Let me be the first to admit that I like buying stuff off of Amazon. It's typically a tad cheaper and I don't have to pay sales tax. Granted, it may take a few days for me to get the product, which is kind of ironic in our instant gratification society, but I digress. In any event, my shopping habits are not unique and are becoming much more the norm.

State laws around the country typically state that if a retailer does not collect the appropriate sales tax amount, the individual making the purchase should document it and send in the appropriate sales tax amount to the state. This is never done. Well, strike that, it's been done like one time, but who's counting? Many states, and in fact local and regional governments, count on these sales tax dollars to fund a variety of projects. St. Cloud, for example, approved a regional sales tax to fund projects like transportation, trails, and an aquatic center. Sales tax revenue has not met projections. Much of this can be attributed to the economic downturn, but some of it can be attributed to online sales.

The state and federal government need to address this problem. If it continues to go unabated, it will drive more local retailers out of business. That will, in turn, increase the amount of commercial space available and lower the value of the properties. In order to maintain a tax levy, residential property taxes will most likely increase.

Local retailers, from chain stores to small business, need to do more to be competitive. This includes building on their strengths - the instant gratification - and improving customer service. Consumers need to be educated on the value of information they can obtain from a store and reward them with their purchase. They also need to be willing to shell out a few extra bucks to make the same or similar purchase. How likely is this to happen? Not very. But, with a little work and a continued emphasis on it, I think we can do better.

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It's the goal of most people to be successful. What they use to measure success probably differs from others, and it probably differs for themselves as time progresses. The fact is, success is a changing force measured by how we handle different opportunities we are presented with. I use the term opportunities loosely; they may be events where the successful outcome is only slightly less painful than the unsuccessful outcome.

Each of us are given plenty of opportunities to make our lives better. Not just monetarily or prestige, but a chance to make ourselves a better person. Recognizing that an opportunity has presented itself is, in a way, a success, just as trying to take advantage of that opportunity is a success. Often times, even if the outcome is unsuccessful, we are still successful in at least attempting to act on the opportunity. If you have a chance to get a new job that you take, only to find out that it's not for you, that can be considered a success in the fact that you both tried it and you learned that it's not for you. What would have happened if you hadn't done it? Would you regret it, or constantly ask yourself "what if"? It's better to act and fail than to simply wonder "what if?".

If you're not constantly trying to spot opportunities and act on them, you become complacent in your life. You start wondering when good things will come your way. Kind of like in Dumb and Dumber, at the end, with the Hawaiian Tropics girls. The point is - you have to open your eyes and start planting your opportunities or spotting ones to act on. Good and bad. Do it.

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Being a cynic is hard work. First, everyone thinks you just like to complain. Second, they don't understand that by setting the bar low, any result that exceeds that low mark can be considered a success. Finally, it's more entertaining to be poke holes than it is to pretend everything is peaches.

People will disappoint you. You will disappoint yourself. It's easier to just accept that fact and move on than try and argue it. It doesn't mean you should be mean or vicious - it just means to anticipate that the opposite of what is intended will occur.

Think of all the times being a cynic would have helped. For instance, anytime a new insect is introduced to America from China. Some cynic somewhere could have probably predicted it. Or an ugly ass car - again some cynic probably would have made fun of it and ended it's chances of being produced (I'm looking at you, Pontiac Aztek).

Read this blog with a touch of cynicism and you'll probably enjoy it more. You'll probably be able to see right through all the BS.

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On my desk sits a Styrofoam cup that I use for water, soda, or hot coffee. It's a perfectly good cup (even though it will probably outlast me sitting in some landfill someday, but I digress) with one small imperfection. The cup does not sit flat on my desk. There is a small Stryo-knob on the bottom preventing it from laying flat. That one small imperfection provides this particular cup character, and yet to me this cup is less valuable than some other cup lacking this imperfection.

I'm guilty of using imperfections as a way to think less of something. Most people are, too. Think of anything you've discarded because something was wrong with it. The item or object may have still done what it was supposed to do, but you had no use for it. Better to get a new one than use this old one. Better to get one that looked like a million others, than one that looks unique. Isn't that a sad statement?

New Year's Resolutions come and go, and like most people, I make ones that quickly go away. With that said, I'd like to be a little less judgmental this year. I'd like to, at the very least, recognize that imperfections create a certain uniqueness. That uniqueness shouldn't make me think less of it. Although I may still make a joke or poke fun, it's about respecting the little things that make us different.

So, Styrofoam cup, I won't throw you away. That is, until, you dump hot coffee on my lap. Then you will die.

