Zero Tolerance for Intolerance

Take time out today to demand that Chancellor Fox of UCSD take immediate action against the students who participated at the "Compton Cook".

At a minimum, the offenders should apologize in a public forum. If they choose not to, these students should not be invited back to attend the next semester of study at UCSD.

This is not an issue of first amendment rights, it is a matter of conduct. A state university should not be exempt from enforcing basic standards of conduct, especially those meant to ensure a safe learning environment for all students.

Incidents like this at UCSD, embolden hostility against women, people of color and differing sexual orientation and cannot be tolerated. ZERO TOLERANCE. Such displays reflect on our entire community and undermine efforts to make San Diego a welcoming place for all to learn, live, work and play.

It is up to us to take steps that restore the pride our community feels in UCSD. We want a local institution that projects leadership and academic excellence throughout the world.

Has consumption changed or shifted? -

I saw that the CEO of Heinz Co. (Ketchup) recently told attendees of a food conference that consumers have a new money-saving mind-set. "This is not a temporary phenomenon, but rather a new behavior," he said. This new behavior includes a dramatic increase in couponing and preparing more meals at home. Johnson further stated that coupons are once again an "indispensable marketing tool."

Hmmm this is interesting "A dramatic increase in couponing" (new verb?). It's interesting because it comes at the very same time that I've noticed a dramatic increase in iPhones and Droid phones that I see people with.

If consumption has changed then employed people are saving money for things like health care, education, retirement or most likely a cushion in case of job loss. If consumption has shifted then more people are like the Walmart ad where they ask you "What are you saving for?". The camera shows a woman looking adoringly at her daughter from the stands as she begins to play ice-hockey. And then that just makes me wonder if they've saved enough for good health and dental insurance.

Local Shark Tank for entrepreneurs

Last night I went to "Shark Tank" presented by CONNECT. It took place at the Websense headquarters in Sorrento Valley, San Diego. I suppose it was based on the TV show "In The Shark Tank" on ABC, where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to tycoons and decide if they will invest in the idea.

Four local entrepreneurs presented to a panel of four investors. The audience of about two-hundred watched and got to learn more about how small companies pitch ideas and how a seasoned Angel Investor and Venture Capitalist respond from an investor point-of-view to these pitches. Unfortunately for the entrepreneurs there was no money attached to winning the competition.

I'm really glad to see so many entrepreneurs in San Diego. After all, that's what will bring jobs to the area. As a seasoned investor myself I have my own ideas of what I like to hear in a pitch. In particular I like to hear about potential market size and profit margins.

Extrabux won the competition but I was most intrigued by the device that Telsa Controls made. The CEO was specific of what problem he wants to solve - He wants to shut off the lights at night in office buildings when you know no-one is working. I think he has a good idea, and that when oil rises again, everyone will be more conscious of saving energy. Maybe evenlaws will be passed. I was also intrigued by Live On Campus. They have an incredible market opportunity with 17.5mm students and a very young population. Youth generally are in consumption mode and that's how you make money. He's got the right market, I'm just not sure of the product.

Good job CONNECT, cool event.


The four companies:

Extrabux: http://www.extrabux.com/ - a comparison shopping site. Allows shoppers to search for any product and compare prices from over 2,000 online retailers, after tax and shipping charges, cash back rebates, and coupons.

I Have That Book: http://www.ihavethatbook.com/ an online secondary market for text-books.

Live On campus: Can't find the website. The name is Live (the noun), but a lot of sites pop up for Live (the verb). (That's a lesson in itself) Focused on the India College Market, has an interactive platform for a global audience of campus communities. With 500 million people under the age of 25 in India alone, and 17.5 million students in the U.S., the Company is strictly focused on the campus market.

Tesla Controls: http://www.teslacontrols.com/main-two Wants to help save energy with a product that helps turn off the lights in office buildings at night when there is no one in them.

War Crimes and Misdemeanors


On our way home from Mammoth Lakes I stopped for a bathroom break at Manzanara, a national historic site. It's a beautiful rural setting at the base of Mt Whitney and the name is nice too, Spanish for apple orchard. But, beautiful location or not, I was going to get in and out of this place that was a War Relocation Camp for Americans of Japanese decent during WWII.

Maybe other people have the same notion of a speedy exit, because in the bathroom there was a huge, attention grabbing photo of a row of toilets. It was the latrine at the camp with personal accounts written on the photo describing the humiliation of having to take a dump with everyone watching. Suddenly, without my consent a rush of emotions flooded me and I felt the anger, resentment and pain of 10,000 residents of the camp who had lived there 60+ years ago. I couldn't just leave now, I had to at least visit the museum and acknowledge this war crime that my nation committed.

Just past the gift shop there's another attention grabbing photo of a store front with the sign, "I am American". It reminded me of the article I had once been asked to read in a diversity class I had taken at my first job, "Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh. It opened my eyes about privileges I enjoy as a white woman with blond hair. One privilege is that I am always considered an American.

I'd love to think that Manzanara is in the past but it isn't. A friend of mine who was born in Korea but has lived in NY most of her life told me that (white) people not only think she's not American but they think she's Chinese. Just the other day she was at a restaurant in Manhattan, and as she was leaving she overheard a (white American) guy say to his friends, "I wonder what they are?" referring to my friend and her companions. So, one of the guys turned to her and said, "ni hao". She glared at him and walked away. I asked her why she didn't ask him, "Why the hell are you saying hello to me in Chinese?" She didn't know, I think she was afraid of tearing the guy's head off.

To Sir, with Love
At a singing event this past weekend, I participated in an ice breaker activity- Pick someone you don't know very well, talk to them for five minutes and summarize to the group the person's name, where they are from and one thing about them that others may not know.

In front of me, a bespectacled woman, wearing a Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt, pointed to me that she wanted to be my partner. OK easy enough. I chatted with her, "Hi I'm Liz, I live with my life partner in North Park, I grew up in NJ." I desperately searched in my head for one unusual thing about me. I thought, "What to pick out of such slim pickin's? " I lobbed out a soundbite "One unusual thing about me is that I guess you could call me a francophile. I studied in France and once did an internship there."

My partner's response was slightly different from mine. "Hi, I'm Hannah born and raised here in the county. I'm big into the leather community and I moderate a discussion group for people 18-35 who are into kinky sex. I have a girlfriend and a Sir (female) that I service."

I listened, not really knowing how to reply. I wasn't really shocked, just trying to figure out how to relate with her. After a pause I said, "A Sir? You mean like Marcie with Peppermint Patty?"