Ron Lindeboom
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COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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[Bob Cole] “I’m sorry about one thing in this thread: a remark by our Esteemed Leader. I admire Ron tremendously for what he has accomplished with the COW, and for his morals and ethics. And I agree with the substance of his ideas in this thread; but I was disappointed by what I saw as overly personal remarks in one of his posts. Ron owns the store, and if people start getting attacked in this way by the “proprietor,” it is bound to have a chilling effect on the whole scene.”
Bob,
Sorry to disappoint you. But I make no claims to sainthood and I do not claim to be anything more than a highly overworked, very burned out and sick individual whose patience grows thin from time to time. If you can’t handle the humanity, then I would say that you need to find another site where only saints abound.
Sorry if this seems rude but I have been very sick since last December and I am so far behind on my job and stressed — besides, I don’t pretend to have the patience of Jesus Christ. I also do not suffer those that I believe are making foolish points and comments that in any way support what some hyenas with a studio did to a client.
Best regards,
Ron “Who never claimed nor pretends perfection” Lindeboom
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It is true. Completely true.
Adobe will not be bringing CS4 to the Mac in 64bit, it will be 32bit only.
Apple didn’t give developers the kind of leadtime they needed to retool their programs and so many tools from 3rd parties are likely to stay 32bit for some time.
Ron Lindeboom
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But the real party will be out in the parking lot, behind the club, where some of the COW’s (shall we say?) more “dangerous” and unsavory types will be imbibing things not sold at the Hard Rock. They’ll be making a stylistically late entrance and you will know them by the silly grin on their faces. Don’t trust them, Jon. They do not really do hardware reviews for the COW. (We wonder if they can write at all anymore, really.) If they are wearing COW t-shirts, please buy them off of them, Jon, and we will reimburse you, buddy.
Thanks,
Ron Lindeboom
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Here in California, I have seen more than a few verbal contracts enforced. I sat on a Chapter 11 board on behalf of one of the banks whose interests I was securing and representing and we sicked our attorneys on one of the vendors who helped put the company in jeopardy based on what they agreed to but did not do. There was no contract but it held and the company had to make good.
You cannot simply sweep away all verbal agreements and say that the only thing that holds is the contract. While the contract is indeed the “bones” of the agreement body, there are things that can be made to stick — call it the “skin,” if you will — that when proven by witnesses, can be made to hold.
I cut away half of what I wrote to you because in it, I had given example after example of where I slit my own throat to honor my word. Those who know me, know I will — and do. Like you, I believe talk is cheap and actions do indeed speak louder than words. Since you want to quote the Bible earlier, I will tell you one of my favorite verses and one which I try to live by: “Who shall ascend the Lord’s holy hill, but he that swears an oath and holds to it, even unto his own hurt.” You do not know me and so it doesn’t surprise me that you think what you do. It really holds little weight with me as I learned long ago that there are always critics and those quick to think that you are like them and who judge you by what they think and do. Sometimes, they are right, other times they are wrong — in the end, it is you who must decide how much of it is true in your own life.
I have asked you before to call me and let’s talk through some of the misunderstandings that you and I have with each other on this and past issues. You don’t want to. That is fine but if you think being called a “moral relativist” hurt your feelings, then you may have missed the part in which you called me a hypocrite in a few hundred words or more.
Lastly, you are ABSOLUTELY correct that judges do indeed look at the hard and fast evidence. And rule based on it. But thankfully, I have seen in my own experience over the years that they do indeed take into consideration and weigh in and balance the testimony of those parties who we the active participants in a matter. When a clause in a document exists, it will always determine the ruling in that area. But where no such clear cut clause exists, then the testimony of witnesses does indeed have bearing and does hold sway in the outcome. In that, I hope that Wal-Mart can clean these guys clocks by parading out a long line of people who over the years knew and were party to things which will tie Flagler’s hands behind their backs. They deserve nothing less and I am truly ashamed that they are even a representative in this industry.
If there’s anything else you have to say, call me — or don’t. I am done with this leg of this topic.
Best always,
Ron Lindeboom
PS (added a few minutes after I wrote the full post): Yes, I would consider you someone that I like. Friends? I can’t say yes to that as I do not know you. I do not use the word “friend” lightly and I have some friends here in the COW and they know I would do anything for them and that they can count on me, fer sure. That’s what friends are for. Well, so sang Dionne Warwick, anyway.
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I am pushing 60, Mark. While the aging thing sucks and the sick part really sucks, there are some advantages. I know who I am at this point and who I am not. I have learned that there are some lines I am willing to cross and some I am not.
Some people are quite willing to sell out their ethics and morals based on circumstances based on relativism and situational ethics. I have learned over the years that I am not one of them. The people that know me best would tell you that.
