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Pincus Epstein At Large

Nuts4Cars to launch nine classic car shows in La Jolla

La Jolla Light

Girard Avenue will be the venue for not just car show in 2012, but nine.

 These free shows are the efforts of a dedicated group of La Jollans known by the jovial moniker, Nuts4Cars.

 Each venue promises to be a museum-quality exhibition featuring at least a million dollars worth of four-wheeled motoring memorabilia that visitors can view and then speak to the owners.

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Jan 27, 2012
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IDLE THOUGHTS

A VISIT TO MY RETROACTIVE EXISTENCE

In the 1960s people took acid to make the world weird. Now
the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.”

We all live in our own absurd worlds, me more than most people. For instance I often wonder, if Ann Frank had survived would she have spent the rest of her life trying to write a second best-selling book? We’re always wondering what could be and what has been while spending very little time enjoying the here and now.

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Jan 27, 2012
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CONSPIRACY THEORY

I’m not usually a conspiracy theorist. I leave that for my friend James. However, in the case of current politics, James may have a point. Conspiracy may be the only logical explanation. I’ll lay it out for you and let me know if you see it as I do.

The theory is based on one central idea: That the same sinister forces are backing both political parties. Now this is merely a theory, mind you. However, if you examine the Obama administration’s and Republican Party’s recent machinations, there may be more than a nugget of truth to this assertion. In fact, this accusation can explain much more than my provincial thinking can fathom.

 

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Dec 10, 2010
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I TAKE BACK MY VOTE

Never to fulfill, always to disappoint. That’s how I can best describe Obama. Like many others, I had high hopes for what Obama seemed to promise. But, alas, the promises faded and more of the same seemed to continue.

 

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Oct 23, 2010
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It’s ALWAYS About The FUTURE

IDLE THOUGHTS
It’s ALWAYS About The FUTURE By Pincus Epstein
n an industry noted for being extremely sparing in bestowing accolades, the descriptive “legend” is a rare title to garner. Nevertheless, this is the title the audio industry has bestowed on Erno Borbely by his colleagues. Innovation seems to come naturally to him. His career spans over four decades of consistent accomplishments running the gamut from the venerable Hafler DH200 to literally pioneering high-performance FET amplifiers through today’s PBN Amplifiers.
Borbely’s relationship with PBN is not casual nor has it been a one-time situation. Since the mid 1990s, Peter Bichel Noerbaek has worked as a colleague with Erno Borbely, creating some of the landmark amplifiers in PBN’s Sierra and Olympia editions. So when you have worked in partnership with a living legend, wouldn’t you want the world to know it? Absolutely! But there’s a dilemma. Noerbaek is so respectful of his living legend collaborator he is hesitant to bask in the same spotlight. But credit must be stated when it is rightfully due. Which begs the question: Just how much of PBN’s products are Borbely’s and how much are Noerbaek’s?
For the answer you have to look at each engineer’s strengths, because ultimately it was the team of Borbely and Noerbaek that became the perfect combination. Borbely’s philosophy is to apply a modest amount of amplification to its maximum use. Noerbaek’s philosophy is exactly the opposite; maximize the output for those times when additional amplification
is needed. It is one of those “less is more, but more is far better” disputes.
Ultimately Borbely saw the wisdom. The result has been that the older models of PBN’s Sierra and Olympia amplifiers have become cult classics. Today they command one of the highest ratios of resale to original price values in the high-end audio industry. The division of creative work came naturally for the two: Borbely designed the sensitive input stages while Noerbaek took the power supply and output stage for PBN’s amplifiers. Noerbaek was also responsible for the clean minimalist exterior design that has drawn accolades from architects and industrial designers alike. As Noerbaek likes to say: “We made it sophisticated on the outside while keeping the ‘bling’ on the inside.”
The series they collaborated on withstood the test of time and is still delivering the audiophile goods. Today, the team of Borbely and Noerbaek continues to enjoy its longstanding partnership on PBN’s Olympia products. In an industry that cannot and must not rest on its laurels, these two men keep moving the goal line forward because they both know: A living legend is something about the past. The Borbely and Noerbaek team is always about the future.

In an industry noted for being extremely sparing in bestowing accolades, the descriptive “legend” is a rare title to garner. Nevertheless, this is the title the audio industry has bestowed on Erno Borbely by his colleagues.

