An wild article appeared in Yahoo news about sheriffs in Virginia who were allowed to spend $1200 to received "Sex Acts". They said that they had to do this to get a conviction.

"Smith told The Washington Post that sexual contact is needed during the investigations because most professionals know not to say anything incriminating. And conversation is difficult, he said, because masseuses at the Asian-run parlors in the northern Virginia county speak little English."

And they even reportedly left a $350 tip!

I read on Sunday at column that Eric Zorn wrote for the Chicago Tribune. It really touched something in me since many times I feel that we go about our lives not realizing what we have financially. As businesspeople, we are always chasing more financial success.

Eric puts ‘being privileged" in perspective in light of the Katrina losses:

• Being privileged is never sweating the insurance co-pay.
• Being privileged is running the air conditioner while you’re out so your place is cool when you come home.
• Being privileged is worrying about the time it will take rather than the money it will cost to fix your broken refrigerator.
• Being privileged is having health insurance in the first place.
• Being privileged is not carrying a balance on your Visa.
• Being privileged is not knowing whether payday is this Friday or next.
• Being privileged is having a college savings account.
• Being privileged is cashing in your frequent flyer miles.
• Being privileged is hiring someone to clean your toilets.
• Being privileged is not waiting for the paperback edition to come out.
• Being privileged is having three or more phone numbers to your name.
• Being privileged is not playing the lottery in part because you know that in many ways you’ve already won it.
• Being privileged is having Internet access at home so you can participate easily in online discussions about what it means to be privileged.Being privileged is drinking gourmet coffee, bottled water and imported beer.
• Being privileged is owning a washing machine and a dryer.
• Being privileged is a $30 haircut.
• Being privileged is having memberships, subscriptions, season tickets and parking spots.

Read the entire article or add to the list!

I really like stupid facts. That is why I enjoy reading a magazine called Mental Floss. As their tag line says, it makes me feel smart again!

I came across a fact in the magazine that stated that George Washington was not our first president. John Hanson was…who the heck was John Hanson? Read on:

"The new country was actually formed on March 1, 1781 with the adoption of The Articles of Confederation… Once the signing took place in 1781, a President was needed to run the country. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Washington).

As the first President, Hanson had quite the shoes to fill. No one had ever been President and the role was poorly defined. His actions in office would set precedent for all future Presidents. He took office just as the Revolutionary War ended. Almost immediately, the troops demanded to be paid. As would be expected after any long war, there were no funds to meet the salaries. As a result, the soldiers threatened to overthrow the new government and put Washington on the throne as a monarch. All the members of Congress ran for their lives, leaving Hanson running the government. He somehow managed to calm the troops and hold the country together. If he had failed, the government would have fallen almost immediately and everyone would have been bowing to King Washington.

Hanson, as President, ordered all foreign troops off American soil, as well as the removal of all foreign flags. This was quite a feat, considering the fact that so many European countries had a stake in the United States since the days following Columbus. Hanson established the Great Seal of the United States, which all Presidents have since been required to use on all official documents.

The Articles of Confederation only allowed a President to serve a one-year term during any three-year period, so Hanson actually accomplished quite a bit in such little time. He served in that office from November 5, 1781 until November 3, 1782. He was the first President to serve a full term after the full ratification of the Articles of Confederation – and like so many of the Southern and New England Founders, he was strongly opposed to the Constitution when it was first discussed. He remained a confirmed anti-federalist until his untimely death.

Six other presidents were elected after him - Elias Boudinot (1783), Thomas Mifflin (1784), Richard Henry Lee (1785), Nathan Gorman (1786), Arthur St. Clair (1787), and Cyrus Griffin (1788) - all prior to Washington taking office. Why don’t we ever hear about the first seven Presidents of the United States? It’s quite simple - The Articles of Confederation didn’t work well. The individual states had too much power and nothing could be agreed upon. A new doctrine needed to be written - something we know as the Constitution.

George Washington was definitely not the first President of the United States. He was the first President of the United States under the Constitution we follow today. And the first seven Presidents are forgotten in history.

Now that is good information for your next party!

Kirsten Osolind sent me a quote from Steven Jobs who spoke recently at Stanford:

"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life." 

According to the Arizona Tribune:

You accidently enter your password into the microwave.

You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

You pull up in your own driveway and you use your cell phone to see if anyone is home.

You email the person who works at the desk next to you.

Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that you do not have their email addresses.

You get frustrated when you play solitaire with real cards.

You start tilting your head sideways to smile

It’s an election year…why not jump in? Ann Meyer at the Chicago Tribune write about whether small business votes as a block. I chime in…

In Chicago Public Schools, they have a program where business people act as a principal just for one day. It is a good way to forge relationships between schools and business. I was a “Principal for A Day” today at a local school. I spoke to 7 and 8th graders about passion, resiliency and what its like to start a business. It was amazing to realize the number of kids that do want to start a business and how universal the themes I talk about truly are regardless of your age.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California paid an estimated $86 million in public assistance in 2001 because workers at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. earn such low wages, researchers said on Tuesday.

I have always been particularly sensitive about the working poor ever since reading, “Nickled and Dimed in America“. In her book, Barbara Ehrenreich details how she tried to make a living by working two minimum wage jobs…and she failed! I do believe in the free market economy, but unless we pay people livable wages, we are not making progress as a civilized and capitalistic society.

One of my favorite entrepreneurship stories is about two women, Sandi Adams and Noreen Abbasi that quit their high profile consulting jobs to start a make up company. Their first step was to work behind a make up counter at a local Chicago department store to learn the business from the ground up.

Sandi Adams does a wonderful interview on her business, Maven Cosmetics. And of course I especially love:

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
“Read Barry Moltz’s book (You Need to Be a Little Crazy) before you start and talk to entrepreneurs to see what it’s like. It’s a lot of hard work with no guaranteed reward (or even payment), so make sure you love what you’re doing and be comfortable with selling…a company is nothing without sales”.

I am in Kansas City at the Kauffman Foundation for the next few days at the annual meeting of the Angel Capital Association, the Alliance of Leading Angel Groups in the US. I also sit on the advisory board of directors for the group. We have over 100 people here representing groups from all over the country. It is very much like the Continental Congress- The angel groups come in all shapes and sizes. In fact, it is qutie refreshing in a world where we want one size to fit all. All of our groups break this rule!