Big Papa!

Have you ever  taken for granted that your business and/or valuable files are safe? How often are you backing up your computer files? If not, then when you read this story, you may want to take the appropriate measures. The Gorilla sure has! You see, a Jacksonville Florida woman, Marie Lupa Cooley, saw a “help wanted” ad that fit the description of her job position, with the phone number of her boss so she thought she was being replaced. On the assumption that she was about to be fired, Marie did the worst possible thing to get revenge; police say she went to the architectural firm where she worked on Sunday night, and erased 7 years’ worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5 million. Apparently, she felt that sabotaging her entire office and all it was worth, was the best revenge; after all, she was getting fired-right? 

Well, wrong, actually. It turns out, the ad was for the company owned by her boss’ wife, which shared the same phone number, and the position was the same as hers, but again-for her boss’ wife’s company. So not only did she end up losing her job, but she got arrested in addition! All of this damage was done based on a false assumption this employee made, and it almost ruined Stephen Hutchens’ architectural business.  

Hutchen’s told one TV station he’d managed to recover all the files using an expensive data-recovery service. Thank goodness it wasn’t a total loss- just a big scare and major inconvenience. This story made the Gorilla think because after all, it makes you realize just how vulnerable your business can be! Almost everyone who owns a business has their files stored on computers, so unless you back everything up on a regular basis, this could happen to you!

Computer-related crimes, or “cyber-crimes” as they are more commonly referred to, are on the rise today with cyber security being a bigger concern than it has ever been before! If it’s not hackers trying to break in and steal vital information, it’s situations such as this news story, that are becoming more and more prevalent. The moral of the story here folks is that when it comes to your vital cyber information, have an excellent security system to prevent hackers and thieves from getting in, and make sure in case a crazy employee tries to take revenge on you, that you have a “backup” in place. You can never be too careful with your business!

How many people do you know that own, and rely on, that handy little device we call the “BlackBerry?” If you are like the Gorilla, you probably know plenty of them. Many people consider this clever device their lifeblood and simply can’t live without it. Well, BlackBerry users everywhere experienced a bit of a ”Blackout” yesterday, as service was down for a couple of hours. RIM’S network has about 12 million subscribers and you know as well as the Gorilla, a couple of hours in a blackberry user’s life seems like much longer to them than to the rest of the world! There were probably some really ticked off subscribers!

The disruption affected most email capabilities and some Internet capabilities to many BlackBerry users. Research in Motion said in a statement yesterday, that subscribers “may be unable to send or receive messages” and may also be unable to “register their device, roam in another location, or use other services such as Internet browsing.” The company also said that voice and SMS services were not affected.

Okay, so it wasn’t a total loss for the two hours! The service disruption started at 3:10 PM ET, and was caused by a downed server, affecting subscribers in North America. It wasn’t the first time this has happened with the BlackBerry service and perhaps it won’t be the last. (A scary thought to you BlackBerry users!) The same kind of server problem occurred in April and September of 2007. Ouch! Hey, the Gorilla has a question;  ”Is two hours long enough to start having ‘BlackBerry’ withdrawals?”

Yes, it’s true the Gorilla is a huge TV buff. And hey, what can you say? There’s some really good shows to watch on the tube these days. Look, you have some nice looking housewives, crime scene investigators, legal shows, shows about Vegas (the Gorilla never tires of that one), shows about psychics, vampire shows, and that’s just to name a few. Never in history has there been such diverse programming to choose from on the Tele.. the problem? Well, no writers of course.

It doesn’t do us a lot good to have all of these great shows, if you have nobody to write the new episodes now does it? Even Letterman had to be put on hold for awhile, until they brought themselves off strike. (Thank goodness!) But yes, the Gorilla understands the writers standpoint completely, and of course, he totally supports these talented folks- and without them, we’d have little to look forward to. Imagine not having the cleverly imagined law scenarios on ‘Boston Legal,’ or not having the very cute and entertaining jargon of ‘Pushing Daisies.’ Or how about the drama on ‘Entourage’ or the comedic relief of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm?’ What a boring contemplation! Yes, thank goodness for the writers; those creative geniuses who make our lives so much more entertaining! 

So, is the strike almost over? There is speculation and rumors that negotiations and talks are heading towards a resolution hopefully in time for the February 24th Oscar show. (Oh my, what would we do without our red carpet this year?) So, will the writers be properly compensated for their tremendous efforts? And what exactly are the terms to the negotiations? The Gorilla did his homework and here’s what he found out: the toughest issues were concerning compensation for projects distributed via the Internet. While the specifics were not disclosed, the proposal agreement is believed to include significant increases in the residuals that writers receive for online use of movies and TV shows. This will also include a deal with The Directors Guild of America to increase residuals for some paid Internet downloads and for ad-supported streaming of programs. But keep in mind that these are just informal talks, which are meant to act as a substitute for formal negotiations between writers and the Alliance for Motion Pictures, which broke off on December 7th.