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Aug 13, 2010
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BEING FLIM FLAMMED BY THE BEST OF THEM

Let’s become conspiracy theorists. Next, let’s imagine the worst of Obama. What I am about to write is not fact, nor did it come from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or any other wing nut. It simply came from inside my paranoid, conspiracy-laden mind.

 

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Dec 08, 2009
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DITHERING HIS WAY TO NOWHERE

Most things political are a matter of perception over reality. Moreover, perception has an evil way of morphing into reality if it festers too long in the public’s mindset.
This is, I fear, what has become the Achille’s heal of the Obama administration. While the public has waited for him to take definitive positions on any number of critical situations (Afghanistan, Gitmo, medical legislation, stopping bailed out companies from awarding bonuses for their mismanagement, etc., etc.) Obama painfully dithers and ponders the options.
The public sees this as a weakness in his leadership abilities. Is he too careful for the voter’s temperament? I think so. We love decisive leadership. Americans can tolerate one or two action items in a tortuous state of indecision. But Obama seems to have too many balls in the air to please the public trust.
Americans loved his eloquence. But now want to see his actions match his words. He appears to ponder too much and let the opposition take the initiative. The American public is losing confidence … while Obama is losing control of the conversation. It’s the chatter that makes the difference between the perception of his leadership and the disappointment of a growing swath of disenchanted citizens.
Obama was swept into the White House by voters who were mad as hell with “politics as usual.” They were neither on the political left or right.
They didn’t care as long as they got “change they could believe in.” Instead many now believe they got words, but not actions to match them.
Folks, we now have that old familiar “credibility gap.” In Obama’s case, I personally believe he is a sincere guy who means well but is in way over his head.  He is a latter day Woodrow Wilson … a scholar with lofty ideas but unable to convert them into political reality.
But there is a cure. It will take guts that he hasn’t shown and a rashness he dreadfully fears. Obama must take on some key issues and put the forcefulness of the presidency behind them. They must be bold and swift. And, most important, they must make him appear decisive and a no-fool- around guy when he has to be. It’s all a matter of picking the right issues and concluding them in a way that will reinvigorate America’s confidence in him.
Americans really, truly, want a leader they can put their trust in. We want to be led out of the wilderness of a poor economy, to put a stop to the waste of young lives in the Middle East … we want the impossible, like integrity in Washington and affordable quality medical care for our families. We are in trouble and we know it. We want to believe in our leadership because we need it more than ever. Beyond words, it’s now about deeds. Beyond intentions, it’s about fulfilling promises that were made, and those that were cleverly implied and now long overdue.
Let’s weigh some of the options that would make sense. It wouldn’t take that much to close Gitmo. I suspect a simple stroke of the pen would do the trick. Why is Obama pausing? He doesn’t need consensus. He doesn’t need anything but to make a decision as to where we dump the prisoners. I say send them into Cheney’s backyard — that is, somewhere in Wyoming. That’s the state that voted for the guy who created Gitmo, they deserve to live with the paranoia their native son created.
An additional action item is to pull out of Afghanistan. No good has ever come of a foreign power that has sent armies into that God forsaken country. Everything from head to toe in Afghanistan is duplicitous and corrupt. Leave them to their own crazy devices. Let the Taliban have it. It will never bear anything but bitter fruit. By leaving we will also send a message to every two-bit country that we are trying to prop up: Don’t count on us.
Now you may cite the fact that Afghanistan is a U.N. project. The beauty of this idea is precisely that it is. This will be a two-for-one gift of an idea! Let the U.N. carry the water and not us. It’s never been a proportional thing anyway. It’s 90% us and 10% divided between a dozen other countries. God knows what Bush traded to go in there with us. It will also pull several outspoken generals in line. You know the ones. They went to the press against the President’s orders. Afghanistan is a sham, and the President should tell the public that.
Now, if Obama wants to really upset things, he should publicly give Israel permission to take out Iran’s nuclear sites. He doesn’t have to do this himself. With a super-hawk like Netanyahu in power, that should scare the bejeezus out of Iran … maybe even shift the leadership’s relations with our country. They fear Israel more than us. We don’t have to lift a finger; just issue a statement that we can hardly blame Israel if they felt it was necessary to protect their citizens’ lives with a pre-emptive strike.
At home, Obama could influence the Democratic party by not being so hands-off about those southern blue-dog Democrats taking money from insurance companies. He can hold federal redevelopment money from the districts whose representatives don’t vote for the bill. That’s what I call “Lyndon Johnsoning” legislation. He has far more “bully pulpit” sway than he ever dreamed of. He needs to exercise it. He should also threaten to cut off Democratic Party state funding from anyone accepting money from insurance companies. This is a tough game and it’s the assholes that will win. The majority of the public wants an asshole. Let’s give them one!
How outrageous do I sound? I hope TOTALLY. The public is looking for outrageous solutions. They want a decisive leader. So what if he seems rash or commits a few transgressions? It’s a hell of a lot better then endlessly pondering over issues ad nauseum.
Right now Obama is dithering his way to nowhere. By employing my more radical ideas, he will stop dithering and start on the next phase of his administration, the one he was bound to end up doing anyway: DAMAGE CONTROL!