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I recently read that Wayne Weaver, the former owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, did not want to fire his coach, Tom Coughlin. He said he wanted to take away some of Coughlin's control of the team, but didn't think Coughlin's pride could handle it. This stands out to me because I think Coughlin is a great coach. But more so because of what it says about our perceptions of others.

It is often assumed that we can't say the right or honest thing to others because we don't want to hurt that person's feelings. More often, it's because we don't think they can handle it. In a way, we've put our pride (in essentially knowing what we think we know) ahead of their own. And this gets back to why it is a dangerous thing.

Politicians are elected to represent us. They pridefully declare their support or opposition to issues or policies - and are punished when they don't follow through. We don't let them, and they don't let themselves. It is much easier to make money as the "shining city on a hill" than the "getting stuff done" candidate. So, we live in an era of do-nothing. It is better to be dead and principled than to be pragmatic and alive. We can already see the effects of this on our lives and our government. Short-term bickering, long-term passing the buck from both liberals and conservatives. If you're a moderate, you get called unprincipled and unguided rather than pragmatic and needed. And it's not like we can expect it to change anytime soon. There are numerous instances of people in our society who let their pride get in the way. Some could argue that the word religion could easily be substituted for pride. I'm not sure what to think.

We find ourselves embracing principle and filling ourselves with pride when we stake out a position on something. We leave no room for negotiation. And we wonder why we are where we are.

In this New Year, let us as individuals consider the ideas and principles of others. Let us work to find that common ground we need. Let us not be afraid to hurt our pride.

You first.

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Alec Baldwin lost it on a recent American Airlines flight. The crew forced him to de-plane and board the next flight. He has since apologized to the passengers, but not the flight crew. I'm sure the flight crew is expecting an apology, and they will probably get one at some point. And really, it doesn't matter, one way or another.

No matter what we do, someone seems like they will be offended. The next logical step is to apologize. We apologize so much that it doesn't mean anything. If we don't, people are mad. No one wins, everyone is offended, and we march on until the next episode occurs and another apology is expected.

People don't have manners anymore. Holding a door for someone is a rarity. The only aspect of society that has not changed is the apology. Because of this, it has not adapted or morphed. As a result, it doesn't mean anything. The apology itself doesn't mean the action wouldn't occur again. It just seems like the logical thing to say. And that, by far, is the worst reason to apologize.

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Communities across America want to grow and diversify their local economies. They build business and industrial parks while lobbying companies to relocate or expand their presence in them. While that's all fine and good, the problem with the approach is that it blindly ignores the fact that real growth and expansion comes from economic magnets.

Zappos.com recently announced their intent to relocate their company headquarters from California to Las Vegas. That's quite an economic victory for any community, but the more impressive (and game-changing) aspect of it is the fact that they are attracting other businesses. Many cite the CEO, Tony Hsieh, and his personality and business-savvy for this. More so, it illustrates that attracting the right businesses with great leaders can do more for economic growth than any office or government entity. When it comes down to it, economic development agencies should be looking for magnet businesses. Not just those who might need suppliers, but those who may grow to compliment or even compete with the primary business.

Picking an industry focus and building a strong core to attract those industries are elementary to the economic development community. Education, business climate, quality of life, and more are factors in positive economic development. But ignoring the incubation and magnetism certain businesses have handicaps strong, vibrant economic development.

When targeting those businesses a community would like to see grow or expand with their community, they should do more to evaluate the leadership of that organization. Check references, discuss their entrepreneurial interests, what they envision their community looking like, and their openness to collaboration and competition. Once that's established, find out how they would do it.

True economic development is a partnership between the public and private sectors. Inherently, the private sector encourages and seeks growth that will not directly compete with their own interests. We need to find ways around this, or at least how it can be addressed. That's a different topic for another day. I believe that economic development must be continuously evaluated and improved upon. Above all, it's about thinking outside of the box and finding new ways to foster growth in our new economy.

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I was getting my haircut yesterday. One of the things that bothers me in life is having to engage in a conversation with a person who has no interest in my life. It typically feels forced and pointless. Once I leave, the stylist cuts the next person's hair and completely forgets our conversation. At least, I hope they do. In any event, I enjoy listening in on others conversations. One in particular struck me. It was advice, and bad advice at that.

The theme of the conversation was that the stylist was in the process of writing a 20 page paper on behavior (or something similar, I don't fully recall the specific topic). She said she knew what she wanted to say, but couldn't figure out how to put it on paper. The guy's advice - coupled with a NASCAR shirt and dirty jeans - was to, "Do what I do. You sit down and just start typing. Don't judge what you're writing or think too hard about it. Just write". No, no, no. That is terrible advice in this instance. The stylist would be better off creating an outline, writing down some key topics and points she wants to make, and arranging the paper at a high-level. At that point, she could fill in the details. It would help her keep a framework for the paper and prevent a lot of re-work. If she followed his advice, she'd be re-working the paper for a long time with no real structure and no clarity. In short, his advice was terrible.