I am stubborn. I am pushing 60 and think that it is life’s grand adventure to work at building your character. Yes, all of us screw up and fall. That is the point of and the necessity for grace. It’s why even my bitterest rivals will get another chance with me if they are willing to learn. Where I live, it’s not the number of times that a man falls that determines his character but rather the number of times he picks himself up. Life is for learning. Perfection is best left to the Creator.
Unlike the scenario you painted here with all its relativism and subjective pondering of situational ethics, I have learned that for me, life is meaningless when lived in that kind of vacuum. If your character is only as strong as your convenience and desire for gain, it will break down.
The people at Flagler can say all they want that they have a “right” to do what they do. Me, I think that they are people of such reprehensible character that have taken a company — regardless of what you may think of them — and have stabbed them in the back. That is my opinion and you are welcome to yours. I wouldn’t trust their judgment in anything at this point and if I had the chance to work with them for free, I’d say “No thanks.”
Wrap it in vague relativism all you want, this is a plain ole case of betraying a confidence that they knew for 30 years that they were obligated to uphold. If was a case of rights, why didn’t they exercise them 30 years ago? They knew they couldn’t do it or they’d lose the client.
There are such things as implied and verbal contracts and I think that Wal-Mart — no matter how much I detest them as a company — is the company to teach these people the meaning of the terms.
And next time you want to challenge me on ethical values and beliefs and tie it into religion, Mark, please write me offline as I try not to have these kinds of debates here in the COW but am always ready to defend my own beliefs, and why I believe them.
Best regards,
Ron Lindeboom
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Hey, they are big, Mike, and the other people are small. That makes it okay. Didn’t anyone learn you that???
😉
As long as you are small, you are justified for pretty much anything under the “Hey, they have much more money than you, me, and my neighborhood” clause.
I guess you missed the memo, eh?
Ron Lindeboom
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[Mark Suszko] “Still, do you think fifty grand is a fair offer on thirty year’s worth of stock footage that chronicles from the inside, the evolution and true workings of the biggest company ever?”
They offered him a half-million dollars but he wanted millions.
Ron Lindeboom
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[Peter Litwinowicz] “I use a Mac-based email client… so I hope there is less chance of email address proliferation to spammers.”
Yes, I use a Mac-based system myself. Unfortunately, I know plenty of PC people who have gotten infected and had my email address in their address books. They began flooding the net with every address in their book and now my email address is pounded with crap. We have to work hard at getting filters set to control it all.
Thankfully, we have a pretty good handle on it now. But there was a time when Kathlyn and I would get four- to six-thousand emails a day.
Now THAT’S spam!
Ouch!
Ron Lindeboom
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Pete,
We do not display your email address ANYWHERE in the COW, ever. Abraham pointed out that even when we do the service directory, we render the contact info into graphics so that harvesters do not get your address.
But…
If you have ever replied to anyone in a post and used the address as a way to contact you, then harvesters can reap your address as they spider this and every forums or blog site all across the Net.
Nowadays, even using the old ron AT creativecow DOT net display scheme doesn’t protect you as there are bots that harvest those things and then concatenate the address and dump it into a database.
Lastly, if you have ever written anyone on a Windows-based machine that later gets infected with an email-system virus, then that system is going to send that address around the world (as you know).
We have taken every possible precaution to hide everyone’s email address here and they have not been displayed in over five years now. But we can’t control what people do outside our system or even in our system, if it is things like including the address within a post reply.
Best always,
Ron Lindeboom
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[Don Greening] “What they WILL remember is that a video production house tried, unsuccessfully or not, to screw over one of their clients. The corporations will now make sure that from this time forward all future dealings with “those types” better come with an iron clad agreement because after all, video people can’t be trusted. One rotten apple…”
A more probable outcome will be that most all video production for major or even mid- to large-sized corporations will go in-house, with all rights automatically retained by the company.
Another probable outcome will be that many companies will quit using smaller shops and will use agencies that have long track records of knowing where the lines are drawn and why things must be kept confidential, etc.
The “grown-ups” play like grown-ups and know that even implied covenants are there, exist, and need to be honored.
Some people want to treat business like a walk along a cliff with them seeing how close to the edge they can get without falling over and getting hurt. Me, I’d rather understand that when I work with a client, I am there as a part of their team and my duty is to to do the absolute best I can under the circumstances. I am not there to think in terms of: “Ah, did they cross every legal ‘t’ and dot every legal ‘i’ — if not, then ‘ah, ha!’ I have them by the groin!”
That is an insane way to do business.
Like you, Don, I think that this episode is going to have far farther reaching affect than some want to believe. As you postulate, humans forget the facts but the feelings have a way of embedding themselves in the sub-conscious. In the end, the erosion of trust and the lack of respect for people’s rights are far more serious issues than what the letter of the law may say — especially in a world where contracts seem to be made to be broken.
But hey, call me old fashioned. I once had a girlfriend who called me “…a 19th century moralist living in the 20th century.” In response I said, “thanks.” Today I have moved on to being a 19th century moralist living in the 21st century. Now that’s progress, baby!
Ron Lindeboom