Monday Musings: October 4, 2010

Now here’s a headline guaranteed to warm the hearts of every Nevadan who pays attention:

Is Reno on track to be Detroit of the West?

The Reno Gazette-Journal sez we need a ‘shared vision’ for Northern Nevada’s future. My first thought was “Duh, do ya think?”, but then it occurred to me that Nevadans coming together with a shared vision of a sustainable future - as in one that isn’t totally dependent upon gaming and mining - is about as likely as Sharron Angle and Harry Reid becoming best friends forever.

Can anybody point out when that’s ever happened before? I’m talking about something other than the usual boosterism and cheerleading for a new casino expansion, or ballpark project, designed to enrich the usual suspects. Let’s face it. We have no practice at that sort of campfire comraderie in this state of rugged, gun-toting, government hating individuals or the “I’ve got mine” refugees from California taxes.

So I’m wondering from what well of ‘Nevada-first’ civic responsibility are we going to draw from for this monumental effort? I think that’s a fair question since the experts all seem to agree on some important points:

1- If we continue on doing what we’ve always done, we’re going down the Pull-Chain Convenience, much sooner rather than later.

2- Gaming ain’t the end-all, be-all anymore. It’s time to grow up, diversify and realize that all gaming ever really gave us - despite building booms - was a lot of relatively low-end jobs that added to the social services burden of the state. This is no longer sustainable.

3- Continuing to frantically slash state programs and education will tighten the graveyard spiral. (Sorry, but I’ll probably continue to use aviation analogies and metaphors here.)

4- We are finally going to have to act like adults and fix a “confusing and antiquated tax structure.”

This isn’t your grandfather’s Nevada anymore.

One thing that keeps popping up in this conversation is the persistent vestigial thinking about ‘jobs going overseas’ and the whole fantastically quaint notion of ‘American corporations’.

I turned to Mr. Maven this morning and asked him to point out an ‘American corporation’. Unless you’re talking about a Mom and Pop pizza joint, or the local plumber, you’re probably not talking about an American corporation unless you are only referring to where the papers are filed.

The local hydrology and environmental consulting firm I worked for was doing innovative business on an international scale, utilizing contract employees abroad to produce a high tech product that would further employ American citizens here at home.

‘Outsourcing’ has been ginned-up to be a bogus boogy-man by political operatives, an easy target for discontent from those that need easy answers to complex questions. Each time I hear Harry Reid, Sharron Angle or local officials bemoan jobs going overseas, I cringe. Telling the electorate that “we’ll stop jobs from going overseas” is the worst sort of cynical political pandering.

But I digress.

Despite the Reno Gazette-Journal’s insistence in punishing those who didn’t buy the paper/analog version of this rather important story (it’s not on the RGJ website), I grudgingly admire that they’ve undertaken this complex project which will be presented over the next few months, and look forward to it.

Thinking about Harry Reid, I was happy to see the media release from his office today, where he called on mortgage bankers in Nevada to suspend foreclosures until everybody is absolutely certain that home owners aren’t being unfairly railroaded into foreclosure proceedings.

    ” I write to request that your mortgage-servicing division suspend foreclosures on Nevada home owners until systems are in place to ensure Nevadans are not being improperly directed into foreclosure proceedings.  I also renew my request that your firm meaningfully participate in the Nevada Housing Division’s Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) program by matching in kind any mortgage-principal reductions provided by our state agency.” - Senator Harry Reid

I think it’s entirely within character to suggest that Sharron Angle - of the ‘let not government intervene or interfere in any way’ philosophy - would not do this.

If you are on the brink with your mortgage, then allow me to suggest that you really should vote for Harry Reid in November. He has your interests at heart and always has. He has always been willing to risk political capital to extend a helping hand to Nevadans in time of need - whether or not it seems like ‘government meddling’.

I look around these days and can see a lot of Nevadans that could use some of that good old government ‘meddling’. But then, I’m a proud meddler.

Sunday is the day that we take my 93-year-old mother to breakfast at the local casino coffee shop. She can get anything there and it’s relatively easy to get her in and out of the place.

Today was different. I simply couldn’t eat my breakfast. It didn’t taste like anything. I may as well have been eating paper. That would’ve had more flavor. Yet, all the people around us were chuffing it down by the shovelful. So what gives?

This has happened since we have removed ourselves from the processed food teat here at Rancho Maven.  That’s right - no highly processed, boxed, bottled, highly refined nada. Less sodium - much, much less. No ingredients that are better suited to a science project. No faux foods. Only real food prepared with love and passion.

Now I understand what a friend from Africa meant when he kept politely picking at restaurant meals here in Reno - and when I queried him about it, he smiled, shrugged and said “it has no flavor.” Mr. Huber was accustomed to eating real food.

Americans don’t realize that what they mistake for ‘flavor’ is actually a lot of sodium, fat and chemically enhanced ‘ingredients’. That’s too bad. They’re paying good money -  in shorter supply these days - for imitation food in too many restaurants, and don’t even complain about it. The chains in particular, but most large scale food operations are taking the easy way out and sacrificing flavor for economy. Salt and grease are cheap. Ask anyone who’s bloated up and farted off into the blue like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon after eating at say, Chili’s, Applebee’s, the Cheesecake Factory et al.

Hand me the Gas-X and a diuretic, please.

That could explain why we are eating out less and less. As tired as I might be, I’d still rather home cook real, tasty, nutritious food - simply prepared - than be served up cheap, tasteless schlock.

BTW: Mr. Hubert loves my cooking.

This is a round about way of telling you about what I’m reading at the moment - in between bursts of micro and macro economics. It’s ‘Waiter Rant- Thanks for the tip. Confessions of a Cynical Waiter’ by Steve Dublanica. He also writes a blog, called Waiter Rant. The book being the logical extension of six years of blogging anonymously about the good, bad and freaking unbelievable of waiting tables.

Dublanica is a seminary drop-out and laid off psychologist who turned to schlepping tables to stay off the welfare rolls. He goes from clueless rookie to seasoned, jaded pro with grace, insight and brutal honesty - never losing sight of the everyday jaw droppingly funny. ‘The Waiter’ - as he prefers to be known  - works in the high pressure, high end restaurants of New York City. It’s a swim or be eaten by the sharks environment that would send lesser souls into a descent into suicidal despair.

I tried the Amazon Kindle ‘Sample’ of the book and wasn’t through the first chapter before I knew I wanted to read the entire book. Halfway through, it hasn’t disappointed.

Besides, Dublanica gives you a great lesson in how to be a better diner - 40 tips in facts. For as the author says: “Vengance is mine, sayeth the waiter.”

You might want to be nicer to waitstaff after reading this book. I am. I know that sucky faux food isn’t their call.

Have a nice week. Check in occasionally. Remember that I’m featuring breast cancer awareness information all month long under the Health section of this blog.

-maven