This is a good example of people offering advice to others that is essentially unsolicited. It's not based on real facts and maybe not even relevant experience. Our society is so dependent on doing the "right" thing, we decide we need to act based on others reasoning. We probably do this so we can blame them when it fails. And we readily offer advice to others as if we are experts. The most common advice is around relationships. And it's never very good. Each relationship, like each person, is different and unique - like a snowflake. We all know this, and yet we need advice to navigate.

People need to do a better job of plowing through life on their own terms and experiences. Listen to others to hear about the lessons they have learned. But don't listen to their interpretation of it and treat it as advice. If you do, you're subject to fail in new ways. And, don't offer advice as advice - instead tell your experience as a story for the person to consume, interpret, and apply to their life if necessary.

If they fail, you won't be to blame.

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We live in a society where people often disagree with each other. Unlike previous times, though, our tolerance for others' opinions is essentially none. If I don't like what you said, or disagree with it, I think it's wrong and find it offensive. And the opposite is true as well. The source of this is hard to trace. One could blame it on the fact that we don't let anyone lose anymore - everyone's a winner regardless of the outcome.

By making everyone the winner, people don't learn how to respect the actual winner - or the actual loser. They also don't learn how to come to grips with being wrong or losing. That's just part of it, in my opinion.

We've also become a culture of whiners. If I don't get my way, I'll throw a fit or complain that no one understands me. I'm not willing to compromise or admit that you might have a point.

Our society has also become very dis-interested in good humor. If it offends someone, you'd better not say it. The exceptions to this seem to be on TV, where Tosh, South Park, and Family Guy do this ruthlessly. In reality, though, we consider stereotypes to be taboo, as if they were based on some inaccuracies. If I call a member of the Tea Party some old crazy white lady (which many of them are), and label her a teabagger, I'm stereotyping the entire movement - but if you call a liberal a "tax-and-spend welfare mom" (which some are) you're just calling it like it is.

That's not to say that people don't do offensive things. Browse the Internet for 30 minutes, or just Facebook for that matter, and you'll find it. I consider offensive material to be racist/sexist/bigotry that makes not attempt at humor. I heard someone say a few months back that they wouldn't give their license to a female cop if they were pulled over. No context of what he was talking about, no attempt at making whatever his take was funny, just a blanket statement. That's offensive.

I try not to be offensive, although I purposely skate as close as I can to the line. Some times, I cross that line. That happens, but I'm not going to let it stop me. I like to be funny and do funny things - like most people. Either way, I hope that you give me the benefit of the doubt, like I do with others.

But I've got no time for real hate. And no, I didn't create the image at the top of this post.

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Barring any setbacks, a new podcast should be produced and posted within the next 3 weeks. Actually, it might be closer to November. In any event, the next edition will feature guests and stuff. Hopefully, it turns out better than a movie with Lindsay Lohan. You have to set the bar somewhere.

Whatever or wherever that bar maybe.

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If I ever here someone say to me in person that the earth is 7,000 years old, I'm gonna punch them in mouth and run away. They don't deserve an explanation, and if they really believe that the earth is 7,000 years old, they are too stupid to listen anyway. Surprisingly people actually believe this crap, and by scouring the internet you can find quite a bit of sites that spew this ridiculous garbage.

1. What do these religious fanatics think they are putting in their cars? Magic Go-Go juice? Scientist don't know the exact time frame for the formation of oil but all agree that it takes a couple hundred thousand years to millions of years. I think I'll stick with Magic GO-Go juice. I like to believe in magic.

2. How do they explain dinosaurs? This one is really hard to argue against so most sites I visited just say "Dinosaurs didn't exist because the bible says the earth is only 7,000 years old" case closed. What brilliant logic! Don't you wish you could write in a notebook "I get 10 million dollars" and bring it to the powerball office. It is written, I say it is so, give me my damn money

3. Look up in the sky bonehead! The nearest galaxy to ours is the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is about 160,000 lightyears away. By this point I've realized that this is more magic voodoo science which the fundamentalist won't listen to anyway, but I feel better having vented.

I'll leave you on an even scarier religious note. Mitt Romney is a leader to become the Republican candidate for president in 2012, and he's a Mormon. The beliefs of the Church of Latter Day Saints make the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster seem viable.