01-28-2003, 09:36 PM
[cool] Wow. Must have caught you on a bad day. Sorry if I got your dandruff up. The bad news is that you are probably an optimist and the reality will be worse than we can imagine.
You touched on a point that I have been observing around the country for years. That is that we are all paying more and more for less and less. Wherever we pay for our pleasures, the "public servants" or appointed management seems to let their responsibilities get skewed. They adopt the attitude that their divine positions put them above rendering service to those they serve...but instead require them to restrict the amount of potential work they perform.
I'm in the franchise restaurant industry, and we have a close corollary. We tell our owners not to make any of their employees "managers"...for on the day they do, they will see no more productivity. Managers and public servants are exalted beings who should do no work.
There are arguments for the safety of the general public, but in the case of lowly fishermen, it is more a matter of the inconvenience we cause to those in big expensive craft that pay the big moorage fees and throw the parties with lots of free food, booze and.....
California has long been perceived as a leader in many trends. Let's hope they don't create too many precedents that spread throughout the civilized portions of the country. As "flotation fishing" increases in popularity and our numbers increase, we are more visible and subject to more regulation. I'd like to see that work to our advantage, rather than otherwise.
On a more positive note, I am in the middle of some email discussions with Outcast right now, about either co-publishing or at least sponsoring a good part of my book (if there is a good part). Might be able to wangle some discounts for "field testing"...or at least club memberships. Let's hope.
I'll wind up my little tirade with a note on PETA. As many of us are aware, they are taking shots at fishing now too. But, you know why they are more active against wearing furs, than just leather? They found out it ain't as dangerous to hassle old ladies wearing furs as it is to take on the bikers in their leathers.
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You touched on a point that I have been observing around the country for years. That is that we are all paying more and more for less and less. Wherever we pay for our pleasures, the "public servants" or appointed management seems to let their responsibilities get skewed. They adopt the attitude that their divine positions put them above rendering service to those they serve...but instead require them to restrict the amount of potential work they perform.
I'm in the franchise restaurant industry, and we have a close corollary. We tell our owners not to make any of their employees "managers"...for on the day they do, they will see no more productivity. Managers and public servants are exalted beings who should do no work.
There are arguments for the safety of the general public, but in the case of lowly fishermen, it is more a matter of the inconvenience we cause to those in big expensive craft that pay the big moorage fees and throw the parties with lots of free food, booze and.....
California has long been perceived as a leader in many trends. Let's hope they don't create too many precedents that spread throughout the civilized portions of the country. As "flotation fishing" increases in popularity and our numbers increase, we are more visible and subject to more regulation. I'd like to see that work to our advantage, rather than otherwise.
On a more positive note, I am in the middle of some email discussions with Outcast right now, about either co-publishing or at least sponsoring a good part of my book (if there is a good part). Might be able to wangle some discounts for "field testing"...or at least club memberships. Let's hope.
I'll wind up my little tirade with a note on PETA. As many of us are aware, they are taking shots at fishing now too. But, you know why they are more active against wearing furs, than just leather? They found out it ain't as dangerous to hassle old ladies wearing furs as it is to take on the bikers in their leathers.
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