Although the Guild and studios have repeatedly declined any comment on the talks, stars who attended the recent Academy Awards luncheon on Monday, seem optimistic that it will be resolved in time for their beloved February 24th event. Hmm. Could this simply be wishful thinking on the part of the celebrities, who wait all year long for the red carpet glam and glitz? No one knows for sure (except for those who are negotiating), but all the Gorilla knows is that he wants his shows back!  Hey America- don’t you?

Have you ever watched a live air traffic report in real-time on TV or your computer? If you are like the Gorilla, you have probably seen the map of the U.S. in real-time, with all of those flights in air at the same time and said to yourself “wow, it’s unbelievable there aren’t more accidents!” It’s almost impossible to imagine the workload of the already taxed and exhausted air traffic controllers in America, and according to the union representing the nation’s 14,800 controllers, there is a “staffing emergency” with a major shortage of controllers.

So, how does this affect air travelers? Well it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Safety is potentially jeopardized when these controllers are exhausted and overworked, putting you, the traveler, at risk. ”The whole system is going to hell in a handbag, and it doesn’t seem that anybody cares,” said Patrick Forrey, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.  He also went on to say what the Gorilla already eluded to earlier; that a “major catastrophe” is just waiting to happen if things don’t change immediately.  But FAA spokesperson, Laura Brown, disputes these claims, stating that they are “misleading.” She says that the FAA had anticipated the recent wave of retirements so they hired 1,815 new air traffic controllers last year, exceeding its projections. She says that the FAA exceeded its 2007 goal of having 14,874 new controllers, and is on target to have 14,961 by the end of this fiscal year.

However, Forrey, of the NATCA, says that because the FAA has been so slow to train and certify the new replacement workers, experienced controllers have been demoralized and fatigued and are leaving the work force in record numbers. To further complicate the problem, and as a result of the shortage, many new trainees are working in major metropolitan airports instead of smaller airports, as they normally would (scary!). Coincidentally, the NATCA’s contracts have been expired since 2005 and negotiations were stopped in 2006, so it begs the question: Are these claims by the NATCA simply a big “scare tactic” to get negotiations going again on their contracts?  Forrey acknowledged that he wants the FAA back at the bargaining table, saying it would help stem the flow of experienced controllers, and would attract recently departed controllers back to work. Hmm. Interesting point! So is it hype or a real concern? Well, that is certainly for you to decide.

Human nature will always dictate that too much of anything is, well, not a good thing, right? Well, in the case of the Gorilla’s beloved Starbuck’s, that certainly seems to be ringing true. The Gorilla won’t get into numbers or sales figures, but suffice it to say, that even this “super power” company may be succumbing to the power of over saturation. And now the company seems to be drowning in its own coffee!

The Gorilla won’t contest the fact that the product is simply delightful, and has been the absolute darling of the public, and yes, the establishments are quite cozy and inviting. So, what seems to be the problem? Well, quite simply, there are several things: First off, have you been to a McDonald’s lately? Now you don’t need the Gorilla to tell you about McDonald’s coffee and the Gorilla certainly didn’t need the media to inform him about the quality of it either! Not only is McDonald’s coffee delicious- it’s much less expensive too! Could this be a big selling point with consumers? Well, heck yeah it could be- and most likely it is to those who aren’t so motivated in this tough economy to dish out $4 for a cup of java- no matter how good it is! 

That is yet another factor which could be hurting the coffee giant so the question is….could a recession push the coffee king over the cliff? In addition, with it’s now 15,000 locations, Starbucks, which has, by far, been the leading global purveyor of coffee, may very well have watered down (pun intended) the market. With McDonald’s planning to open coffee bars in each of it’s fast food chains, your guess is as good as the Gorilla’s as to how well Starbuck’s will fare in the competition! One thing is for sure though, Howard Shultz (the original CEO, current Chairman, and newly named …as of Monday…CEO again) sure has his work cut out for him.  Good luck!

World War I was known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War To End All Wars. It took place mostly in Europe from 1914 to 1918. There were over 40 million casualties and approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths. It was an extraordinary time in history that will never, and should never, be forgotten. There aren’t many people left who can tell the story first hand; in fact, up until yesterday, there were only three veterans left who served in World War I.

Sadly, one of the last remaining three, passed away yesterday. His name was J. Russell Coffey, and he was 109 years old. According to the Veterans Affairs Department, he was the last World War I veteran from Ohio. He enlisted in the Army in October 1918, while a student at Ohio State University. Although Coffey never saw action overseas (it was just a month before a cease-fire treaty was signed), he did play semi-pro baseball and earned a Doctorate in education at New York University. During his life, Coffey taught high school and college, and raised a family. It is reported that he drove his car until the unbelievable age of 104!

There are now just two World War I veteran’s left. The Gorilla would like to applaud these men and their valiant efforts in helping to defend our great nation. These men, like all of our great veteran’s, deserve our respect and admiration. Rest in peace Mr. Coffey. You deserve it!