Most things political are a matter of perception over reality. Moreover, perception has an evil way of morphing into reality if it festers too long in the public’s mindset.

This is, I fear, what has become the Achille’s heal of the Obama administration. While the public has waited for him to take definitive positions on any number of critical situations (Afghanistan, Gitmo, medical legislation, stopping bailed out companies from awarding bonuses for their mismanagement, etc., etc.) Obama painfully dithers and ponders the options.

 

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Nov 06, 2009
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MAKING NICE, NICE DOESN’T CUT IT

At best, George H.W. Bush was a mediocre President. He surrounded himself with the same incompetent gang of dunderheads that blessed his son’s dubious leadership.

Recently Bush “Number One” went on a rant over critics of his son’s incompetence. Citing both Keith Olbermann and Rachael Maddow he called them “sick puppies.” I guess he believed that was what a daddy should do in defense of the indefensible. Somehow the old man is confusing MSNBC with that sterling news organization called FOX.

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Oct 21, 2009
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LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK

You don’t want to get a letter from me. I only write letters when I have something rotten to say. Better you should have a telephone conversation. Read this actual example, then I will explain the background:
Dear Manny:
Today I received the check for the purchase of the home next to yours on Pioneer Circle. With that business concluded I would like to explain how you caused yourself more harm than you may realize.
Your attempt to interfere with the sale of my home created a situation that required my lawyer to uncover the original CC&Rs for the property. It clearly stated that the contractor for the development was allowed to place the various retaining walls anywhere on the property near the  property line. The title insurance policies solidified these decisions.
To my absolute delight, it turns out that your specific retaining wall is on your property. That means you must foot the bill to maintain it or replace it. (Applause! Let’s hear it for Manny.) That’s right Schmucko, you have your very own, creosote soaked, splinter-laden log pile.
And to think, you caused us to get all the uncomfortable facts. The only question now is: When will it need replacing? Probably sooner than later. I have advised the new owners of my property to keep an eye on it. And, when you do replace it, you will be required to have the approval of the Homeowners Association and City Inspectors. (Hurray for red tape.)
It’s always comforting to know that there is a God and he works in ways that mystifys even me. Remember, God loves his Schmucks. Which causes me to ask: Can’t you feel the love??? I feel like writing the Pope and suggesting that a special holiday be named after you. How does Manny The Moron Day sound? Remember, a man of limited intelligence can easily outsmart himself. Congratulations. You get the booby prize. It’s you Putzaroonie. Enjoy!
Laughing all the way to the bank, Pincus
Lets start with homeowners associations. In case you haven’t had the displeasure of dealing with one, let me enlighten you. By definition they are supposed to be a peer group of fellow homeowners organized for the betterment of a given development.
In practice they are a gang of marginally intelligent people collectively working towards my personal destruction. Their playbook for common sense thinking is something called “The CC&Rs.” God only knows what these initials stand for. For these self-appointed hall monitors, CC&Rs are the holy grail from which they magically sap their self-anointed authority. Rational logic has just flown out the window and has been replaced by the same logic that motivated the Nazis to create their Gestapo.
To my absolute delight I have never actually resided within the walls of such resident prisons. I have, however, owned rental properties in two of them. One of these places was a “manufactured home” in a CC&Rs controlled community called Pilgrims Creek.
