Today they report that funding for the Mountain View Community School of Music and Arts has been discontinued. Not slashed, but dropped completely. Now it's hitting too close to home. They're right across the parking lot. Most of the teachers are still loyal to the other music store in Mountain View, and this is only temporary quarters for them. So I've already been pessimistic in my projections of how much they'll contribute to the bottom line. But the effect will be noticed, and it's a non-trivial contribution. It's run as a community center, but it's the school music program for the entire district. I think I should slack off my projections for band rentals this year. That's OK, because I can't afford to pump any more money into it anyway.

This business is in the middle of a minefield. There is no plan anymore. I'm just making it up as a I go. Should get a small pump in business from rental season; but I'll stick with my existing (and therefore paid for) inventory. Which means that it's time to get ready for Xmas again. Golly, gee. I already have gobs of Xmas inventory - left over from last year. So there's really nothing to plan for anyway. The only thing that counts anymore is whatever I can sell today.

UPDATE: Didn't sell much of anything. Broke even on a beat-up used electric guitar for a hundred bucks. These guys were bottom-fishing. Throw in the case and extra strings and a strap and a cord and a few picks? All for a hundred bucks? Nope. You're freaking nuts. Hundred and thirty bucks. OK.

Don't care much for what passes as the 'news' these days. From here on out, it's just everybody positioning themselves for the next prez race. I was a bit amused to see both the Hashemite of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates pitching their 'wares' to the American consumer (i.e. business investment) by way of advertisements on CNN. Sorry guys, but it doesn't have quite the same appeal as the Jamaica ads. We don't care that Jordan was a commerce hub in -100AD. What some people seem to care about is that half the population is Palestinian. I don't care one way or another, but I probably wouldn't be investing much money in Jordan anytime soon. But hey - it was a cool ad. The UAE were more direct. Give us money. We're progressive with business. C'mon. We've got countries buying frigging advertising on mass TV to promote their own self-interest. Hi, I'm Fidel. Have a moment? I'd like to talk to you about infidels.