There was neither a pilgrim residing there nor a creek running through it. Obviously the name was fabricated by the developer to better sell his crappy homes made from the very cheapest materials he could get by with. I had inherited a home from my uncle who had a knack for making bad decisions with almost all his purchases. He was a German language teacher from the old school (which means he placed a premium on narrow-minded rigidity over flexibility and fun.) But that is another story.
Next door to this piece-of-crap home is a neighbor named Manny. Manny who is in his late 50s married a woman named Rose who is in her early 80s. Obviously the woman owned the home, and probably the bank accounts. Manny owned his small brain and probably a string of failures. At least that is my best guess.
Manny also owned a mid-sized, rather ugly RV that he insisted on parking in his driveway, which was strictly against the CC&Rs. The homeowners association had, on numerous occasions, demanded that he remove the vehicle. But Manny just thumbed his nose at their demands.  I didn’t care about any of this until I lost a surefire sale of the home because the prospective buyer first said yes to the price and then, after seeing Manny’s hunk of junk in his driveway, said no.
Hearing about this, I decided to take action. However, before I called Manny, he called me. He wanted to show me something. I mentioned his RV needed moving and he was amiable to discussing it. He said he also had an issue. So I took the hour drive.
Manny wanted me to move the retaining wall (made of old railroad ties) to my side of the property line. “After all, it benefits your property more than mine,” he explained like the con man he is.
I granted him permission to move the retaining wall at his expense as long as it could be confirmed that it was on his property and that it would be inspected and approved by the city and homeowners association.
“You don’t understand. The wall is holding up your soil. It benefits your property.”
“And, it stops the soil from flooding onto your property. We both benefit. But if you want to move it, go ahead at your expense and on my conditions. Now let’s discuss your RV.”
“The RV is off the table for discussion. I am too upset.”
I returned home and immediately contacted my lawyer, who sent Manny a letter of demand. If the RV was not moved within 24 hours after receiving my registered letter, I would take him to Superior Court, citing a provable loss of sale. Very quickly the RV disappeared from the driveway.
The sticking point was that he wanted me to move the wall and pay for the moving. But from that point on Manny had it in for me. He tried every harassing action his small mind could conjure up. It was comical. And after I sold the place, and it was in escrow, Manny went to the new owners and told them he had a legal dispute with me over the property line and retaining wall. That issue was cleared up and the sale went through.
Without knowing the background the letter will now make sense. But now that you know the story, you understand why you don’t want to receive a letter from me. Better we should talk on the phone.

You don’t want to get a letter from me. I only write letters when I have something rotten to say. Better you should have a telephone conversation. Read this actual example, then I will explain the background:

Dear Manny:

Today I received the check for the purchase of the home next to yours on Pioneer Circle. With that business concluded I would like to explain how you caused yourself more harm than you may realize.

Your attempt to interfere with the sale of my home created a situation that required my lawyer to uncover the original CC&Rs for the property. It clearly stated that the contractor for the development was allowed to place the various retaining walls anywhere on the property near the  property line. The title insurance policies solidified these decisions.

 

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Oct 12, 2009
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THE NOBEL SURPRIZE

I was glad to see Obama win the Nobel Prize, but not for reasons you may assume. You see, I delighted hearing the right-wing pundits squeal like mean-spirited pigs being run over by a slow-moving semi squeezing their guts all over the asphalt. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glen Beck more than deserve a hideous end. I want to hear it loud and clear, and as juicy as you can imagine as their voices hit every high octave left in their larynx. Indeed, they did squeal but lived to enjoy another day in radioland.
Even though I loved it, I too believed the award was not justified. Obama received the Nobel Prize for trying, not accomplishing. When you think about it, that’s a pretty desperate reason to give out an award. It won’t be the first time. Woodrow Wilson also received one for trying. That was after World War One. Wilson’s high-minded attempt to create a permanent peace also failed, a failure that resulted in the second World War. In Obama’s case he received the award for peace while engaged in two separate wars which he promised to immediately end if he were elected.
If it wasn’t for George Bush’s absolute idiocy, Obama would not be the President. Obama is truly a lucky guy who, somehow, happens to be in the right place at the right time. But is it deserved? I say it is un-American.
Generally Americans don’t give awards out for trying. The team that makes the playoffs for the Superbowl, simply gets a chance to win. They are good contenders, but they aren’t the winners until they actually win. Obama isn’t even near the end zone..
Coming in second in World War Two was not acceptable. Unconditional surrender was the only acceptable outcome that was clearly understood by the Nazis and Japanese. Why do you think we used the A-Bomb on Japan? Frankly, I don’t like the precedent that is being set here.
The Nobel Prize committee is obviously making a political statement. I believe this is a mistake for the Nobel Prize Committee to do. Remember, they are Europeans and long ago Europeans have given up the art of clear thinking and realistic decisions.
I believe they were fed up with Bush’s bullying. They wanted to reward good behavior. They lowered their standards and by doing so they set a different criteria than they use for chemistry, literature and other disciplines. The operative word here should be: Accomplishment. At least Arafat and Begin signed an agreement when they got their Nobels. It was an “A” For Effort.
Examine Obama’s accomplishments and you will find the jury is still out on concrete matters and fulfilling promises. Whether implied or not, none of Obama’s key campaign action items are in the accomplished column. One could contend that he hasn’t had enough time to show progress. I voted for him and wanted to see us get a national medical plan that competes with insurance companies. That ain’t in the cards.
I wanted Gitmo closed, which he promised. It’s still open. I wanted greedy financial houses to be better regulated. They used the rescue dollars to give themselves raises. Credit card abuses still continue, but it’s the card companies that are the abusers, not the consumers. It goes on and on. Most of all, I did not want more of the same. We got a lot more of the same. It just comes in a more palatable, more articulate package. This one looks like a statesman and acts more like an amateur wimp.
It’s true that Obama alone has not created the problems. We also need to reform the lawmakers and the process that permits such egregious behavior. Our government needs a brain transplant. The right wing wants to go back to the original intent by the constitutionalists. By representing the special interests over the public good, they couldn’t be more hypocritical.  The left wing are simply too chaotic to band together for the common good. And the reasonable people in between are powerless.
Have you seen our lawmakers in action? They do not represent us. For the most part they are bought and paid for. Pathetically, we know this to be true. What they do is criminal. But it is legal criminality. And, there is an unwritten rule between law makers to let the minor crimes slide. Every once in a while something slips out or the crimes get so outrageous that they cannot be ignored. Small infractions lead to bigger ones. I say prosecute all of them, The minute we do this, and I mean really have zero-tolerance, will be the minute we start taking our country back.
We don’t control the system — money and power does. Yet we benignly accept the chicanery. Obama may have won a prize. But he’s losing the battle. The war we are fighting is overseas. But the real battleground is right here at home. It’s on the Washington beltway where there are over 25 lobbyists for every elected and appointed official. We will all lose if we let them win. They are winning and we are losing.

I was glad to see Obama win the Nobel Prize, but not for reasons you may assume. You see, I delighted hearing the right-wing pundits squeal like mean-spirited pigs being run over by a slow-moving semi squeezing their guts all over the asphalt. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glen Beck more than deserve a hideous end. I want to hear it loud and clear, and as juicy as you can imagine as their voices hit every high octave left in their larynx. Indeed, they did squeal but lived to enjoy another day in radioland.

 

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Oct 13, 2009
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WHERE’S THE S.O.B WHEN WE NEED HIM?

 

Will the real Obama please stand up and be counted? That’s the guy I really want to see … and that’s the guy we need and, most important, that’s who I voted for.

I don’t need that smiling, confident, politically proper person who acts more like a Washington insider than the outside critic. I need the S.O.B. I suspected lurked beneath his “white bread” veneer. Not only do I need him, he needs him! We need him! I want what I believed I voted for: CHANGE!!!

 

 

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Oct 09, 2009
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OBAMA’S MISTAKE

Here I go again. In the recent past I was authoring a monthly article for several magazines. That’s when I thought I had something original to say about the state of politics, or society … or just the chaotic thinking that permeates the country.

Then two of the magazines went out of business, Obama became President and I started to watch Keith Olbermann. I thought that Keith had more to say and could say it better than I. Being a flaming liberal, I liked Rachel Maddow when she started, but I soon tired of her cutesy delivery. Bill Maher has held up better, but still, he’s not delivering my particular point of view. I have a different perspective, including the fact that I am not part of the drug culture nor do I practice eating wholesome food.

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Aug 18, 2009
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